"My Konoha used to have two great shinobi clans: the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan. Both were powerful clans that had no need to form an alliance. Either one alone was incredibly strong."
"The Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan had been at odds for a long time. Even after Konoha was founded, they never had a honeymoon period. At most, their relationship changed from hostile to non-confrontational. Maintaining peace depended entirely on the efforts of the First Hokage."
Danzo was highly agitated.
He loudly proclaimed the dangers that the Uchiha-Hyuga coalition posed to the future.
"Now that the Hyuga Clan is weakened, with a large number of secret techniques burned by Hyuga Shin, and even the Caged Bird lost, they're seeking out the Uchiha Clan, which has a vast stockpile of ninjutsu. Their strength will undoubtedly rise rapidly."
"And furthermore... Hiruzen!"
"What are they trying to do by gathering around Namikaze Minato?"
"I think they're betting on Namikaze Minato, hoping to make him the Fourth Hokage!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the man being named, exhaled a puff of smoke.
Then he looked coldly at Danzo.
"Danzo..."
"Don't you want to become the Fourth Hokage?"
Danzo: "!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi shifted his sharp gaze away from Danzo, then sighed. "The Hyuga Clan's weakness is an objective fact. Moreover, the older Clan Head and elders who were previously willing to cooperate with the village in every way have all been killed by Hyuga Shin."
"Having lost the Caged Bird, the Hyuga Clan is deeply anxious about its Kekkei Genkai being leaked."
"The Uchiha Clan also possesses a powerful Kekkei Genkai, and it shares many common points with the Hyuga Clan."
"The Uchiha Clan has no Caged Bird. They rely on their true abilities to make others afraid to act against them lightly..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze fell on Danzo.
Danzo immediately grew uneasy.
"Danzo... when Namikaze Minato brought Hizashi Hyuga, Uchiha Fugaku, and Uchiha Miya to see me, I didn't dare refuse."
"Namikaze Minato's prestige is at its peak. Over the past few years, Jiraiya has traveled throughout the Shinobi World, Orochimaru spends all day conducting various experiments, and Tsunade has been gambling everywhere outside. Recently, Namikaze Minato has been the only one fighting on the front lines."
"With his battle achievements and prestige at the front, it was perfectly reasonable for him to propose 'establishing a powerful mobile force' and sending reinforcements to the Iwagakure or Kumogakure battlefields. Could I refuse? How could I refuse?"
"Hizashi Hyuga said that the Hyuga Clan was weakened and needed the Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu to recover, as well as the Uchiha Clan's protection. He had already paid a large sum of money for Uchiha Clan ninja to guard the Hyuga Family's businesses, preventing them from being swallowed up by the other clans... How could I refuse that reason? Were you planning to provide the Hyuga Family with ninjutsu? Or would you? Or should the two of us go protect the Hyuga Clan?! In the entire Shinobi World, the only ones capable of providing this ninjutsu are probably the Uchiha!"
"If you insist on saying so, my Sarutobi Clan has the ability as well. We have plenty of Chunin and Jonin, and we have a reputation to uphold."
"But it's because of you! Because of your vile conduct in researching the Sharingan. I protected you, so how could I possibly have the nerve to ask Hizashi Hyuga to trust me?"
"Finally, there's Uchiha Fugaku. He's still fairly reasonable!"
"That Uchiha Miya is far more domineering than him. From the moment he entered my office, he kept his Mangekyō Sharingan activated and stared fixedly at me."
"I never gave the Uchiha Clan an explanation regarding the Sharingan. Uchiha Fugaku said they could go to the battlefield, but the Uchiha Clan had to go together with the Hyuga Clan, and they had to follow Namikaze Minato."
"For the sake of the bigger picture... Given the current war situation, we absolutely cannot afford to lose either the Uchiha Clan or the Hyuga Clan. It's already good that they're willing to participate in the war. Besides, Namikaze Minato is my grand-disciple. I approve of his character and abilities, and so do all of you... At least for now, nothing will go wrong!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted the table, giving the issue a conclusion of "nothing will go wrong."
Danzo clenched his fists and fell silent.
