Once You've Stood Up, Don't Kneel Again

"That's Sarutobi Hiruzen's own power, and it's still under his control. Why do this?"

Hearing Hyuga Tokuma's question, Hyuga Hane replied indifferently:

"Wouldn't it be better for the Sarutobi Clan to die in battle as heroes than to grow corrupt in the future and become a cancer Konoha must cut out? Keeping their numbers in check will let the Sarutobi Clan survive in peace under future Hokage."

"Tall trees catch the wind. They're not the Senju Clan, after all. They don't have enough prestige. The Senju Clan could bow out gracefully, but they can't."

The Senju Clan had indeed been absorbed into the village by the Second Hokage. You could also say they had been wiped out.

From the Second Hokage's perspective, this had many benefits.

First, it solved the problem of the village's succession in the future.

The Senju Clan's prestige was simply too great. If they continued to exist, Konoha's Hokage would only ever be a Senju or someone connected to the Senju. Over time, this would inevitably breed resentment between the Senju and the other shinobi clans.

That might have been all right if the next generation had plenty of talented shinobi, but in the Second Hokage's time, the Senju Clan had no particularly powerful shinobi, and Tsunade was still too young.

Making the Senju the center of Konoha would have been courting disaster.

Second, becoming part of the village and no longer identifying themselves as Senju was the best possible ending for the Senju Clan.

You could see this by looking at what happened to the other direct descendants of the Sage of Six Paths and Hamura. The Senju becoming part of the village had actually been a good thing.

The Uchiha Clan was almost wiped out by Itachi, the Uzumaki Clan scattered across the Shinobi World and lived miserable lives, the Kaguya Clan was wiped out, Toneri was the last of the Otsutsuki on the moon, and the Hyuga Clan clung to survival in lowly fashion through the Caged Bird.

By comparison, only the Senju Clan had met the most dignified end: living and dying alongside Konoha!

So what if their descendants no longer carried the Senju name?

They would all be proud that their ancestors had been members of the Senju Clan.

The Sarutobi Clan, meanwhile, had gained power comparable to the Senju's because the Third Hokage had ruled for so long, but they lacked the prestige to match it.

After all, the Senju were one of the two clans that founded Konoha, and they had led from the front in the first two Shinobi World Wars. The clans might have resented Senju Tobirama's policy of keeping them in check, but they couldn't bring themselves to hate the Senju Clan after all they had done.

The same couldn't necessarily be said of the Sarutobi Clan.

If you stood at the very top of power and wanted to step down, you couldn't do it without bloodshed.

Just think of the squad led by Asuma Sarutobi and Yuhi Kurenai.

The former was the next head of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans, while the latter was the child of a high-ranking member of one of the Hyuga, Aburame, or Inuzuka clans.

Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai were also lovers. It was easy to see that the Sarutobi Clan was still leading the shinobi clans at the time.

A glorious position, wasn't it?

It certainly was. But when the Third Hokage fought Orochimaru, not one of those clans came to help him.

Couldn't they break through the Four Violet Flames Formation?

That was a Konoha jutsu. How could they possibly not be able to break it?

The Yamanaka Clan could even have sent four Jonin to take control of the Sound Four and make them release it themselves.

But no one would do that.

The Third Hokage had been in office too long, and the Sarutobi Clan's power had grown too much. The Uchiha Clan Massacre had already happened, and Hizashi had been handed over to the Cloud Village. The shinobi clans no longer trusted the Third Hokage.

Letting him die in a battle to protect the village was the last shred of dignity the clans and Orochimaru could leave him.

Hyuga Hane put his thoughts aside and reminded the silent Tokuma, "Keep all this in mind, and that's enough. The Branch Family's future doesn't lie in Konoha. There's no need to get involved in the conflict between the shinobi clans and the Hokage."

"The Third Hokage sent you into Root and had Danzo turn his attention to the Hyuga Clan. He may well have been trying to draw out those of you who were dissatisfied with the village and the Main Branch."

