To think Qiming had overcome the dangers of the Shadow Clone through sheer willpower, awakening the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at the brink of death. The Uchiha medical team had already done a preliminary check. Aside from some burns, Qiming was not in any serious danger.
It was a stroke of good fortune.
Looking at the corpse on the ground, Kawasaki remembered that this man was supposed to be locked in the village dungeon. The Third Hokage had been looking for a reason to deal with Danzo, and now one had been delivered right to his doorstep.
.....
Inside the Hokage Tower.
Smack!
The Third Hokage slammed a stack of documents onto his desk.
"Danzo, what are you trying to do? Releasing a prisoner from the dungeon on your own authority?! What if the other inmates had escaped?"
Danzo responded coldly, "Sarutobi, I have no idea what you're talking about. I know nothing of the dungeon."
The Third Hokage roared, "Still trying to deny it? The body of your Root subordinate, Kitsuchi, was found in the dungeon. And you claim to know nothing?"
Leaning on his cane, Danzo said, "That was Kitsuchi acting on his own. It has nothing to do with me."
"Danzo! Stop the act! Did you think no one would find out you ordered Ryoma to steal the Uchiha's Sharingan? The Cryptanalysis Team has already found evidence on Ryoma's body!"
"Hmph!"
Danzo dropped the pretense and glared at the Third Hokage.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen! I told you long ago that we should have eliminated the Uchiha, but you were too hesitant! Now the Uchiha's power is growing. Within the clan, there are two with the Mangekyo Sharingan, and outside, there are Itachi and Shisui. If you hadn't stopped me, I would have wiped out the Uchiha clan long ago!"
The Third Hokage slammed his hand on the desk as well.
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Is that all you know?! Uchiha Fugaku has had the Mangekyo Sharingan for a long time; he just never flaunted it. Can you defeat a Susanoo?! How many lives would have to be sacrificed to annihilate the Uchiha clan? Can you guarantee the Cloud won't take advantage of the chaos?! Or the Mist?! Or do you think the Rock would simply stand by and do nothing?"
Danzo retorted, "If you had weakened the Uchiha sooner, a powerhouse like Kawasaki would never have emerged! With the Uchiha dealt with, which hidden village could possibly stand as our rival?"
Thinking of Kawasaki's Susanoo, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his own frustration mounting. He picked up his pipe and took a deep drag. "What's the use of saying all this now? For the time being, you are forbidden from provoking the Uchiha. As for the matter with Ryoma, you will step down from your position as a Council Elder for a while."
"Sarutobi Hiruzen!"
Danzo stared viciously at the Third Hokage.
But the Third Hokage's face was like stone, betraying no emotion.
"Hmph!"
After a few seconds of tense silence, Danzo let out a heavy snort, turned, and stormed out with a flick of his sleeve.
The Third Hokage watched Danzo's retreating back and took another long draw from his pipe.
.....
"Lord Kawasaki, we've received word from the Third Hokage. Danzo's position as a Council Elder has been revoked."
Hearing the report, Kawasaki raised an eyebrow. The Third Hokage was up to his old tricks again. Although Danzo had lost his title as a Council Elder and was, on the surface, just an ordinary citizen, he would never truly fall as long as he still controlled the Root organization.
Losing the title of Elder would only mean a slight cut in his income. After the recent events, Danzo's reputation was already in tatters anyway. He had grown smarter now; he was trying to reduce his presence. People were forgetful. With enough time and enough new events, they would eventually forget all of Danzo's past misdeeds.
At least for now, he would have to behave himself.
Kawasaki still had no interest in clan politics and had spoken with Fugaku about it twice. He made it clear he had no passion for it, and Fugaku could only acquiesce to his wishes. After all, Kawasaki was still young. There was plenty of time.
What worried Fugaku was the clan's procreation incentive policy. As soon as it was announced, many clan members had responded enthusiastically. Some wanted to replenish their families after losing members in the Third Great Ninja War, while others simply wanted to expand their families during peacetime.
In just two short months, a significant number of Uchiha women were already confirmed to be pregnant. When those babies were born a year later, the clan's treasury would have to pay out a large sum of money. The Uchiha treasury was on the verge of being depleted.
Kawasaki reassured Fugaku not to worry too much. If things got dire, they could always hunt down a few rogue ninja for their bounties to cover the costs. It was still too early to panic.
Fugaku could only set the matter aside for now and instead began to discuss the various sealing jutsu Kawasaki had recently learned. He had to admit that while the Uchiha had their own collection of techniques, they had always been weak in sealing jutsu. In fact, no nation truly excelled in the art. The only reason Konoha was so proficient was because it had inherited a portion of the Land of Eddies' legacy after its destruction.
Unfortunately, Fugaku had no talent for sealing jutsu; he was even less gifted than some of the younger clan members Kawasaki had recently started training. After a week of trying to teach him, Kawasaki realized it was hopeless. He wrote down the methods and left Fugaku to practice on his own.
As for himself, he went to the Ninja Academy to check on Naruto and Sasuke.
A thought had suddenly occurred to him, and it was one he couldn't ignore: he absolutely could not let Naruto invent that vulgar Sexy Jutsu!
In the original timeline, Naruto created that technique to get attention. But he didn't need to do that anymore, which meant he didn't need to spend his days peeping on nurses. The thought of the hero's son engaging in such sordid activities before his values were even formed made Kawasaki feel a sense of pity for Minato. And then there was that old lecher Jiraiya. While impeccable in other areas, his taste in his personal life was truly atrocious.
At the Konoha Academy, Naruto, who was used to running wild, found it difficult to adjust to sitting still in class. Faced with a mountain of boring text, he nearly dozed off. But seeing Sasuke and Hinata listening intently, he forced himself to quiet down and pay attention.
These days, Naruto was always surrounded by friends. Sasuke, Hinata, Shikamaru, and the others were often by his side. In last month's exams, Sasuke had defeated everyone to claim the top spot. On one occasion, Hinata had been bullied by a civilian child who didn't know any better. The offender's parents received a stern warning, and the child was disciplined so severely that his wails could be heard two streets away. After that, the civilian children learned about the main families of the great ninja clans and never dared to provoke them again.
The children who used to throw rocks at Naruto and isolate him no longer dared to bully him so openly. Ever since Kawasaki had taken him under his wing, Naruto frequently wore new clothes and ate well. Besides Ichiraku Ramen, Sasuke would drag him around the village to find all sorts of delicious food. Though Sasuke would feign reluctance when given the order by Kawasaki, the two boys always had a great time together.
Sometimes their group would expand to include Hinata, Shikamaru, Kiba, and Choji. Neji, though a year older, would also join them occasionally with Hinata.
In this new environment, Naruto's spirits were exceptionally high. He was no longer dirty, no longer a constant troublemaker, and the unwarranted scorn directed at him had lessened.
Furthermore, Kakashi, following the Third Hokage's instructions, had begun to approach Naruto. After a few "chance encounters" at Ichiraku Ramen, Kakashi was getting to know him, creating opportunities to exchange a few words.
Naruto was an easy child to please. He felt that every day was a happy one now. And the source of all this newfound happiness was Lord Kawasaki.
So, when Lord Kawasaki told him not to cause trouble, he naturally listened. Despite the tediousness of the lecture, Naruto did his best to listen patiently.