A Glimpse from the Hokage Building (Please Vote with Your Monthly Tickets on Monday!)

Bang!

The doors of Konoha Hospital slammed shut.

Everyone present saw the boy run out. They then looked at Sarutobi Sasuke, who had already recovered from his critical, near-fatal injuries, before turning their gazes back to Sarutobi Hiruzen, whom the boy had furiously berated. They immediately understood the story behind the two young friends.

A boy who had just learned that his friend's father had been critically injured and was near death had hurried to the hospital to check on his good friend.

Then he discovered that his friend's father did not look sick at all. Naturally, he was furious at what he believed was his friend's prank!

Toying with a friend's feelings!

That sounded way too awful!

"Danzo!"

"Listen to my explanation!"

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen hurried after him to explain. His father, Sarutobi Sasuke, truly had been severely injured—he had simply been saved by an unfamiliar Medical Ninja.

"Is that true?"

Young Danzo did not quite believe his explanation.

"Of course it is!"

Having personally witnessed a miracle, Sarutobi Hiruzen was as lively and curious as a monkey. He carefully laid out his speculation.

"That Medical Ninja's identity is very mysterious..."

"Everyone calls him Lord Shirou. His status is extremely high, and his medical skills are exceptional. He might be descended from that greatest Medical Ninja..."

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen stroked his chin, thinking as he spoke. "But he really is a little strange. Even after saving a patient, he did not look happy at all. He looked like he had a face carved out of a coffin..."

"What does that have to do with us?"

Young Danzo still had his brows tightly furrowed.

Compared to his cheerful friend, young Danzo was far more cold-natured. A smile rarely appeared on his face. "If his identity is mysterious, then it may be an important secret of the village. It isn't something genin like us should be asking about!"

At this moment...

Young Danzo already seemed to understand the concept of hierarchy.

He held a certain reverence for the power of Konoha's upper ranks, because young Danzo believed that once he became one of them in the future, he too would strictly forbid those beneath him from prying into their superiors' secrets.

"But..."

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen was still somewhat curious about Shirou Emiya.

If it really was a secret...

Then they surely would not have been allowed to meet him so casually, right?

Yet neither the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, nor his father, Sarutobi Sasuke, had stopped this genin from interacting with the man.

As young Sarutobi Hiruzen discussed it with his friend, he also noticed two figures walking out of Konoha Hospital, which left him even more puzzled.

At sunset.

Konoha Hospital's work was more or less finished.

Within Sarutobi Hiruzen's field of vision, he saw Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage and the man with the greatest prestige and status in Konoha, walking side by side with that Medical Ninja.

Hashirama Senju's attitude toward the other man was even extremely respectful, as though the First Hokage were accompanying some important figure.

"Those are the younger generation of our village..."

As Hashirama Senju led Shirou Emiya on a tour of Konoha, he casually introduced the group of youths. "Tobirama established the Ninja School in the village. Those little ones are its first batch of students. That monkey Lord Shirou just met is the most outstanding among them..."

This was no empty praise.

Sarutobi Hiruzen's talent truly was exceptional.

At such a young age, Sarutobi Hiruzen had already mastered the Sarutobi Clan's unique Summoning Beast Ape Demon. He had even refined five types of elemental Chakra and was learning five-element ninjutsu under Tobirama Senju.

Besides that...

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen also had a very likable personality.

At the very least, the elders who had watched Sarutobi Hiruzen grow up had all noticed that the boy possessed another quality even more precious than his talent.

Leadership.

It was something no one could overlook.

Although young Sarutobi Hiruzen usually looked mischievous and unreliable, he was extremely calm when serious matters arose. He could even suppress the panic in his heart, remaining composed as he reassured the companions around him.

His father's grave injury today was one such example.

The ninjas present had all seen that when young Sarutobi Hiruzen arrived at the hospital alone, his face had been full of worry and unease, and he had been extremely anxious about his father's condition;

Yet when his companions rushed over with equally anxious faces, the boy still forced himself to hold on and stepped forward to calm them.

"The little one beside Monkey is called Shimura Danzo."

Hashirama Senju had already noticed the friendship between young Sarutobi Hiruzen and young Danzo, and a hint of nostalgia appeared on his face. "I heard that Monkey and Danzo used to be rivals who refused to yield to each other at the Ninja School. Now that they have grown up, they are companions who acknowledge one another..."

"It looked like they had a good relationship..."

Shirou Emiya nodded, his expression unreadable.

"If nothing unexpected happens..."