But inwardly, he sighed as well. Perhaps the current situation really was the best possible outcome.
Iwagakure remained silent, blindly sending more troops. Kumogakure, from top to bottom, was filled with hatred, charging in like rabid dogs once the fighting began.
Konoha truly needed these two great clans to join the war.
But resentment and dissatisfaction were still growing in Danzo's heart...
In his eyes, Namikaze Minato and the Uchiha-Hyuga coalition were no longer ordinary people of Konoha. They needed to be crushed with overwhelming force!
Hyuga Clan grounds.
A large number of Uchiha Clan ninja were here, personally demonstrating to Hyuga Clan ninja how to perform various ninjutsu.
Even more people were engaged in sparring.
Quite a few Byakugan users were already suppressing Uchiha Clan ninja.
Hizashi Hyuga felt much better as he watched this scene.
"It's all thanks to you. Otherwise, the Hyuga Family wouldn't have recovered its strength so quickly. Not only are our businesses protected by Uchiha Clan ninja, but you also promoted the large-scale teaching of ninjutsu by the Uchiha Clan."
Beside him was not the Clan Head, Uchiha Fugaku.
It was Uchiha Miya.
During that month on the battlefield, he had killed quite a few Iwagakure ninja—more than 150 in total.
But Namikaze Minato was still stronger. He had killed more than 200.
Namikaze Minato was terrifyingly strong... And for some reason, his conviction seemed completely unwavering. He swung his Kunai so quickly that they became afterimages, and his strength kept breaking through.
He also pursued tactical perfection. Several times, he used high-speed mobile warfare to leave the Iwagakure ninja dizzy before killing large numbers of them.
"It's nothing," Uchiha Miya said indifferently.
Hizashi Hyuga had recently gotten used to Uchiha Miya's temperament, so he paid no mind to his attitude.
Hizashi Hyuga casually asked, "Where's Clan Head Fugaku?"
"He's holding a Clan Meeting back home and getting questioned by the clan elders, I suppose... Hmph. If I were the Clan Head, I'd activate my Mangekyō Sharingan and beat them all up. Only big brother Fugaku cares about their opinions. Since he's the strongest, he should establish one-man rule."
Hizashi Hyuga: "..." How could someone show disdain and respect for the same person in a single sentence?
He didn't dare ask. This was probably Uchiha Miya's personal quirk.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
On the training ground, Hyuga ninja activated their Byakugan and threw Shuriken.
They weaved through countless obstacles among a dense forest of wooden posts, ultimately striking the innermost target.
Nearby, a Uchiha ninja was panting heavily as he threw Shuriken as well.
Combined with the spinning Shuriken, the Byakugan achieved precise kills.
Seeing through it?
Of course. A little bit of seeing through didn't count as seeing through.
On another training ground.
A Uchiha ninja assumed the stance of the Gentle Fist Style, only to be immediately corrected by a Hyuga ninja beside him.
At the same time, all the ninja were allocated abundant war resources. They took medicinal baths twice a day, and their daily food budget was ten times higher than usual.
When war erupted, gold flowed like water.
The Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan had never lacked money in the first place. Now that they had earned a great many military achievements, they also received the village's rewards for those achievements.
The ninja of both clans were gradually changing their bad habit of eating mostly staple foods. They ate large amounts of anything highly nutritious.
"The Gentle Fist Style is exquisite, but the Sharingan is ultimately not the Byakugan, so it can't bring out its full effects. Still, combining it with stance training and various physical exercises to improve the body is also good," Uchiha Miya said calmly.
"It's good enough that the Uchiha Clan is willing to take an interest in the Gentle Fist Style." Hizashi Hyuga laughed heartily. He was genuinely grateful to Uchiha Miya.
Uchiha Miya had truly given his all to promote the alliance between the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan.
Apparently, he had even forced Fugaku to issue the invitation in the first place.
Forming the alliance wasn't enough. Uchiha Miya had also promoted a large-scale exchange of ninjutsu, commercial protection, wartime bodyguards, and the teaching of Uchiha-style Shuriken.
He fought desperately to protect the Hyuga Clan as it was now, as though he were making up for something...
Before you continue