What, You Want to Go Head-to-Head With Them?

What, You Want to Go Head-to-Head With Them?

"We've always been deeply tied to the Hokage faction, so we definitely can't give it back."

Choza Akimichi scratched the back of his head. After hearing Shikaku Nara out, he stated his position as well.

Ever since joining Konoha, Ino-Shika-Cho had always been tied to the Hokage faction.

"But we also do business with the Uchiha clan. Are we supposed to cut ties with them from now on?"

Inoichi Yamanaka suddenly felt troubled. Konoha was a community of shared interests. After so many years, everyone had more or less developed business ties with one another.

Especially with a major clan like the Uchiha clan. The Akimichi clan's barbecue restaurants and soldier pills, the Nara clan's medicinal herbs, and so on were mostly sold to the great shinobi clans, and the Uchiha clan bought the most among them.

Before, it had always been Konoha and the Uchiha clan going head-to-head.

Their clans never needed to step in, so their businesses naturally remained unaffected.

But things were different now. No one knew how Bai Ye had come up with this method.

The pressure had been shifted directly onto the shinobi clans themselves. They could no longer hide behind the village and avoid worrying about their relationship with the Uchiha clan.

"Then what are we supposed to do? Shikaku, tell us."

After thinking it over, Choza Akimichi felt that was true. Directly cutting ties with the Uchiha clan did not seem like a good idea either.

His earlier thought had been a little too extreme.

So he decided to see whether Shikaku Nara had another way to handle this without disrupting the current situation.

"There's no solution. At least, not until I know their attitude. We need to meet him."

A sharp glint flashed through Shikaku Nara's eyes. Just as he finished speaking, someone outside reported that Bai Ye had arrived and asked whether they should invite him in.

The three exchanged looks, communicating silently, before saying, "Take him to the reception room. We'll all go there."

After Bai Ye was shown into the reception room, Shikaku Nara and the other two quickly arrived.

Looking at Bai Ye, who sat quietly in his seat waiting for them, Shikaku Nara raised his eyes, and a trace of emotion flashed through them. He was young, yet so bold.

Back when Uchiha Fugaku was still in power, Shikaku Nara had already seen that if the Uchiha clan continued as it was, its room to survive within the village would only shrink further and further.

After Bai Ye took power, he seemed to have found a way forward.

But this alone was not enough.

Shikaku Nara looked at Bai Ye and asked bluntly, "You've already settled things with the Hyuga clan, haven't you?"

"Huh?!"

Choza Akimichi was instantly dumbfounded.

What?

Did he know what he was saying?

Would the Hyuga clan really return the land to the Uchiha clan?

"As expected of the Nara clan's patriarch!"

A hint of appreciation flashed through Bai Ye's eyes. He had even figured that out. Still, Bai Ye was curious how Shikaku Nara had known.

"If you had failed, you wouldn't have come to us. You knew that if the Hyuga clan refused to budge, there would be no point in coming to us."

Shikaku Nara explained why he had made that guess.

In his view, if Bai Ye had not settled the Hyuga clan, then there was basically no way he would have come looking for them.

After all, if he could not even handle the Hyuga clan, then this plan had already failed from the outset.

"Since you've figured it out, I won't hide it. The Hyuga clan agreed as well, so I'm here to reclaim the land that originally belonged to us. Of course, we can buy it back. Those lands are not all that useful to you anyway."

The real prize had all been taken by the Konoha F4.

Ino-Shika-Cho had received about as much as the Hyuga clan—just scraps around the edges. Asking them to hand it over would not feel like a major loss.

"Bai Ye, you're a smart man. You should understand our difficulties."

Shikaku looked at Bai Ye and finally let out a long breath, unsure how to answer him.

This matter had put them in a difficult position.

"Are you Konoha's Ino-Shika-Cho, or Hiruzen Sarutobi's Ino-Shika-Cho?"

Bai Ye did not answer either. Instead, he turned to look at Shikaku Nara and the other two.

Hearing Bai Ye's question, Shikamaru Nara silently thought, What a pain. Still, he patiently explained, "We have always followed the principle that whoever is Hokage, we support that Hokage's strategy."

