The Senju Clan Isn't Dead Yet!

Some of the people present finally understood.

The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was testing which candidate they supported.

Based on past experience, they wouldn't get involved in such matters.

At most, nobles close to them in the Land of Fire might come asking for protection.

But the Third had secretly interfered in the selection of the next Daimyo, putting the Daimyo on alert.

He had interfered in secret under the name of the longest-serving Hokage. It might seem to have nothing to do with the various clans, but the nobles of the Land of Fire who worked closely with the ninja clans would still show him some respect.

"Lord Kazuma, we won't state our position in public, nor will we interfere in the competition between the candidates."

The Third wanted to cut off Kazuma's questioning and keep the ninja clans present from getting involved.

He still wanted to appear to be the same Third who stayed out of the struggle.

But his words grated on some of those listening.

You're a Hokage who resigned over your own failures, and you used our names to make your moves. Now you're telling us not to get involved?

What does that mean?

We ninja clans aren't appendages of the Sarutobi Clan.

The clans that had once branched off from the Senju Clan were especially furious.

They were already on the brink of extinction, and now the Third still wanted to turn the natural order on its head.

He wanted the Daimyo of the Land of Fire to return to the hands of the Genji Clan?

Then the Fujiwara Family, formed through the union of the Senju and Genji Clans, would be purged.

The Senju Clan's last visible support would truly vanish from history.

"So the Third's position is that he won't get involved in the competition between the candidates, correct?

Please answer my question directly!"

Bang!

Kazuma hurriedly pressed him for an answer, his eyes like a sharp sword pointed at the Third. At his final question, he struck his staff hard against the ground.

As long as the Third didn't interfere, the Fujiwara Family would retain its former influence.

Besides, not every ninja agreed with the Third.

All the ninjas turned their eyes to the Third, hoping for a clear answer.

Kazuma pressed him step by step, driving him into a corner.

"The Sarutobi Clan and Konoha's ninjas will not take part in the struggle between the candidates for Daimyo!"

The Third's face turned ghastly pale, gradually taking on the color of pig liver. Under everyone's gaze, it took him a long time to force out those words.

The moment he spoke, all the spirit seemed to drain from him.

Once he said this, the second son of the Genji Lineage would lose his support.

If he wanted to become the new Daimyo, he would have to rely on his own efforts. All the Third could do was keep these clans from taking part.

But not everyone among the ninjas present belonged to a ninja clan.

Some were jonin, and they were jonin who had lost the Senju name.

The Sarutobi Clan's plans, years in the making, had come to nothing.

The women married off to forge alliances had become irrelevant, too.

"Third, I'll relay your words to the Daimyo and nobles of the Land of Fire! What about the other ninjas?"

Kazuma's face lit up with joy. Without the Third's secret interference, the eldest son of the Fujiwara Family had a sixty percent chance of becoming the next Daimyo. The remaining forty percent depended on the other ninjas.

The Third shouldn't get involved, given that he had once held the title of Hokage.

These ninja clans represented not only their own families but also some of the nobles of the Land of Fire.

They should all have been powerful supporters of the Fujiwara Family.

The Third's face turned even grayer. He glanced at the people behind him, hoping they would share his position and, as he had said, stay out of the struggle between the candidates for Daimyo.

"Lord Kazuma, as the Third said, ninjas won't take part in the competition to succeed the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, much less support anyone!"

Minato Namikaze stepped forward. He wanted to preserve what dignity remained for the Third and keep the Hokage's office true to its original purpose.

He meant what he said: ninjas were simply a military force. They only had to obey the Daimyo and shouldn't take part in the competition.

Minato had forgotten his former surname, as well as the Senju Clan's help. Kazuma began to grumble inwardly.

Minato Namikaze had been a commoner ninja who became Hokage. There had been too many coincidences.

His wife, Kushina Uzumaki, had inherited part of the Senju Clan's legacy—not just material assets, but political influence as well.

That influence had become a source of support for him.

Was he truly selfless?

Or was he selfish to the core?

Kazuma didn't know, but not everyone was like Minato.

Some still remembered what the Senju Clan had done for Konoha and the Land of Fire.

"Hokage, your position matters. I'll relay it to the Daimyo. But not everyone has to agree with you."

Tears welled in Kazuma's eyes. Behind Minato, more than a dozen jonin stood together and raised their hands.

These ninjas had taken part in the investigation as commoners, but they were all descended from the Senju Clan.

"We support the Fujiwara Lineage's continued rule as the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!"

The jonin at their head was Seimei Kuchiki. The Kuchiki Clan had branched off from the Senju Clan and served as its guardians of the graves.

Minato frowned, wearing an apparently innocent expression. He didn't understand why these people would openly contradict him, the Hokage.

He turned and glanced at them, and his confusion only deepened.

Weren't these the very same people who had strongly supported him becoming the Fourth Hokage?

The Third merely glanced at them and sighed inwardly. The Senju Clan's influence was still immense.

The representatives of the other great clans acted as if it had nothing to do with them. They understood why these dozen or so people had chosen as they did, and secretly supported them, too.

"Sato... Suzuki... Sakuragi... Takagi..."

The names surfaced in the Fourth Hokage's mind, and finally his lips twisted into a bitter smile.

These people were all members of the Senju Clan who had blended into Konoha.