The Shimura clan: Can we reach the other shore?

The news of the Hyuga's retreat spread through Konoha like wildfire.

The first to be taken aback were the Uchiha.

Deep within their compound, Mikoto Uchiha had just finished a rigorous etiquette training session and was reporting the progress to her husband, the clan head.

When she heard the news her husband brought back, her mind went blank for a moment.

"So, the Daimyo never intended to force the Hyuga family from the start?"

"Yes, we... misunderstood."

Fugaku Uchiha's expression was a little dazed, but he quickly recovered. "But it doesn't matter."

His eyes became firm again, revealing undisguised ambition.

"Even if this was a misunderstanding, our choice won't change."

"Whether the Daimyo cares or not is unimportant."

"We had no choice before, we could only follow Konoha!"

"Now, we must seize this opportunity to show the Daimyo our loyalty and value!"

"As long as we seize this opportunity, our Uchiha clan will soar."

He looked at Mikoto, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"The training continues!"

"Since those Hyuga fools backed down, we Uchiha must do this perfectly!"

"For the Uchiha!"

Mikoto always harbored a sense of unease about such extreme gambles.

But her husband's determination made her choose to suppress her worries and nod solemnly, "Alright! For the Uchiha!"

To them, the twists and turns in the process were meaningless.

As long as the Uchiha bloodline could truly integrate into the power center of the Land of Fire.

Even if this was just a self-indulgent act of flattery, they would play their part to the end.

Compared to the Uchiha's "make the best of a mistake" attitude, the atmosphere within the compounds of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans was much more somber.

Indoors, Shikaku Nara stared at the intelligence report in his hand, completely stunned.

Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi sat opposite him, their expressions equally remarkable.

After a long while.

Shikaku Nara finally let out a long breath, his whole body slumping.

He looked dejected, a look of self-contempt on his face.

"We all guessed wrong."

"Completely wrong."

As Konoha's recognized strategist, Shikaku Nara was accustomed to calculating everything, accustomed to achieving the greatest benefits at the smallest cost.

But this time, his proud intellect had played a fatal trick on him.

"I've been analyzing the Daimyo's motives, thinking he was using a carrot-and-stick approach to covet our Kekkei Genkai, to create division within Konoha."

He gave a bitter smile and pressed his hand hard against his throbbing temple.

"Now it seems..."

"Our perspective was too narrow."

Inoichi Yamanaka swallowed and spoke with difficulty, "You mean, the Daimyo... didn't even care about our bloodlines?"

"It's not that he didn't care."

Shikaku Nara shook his head. "It's that from the very beginning, the Daimyo never wanted them."

"We were considering the gains and losses of one village and one clan, how to protect our own secret techniques and heritage."

"But the Daimyo was considering the entire Land of Fire, how to hold Konoha in his grasp."

"The Imperial Concubine Selection was just a stone he threw out to test the waters."

"Our waiting and seeing was just self-cleverness."

Hearing Shikaku's analysis, Choza Akimichi broke out in a cold sweat and said with lingering fear, "Fortunately... fortunately, the Hyuga family took the blow for us."

"If the Daimyo's ultimatum had been directed at our three clans..."

The consequences were unimaginable!

Although the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance was powerful, how many days could they last against the thunderous methods of the Daimyo Manor compared to the Hyuga family?

"We can't wait any longer!"

Shikaku Nara slammed the table and stood up abruptly.

He made a decisive move.

"Inoichi, Choza, go back and select your people immediately!"

"The Genius Cultivation Plan, the Guardians of the Twelve – we need to participate in both. We must choose the most outstanding juniors and clan members!"

"Immediately!"

"Now!"

He emphasized his words, his expression incredibly serious.

"We absolutely cannot become the next clan to be singled out by the Daimyo!"

"This time, we won't just participate; we'll do it brilliantly!"

On this day.

It wasn't just the Ino-Shika-Cho clans.

All the ninja clans in Konoha that were still observing were now moving frantically.

Hokage Building, Advisor's Office.

The atmosphere was equally heavy.

Hiruzen Sarutobi silently smoked his pipe, the rising smoke obscuring his aged face.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sat opposite him, both wearing expressions of emotion and melancholy.

"We're all old now,"

Mitokado Homura finally broke the silence, his voice desolate.

"Our thinking is still stuck in the era when the village was first founded. We always felt that Kekkei Genkai were the most important foundation of a ninja clan."

"We would do anything to protect it."

Utatane Koharu adjusted her glasses, her gaze behind the lenses complex.

"Yes, we always thought this new Daimyo was lustful and craved power."

"I didn't expect that what he wanted was loyalty."

"Nothing more!"

"And we are citizens of the Land of Fire. It's only natural to offer our loyalty."

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring and slowly said, "Danzo said before he died that this Daimyo is more evil than the Uchiha..."

"Now it seems Danzo understood some of it, but not completely."

"He's not evil."

"He's a sovereign."

"A true monarch who views the entire country as a chessboard."

"And we ninja, our proud village and clans, are merely pieces on his board."

He looked at the carvings of past Hokage outside the window, his eyes dim.

"With a Daimyo like this, the era of the Hokage..."

"is truly over."

While Konoha's major ninja clans threw themselves into the two plans launched by the Daimyo Manor with unprecedented enthusiasm, a corner of the village remained stagnant and lifeless.

The Shimura Clan's territory.

There was none of the bustling activity of the Uchiha compound, nor the solemn dignity of the Hyuga main family.

Only desolation and decay.

The weeds in the courtyard were untended, and the doors and windows of many houses looked old.

The clan members walking within the territory all wore expressions of gloom and fear.

Danzo's death was both a relief and a disaster for the entire Shimura Clan.

In his lifetime, he was the root of Konoha, a blade in the darkness, wielding immense power.

Yet, he was extremely harsh towards his own clan.

He viewed the Shimura Clan as his private source of soldiers and treasury, constantly drawing out the most talented ninja seedlings and sending them to Root.

He even poured the profits from the clan's industries into Root continuously.

For decades, the Sarutobi Clan, the Utatane Clan, and the Mitokado Clan had prospered due to their close relationship with the Hokage.

Only the Shimura Clan, far from growing, had withered day by day.

Now, Danzo had been executed for rebellion, his corpse displayed in the city.

In Konoha, the surname Shimura was now synonymous with criminals.

Inside the council chamber, three elders with white hair sat opposite each other, their faces etched with gloom.

They were the last remaining elders of the Shimura Clan.

"What's happening outside?" asked Shimura Ken, the foremost elder.

"All the clans have gone mad," replied another elder bitterly. "The Genius Cultivation Plan, the Guardians of the Twelve... I heard the Uchiha and Hyuga submitted the lists of their most core disciples."

"Even the Ino-Shika-Cho had their three clan heads personally lead the selection, afraid of falling behind even by half a step."

Silence fell once more in the council chamber.

For others, it was a celebration.

For them, it was the end of the world.

"Do... do we still have a chance?" a younger clan member couldn't help but ask, his voice filled with unwillingness.

No one could answer this question.

Danzo had committed the grave crime of regicide and rebellion.

It was already an act of extraordinary leniency that the Daimyo had not exterminated the entire Shimura Clan.

To still hope for an opportunity?

It was nothing short of wishful thinking.

"If we don't try, how will we know?"

After a long pause, Elder Shimura Ken slowly rose, a look of determination appearing on his aged face.

"The crime Danzo committed is his alone."

"Our Shimura Clan has been loyal to the Land of Fire for generations, and that has never changed!"

"We cannot just sit here and wait for death!"

He looked at everyone, his gaze sharpening.

"Prepare a small gift. I wish to meet the Fourth Hokage."