Disparate Ratio

"I understand."

Nodding solemnly, Minato suddenly revealed a faint smile.

"I am very fortunate that my Shadow Guard consists of you and Yakumaru. You haven't reported any intelligence to your clans to this day, have you?"

"That is the duty of the Shadow Guard." Hyuga Hane set down the documents and said calmly.

Minato shook his head. "If you hadn't reminded me, I might never have grasped the rules of the ninja clans. There are some things that, without someone to point them out, one cannot even begin to understand."

The ninja clans... strictly speaking, Konoha is held in their grasp!

The two advisors... and even the Third, all hail from ninja clans.

Setting aside the matters he currently lacked the power to handle, Minato asked with a smile:

"Hane, you are practically the third leader of the Hyuga Clan now, aren't you? That explains why you understand the affairs of the ninja clans so clearly."

The Shadow Guard has long periods of contact with the Hokage, a position that allows access to the core affairs of Konoha.

As a member of the Shadow Guard, Hane and Uchiha Yakumaru naturally possess a certain degree of influence within their clans. Given the unique nature of the Hyuga Clan, those who yearn for freedom would surely seek out Hyuga Hane, right?

Hyuga Hane: "Clan members have approached me, but I ignored them. It was Clan Leader Hizashi who spoke to me about these things."

Although Hizashi's primary goal was to forbid him from leaking the secret techniques of the Main Branch...

"Support from your clansmen is still very important; it can make your path much smoother."

Smiling and shaking his head, Minato looked out the window. Because of the dark clouds of war, Konoha was quiet even during the day, lacking the bustle of peacetime.

Neither of them spoke, and the room fell into a sudden silence.

After a long while, Minato said in a low voice:

"I intend to head to the battlefield in two days to end this war!"

The hidden concerns within the village were far greater than he had imagined. Staying here as Hokage to stabilize the situation had little effect; since that was the case, he would first pacify the external threats!

The situation on the front lines was not as smooth as the villagers imagined, even with two of the Sannin stationed there.

Seeing the look of confusion on Hyuga Hane's face, Minato took out another piece of intelligence and handed it to him.

"Take a look."

Hyuga Hane saw a few familiar names within the intelligence, and his eyes narrowed.

"Mist Village intends to make a final stand."

"Exactly, which is why I must go." Minato nodded.

"Do you intend to leave the village to the advisors to manage?"

"Yes, I also wanted to ask the Third to oversee things, but he seems to have other plans. So... are you willing to stay in the village?"

Facing Minato's gentle words and gaze, Hyuga Hane was stunned.

Leaving the Shadow Guard in the village to assist in handling Konoha's affairs?

This was not the behavior of someone treating him merely as a bodyguard or a promising junior...

Thinking of this, Hyuga Hane said in a low tone: "The Branch Family cannot be placed in high-level positions, and as a member of the Shadow Guard, I should naturally go to the battlefield with you. Please understand."

"Is that so? A pity."

Sighing deeply, Minato did not continue to press the matter.

There is plenty of time; some things are better handled slowly.

"Lord Hokage, Hyuga Tokuma has come to report that he has killed Raiga Kurosuki of the Mist!"

Just then, an Anbu appeared to deliver the news.

Minato glanced at Hyuga Hane, pondered for a few seconds, and said to the Anbu: "Record the merit according to protocol, and send the body and the ninja blade to the advisors."

There was no point in investigating this matter now; he still could not do anything about the rules of the ninja clans.

"Yes!"

After the Anbu left, Minato seemed reminded of something and looked at Hyuga Hane. "Some of those ninja blades are your spoils of war. Is there anything you want?"

"I am a taijutsu ninja; they would not improve my strength. Besides, after the war ends, you will have other uses for them, won't you?"

It was a question, but Hyuga Hane's tone was certain.

Hearing this, Minato smiled without answering, feeling a sense of emotion in his heart.

It is truly a pity that you are merely a powerful ninja, Hane.

"Is that so? Minato didn't do anything; that's for the best. For him right now, not moving against the ninja clans is the best choice."

In the Sarutobi Clan compound, listening to the report from his subordinate, Sarutobi Hiruzen clicked his pipe and sighed, saying to the two people in front of him:

"Minato is an excellent Hokage, but he is not suitable—or rather, he was born in the wrong era."

"The era best suited for him was when the Second Lord had the ninja clans gasping for air and desperately needed a gentle Hokage to bestow favors—which is to say, my position."

"When I first became Hokage, I was far from as gentle as I am today. In order to exercise the power of the Hokage, I promoted many ninjas I could trust, including those from the Sarutobi Clan."