His answer made his position clear. If Bai Ye were the Hokage today, then they would support Bai Ye as well. It was not that they explicitly supported any particular person.

This was tied to the strategy their three clans had adopted when they first joined Konoha.

Ino-Shika-Cho had been allies back in the Sengoku era. Their techniques complemented one another, and the three clans had always had a good relationship. After joining Konoha, the Nara Clan established a policy that was agreed to by the other two clans.

"The Hokage has not always existed. And is continuing to serve a Hokage who has grown old and cannot even control the village not a little blindly loyal?"

Bai Ye was curious. With Shikaku's intelligence, he should have been able to see that under Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule, things would only grow weaker.

"Even if he can't control it, we cannot act rashly. Besides, what you're doing will only cause Konoha to collapse."

Shikaku Nara knew what Bai Ye wanted to do.

But this was not something they could allow!

"One clan cannot stand against an entire village. If possible, I think you should sit down and talk things over properly."

Shikaku tried to persuade him. In truth, he knew that the Uchiha clan had long been restless.

But a village was a violent institution formed from countless clans. No matter how strong the Uchiha clan was, unless they had their ancestor Madara, it was simply impossible.

"Shikaku, you're wrong. We were never enemies to begin with. Reclaiming the land that originally belonged to us is only for the village's peace. My clansmen have been suppressed to the point of desperation. If we don't find them some outlet now, the village may fall into chaos.

"And starting with reclaiming the land, there will be no losses for Ino-Shika-Cho or the Hyuga clan. Even the Sarutobi clan would only need to move out of the village center. They can have the place where we live now."

That was true.

What Bai Ye said made perfect sense. How could Shikaku Nara not know that? But if you moved someone from the center to a remote area, it was impossible for the Sarutobi clan not to have objections.

"I want to know why the Hyuga clan agreed!"

After saying that, Shikaku Nara stared fixedly at Bai Ye.

Before making this decision, he had to know why the Hyuga clan had agreed to such an absurd arrangement.

"Because a village cannot be dominated by one family. It needs balance. When you step down while you're young, you should do so gracefully. Only then will people respect you when you're old. They've held the bank for too long, and most of the village has already been swallowed by those people. If this continues, perhaps they'll even create a new Konoha someday."

Bai Ye smiled faintly. In the end, was it not simply because the Hyuga clan was dissatisfied with Hiruzen Sarutobi?

If Hiruzen Sarutobi had not done those things, and if most of the benefits had not been swallowed by clans like the Sarutobi and Shimura clans, they would not have cooperated with the Uchiha clan.

"That way of thinking is dangerous!"

What Shikaku Nara wanted was a peaceful Konoha, not a broken Konoha.

Once Konoha truly went to war with the Uchiha clan, the other forces of the Shinobi World would definitely attack them.

This would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to carve up Konoha. Who would be willing to miss it?

"If we return the land to you, can you maintain the current situation? What we want is a peaceful Konoha. If you can do that, then we can return the land to you."

Shikaku Nara truly did not want Konoha to go to war with the Uchiha clan.

And this Bai Ye, who had just taken power, was most likely one of the Uchiha clan's radicals.

So if they refused now, internal conflict would most likely break out. In fact, once Bai Ye came here, Shikaku had already decided to return the land.

If Bai Ye could even settle the Hyuga clan, then he must have made some kind of deal with them. Otherwise, they would never have so easily returned the land.

"I can ensure that if they don't provoke us, we won't cause trouble either, and I'll restrain my clansmen. But if they continue to press us relentlessly, then that won't be something I can control."

After Bai Ye finished speaking, he fell silent. Inoichi Yamanaka and Choza Akimichi both turned their eyes toward Shikaku Nara.

Clearly, they had left the final decision to him. No matter how many questions they had, they had decided to wait until Bai Ye left.

"I understand. We'll transfer the land to you through a transaction. I hope you keep your promise."

"Fine!"

Just as Bai Ye had expected, once the Hyuga clan had been settled, Ino-Shika-Cho was easy to handle.

