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Chapter 215 - Chapter 215: Facing Konoha's Dark Side

As the Daimyo of the Earth Country and the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure decided to jointly appoint envoys for peace negotiations, Hyūga Sōshu was already making preparations for the gradual withdrawal of troops.

When it came to control over the ninja forces, Sōshu did not hesitate to delegate authority, directly entrusting Uchiha Fugaku with temporary command—a gesture that deeply moved the young man whose face resembled a murderer, even prompting him to beat his chest and vow before Hyūga Sōshu he would remain at the central command camp to deter northern enemies, ensuring no mistakes occurred.

Sōshu offered a few encouraging words to this Uchiha heir, who was about his own age, then turned back toward Konoha alongside Uchiha Mahiru and a group of accompanying personnel.

To the Uchiha clan's eyes, even this soon-to-be-dissolved provisional commander role represented a valuable opportunity worth treasuring. Yet to Sōshu's faction, it was nothing more than an insignificant redistribution of roles. Their power structure had completely broken free from traditional frameworks of Hidden Leaf Village and the entire ninja world—transcending limits imposed by villages, master-disciple inheritance systems, and familial bloodlines.

Rooted in martial faction ninja and structurally supported by the Hyūga clan, Sōshu's faction rapidly grew stronger through immense wealth accumulated across conquered territories, like a monstrous emerging force bursting with vitality and unbreakable cohesion. Unless utterly destroyed by extreme external forces, its internal organization remained stable—a force that outsiders could scarcely shake.

After racing at full speed for most of half a day, Hyūga Sōshu and the gathered clan heads arrived at Konoha, which was now growing disloyal.

Along the way, rumors and speculations regarding Konoha's leadership continuously reached Hyūga Sōshu and these clan heads. Unconcerned with accuracy or source reliability, Sōshu generously shared all intelligence with the clan leaders—thus inadvertently forging certain silent understandings.

No matter what motivations drove the village, none of the ninja clans intended to easily relinquish their vested interests inside the village—this was a shared consensus among all ninja clans.

Yet this didn't mean every clan refused postings outside the village; everything depended on how enticing the offers were from Konoha's F4 (the four top leaders)—to put it bluntly, they just needed to offer better incentives!

However, this return journey marked stark differences compared to previous returns.

Other than ninja clan members, even high-ranking officials within Konoha—including Hatake Sakumo—failed to appear at the village gates to welcome these "battlefield heroes" returning from defeating Iwagakure's major enemy. The clan leaders voiced quiet complaints but seeing Sōshu's composed demeanor and casual conversation, they refrained from openly expressing dissatisfaction.

Upon returning to the village, Sōshu wasted no time resting. Immediately accompanied by Uchiha Mahiru, he returned to the Hyūga clan compound to await notification from Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen summoning the next Ninja Clan Summit.

"Sakumo-kun, what are your thoughts?"

Inside the Hokage Office, a large crystal ball rested on the table before Third Hokage Hiruzen. Its glowing image lingered on the scene of Hyūga Sōshu's party entering the village. Seated in the chair before the desk, Hatake Sakumo sat silently head bowed, while two elder advisors—Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu—sat quietly on the sofas to the left and right respectively, listening wordlessly to the exchanges between Konoha's new and veteran generation leaders.

"For both public and personal reasons, it's quite appropriate for ninja clans to travel outside the village."

The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi took up his pipe again, puffing out clouds of smoke as he spoke, "Rather than bottling up every conflict inside the village, it's better to let them take initiative outside."

"Of course, it wouldn't be bad if they were willing to stay in the village either. It's just that perhaps in their eyes..."

The Third Hokage pointed his pipe at the crystal ball showing a confident Hyuga Soushu and said, "In their eyes, the Ninja World opens up as a far wider horizon."

"I..."

Sakumo Hatake wanted to speak but hesitated.

He simply didn't know what to say.

In his opinion, the best place in the entire ninja world was Konoha.

Numerous ninja clans, prosperous villagers, powerful combat strength — Konoha had won glorious victories in both occurrences of The Great Ninja World War. There was even the Will of Fire, hailed as the universal values of the Ninja World, which was deemed sufficient to lead it toward enduring peace.