"Regarding the various ninja clans, I continued to follow the policies of Lord Second, promoting civilian ninjas and developing the Ninja Academy to suppress them."

"But I soon realized... I was wrong, terribly wrong."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's dim gaze fell upon the two men before him.

"I vigorously developed the Ninja Academy, even serving as its principal myself to cultivate civilian ninjas, hoping to use them to balance out those born into ninja clans."

"However, the clans soon realized that even the death of the Second Hokage wouldn't change their standing, and they developed new ideas. They infiltrated every department: guiding Jonin, new students at the academy, the academy teachers, the interrogation division..."

"They gained power in more subtle, inconspicuous ways, and because of the Second Shinobi World War, I failed to notice it in time."

"It is easy to see now: the ninjas in the interrogation division are almost all from the Yamanaka Clan, and the sensory units contain many ninjas from the Hyuga Clan and the Aburame Clan. While there is a question of competence, no important department in Konoha should be monopolized by a single clan!"

Aside from the pit that was the Military Police Force, other departments were controlled by specific clans; if the Hokage did not want to clash head-on with them, he had no choice but to compromise on certain matters.

"Under these circumstances, if they refuse to cooperate or work behind the scenes, what is the Hokage to do? Hiashi, if it were you, what would you do?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen posed the question to one of the two men before him.

"Lord Third, this kind of matter... I am powerless to resolve." Hiashi's breath hitched as he lowered his head to answer.

How was he supposed to respond to that?

The Hyuga Clan was also involved in that infiltration. Although the matter of undermining the foundations of Konoha was likely his father's doing and had nothing to do with him, he was the clan head now.

"Indeed, powerless."

Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes in exhaustion. "Because my own power also comes from a ninja clan—the largest clan in Konoha today: the Sarutobi Clan!"

"Having served as Hokage for so many years, I have promoted many confidants, allowing the clan behind me to experience unprecedented growth. Gradually, I have come to require their support to exercise my authority, but if I were to take action against the ninja clans, would they still support me?"

"Danzo has always kept his eyes on the Uchiha, but has he ever thought about it? How many ninjas does the Sarutobi Clan have?"

"Even excluding those who died in the wars, there are two thousand five hundred of them now!"

The two men before him widened their eyes in disbelief.

How many ninjas did their Hyuga Clan have?

Counting both the Main Branch and the Branch Family, it didn't even exceed eight hundred, did it?

The Sarutobi Clan was more than three times their size!

This... in terms of sheer numbers, they were indeed the strongest clan in Konoha today.

"It was only then that I understood why the Second Hokage encouraged the Senju Clan to intermarry with the residents of Konoha, to the point where the Senju name exists in name only today."

"He was eliminating the largest ninja clan in Konoha!"

"The political assets left behind by two generations of Hokage, combined with the prestige the Senju Clan earned with their blood during the First and Second Shinobi World Wars, could have allowed the Senju to control Konoha indefinitely."

"To prevent such a thing from happening, the Second Hokage used a relatively gentle method to silently eliminate the clan with the highest prestige in Konoha!"

The words spoken by the Third Hokage shattered the worldview of Hiashi and his companion.

Did Senju Tobirama personally consign the Senju Clan to history? Was this true?

Hyuga Hiashi cast a secret glance at the Third, but he could not discern the truth from his somewhat despondent expression.

However, the man's previous speech at the Hyuga compound made it impossible for him to trust him...

Sarutobi Hiruzen gave the two a moment to digest this before continuing: "The Second Hokage's approach also greatly enhanced the potential of civilian ninjas, paving the way for the next step of policies to suppress the ninja clans."

"But I failed to grasp that, and allowed the Sarutobi to become the new Senju."

Sarutobi Hiruzen took a drag of his pipe, his expression incredibly complex.

"If I could have been a bit more moderate at the beginning, granting the ninja clans some benefits while waiting for the civilian ninjas to gradually grow and stand on equal footing with them, Konoha would not have become what it is today."

"Among Konoha's ninjas, civilian ninjas account for fifty percent of the total due to their massive base, but most are only Genin or Chunin."

"Among Jonin and Special Jonin, the ratio of civilian ninjas to clan ninjas is... two to eight! They also occupy many basic but essential positions!"

What did this represent?

It meant that as long as the Hokage enacted policies unfavorable to all the ninja clans, they could dismiss the Hokage!

Or even... brand the Hokage a rogue ninja!

Is it ridiculous?

That the shadow of a village could actually become a rogue ninja?

It is ridiculous... yet it could truly become reality!