The moment Minato Namikaze returned to the village on the heels of a great victory, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt that everything was going according to plan. (-_-) (-_-)
Now all that remained was for Konoha to start publicizing Minato's achievements, followed by a grand celebration to let the shinobi returning from the battlefield feel the glory of fighting for Konoha.
It would inspire those who hadn't taken part in the war to look forward to doing so.
Finally, everyone would gather before the Hokage Building, where I, the Third, Sarutobi Hiruzen, would give another speech about the Will of Fire.
"Wherever the leaves dance, the fire will continue to burn. Its light will keep shining on the village and help new leaves sprout."
In other words, the young were the hope of the future, and the older generation had to trust and protect them. The sacrifices of the older generation weren't meaningless; they would inspire the young to become the pillars who carried the future.
As for why it was always the young who went to the battlefield, while the old men in high positions stayed behind in Konoha to grow old and wither away, that wasn't the point.
The point of propaganda was to spread the message.
The old men had fought for Konoha their entire lives. Couldn't they enjoy themselves for a change?
Saying one thing and doing another were two different matters. Was it that I, the Third, didn't want to die heroically? If Konoha needed me, I'd be willing to die at the right time. But right now, the village needed me.
This was the biggest battle since the Konoha Ninja Academy was established in which Academy graduates had served as the main force. How they'd performed on the battlefield didn't matter.
After all, we'd won. As for how we won, people wouldn't find out for a while. And even if they did, the story would surely have been embellished by then.💙👽 ６９ᔕｈυא.匚Ⓞｍ 😝😝
Sarutobi believed that. Victors never publicized their own failings.
By then, this victory would surely be portrayed as a tremendous triumph for Konoha, achieved under Minato Namikaze's leadership.
Clearly, this was the moment to show the clans Konoha's iron resolve.
To let those lofty clansmen witness the power of Konoha's unity.
Usually, these civilian shinobi were scattered throughout Konoha and seemed insignificant. But now that they'd returned from the battlefield and assembled, they truly could exert tremendous pressure.
A hundred people could drive a cart or lean on a cane; a thousand could blot out the sky; ten thousand could shatter heads and spill guts.
The assembly of several thousand shinobi even gave the clans the impression that storm clouds were gathering over the city.
These weren't Daimyo's soldiers, men who'd set down their hoes and picked up weapons. No matter how you looked at it, they were shinobi.
Even an experienced shinobi could end up dying at the hands of a Genin if he let his guard down.
With so many shinobi, Konoha was truly on the verge of a changing tide.
Watching the clan leaders and elders of Konoha gaping in astonishment at the celebration through the Telescope Technique, Sarutobi felt a surge of satisfaction. Those who'd always been dissatisfied with his policies had finally seen the strength he commanded.
Surely they'd rein in their recklessness from now on.
Today, he'd show them that using shinobi from their clans was a courtesy. He wasn't short on people to rely on.
Just look at those proud Uchiha, angry yet helpless.
Anger was the mark of the powerless.♢😎 乂.ᶜσм 😲🐒
Hmm?
The Uchiha had made a move. They'd gone to the commercial district.
It was fine. Maybe they wanted to join the celebration and show the Uchiha's goodwill.
It was a sign that they were yielding.
What? Orochimaru had appeared too, and he'd met with the newly appointed Uchiha clan leader.
It was fine. Although Orochimaru had been doing things his own way for the past few years, he was still part of the Hokage's faction. As long as their interests aligned, Sarutobi wouldn't lose out.
The bonds of friendship and the pull of mutual interests left Sarutobi unable to imagine any reason Orochimaru would betray him.
Besides, look—Minato Namikaze had shown up at just the right moment.
With his charisma, Minato was the perfect standard-bearer for the Will of Fire.
These Uchiha who'd come from outside weren't particularly close to Konoha's Uchiha to begin with. If they could be inspired by the Will of Fire, then the next Conflict of the Abyss and Yellow Springs would surely fall on the Uchiha once again.
What should they call it?
Uchiha Itachi Stirs the Waves?
Not bad, not bad!
It was just a shame he couldn't go hear Minato Namikaze's interpretation of Konoha's Will of Fire up close.
Hmm!
What was going on? Why had everyone gotten so worked up?
The Uchiha were naturally so easy to hate. Look, they'd stirred up public anger again.
Before long, Konoha would have even less room for the Uchiha.
He hoped they'd know what was best for them.
Wait, what was happening now? After everyone finished cursing the Uchiha, weren't they supposed to get fired up and gather at the Hokage Building to demand that he, the Hokage, deliver justice?
Why had they suddenly fallen silent?
Hmm?
What had happened now? Why wasn't Minato Namikaze giving the speech? Why had that Uchiha Kei taken his place?
What kind of wicked ideas was he spreading to Konoha?
They really were a wicked bunch, those Uchiha.
They were so irritating every moment of every day.
Should he stop him?
The Hokage was caught in a dilemma.
Although he prided himself on understanding everything about the Uchiha, he'd never met this Uchiha Kei, who'd suddenly risen to prominence.
And yet, what Sarutobi Hiruzen had learned about Kei through intelligence reports made him inexplicably reluctant to meet the boy.
It was a deep-seated loathing.
Even Sarutobi Hiruzen, old and wily as he was, couldn't understand where this loathing came from.
He understood Uchiha Fugaku. That seemingly hard-edged man was actually so weak-willed he couldn't hold a candle to a woman. Sarutobi could suppress him without even drawing attention to it, rendering all his outward toughness worthless.
But the intelligence reports about Uchiha Kei left Sarutobi bewildered. The boy's ideas seemed completely at odds with the way shinobi thought.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had imagined conversations with Uchiha Kei countless times in his mind.
Whether he approached Kei gently or forcefully, he could never convince himself that he'd win against Kei in an ideological debate.
These rehearsals weren't baseless.
From Kei's usual actions, it was clear he had a comprehensive code of conduct.
And Sarutobi couldn't understand that code.
Not understanding it was simply a difference in perspective. But it also made Sarutobi realize that to win over someone with a fully formed worldview, he'd need to pit it against an even more complete worldview.
If he tried to reason with someone like that using a false, untested set of ideas, he'd be torn apart in debate.
The ideas that had inspired all of Konoha would then be exposed by this young Uchiha, who would grind them underfoot again and again.
That was something Sarutobi didn't want to see.
Or perhaps he simply didn't dare pit his ideas against Kei's, because he couldn't even convince himself of them.
Because if it came to that, if he couldn't defeat the boy in an ideological battle, then he'd have to eliminate him physically.
That wasn't the worst of it.
The frightening part was that Sarutobi could bully Uchiha Fugaku this way, certain that the clan leader didn't have the guts to go down with him.
But he didn't dare bully this boy that way. The consequences of Root's ill-timed actions had taught Sarutobi that much.
Uchiha Fugaku was a man willing to sacrifice himself for the Uchiha Clan.
But that Uchiha Kei was the kind of man who'd sacrifice anything to save his own skin. Not only the Uchiha—even Konoha was within the scope of what he'd sacrifice.
That wasn't frightening. What was frightening was that a whole group of people followed him and were willing to sacrifice themselves for him.
Now that was really messed up!
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