Certainly, Sakumo now naturally understood that beneath this shining glory, Konoha also concealed many shadowy truths and sins. Some senior leadership, including the Third Hokage himself, had done things that Sakumo disapproved of. But overall, they were mere blemishes that couldn't eclipse Konoha's radiance.

Especially during wars, although civilian shinobi made great sacrifices, every experienced jonin who commanded ninja forces knew well that elite ninja from ninja clans were the core fighting force.

It wasn't prejudice — just an undeniable truth.

Therefore, unlike Konoha's F4, who vigorously suppressed ninja clans while continuously cultivating and elevating the status of civilian shinobi, Sakumo Hatake had always inclined toward a middle path — by subtle means, helping ninja clans to abandon their clan prejudices and truly integrate into the village while preserving their family characteristics.

However, thoughts and willpower couldn't directly affect reality. Combined with relatively insufficient administrative experience, Sakumo's views remained merely slogans without any concrete policy guidelines.

Therefore, regarding matters involving ninja clans, all Sakumo Hatake could do was stubbornly repeat his views, failing to propose anything beyond Konoha's F4 proposals regarding clan-based feudalization.

"Admit it! This is good for both sides!"

After an uncomfortable silence, Homura Mitokado actively broke the silence: "If we continue allowing those arrogant and unrestrained ninja clans to remain in the village and seize power endlessly, it won't be good for anyone — not for the village, not for the civilian shinobi, nor even for the clan members themselves!"

"Instead of waiting until conflicts completely erupt and then facing painful amputation or even civil war, we should transfer these tensions outward before they fully explode!"

Koharu Utatane, sitting on the sofa on the other side, also chimed in: "It's a situation where everyone wins."

"Hmph."

Sakumo Hatake sighed deeply, his face full of helplessness and inner struggle, but he did not reply to the remarks of these two elder advisors. He simply shook his head and continued pondering in silence.

The two elder advisors turned their gazes toward The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, who sat opposite Sakumo Hatake. He gently shook his head, signaling his two old friends not to continue, then casually puffed on his pipe.

Some issues that seem impossible to resolve at first become clear once you work through them. Previously, The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi himself had struggled to understand — and even felt displeased by — the proposal from his two longtime colleagues regarding the exile of the ninja clans. Yet after grasping the crucial points, he abandoned his earlier plan to remain detached and impartial, and actively sought out Sakumo Hatake — whose influence within Konoha was equally significant — trying to persuade him to support this plan of collectively dispatching ninja clans to local regions.

To Hiruzen Sarutobi, cutting off certain branches or even part of the roots of the great tree Konoha might cause temporary weakness. But compared to allowing the ninja clans to keep parasitically drawing nourishment from Konoha, enduring a prolonged pain was better than suffering a short, sharp one.

After all, what the F4 members agreed upon was that if all ninja clans left Konoha, unless Sakumo Hatake followed suit and declared his own independence, he wouldn't pose a real threat.

"Hokage-sama, Elder Advisors, exiling the ninja clans outside shouldn't be the original essence of the Will of Fire," Sakumo Hatake spoke with difficulty.

"Moreover, if we cannot integrate everyone into the big family of Konoha, then the future Konoha will definitely not be whole, nor perfect!"

"What in this world is flawless?" Homura Mitokado scoffed at this notion.

"Sakumo, you've met Master Tobirama and listened to his teachings. What do you think we should do?" Koharu Utatane chose to throw the question back.

"What's the current situation of the village? How about the expansion of the ninja clan forces? And how shall we properly place those proud jonin who rose from battlefield flames within the Border Forces?"

"They deserve better! They should be placed in key roles to shine and serve the village!" Sakumo Hatake immediately shot back instinctively.

"Naive!"

Homura Mitokado commented bluntly.

Koharu Utatane then countered, "Tell me, do you honestly believe battle-hardened veteran ninjas who have killed countless enemies can handle the tedious daily affairs at the Mission Center? Or manage those petty calculations in the Administrative Department? Or even handle budget work in the Finance Department?"

"This…"

Though Sakumo Hatake similarly thought that the routine tasks typically handled by administrative ninjas weren't really difficult at all, he also believed those elite warriors who emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood simply could not handle such dull bureaucratic jobs.

