Hyuga Hiashi: Humiliation!

Hyuga Hiashi was not a hot-tempered man; he was usually gentle in his dealings with others. Unfortunately, he was facing the Uchiha Clan, and especially Uchiha Kazuto, that damned traitor, that treacherous minister.

Cleanse the court of evil! Cleanse the court of evil!

Lord Hokage, you are blind! How can you govern well alongside a man like Uchiha Kazuto?

If it were anyone else, he could speak amiably and with good grace.

"Clan Head Hiashi, you are aware of the Study Corps, are you not? As members of the village, how can you noble clans neglect to study the great Will of Fire and heed the guidance of the great Hokage? Lord Hokage has already approved. Now, I require you to draw one-fifth of your idle personnel from the Hyuga Clan to join the Study Corps for training."

Uchiha Kazuto looked toward the gates of the Hyuga Clan, then fixed his gaze on Hyuga Hiashi as he spoke.

"What!"

Hyuga Hiashi's face showed shock. Study Corps? What Study Corps? That Study Corps established by your Uchiha Clan? Having our Hyuga Clan study the Will of Fire under the management of your Uchiha Clan—such a thing...

"What's this? Clan Head Hiashi, do you intend to defy Lord Hokage's orders?"

Uchiha Kazuto tilted his head slightly. The sound of weapons being drawn rang out behind him as members of the Military Police Force unsheathed their blades, staring coldly at Hyuga Hiashi.

"Understood. I will immediately organize my clansmen to join the Study Assembly!"

Seeing this, Hyuga Hiashi's face darkened, and he agreed without hesitation, then turned and walked away.

Humiliation! What utter humiliation!

Uchiha Kazuto!!!

Hyuga Hiashi clenched his fists. He had never imagined that the Uchiha Clan would produce a figure like Uchiha Kazuto, someone who directly dragged the Uchiha into Konoha's politics and even won the favor of that old fool Hiruzen Sarutobi.

This was something no previous Uchiha had ever managed. A detestable man!

The only thing that gave him solace was that Uchiha Kazuto was, after all, a member of the Uchiha Clan. He could never become Hokage.

Given Uchiha Kazuto's current behavior, he seriously suspected that if Kazuto ever became Hokage, he, as the Hyuga Clan Head, might have to kneel before this beast.

That kind of thing—absolutely not!

As the Hyuga Clan Head, he would sooner die than kneel to the Uchiha Clan Head!

Uchiha Kazuto paid no attention to Hyuga Hiashi's thoughts. From the start, he had little regard for Hiashi's opinions. This man was a typical spineless coward, the kind who only bullies his own. When dealing with his clansmen, he strikes hard; when facing outsiders, he kneels and apologizes.

If he had any real backbone, he wouldn't have let his own brother die in his place when he was in the right.

This wasn't even about betraying the clan's interests—it was pure idiocy.

When his own daughter was taken, and he killed the kidnappers, he should have been in the right. But no, he just let his brother go up as a scapegoat, then shed a few fake tears. His brain was simply defective.

How could such a man, such a clan, have any spine?

Afterward, Uchiha Kazuto went on to notify the other clans of Konoha, ordering them to send personnel for training and to study the great Will of Fire.

As members of the village, how could they not understand what the Will of Fire meant?

In truth, although Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage, he did not have the authority to forcibly command all the village's clans. These clans, though living in Konoha, retained a degree of internal autonomy.

Unfortunately, the Uchiha Clan was a major power in Konoha. With the Uchiha applying pressure, the other clans had no choice but to comply.

Soon, personnel from the major clans gathered in the Death Forest.

To achieve his goal, Uchiha Kazuto directly consumed some of his dojutsu power to partially activate this force.

From civilian ninja to clan ninja—this was Uchiha Kazuto's plan. I don't care what you think in your hearts; I know that from now on, you will have me in your hearts, and you will acknowledge me.

A Konoha filled with hatred for him and devoid of any recognition was not what he needed. Such a Hokage seat would be extremely unstable. At the slightest misstep, Uchiha Kazuto would be ousted. And beyond the village lay the other great nations and their major hidden villages.

Uchiha Kazuto had no desire to see Konoha split apart the moment he staged his coup, with everyone in the village fleeing.

Train! Train!

Drill! Drill! Drill until they drop!

Uchiha Kazuto treated these ninja not as people, but as beasts, squeezing them mercilessly. He forbade the use of Chakra. Anyone caught using Chakra would have their training load increased tenfold or even dozens of times. If they didn't die from it, they'd be trained to death.

After all, ninja have strong bodies—they can take it.

As for whether this training method was actually effective, Uchiha Kazuto didn't care at all. He only needed to conduct obedience training, break their spirits, numb them, and raise their loyalty.

Of course, he couldn't say that to others. Through this training, he claimed it would improve the ninja's physical fitness, teamwork, and deepen their understanding of comrades and the Will of Fire. He said whatever sounded good.

As long as it looked plausible and he spoke with conviction, people generally believed it.

In truth, if he weren't worried about exposure, Uchiha Kazuto wouldn't bother with this obedience training at all. He'd just build giant hamster wheels, place a basin of water on each ninja's head, make them run around the wheel, and set a target number of laps.

Say, fifty thousand laps, five hundred thousand laps. After completing the required laps, only those whose water basins hadn't spilled would be allowed to eat. If the water spilled, they'd have to start over. Only when they finished the laps without spilling the water could they eat.

He'd torment them however he pleased. Unfortunately, Uchiha Kazuto couldn't do that. People could still tell the difference between training and pure torture. At least this way, it still looked like training.

"Heh, good, very good!"

In the distance, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the clan members running wildly around Konoha, a smile spreading across his face.

Perhaps, under his watch, he could finally fully integrate these clans into Konoha, just like the Senju Clan of old.

Back then, under his teacher's leadership, the Senju Clan had disbanded and merged into the village. It was meant to set an example for the other clans to follow. But who would have thought that his teacher would sacrifice himself to cover their retreat as guards, and the plan was abandoned.