"He and the Fourth Hokage left the village precisely to give Danzo a chance to make his move."

"He may be the Third Hokage of Konoha, but although you can trust his power, you must never trust his mercy."

Cold sweat ran down Hyuga Tokuma's head. He lowered his head and replied, "Yes!"

The Third Hokage really was cunning. After Sarutobi Hiruzen's speech, he'd almost believed his lies.

Now that he thought about it, there was no way to verify whether any of those words had been true.

Besides, if he really lacked ability, how could he have kept the Darkness of the Shinobi World in check and maintained a balance among the shinobi clans all this time?

The most important reason he couldn't act against the clans was probably that the Sarutobi Clan itself was the biggest shinobi clan of all!

And now, the former Shinobi Hero had finally brought himself to act against his own clan, even if it was to ensure the Sarutobi Clan's future...

Then again, he didn't seem to be in any position to judge him.

Hiruzen was doing this for the future of the Sarutobi Clan, while he was doing it for the future of the Hyuga.

With that thought, Hyuga Tokuma gradually calmed down.

"Then what do you need me to do when the time comes? Should I hand that jutsu over to Danzo?"

"You don't need to do anything this time. Just wait for Danzo to fail. It's not time for it to be born yet."

Hyuga Hane glanced at the charred marks on Tokuma's palm. "Go get some rest for now. From here on, just keep an eye on two people with the surname Yakushi while you're in Root."

Even though Ranmaru was unconscious and Raiga Kurosuki had been badly wounded, it still wouldn't be easy for Hyuga Tokuma to kill the latter.

"Yes!"

Hyuga Tokuma obeyed and was about to leave with the Body Flicker Technique when a calm, gentle voice reached him.

"Now that you've stood up, don't kneel again. It must feel awkward reporting to me on your knees, Senior Tokuma."

Hyuga Tokuma paused, feeling an emotion stir within him.

He gave no reply. After leaving, he went over his actions carefully once more, making sure he hadn't harmed Hyuga Hane's plans, and then fell into a deep sleep.

His fight with Raiga alone had drained him today. After that, he'd also had to put on an act in front of Danzo and the Third Hokage. He was exhausted in both body and mind.

In the underground space, several minutes passed after Hyuga Tokuma left before a cold laugh rang out.

Hyuga Meigoku emerged from the shadows and sneered, "You're pretty good at winning over your subordinates!"

Hyuga Hane glanced at him casually and smiled faintly. "Not nearly as effective as Impure World Reincarnation. Even if you have ulterior motives, there's still nothing you can do."

Hyuga Meigoku's face darkened. He glared at him, hostility in his eyes. "If you've got the guts, release me from Impure World Reincarnation and fight me—"

Clunk!

A coffin appeared out of thin air, swallowing him along with the words he hadn't managed to finish.

"Just focus on your scouting mission. Don't spend all your time thinking about useless things."

After sealing away the old-timer—whose strength was useful enough, but who usually just made trouble for no reason—Hyuga Hane fell into thought.

The Fourth Hokage's desire to go to the battlefield had come from the intelligence he'd shown him today.

The Third Mizukage, two tailed beasts, Terumi Mei, Karatachi Yagura, Kisame Hoshigaki...

What a powerful lineup. If some of them hadn't still been growing, Konoha's front line would already have collapsed.

But with so many forces committed, losing too many would cripple the Mist Village. Any Mizukage with even a shred of sense would never make such a choice.

However, the Third Mizukage had long been under someone else's control, so it was hardly surprising that he'd done this.

Hyuga Hane narrowed his eyes.

Making the Fourth Hokage take office early had buried him in work. And Rin and Kakashi, watched over by the Fourth Hokage out of concern for their condition, couldn't leave the village on a mission.

So in the end, I forced you to act...

Madara, I've given you the perfect stage. Don't disappoint me.

Let's see just how powerful that toad's ability to predict the future really is.