Hashirama Senju greatly admired the young Sarutobi Hiruzen and his group, sighing, "Konoha's future will rest on these little ones' shoulders."

"Is that so?"

Shirou Emiya seemed to have become interested in the group of youths upon hearing that, and sighed. "Humans always wish to entrust their will to the hopes of the future. Even the Sage of Six Paths was no exception, let alone ordinary people like us..."

"..."

The assistant at his side quietly recorded Shirou Emiya's words and actions.

He had originally been sent by Tobirama Senju to assist Shirou Emiya, his primary purpose being to secretly gather the bits of intelligence Shirou Emiya casually let slip.

For this era, Shirou Emiya held far too many treasures. Tobirama Senju did not dare miss any opportunity and had even ordered the assistant to secretly document and preserve everything about him.

Inside the Hokage Building.

Tobirama Senju had been rather busy with work.

Since Madara Uchiha had neither been killed nor captured and had escaped pursuit, Tobirama Senju had no choice but to assign more manpower to suppress and monitor the Uchiha Clan, lest anything happen within Konoha at this time.

Besides that.

Tobirama Senju also had to begin preparing for another major undertaking.

With his elder brother Hashirama Senju having only ten years left to live, he decided to use Shirou Emiya's stories of Ashura and the Ninja Sect in ancient times to break apart the major ninja clans within Konoha Village and reshape their sense of identification with Konoha.

The Warring States Period was not far in the past. Konoha's villagers were still more willing to trust the heads of their own clans. They had to be freed from the ideological shackles of their clans and choose to believe in and jointly protect Konoha, their home.

Only then.

Could Konoha, which had come this far by relying on Hashirama Senju's prestige and power, continue to endure after Hashirama Senju's death.

"It seems..."

"Only the Senju Clan can take the lead in doing this..."

Tobirama Senju understood Konoha's situation extremely well. The Senju Clan, the village's strongest clan, had to set an example before the other ninja clans would accept his approach.

First, the Senju Clan would be disbanded.

Its members would even have to leave their designated settlement, with each household living as separately as possible across the various districts of the village.

Only if the Senju Clan took the lead...

Would the other ninja clans believe that the Senju Clan did not intend to absorb them.

At that point, the next stage of the plan could begin.

Tobirama Senju could then use this as a reason to gradually guide the ninjas of the major clans into dispersing. From then on, everyone would cast aside the prejudices attached to ninja clan surnames and integrate into Konoha together.

As long as this plan succeeded, everyone in the future would recognize only their identity as Konoha Ninja. They would no longer be ninjas of any particular clan, would act only in Konoha's name, and the children who grew up in the village would likewise continue to identify with Konoha alone.

"However..."

"The Uchiha Clan cannot be broken up."

"They must be gathered together so they can be monitored conveniently, preventing another dangerous existence like that bastard Madara Uchiha from appearing within the clan."

"The Hyuga Clan is troublesome as well..."

"To prevent the Byakugan from falling into outsiders' hands, they have always placed the Caged Bird control Curse Mark on the foreheads of branch family ninjas. Even if the Hyuga Clan's ninjas were required to live separately in different places, the Hyuga Clan head would still be capable of using it to control the branch family ninjas..."

"This tradition..."

"Cannot be changed overnight."

"And protecting the Byakugan from ending up outside the village is also highly beneficial to Konoha."

"If the Hyuga Clan is to willingly respect Konoha's leadership in the future, perhaps they can only wait until the branch family rises up against the main family internally before they find an opportunity to intervene..."

"As for the other ninja clans..."

"Basically, none of them have any particularly special circumstances."

Tobirama Senju understood the situation of every ninja clan in Konoha extremely well. He immediately settled on his plan and intended to find an opportunity to discuss the decision with his elder brother.

Knock, knock, knock...

A series of knocks sounded from outside the door.

The assistant by Shirou Emiya's side delivered today's intelligence report.

"Lord Tobirama."

"This is intelligence regarding Lord Shirou."

"Most of it concerns medical operation techniques and experience, along with medicines for treating certain illnesses. However, he said that after the medicinal herbs are found, he must verify them himself first..."

"I understand."

After reading through it, Tobirama Senju nodded in satisfaction at the gains. "It seems Lord Shirou treated quite a few patients at the hospital today..."

"Yes."

"What a pity..."

Tobirama Senju felt some regret that this intelligence contained nothing that could be used to improve a ninja's strength. His gaze slowly settled on the final passage.

"Only Konoha..."

"...is the future worthy of your trust..."

"For Konoha, even resorting to certain methods would not be unacceptable..."