A Gathering of Worthies

"I don't underestimate ordinary ninjas, but I'm worried that they will be looked down upon by the powerful Ninja Clan."

Asuma's expression turned serious as he looked intently at Kazashiro.

Upon seeing Asuma's gaze, Kazashiro subconsciously straightened his posture.

This old friend of mine had followed Danzo for many years and had learned a great deal from him. His understanding of the Ninja Clan was in no way inferior to mine.

"Yeah, yeah, what if you lose your temper and order those guys from the Internal Affairs Department to storm into the Ninja Clan's territory and force them to hand over their secret techniques? What if they all rebel?"

Anko pulled the chair for the caregiver forward, shifting to a more comfortable position, and pulled out a string of dumplings from her hand.

You're just here to watch the show, aren't you?

Kazashiro stared speechlessly at the dumpling in the other person's hand.

"What are you looking at?"

Seeing Kazashiro staring intently at her dumpling, Anko quickly ate one in a big bite, displaying a possessive attitude towards her food.

I, the Fifth Hokage, would never covet a string of your dumplings!

Kazashiro was somewhat speechless.

It's different from what I remembered about Anko.

Kazashiro is actually someone who plans things out carefully before acting; well, at least he plans for a while before taking action.

The reason for targeting nobles is that nobles and ninjas are inherently two different classes. As long as he can extract enough benefits, Kazashiro can unite a group of loyal subordinates around him to fight against the daimyo faction.

The reason for taking action against the Daimyo is that, after years of subtle influence, the Daimyo faction is no longer a threat, and the Konoha ninjas have lost their sense of awe towards the Daimyo.

Now, if Kazashiro wants to take action against the Ninja Clan, besides his loyal followers, he also needs to consider whether the groups that can benefit from this matter can withstand the pressure of the Ninja Clan's counterattack.

"The five great villages have been able to set aside their prejudices and unite to fight against the Ōtsutsuki. The Ninja Clan and civilians must also join hands to deal with the threat of the Ōtsutsuki."

Kazashiro offered a plausible reason to shut Asuma up.

"Don't resort to violence. Even if it really comes to that, leave this to the teacher or me to handle."

Asuma gave Kazashiro some earnest advice.

What, you want to be Pot Kage too?

After hearing Asuma's words, Feng Byakugan twitched. His own teacher's son had ultimately been molded into his father's image. How was he going to explain this to his teacher?

"If it really comes to that, we'll have to kill some, imprison some, and then support a group of obedient Sarutobi Clan Ninja Clan as role models. I suggest we go straight for the Sarutobi Clan, because they have a lot of prestige in the village because of the old man."

Kill, to scare the monkey?

Not only Kazashiro, but even Anko and Hong's Kakuzu twitched after hearing Asuma's words.

This guy is really ruthless to his own people.

"Our teacher once said that not only do the five great hidden villages need to be unified, but the Ninja Clan of each village also need to be unified. We are all Konoha people, and we must not let the overall situation be affected by the actions of any one Ninja Clan."

"Well said!" Anko clapped her hands and cheered, then took out another string of dumplings.

What a load of rubbish! And where did you get so many dumplings?

Kazashiro glanced subtly at the dumpling in Anko's hand and suddenly felt that there wasn't a single decent person around him.

The other main characters are surrounded by a group of wise and capable people.

Looking at myself, well, I'm surrounded by wise men.

Looking at the group of experts around him, well, there was also Obito at the Research Bureau. Apart from Kakashi, he really couldn't find another strategist-type ninja who could control the overall situation.

"After the Sarutobi Clan, the Uchiha Clan is the one that most needs to be warned!"

Asuma became more and more excited as he spoke, as if Kazashiro had already granted him the power to command the Internal Affairs Department and allow him to wipe out the Konoha Ninja Clan.

Wait, what did the Uchiha Clan do to offend you? They're behaving themselves perfectly well right now, okay?

If we're talking about dishonest people, the Hyuga Clan has to be the one...

Achoo!

Fugaku Uchiha sneezed.

"What? The dignified Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan has brought himself down with just one battle?"

Seeing Fugaku's somewhat listless eyes, Hiashi couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"Well..."

Fugaku unusually refrained from refuting Hiashi's sarcastic remarks.

Hiashi frowned.

Could it be that I was right, Fugaku already has some hidden illness?

"I won't lie to you, the Fifth Generation valued me and the Uchiha Clan, and appointed me as an advisor, ending the era when the Uchiha Clan had no ninja in the decision-making level."

Fugaku's words deeply moved Hiashi.

Once upon a time, the title of the strongest clan in Konoha was held by the Hyuga Clan.

Several years have passed, and although the name is still there, it is clear to everyone that the Uchiha Clan, which shone brightly during the Fifth Generation's era, has overshadowed the Hyuga Clan.

"Hmph, what do you have to worry about? Your son is the Fifth Generation's disciple. The Fifth Generation only has one disciple so far, and he has a good chance of becoming your clan's first Hokage."

Hiashi's face darkened. Although he had promptly pledged his loyalty, the Fifth Generation seemed to harbor a deep prejudice against the Hyuga Clan. Even though the Hyuga Clan no longer had Main Family and Branch Family, this Hokage showed no intention of giving the Hyuga Clan an important position.

Therefore, Hiashi's words also contained a hint of jealousy.

"The Hokage Position will change sooner or later, and the newly appointed Hokage may not necessarily continue to rely on the Uchiha Clan."

Fugaku shook his head. He only hoped that the Uchiha Clan would not be discriminated against and that they could participate in various affairs as part of the village. As for the Hokage Position, he didn't even dare to dream of it.

"The side effects of the Mangekyō Sharingan have already manifested in me. After that last battle, my eyes can no longer see objects more than three meters away."

Before Hiashi reply, Fugaku suddenly steered the conversation toward himself.

"You..."

The Hiashi was surprised by their opponent's frankness.

"I only hope that the Hyuga Clan can maintain a good relationship with the Uchiha Clan in the future. After all, according to the Konoha Research Bureau, we may very well have come from the same lineage back then, right?"

Recently, some people have been asking questions about the female lead, so I'll answer them all here. The current ambiguous scenes are just that—ambiguous scenes. As for Kazashiro's final fate, please be patient and wait for the ending.

Thank you all for your support.