"If they wanted to have a full 5,000 Chunin, they would need an enormous population base of at least tens of thousands to support it. With careful analysis, one can see that during the more than forty years since joining Konoha, the Sarutobi Clan must have maintained steady development throughout and could not have suffered the setbacks of a single war," Shimura Danzō said, stroking his chin.
"But that only meets the most basic conditions!"
"Think about it calmly, and you'll realize that aside from a very few individuals who served as battlefield commanders, hardly any ordinary Sarutobi shinobi ever appeared on the battlefield as rank-and-file members. Every Sarutobi who showed their face in public was a prominent elite, constantly earning enormous prestige for themselves in Konoha!"
"Not only that, the shinobi from other clans who married Sarutobi women and married into their clan were often treated as laughingstocks by Konoha's clans in the past. We generally believed that although those people possessed outstanding shinobi talent, they had completely lost their dignity as shinobi."
"But looking back now, faced with the Sarutobi Clan's coercion, temptation, and the threat of war, they likely had no choice but to submit. In that case, the Sarutobi Clan may have been using this method to constantly draw nourishment from Konoha and secretly expand its own shinobi forces!"
"By continually avoiding war, secretly developing their clan, swallowing up other shinobi prodigies through marriage alliances and other means, and sacrificing Konoha's foundations—would it really be difficult for them to have more than 5,000 Chunin in another decade or so?"
"No!" Shimura Danzō shook his head. A trace of realization appeared on his face as he looked at the stunned Aburame Tatsuma and Sai beside him. Then, with a grim expression, he glared into the distance and