Nara Shikaku's Decision

Root's escalating demands and the Nara Branch Family's growing unrest.

Shikaku immediately picked up on these two crucial pieces of information from Senya's words.

He decided to speak plainly. Since Senya had already shown his sincerity, there was no need for all those tedious formalities.

"I never expected the Nara Branch Family's movements to have become this obvious."

Branch Families existed in every ninja clan. Generally, only the clan head's direct bloodline belonged to the Main Family, and only Main Family ninja could receive the finest, most concentrated resources and the best treatment.

However, Branch Family members were not without a chance to join the Main Family. As long as they reached a certain level of strength or made sufficient contributions to the clan, they could have an opportunity to become part of the Main Family.

That system was far better than the Hyuga Clan's absurdly melodramatic clan structure.

But Danzo's actions this time had stirred up dissatisfaction among many Branch Family members. Some of the more extreme ones had even begun considering splitting off from the clan.

If Senya had not warned him, he probably would not have known about this, nor would he have attached much importance to the Branch Family's reaction.

Senya idly spun the chopsticks in his hand. "It's normal. Next door, Brother Hiashi of the Hyuga Clan is already thinking about taking his clansmen and defecting."

The words came from Senya's mouth in a calm, unremarkable tone.

Shikaku lifted his teacup and took a sip, but before he could swallow it—

He turned his head to the right, toward Choza.

"Pfft."

Tea, saliva, and tea leaves sprayed all over Choza.

"Shikaku! What the hell are you doing?!"

Choza grabbed a napkin from beside him and pressed it to his face, wiping away the tea and leaves.

Shikaku's eyes widened as his right hand viciously pinched his thigh.

Hiss—That hurts. I'm not dreaming.

"Brother Senya, the Hiashi you mean is the Hyuga Clan Head, Hiashi, right?"

The chopsticks spinning in Senya's hand stopped. He tossed them aside, and they landed in the chopstick holder, clattering against the other chopsticks inside.

"Who else? I don't think there's a second person named Hiashi in Konoha whom I would know."

"Brother Shikaku, Konoha is like this chopstick holder. We're the chopsticks inside, understand? If one is affected, all of us will get dragged into it."

"Danzo wanted to take Hinata away. Hiashi refused, so he brought out the Third's written order to pressure him. In the end, Hiashi's nephew, Hyuga Neji, was taken to Root."

"I imagine your Ino-Shika-Cho isn't doing much better either."

Choza immediately began furiously cursing Danzo from afar.

"I never thought the Hyuga Clan had suffered such humiliation too. That old bastard Danzo truly has no shame! He even took two children from the direct line of our Akimichi Clan!"

"Our Yamanaka Clan had two taken as well."

"The Nara Clan too."

Only then did Senya realize that Danzo had apparently thought he had not taken enough people. He had even demanded people from Ino-Shika-Cho. The process was probably much the same: first, he directly asked for Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino, then pretended to back down before making an outrageous demand for two Branch Family children.

What a calculated scheme. After all, Ino-Shika-Cho had always been loyal to the Hokage. The moment the Hokage's written order was produced, Danzo would probably have felt cheated if he did not demand one extra person.

"Then, three brothers, do you think the current Third is still qualified to sit in the Hokage's seat?"

Shikaku immediately responded.

"We of Ino-Shika-Cho don't care who becomes Hokage. We support the Hokage only to preserve our own clans."

"Our clans' secret techniques make it almost impossible for us to become Kage. We understand our clans' position, but Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo have already touched the foundation of the ninja clans this time."

"If he dares to demand two children from us this time, then next time he'll dare to cut off our clans' inheritance."

Shikaku kept speaking, his expression gradually turning vicious and grim. The scar on his face made him look even fiercer.

Inoichi and Choza were the same. The three men usually appeared kind and approachable, but at this moment, their expressions were identical, each one brimming with killing intent.

Yet this was only natural. They had graduated amid the flames of the Second Shinobi World War, led ninja forces in battle during the Third Shinobi World War, and were even among the three who had managed to hold back the Nine-Tails during the Nine-Tails Incident. Having experienced so much bloodshed and warfare, how could they truly be as gentle as they appeared?

When they became ninja, when the responsibility of leading their clans was passed to the three of them, they had already prepared themselves. For their clans' interests, they had even supported Hiruzen's return to power after the Fourth Hokage's death.

Even if that meant betraying their friend Minato and failing to take proper care of Naruto, there was no helping it. Between a friend's request and their families, they had to choose their families. They could not allow the hundreds or thousands of clansmen behind them to suffer losses because of their personal feelings.

That was why, even when all the other children hated Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji had still been willing to skip class with the "Nine-Tails Fox" in everyone else's eyes, eat snacks with him, and play with him. Ino was a girl, so it was inconvenient for her to join them.

It was because they had deliberately guided their children not to believe the villagers' rumors that they could accept Naruto and be willing to play with him. It was a small form of compensation to Minato.

"We of Ino-Shika-Cho stand with your Uchiha. The Third is old. He is no longer suited to remain Hokage. Are you Uchiha planning to nominate a new Hokage?"

"Will it be you, or Fugaku?"

Senya chuckled.

"Forget it, Brother Shikaku. Don't joke around. The Fifth can't possibly be an Uchiha."

"As for the candidate, I'll keep that secret for now. You'll find out when the time comes. Oh, right—there'll be one director's position and six squad leader positions in the Police Force reserved for your Ino-Shika-Cho. The same treatment as Brother Hiashi."

With that, Senya stood, pushed open the window, and quickly left.

"Three brothers, remember to pay the bill for your little brother. I need to go handle documents at the Police Force."

The window shutters, flung open to either side, were still swaying. Shikaku looked outside and saw Senya's figure flickering across the rooftops, growing smaller and smaller until it vanished.

Senya had actually promised such a benefit. It would be perfect for soothing the Branch Family members.

As for the Main Family, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans each had industries exclusively under their control—more than enough to keep the Main Family members busy. The Police Force positions likely would not interest the Main Family's ninja.

The three quickly reached a consensus: the Ino-Shika-Cho clans would each provide two squad captains, while the final chief position would go to Shikaku's cousin, Nara Suzaku.

After all, only the Nara clan had the sharpest minds and were skilled at handling such matters. If Choza and Inoichi were asked to pick someone from their own clans, they would not be able to choose anyone.