Schemes and Stratagems

"Does Shikaku have any ideas?" Sarutobi Kou lay on the sofa of the newly established Security Force, staring at the ceiling and spitting out small flames.

The position of director, which should have been hers, was now occupied by Shikaru Nara, who was constantly stamping documents.

One pair of hands wasn't enough; black shadows extended from beneath her feet to the tabletop, holding a pen and continuously writing and drawing.

"The Clan Head doesn't have any good methods. Even if he did, do you think you could use them?"

Shikaru Nara didn't stop her work. She looked up at her former teacher, now the director, flicked her stamp away, and the shadow also put down its pen.

"Please, my dear director, can't you work a little too?" she complained.

"Little Luyu is quite capable, isn't she? And she enjoys these tasks."

Sarutobi Kou turned her head, a smile on her lips, and defended herself:

"I didn't really want to come here in the first place. One reason is that the elders in my clan asked me to, and another is to give you, little Luyu, a place to showcase your talents."

"Sigh, I deserve this." With a sigh, Luyu picked up the stamp again.

She did enjoy doing these things, the kind where a wave of her hand would send others rushing forward, and a wave of her hand would change the lives of many. But she preferred to make things better, to prevent certain things from happening.

At least, to make some changes.

When she was young, she always liked to explore the meaning of everything's existence, to explore why people live. People who are too foolish are easily deceived, but if they are too clever, they fall into another strange loop, as if they have seen through everything in this world.

But after she became a ninja, this world slapped her face, hard and loud. And she enjoyed these tasks."

"So there really is no way?" After a moment of silence in the room, Sarutobi Kou asked again.

"This is the third time this morning. To be honest, there's no perfect solution."

There was a hint of impatience in Luyu's voice.

"To be honest, one Uchiha Clan left, and a bunch of Uchiha Clans appeared."

"I suddenly realized that arrogance and bullying aren't exclusive to the Uchiha Clan. It's just that because they existed before, others didn't have the qualifications to be like this."

"I know that." Sarutobi Kou sighed, spreading her hands. "I want to manage it, but I can't."

"Do you know how many people are in our clan? Far more than the Uchiha Clan. And everyone's strength isn't that different. There are also a lot of factions and elders, and someone always has a different idea."

"I know why some people were so eager to put me in this position."

"You can go to the Hokage."

"Do you think the Hokage can manage it?" Sarutobi Kou let out a snort of laughter.

"His weakest point is family relationships. He can't even manage his own son, so you expect him to manage the large group of people in the clan?"

"If you ask me, Jie shouldn't have taken Hyuga Hinata away. At least then the Hyuga would still be the number one ninja clan in Konoha, openly speaking."

"Lord Hiashi wouldn't bully others."

Without a knock, the door to the director's office was opened directly, and Hyuga Yue entered with her cool voice.

"Because he's naturally weak."

Sarutobi Kou rolled over on the sofa, changing to a prone position, but Hyuga Yue directly sat on her.

"Ouch, that hurts."

Sarutobi Kou struggled but couldn't move at all. She could only sink deeper into the sofa and reach out to poke Hyuga Yue's bandaged lower abdomen.

However, the knife wound on Hyuga Yue's waist had almost healed. She merely shot Sarutobi Kou a look, showing no intention of getting up.

"Oh, he still remembers to write me letters?"

A black shadow suddenly rose from the ground, extending another tentacle to block Nara Shikaru's path, grasping the scroll Hyuga Yue threw, and respectfully placing it before its main body.

This was a letter from Uchiha Jie.

Seeing this, Sarutobi Kou extended her wicked hands again, wanting to tease Hyuga Yue further and make her hand over the scroll Uchiha Jie had sent her.

Before she could make a move, she was hit in the face by a large scroll.

By the time she painstakingly unrolled the scroll, Nara Shikaru had already finished reading her own small scroll.

"Yue, have you read it?" she asked, looking at Yue, who was still sitting on Sarutobi Kou.

"Not yet."

"There's content related to you in it. You need to take a look."

Hyuga Yue finally stood up and walked to Shikaru's side. The two of them put their heads together. Shikaru pointed at the scroll and said in a low voice:

"What do you think?"

"It seems like this kind of thing doesn't require my advice," Hyuga Yue replied indifferently. "What you're pursuing is different from what I am. As long as it doesn't hinder me, I definitely won't have any objections."

"It's a chain reaction. When we let Jie take Hinata away, who would have thought Hyuga Hiashi would be so irrational?" Shikaru's small hands were also restless, secretly poking her former teammate's waist.

"Although what Jie is doing has nothing to do with the Hyuga Clan, what happens in Konoha cannot be separated from the various ninja clans."

"And this time, we're going to deal with our good captain together." She leaned into Hyuga Yue's ear, a mischievous smile on her lips, and whispered.

"Hey, hey, hey! I heard everything! Are you two planning to deal with me!" Sarutobi Kou placed the large scroll on the sofa, jumped up, and pounced, grabbing her beloved disciple's head and shaking it up and down.

"Speak! What new scheme is this!"

"Schemes and tricks?"

"Yes, schemes and tricks." Uchiha Jie looked at Hyuga Hinata, who was sitting upright in front of the desk.

"When you can't defeat an enemy head-on, of course, you have to use some schemes and tricks."

"For example, if you fight me now, you can't possibly win. But if you secretly poison the food I eat, and if I get poisoned, you just need to flick your finger and I'll fall."

"To become a true Ninja, the first thing you must learn is schemes and tricks. Even if you don't use them, you must learn how to avoid them."

"Even if you become the leader of a village, schemes and tricks are still useful and practical. But to become the leader of a village, relying solely on schemes and tricks is far from enough."

"Do you really want to become Hokage?" Hinata asked softly.

"Hinata, sometimes even the Hokage can't protect his clan and friends. Do you think the ideal you have now can be easily achieved?"