Bang! The door to Konoha Hospital was slammed shut.
Everyone present saw the boy run out. They looked at Sarutobi Sasuke, who had already recovered from being near death, then looked back at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been scolded, and understood the story.
A boy who had heard his friend's father was near death rushed to the hospital to care for his good friend. In the end, he found his friend's father looked as if he hadn't been sick at all and would surely be angry at his friend's prank.
Deceiving a friend's feelings! This kind of thing sounds too malicious!
"Danzo! Listen to my explanation!" The young Hiruzen quickly chased after him. His father really was seriously injured but was saved by an unfamiliar medical ninja.
"Are you telling the truth?" The young Danzo didn't quite believe him.
"Of course it's true!" As someone who had witnessed a miracle, Hiruzen was as lively and curious as a monkey, and he explained his guess in detail. "That medical ninja's identity is very mysterious. Everyone calls him Lord Emiya. His status is very high, and his medical skills are brilliant. It's very likely he has an ancestral relationship with that greatest medical ninja."
Hiruzen stroked his chin, thinking as he spoke. "But he's also really strange. He doesn't look happy at all even after saving a patient. He looks like he has a coffin face..."
"What does this have to do with us?" Danzo's brow was still furrowed. He was much colder in temperament than his cheerful friend. "If his identity is mysterious, it's likely an important secret of the village. It's not for us genin to inquire about!"
At this time, the young Danzo already had a concept of rank. He had some awe for the power of Konoha's upper echelons, because he believed that when he became a high-ranking official, he would also strictly prohibit those below from touching the secrets of their superiors.
"But..." Hiruzen was still curious. If it were really a secret, they probably wouldn't let them see it so easily, right? While discussing with his friend, he also noticed two figures walking out of the hospital, which made him feel even stranger.
-----
At sunset, work at the hospital was almost over. In Hiruzen's field of vision, he saw Konoha's most prestigious figure, the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, walking side by side with that medical ninja. Even Hashirama's attitude towards him was very respectful, as if the Hokage was accompanying some great figure.
"Those are the new generation of our village," Hashirama said, casually introducing the group of youths as he led Shirou on a tour of Konoha. "Tobirama founded a ninja school. Those little ones are the first batch of students. The monkey you just saw, Lord Emiya, is the most outstanding one among them."
This was not an exaggeration. Hiruzen's talent was indeed outstanding. He had long mastered his clan's summoning beast, Enma, and at his age, he had already refined chakra of five different natures. Besides that, his temperament was also very likable. He had leadership. Although he usually looked playful, he was very calm when encountering serious matters.
"The little one next to Monkey is named Shimura Danzo," Hashirama continued, a hint of nostalgia on his face. "I heard they were uncompromising rivals in the ninja school. Now that they've grown up, they are also companions who recognize each other. It seems their relationship is good..."
"Indeed," Shirou nodded with an unreadable expression.
"If nothing unexpected happens," Hashirama sighed with emotion, "the future of Konoha will rest on the shoulders of these little ones."
"Is that so?" Hearing this, Shirou seemed to become interested. "Humans always want to entrust their will to the hope of the future. Even the Sage of Six Paths is no exception, let alone mortals like us..."
The assistant beside him quietly recorded his words. He himself was sent by Tobirama to secretly collect any information Shirou might casually reveal.
In the Hokage's office, Tobirama's work was a bit busy. Madara had not been killed and had escaped capture, so he had to dispatch more manpower to continue suppressing and monitoring the Uchiha clan.
Besides that, he had to prepare for another major event. With his brother only having ten years left, he decided to use the stories Shirou had told him to split up the major ninja clans and reshape their sense of identity with the village.
The villagers were still more willing to believe their respective clan heads. They had to be liberated from these ideological constraints. Only in this way could Konoha, which had come this far relying on Hashirama's prestige, continue to exist when he died.
"It seems only the Senju clan can take the lead," Tobirama knew. First, disband the Senju clan, have its members leave their designated residences and live separately. Only if they took the lead would the other clans believe they were not trying to annex them.
Then, he could slowly guide the other clans to do the same. As long as this plan could succeed, in the future, everyone would only recognize their identity as Konoha ninjas.
"However, the Uchiha clan cannot be broken up. They must be gathered together to facilitate surveillance, to prevent another dangerous existence like that bastard Madara from appearing. The Hyuga clan is also quite troublesome. In order to protect their Byakugan, their clan has always placed a Caged Bird control curse seal on the branch family. Even if they live separately, the head of the clan has the ability to control them. This tradition cannot be changed overnight. As for the other ninja clans, there are basically no special circumstances."
Tobirama's mind immediately settled on a plan.
Knock, knock, knock. A knock came from the door. The assistant delivered today's intelligence.
"Lord Tobirama, this is the intelligence regarding Lord Emiya. Most of it is about medical techniques and experience. However, he said that after finding the herbs, he must verify them first."
"I understand." After looking through it, Tobirama nodded in satisfaction. He was a bit regretful that this intelligence did not involve anything that could be used to improve a ninja's strength. His gaze slowly stopped at the last part.
"Only Konoha is the future worthy of Your Excellency's trust. For the sake of Konoha, it is not unacceptable to use some means..."