Spy

"I have left Minato with a mess. Although he is of civilian origin and civilian ninja naturally gravitate toward him, without the support of the ninja clans, his orders will be difficult to execute."

"Strength can solve many things, but it cannot help him govern the village."

"Not to mention those three old friends of mine..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head helplessly. "Koharu and Homura have many webs of interest behind them; numerous ninja clans are connected to them, and there are even elders from the Sarutobi Clan involved. Danzo has drawn a clear line between himself and the clans, but as the master of Root, accustomed to handling everything through shadow, he is the most dangerous of all."

After all, whether it is the Hokage or the two advisors, they must be mindful of their reputations and the impact of their actions, but Danzo cares for none of that.

A person who is unscrupulous and unrestrained is often the most dangerous.

Danzo's attitude toward the ninja clans has always been to treat them as useful tools; he has never considered appeasing them. If not for me suppressing him from above, the clans would have likely moved against Danzo long ago.

Some of the powerhouses in Root were forcibly transferred there by Danzo from the ninja clans!

"Kushina has even complained to me, asking why I haven't dismissed them, but if I were to truly do so, the consequences would be unpredictable."

If the ninja clans and Root were to interpret that as a signal to move against them, Konoha would descend into civil war.

And we cannot afford such losses.

Unless one can uproot the three of them along with the forces backing them, or have them die at the hands of an external enemy, I fear these three will remain in the upper echelons of Konoha for a long time—longer than the tenure of a single Hokage...

Letting out a mournful sigh, Sarutobi Hiruzen turned his gaze toward the other Hyuga ninja present.

"Minato is close to the current Uchiha clan head, and Kushina's relationship with the Uchiha is equally good. With the support of the Hyuga Clan and Shikaku's group, he can gradually secure his position as Hokage."

He did not mention the Ino-Shika-Cho clans; although Shikaku and the others are clan heads, like Hyuga Hiashi, they cannot represent their entire families.

"Perhaps there is no way to deal with the deeply entrenched ninja clans of Konoha, but Minato, being of civilian origin, will at least prevent the situation from becoming worse than it was before. I have made many mistakes, but this is the one time I cannot afford to be wrong."

"I have wronged you, Tokuma."

"Without my suppression, Danzo will certainly attempt something. Please, help me keep an eye on him. I will resolve the curse seal on your head, and as for your dereliction of duty this time, I will explain it clearly."

"Yes! Lord Third!" Hyuga Tokuma responded in a low, firm voice.

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with relief and turned his gaze to Hiashi.

"My apologies, Clan Head Hiashi. My statement contained much criticism of the Hyuga Clan; I ask for your understanding."

Hyuga Hiashi shook his head. "I understand. Corruption exists within all ninja clans. If they are allowed to control Konoha, sooner or later, both Konoha and the clans will face total destruction together."

Just like before, did the Main Branch not suffer a backlash?

With a secret, bitter smile, Hyuga Hiashi composed himself and asked with some confusion: "Lord Hokage, why did you have Tokuma infiltrate Root? If you only wanted to keep an eye on Danzo, there should have been better candidates."

"Given the recent events within the Hyuga Clan, Tokuma can infiltrate Root as a Branch Family member harboring resentment toward the Main Branch without it seeming abrupt. Anyone else joining Root at this time would only arouse suspicion, and given Danzo's understanding of me, he would surely guess it was my doing."

Sarutobi Hiruzen explained softly:

"Furthermore, the new curse seal in Root is an evolution of the Caged Bird Technique, and Danzo knows the Caged Bird as well. I am worried he might decipher the seal that Tsunade and I created and move against the Hyuga Clan. With Tokuma as an inside agent, we can react in time."

This is not impossible; Danzo covets the Hyuga Branch Family. After all, having been conditioned by the Main Branch for hundreds of years, they lack a sense of resistance, making them the most useful tools.

There was an outburst recently, but it was quickly calmed by his own measures.

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Hyuga Tokuma's calm face. Even though his life was already in Danzo's hands, he remained loyal to the Main Branch.

It is not the body that has submitted, but the heart.

The Caged Bird Technique... truly terrifying.

"Are you worried that Danzo will move against the Main Branch to control the Branch Family?"

Hyuga Hiashi's face turned pale, and he gritted his teeth. "How could he dare?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed deeply. "There is nothing he would not dare to do. He would simply frame it as an internal conflict within a ninja clan, and the Hokage would have no authority to hold him accountable."

If the Byakugan, a bloodline limit, were to be mastered by Root, Danzo could even monitor the movements of all of Konoha. Why would he not want that?

Returning to the clan with the worried Hiashi, Hyuga Tokuma did not stay at home for long before heading toward a sparsely populated area.

Entering the underground from a hidden cave, at the very end, a figure was waiting for him.

Hearing footsteps, the person turned to look.

Hyuga Tokuma knelt on one knee and reported: "Lord Hane, I have successfully infiltrated Root."

Hyuga Hane looked at his subordinate and nodded.

"You've worked hard. Rise."

In the information he gave Minato, one word was missing from his assessment of Hyuga Tokuma—forbearance!

Within the Hyuga Clan, the first to defect to him was not Hyuga Yuki, but Hyuga Tokuma, with whom he had been in contact since their days at the Ninja Academy.

This calm, mature ninja, who would one day serve as Hinata's bodyguard, held an unimaginable level of dissatisfaction toward the Main Branch.

"I have already sent the youth who was with Raiga Kurosuki to your Laboratory No. 3."

Hyuga Tokuma stood up and continued his report to Hane: "As for the Third, his attitude is somewhat strange; he seems very worried about Danzo's actions."

But the Third is right there in Konoha and can suppress Danzo himself; why would he need him to infiltrate Root?

Hyuga Tokuma summarized what Sarutobi Hiruzen had said and relayed it to Hane.

After listening, Hyuga Hane did not speculate on the motives behind the Third Hokage's actions, simply stating:

"The Fourth Hokage will head to the battlefield in two days."

Hyuga Tokuma was initially puzzled, failing to understand why Hane brought this up, until he suddenly realized: "The Third will also go to the battlefield?"

Yet, he still could not comprehend why a retired Hokage would feel compelled to go to the front lines.

"If one wants to reduce the numbers of the Sarutobi Clan, isn't the Mist Village Battlefield the perfect opportunity?"

Hane's rhetorical question caused Tokuma to react instantly, a chill running through his heart.

That was right; in a war led by the Fourth Hokage that was certain to be won, anyone confident in their strength would want to go to the battlefield to secure some merit.

No one in the Sarutobi Clan could have imagined that their patriarch, Sarutobi Hiruzen, would use this as a pretext to prune the strength of his own kin!

But did Sarutobi Hiruzen possess such ruthlessness?

Hyuga Hane: "Frontline intelligence indicates that after Jiraiya led the vanguard to provide support, the Third Mizukage has already entered the fray, and two Tailed Beasts have been deployed onto the battlefield."

"Furthermore, those renowned powerhouses of the Mist Village are gradually appearing, and the front line has already been forced to retreat once. Any ordinary ninja who enters will simply become another piece of meat in the grinder."

Regardless of other matters, as far as Hane knew, the Third had not lied about the affairs of the Second.

Clan extermination was not a unique occurrence in the Shinobi World, and Itachi was certainly not the only example.

And now, the Third intended to follow in his teacher's footsteps and do it all over again.

Tokuma felt his heart growing colder and colder.

It was highly probable that the Third had acted only after being fully aware of this intelligence!