Chapter 23: Each Plays Their Hand
After returning home, Senju Morin once again seated himself in his study. The group of young clansmen who had filled the room earlier were nowhere to be seen.
He had already dismissed them, instructing each to return home and invite their parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents—every elder in their respective households—to gather for dinner and "catch up."
If he spent all this time busily courting other clans, only to be stabbed in the back by his own people at the final moment, it would be an embarrassment beyond measure.
Fortunately, Morin had planned for this from the very beginning.
Counting himself, the thirteen members of his inner circle formed the core branches of a vast web of relationships—one that nearly encompassed the entirety of the Senju clan's jōnin ranks. The only two he might not reach were a pair of elderly clan elders without descendants. Even so, Morin had no intention of fretting over the loss of two votes.
With the support of both the Hyūga clan and his own Senju clan secured, his confidence had risen sharply.
Excluding the present day, only two days remained before the jōnin confidence vote. The time left to him was, strictly speaking, quite limited.
Even so, Morin found himself considering whether—once everything else was in place—he ought to try his luck with the Uchiha clan.
What if someone there was willing to support him?
Surely among more than thirty Uchiha jōnin, not every single one was so stubborn or short-sighted as to waste their precious vote on their own clan head, of all people.
Morin's thoughts then turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
While Morin had been busy rallying the clans, his rival had hardly been idle. According to the intelligence he had received, Sarutobi appeared extremely confident in securing the support of the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance. Over the past two days, the clans he had personally visited were instead smaller ones such as the Inuzuka and Aburame.
Morin couldn't help but scoff inwardly.
So confident, was he?
Then Morin would have to pry at that cornerstone and see what shook loose.
With a sharp motion, he nicked his finger.
Bang!
A puff of smoke erupted as his summoning beast, Kuromaru, appeared. Morin entrusted it with delivering a formal name card to Senju Yu, who would then personally pass it on to the Nara clan.
Compared to the stubborn, straight-laced Akimichi, the sharp minds of the Nara clan were surely more adept at understanding… flexibility.
Later that evening, Senju Morin received the Nara clan's reply.
It could only be said that Sarutobi Hiruzen's confidence was not unfounded.
Compared to the Hyūga clan's warmth and decisiveness, the Nara clan's response was noticeably cooler. Their reply even subtly emphasized the long-standing unity of the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance.
The implication was clear:
if the Akimichi clan had no intention of changing sides, then the Nara clan would not abandon its allies and act alone.
That said, the Nara clan was still the Nara clan.
Though reserved in attitude, they committed no breach of etiquette. They formally dispatched a reply to Senju Morin and scheduled a meeting for the following afternoon.
After all, truly clever people never hang themselves from a single branch. No matter the situation, one must always leave a path of retreat.
---
While Senju Morin was racing across Konoha, rallying clan after clan, his greatest rival, Sarutobi Hiruzen, naturally had no intention of sitting idle.
That evening,
at the Sarutobi clan compound—
Hiruzen and his companions gathered beneath dim lamplight, seated around a low table. The scene already bore the faint outline of what would one day become Konoha's infamous "inner circle."
If there was any difference, it was the presence of one extra participant—Akimichi Torifu.
Under the immense pressure brought by Senju Morin, Hiruzen was determined to seize every possible advantage. He no longer had the luxury of worrying about the sheer political weight of the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance acting in unison.
"Hmph. To think all those recent incidents were actually Morin's doing," Danzo said coldly.
"Back then he always looked so respectful and obedient—he even fooled Master Tobirama."
"Scheming little bastard…"
Danzo's expression was grim. Combined with the bandages covering half his face from his recent injuries, he looked unsettlingly severe, almost sinister.
"Enough, Danzo," Hiruzen interrupted. "Complaining won't change anything."
He paused, then added heavily,
"Still… the Hyūga clan hasn't sent any reply at all. It seems they've already made their choice."
Homura's face darkened noticeably. Hiruzen's letter had been delivered personally by him—Hyūga's near-total silence was nothing short of a public slap in the face.
Under normal circumstances, even a refusal from a clan as tradition-bound as the Hyūga would come with a courteous written response.
But it seemed that whatever had transpired during their afternoon meeting with Senju Morin had thoroughly enraged Hyūga Sōgo. He had chosen to make his stance known in the most extreme manner possible.
A woman's voice followed.
"I really wonder what kind of price Senju Morin offered," Koharu Utatane said quietly,
"to drive that old man Sōgo into such a frenzy…"
Compared to her future elderly appearance, the young Koharu still carried a sharp, martial poise—far from beautiful, but unmistakably formidable.
Hiruzen's expression remained grave.
Unlike Morin, who had secured the Hyūga clan outright with his opening move, Hiruzen's own efforts over the past two days had yielded only modest results—far less than he had hoped.
And there was no helping it.
In the end, it came down to bargaining power.
The Sarutobi clan simply wasn't as dominant as the Senju.
It wasn't that Hiruzen was stingy.
Thus far, Senju Morin had promised the Hyūga clan only a single advisory position.
Hiruzen, on the other hand, had already pledged four such positions just to assemble the people sitting at this very table.
Before he could even consider courting additional clans, he first had to secure the stability of his existing political bloc—otherwise he wouldn't even possess the leverage necessary to stand against the Senju.
He couldn't very well promise two more advisory seats just to win over the Inuzuka and Aburame clans.
After all, the total amount of power and privilege in the village was finite. Once too many posts were handed out, even the most prestigious positions would lose their value.
Just as the room sank into gloom, the usually taciturn Akimichi Torifu finally spoke:
"Actually, Hiruzen… what you've already offered is generous enough. Instead of promising more benefits, why not take one disciple each from the Inuzuka and Aburame clans?"
"That alone should be enough to secure their loyalty."
Hiruzen's expression brightened slightly—only to crease with hesitation a moment later.
"But… Master Tobirama instructed me to take Tsunade and the others as my disciples…"
"So what?" Danzo scoffed.
"Didn't Master Tobirama take Kagami and the five of us as disciples at the same time? Since when was there a rule limiting the number of students?"
After a brief pause, Danzo continued with open contempt:
"Besides, Morin is a Senju. Even if you take Tsunade and the others as disciples, do you seriously expect the Senju clan to turn around and support you as Hokage?"
"Don't be ridiculous."
"If we can secure the support of the Aburame and Inuzuka clans, then combined with our current jōnin numbers, we'll finally be able to stand toe-to-toe with Senju Morin."
"Only…"