Although they belonged to the Hokage's side, they still had to consider their own clans' interests. And the things Hiruzen Sarutobi had done over the years had indeed caused dissatisfaction among many clans.

The reason Hiruzen Sarutobi had not acted against the Uchiha clan now was partly because his control over Konoha had become too weak.

Once he personally made a move, it would provoke backlash from the other clans in the village.

So he needed an opportunity. Naturally, Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted the Uchiha clan exterminated.

First, it would eliminate his greatest problem. Second, it would intimidate the other clans. This was also why, after the Uchiha clan's destruction and before the story began, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have regained control over Konoha.

Though he had not acted directly, such a major event had happened in Konoha. It was impossible to say Hiruzen Sarutobi knew nothing and that not a single Anbu had gone.

So after Clan Massacre Night, Hiruzen Sarutobi once again seized control of Konoha.

The reason Bai Ye said this was, first, because the other side would never stop. Danzo would definitely insist on exterminating the Uchiha clan. Otherwise, where would he get the Sharingan for Izanagi?

Second was profit. They had already offended those four people. It was impossible to expect them to live peacefully together afterward.

But Bai Ye could not worry about all that now. He needed a period of calm to first quiet some of the voices within the Uchiha clan.

Second, Bai Ye needed to trade time for room to maneuver. Though he had awakened the Mangekyo, the current threats had not yet been removed.

Obito was the person behind everything who most wanted the Uchiha clan exterminated. Shisui was also the person Bai Ye most needed to win over. Once Shisui stood with him, with Kotoamatsukami in play, Bai Ye did not believe Obito could continue acting so recklessly.

One was Obito, and the other was Zetsu.

Both of them desperately wanted the Uchiha clan destroyed.

So time was what Bai Ye needed most now. And after this incident, Bai Ye believed Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others would most likely lie low for a while. Bai Ye had to seize that time.

Thus, Bai Ye naturally agreed to Shikaku's request.

After the two sides signed the purchase contract and Bai Ye left, Inoichi Yamanaka could no longer suppress his doubts. "Shikaku, why did you agree so quickly?"

"The other side has an agreement with the Hyuga clan. If these two clans are not handled properly, Konoha could immediately fall apart.

"Second, we are indeed part of the Hokage faction, but as I said before, whoever is Hokage has our support. What we need to do is stabilize Konoha and keep it from falling into chaos, not stabilize any one person's rule. Bai Ye was right. After that incident, he should not have returned to power.

"It's just a pity about Minato. If Minato were still here, none of this would have happened."

A trace of nostalgia flashed through Shikaku Nara's eyes. Back when Minato was Hokage, Shikaku had served as the Hokage's advisor. But after Minato died and Hiruzen Sarutobi returned to power, Danzo replaced him as the Hokage's advisor.

He did not covet power, but it was impossible to say he had no objections at all.

He was deeply dissatisfied with Hiruzen Sarutobi's return to power and everything that followed, especially Naruto's situation. Naruto was Minato's son, yet he received such treatment. Even if Jinchuriki were unwelcome in other villages, they could not let him eat expired food every day, could they?

Minato had been the Fourth Hokage, and Naruto was the Hero's Son. They did not need to give him exceptional treatment, but they had promised Minato to take care of his son. Was this how they took care of him?

"How could the Hyuga clan possibly have an agreement with the Uchiha clan?"

Choza Akimichi was confused. Had they not always disliked one another?

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Don't forget what Kumogakure did when they kidnapped Hinata. Hizashi died because of that incident. It's impossible for Hiashi not to care, so it's perfectly normal for the two sides to cooperate."

Shikaku analyzed calmly.

"But won't that throw Konoha into complete chaos?"

They had said that as long as Ino-Shika-Cho returned the land, the Sarutobi clan would have to return theirs as well.

"What else do you want to do? Go to war with the Uchiha clan?"

Then they only had two options: either let the Sarutobi clan go head-to-head with the Uchiha clan, or let themselves go head-to-head with the Uchiha clan. Which would they choose?

And it might not even be just the Uchiha clan. The Hyuga clan might be involved too.