After all, experienced jonins emerging from war shared one prominent trait: even trivial matters might trigger their highly sensitive emotions due to wartime trauma or painful memories of fallen comrades. Even ordinary objects or certain words could easily trigger sudden emotional surges among these jonin during downtime.

If such ninjas were assigned roles requiring frequent interaction with villagers and mission clients, everything might go smoothly while they remained calm. But if some small incident inadvertently touched a sensitive nerve, the consequences would be unimaginable.

In fact, even within the prison directly administered by the Uchiha Policing Department, there were quite a few "meritorious ninjas" who suffered from post-war psychological trauma after the First Great Ninja War. This was one of many factors that caused controversy around the Uchiha Clan.

The public lacked comprehensive understanding of these situations. They only saw war heroes being imprisoned by the Uchiha, neglecting the potential threats these individuals posed to the village due to their mental instability. Under the influence—whether intentional or not—of Konoha's F4, public perception turned against the Policing Department, deepening the divide between the Uchiha and the rest of the village.

After figuring out this crucial point, Sakumo Hatake felt even more helpless.

"The only suitable places for those meritorious ninjas are basically the Border Forces and the Policing Department," he said.

"However," Homura Mitokado pointed out the crux, "after the war ended, the village couldn't maintain such large numbers in the Border Forces anymore. As for the Policing Department, it's practically an Uchiha-only domain where outsiders have absolutely no chance to interfere. And as for Anbu and Root..."

"Do you really want to let them step into the village's dark side, Sakumo?" Koharu Utatane continued, adding her own thoughts.

"That darkness you're so concerned about is already right there in Anbu and Root!" she added.

"Darkness isn't limited just to Anbu and Root," Sakumo replied, lifting his head to stare straight at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who appeared unusually calm. "What about the Medical Division? Why didn't anyone mention that?"

"What do you know about it?"

Hiruzen paused mid-puff on his pipe. Though his expression remained unchanged, his voice dropped lower: "Fine, let's speak plainly, Sakumo."

"The 'Wood Release Experiment Project,'" Sakumo finally uttered, stating a phrase considered taboo.

"That experiment, which had nothing but failures from beginning to end, has already been shut down by my orders," Hiruzen calmly stated, putting down the half-finished pipe.

"And since you've already looked into this project, you should know how we obtained the volunteers for those experiments."

"They all volunteered," Sakumo replied, momentarily stunned.

"For power—or to put it bluntly, to obtain the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai comparable to Hashirama's—regardless of whether they disclosed their identities publicly, many Senju clansmen eagerly joined the experiment upon learning about the village's initiative, hoping to ascend to new heights and become the next 'Ninja God.'"

Hiruzen briefly explained the background before picking up his pipe again.

That was history now.

Sakumo knew very well that those words reflected reality exactly.

"Those volunteer participants sought power. The ninja clans stationed in rural regions pursued authority. They were all grown shinobi. They had the right to choose for themselves, no matter what happened."

Hiruzen spoke softly, "You might disagree, Sakumo, but do you really have the right to decide for them?"

"Hiruzen, mind the time," Koharu interrupted before Hiruzen could continue his explanation any further.

"Hmm?"

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up at the clock hanging on the wall. It was now less than half an hour before the Ninja Clan Summit would begin.

"Sakumo, my friend, have you decided yet?"

The Third Hokage rose from his seat, grabbed his Kage cloak from the rack, slipped it on, and picked up his hat from the desk. "The meeting is about to begin. Have you finally decided?"

"I'll attend, but I'm not saying a word."

Sakumo Hatake let out a long sigh, slowly making this difficult decision with an expression of subtle pain.

"Then let's go together. After all, it will be Konoha's first official branch establishment announcement—the beginning of something new."

A faint smile crossed the Third Hokage's face.

In the end, the subtle manipulation had worked.

Sakumo had acquired information about the [Wood Release Experiment Project] under what seemed like accidental circumstances—carefully arranged, of course. He had slowly begun to fall into the trap ever since.

Hunting a ninja has never been just about fighting—it's far too crude to rely solely on visible arrows or hidden daggers. Instead, striking at the core of a determined Jonin's Ninja Way can more easily erode their fighting spirit and courage at its very root.

That was the most insidious kind of blade—a poisoned one that kills without drawing blood, deadlier than any weapon forged in steel!

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