The Sarutobi Clan? What kind of thing is that? How could they be on equal footing with our Kaguya Clan?
Kaguya Ren hadn't said it outright, but his upturned nostrils and contemptuous laugh made his meaning unmistakable.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face turned livid. Even if people called him "Monkey," that was just a nickname used by those close to him. No one had ever insulted him—or his clan—so contemptuously.
"Perhaps the envoy misheard me. I said my own clan could guarantee it!" Sarutobi Hiruzen tried to salvage the situation.
"Sarutobi? I've never heard of this clan. What kekkei genkai or secret techniques do they inherit?
"How long is their history? What notable figures have they produced? What makes them qualified to stand in for the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga—great clans descended from the era of the Ninjutsu Sect?"
Gen, the Kirigakure chief envoy, who had been sitting quietly until then, suddenly turned toward the Hyuga Clan's side and smiled.
"During the Warring States period, the Hyuga and Kaguya clans formed an alliance with a single written agreement. They supported each other for three hundred years without ever betraying one another. That's what an alliance looks like. That's what trust means!
"The Sarutobi Clan has existed for less than two hundred years. It only gained a little renown under your father, Sarutobi Sasuke, Third Hokage. Surely it hasn't earned the right to guarantee anything?"
There was a hierarchy of contempt among the ninja clans, too.
The Senju, Uchiha, and Kaguya—clans with ties to the Sage of Six Paths—stood at the top.
Below them were kekkei genkai clans like the Yuki and Kurama, followed by the various clans with secret techniques. A ninjutsu clan like the Sarutobi was naturally at the bottom.
The Sarutobi Clan had less renown in the Shinobi World than