"Minato, you saw it too. I'm not being paranoid. Having such an unstable factor in Konoha is far too dangerous! We have to find a way to control him." Remembering Uchiha Gen's terrifying strength, Shimura Danzō wasn't thinking about eliminating him anymore. Keeping Uchiha Gen under the higher-ups' control was the best option for now!
"What do you propose? Uchiha Gen's parents died on the battlefield long ago. Now he's on his own, with no one to worry about. If you provoke him today, he could come after you that very same day without a care in the world!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said helplessly. If he could be controlled, did Danzō think he needed to point that out?
"Uchiha Gen will have to get married eventually. Once he has a wife and children, he'll have something to worry about, and that should make him more cautious," Utatane Koharu reasoned.
"Probably not anytime soon. Does Uchiha Gen even have a woman he likes? He might end up like Madara Uchiha, alone for the rest of his life. Then we'd have no solution at all!" Mitokado Homura said anxiously.
"A woman he likes? He did mention to me before that he planned to pursue Kurenai Yuhi," Namikaze Minato said. He didn't think it was right to scheme against someone's family like this, but Uchiha Gen really was a difficult person. For Konoha's stability, only Uchiha Gen with ties to others could give them peace of mind!
"What? Kurenai Yuhi? Isn't that the girl my brat's been pursuing? Is Uchiha Gen trying to steal her away?" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked utterly bewildered. Had his son become the subject of the gossip?
"Hiruzen, I have to criticize you here. What era are we living in? People pursue free love nowadays. Everyone has the right to pursue happiness. Asuma and Kurenai haven't even started dating, so Uchiha Gen wouldn't be stealing her away," Shimura Danzō said, seizing on Namikaze Minato's words and reproaching Hiruzen Sarutobi with righteous indignation!
Danzō, after decades of working together, who didn't know what you were up to? What was with the act? Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura both knew Danzō's real motives, but neither called him out. Uchiha Gen was the real threat right now. Asuma's love life could wait!
"Fine, then. For the greater good, I'll have to make Asuma suffer a little longer! A real man doesn't need to worry about finding a wife. Asuma, I hope you'll understand your father's good intentions!" Hiruzen Sarutobi consoled himself.
"In that case, this is perfect timing. I have a document here from the daimyo of the Land of Fire. His Excellency wants to form a ninja force to protect the royal family in their day-to-day lives. There are twelve positions: six selected from Konoha, and six recruited by the daimyo himself. What do you think about recommending Asuma?" Namikaze Minato said, pulling another document from the pouch beneath his desk.
"Hmm? The Twelve Guardian Ninja? This will give Asuma a chance to build up his credentials and get familiar with the daimyo, paving the way for his future. And protecting the daimyo isn't dangerous work, either. There isn't a madman in the entire Ninja World who would assassinate the daimyo of one of the Five Great Nations. Though the nations often went to war, the pressure of the shinobi's extraordinary power had long ago forced their daimyos to form an alliance. Any ninja or ninja organization that dared assassinate a daimyo would face a joint campaign by the other four nations.
"Only idiots and those involved in a daimyo family's succession struggle would target a daimyo. And shinobi generally stayed out of that sort of troublesome mess!
"In the original story, the Land of Snow incident happened because the daimyo of the Land of Snow himself issued a mission asking Konoha to take Kazahana Koyuki away. He didn't ask Konoha to help him kill his younger brother, Kazahana Dōtō!
"More than a decade later, Kazahana Koyuki's ascension to the throne also happened for a reason. The original mission had only been to protect Fujikaze Yukie during a performance. It was the Snow Ninja's attack along the way, together with Naruto's hot-blooded recklessness, that led to the chain of events that followed!"
"Fine. Let's leave it at that. I have no objections," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, accepting the arrangement with apparent resignation!
Tsk~
The others curled their lips in disdain!
Afterward~
Konoha, Elder's Office~
The Konoha F4 had gathered again.
"Hiruzen, we need to take the initiative. We can't just count on that kid Uchiha Gen to fall in love and get married at some point. And it might not even work out!" Shimura Danzō suggested!
"Good point. We need to prepare a backup plan," Mitokado Homura agreed!
"What else can we do? The only thing that can counter the Uchiha Mangekyo is Wood Release. The Senju Clan is down to Tsunade, and she hasn't awakened Wood Release. She also has hemophobia, so we can't count on her!" Utatane Koharu said anxiously!
At that, Danzō's eyelid twitched. Wood Release? He had it, but could he tell them? Absolutely not. But when he compared Tenzo's Wood Release to Uchiha Gen's Susanoo, were they really even in the same league? Tenzo would probably get slapped away with a single blow!
Could it be that he was still too young? That had to be it. They had been the two great powers of the Warring States period; there was no way Wood Release was that pathetic! They could wait and see. Maybe Tenzo would grow stronger as he got older. Who could say? You wicked Uchiha brat, enjoy your triumph while you can!
"Wood Release isn't the only thing that can counter the Mangekyo. Another Mangekyo could do the job too, couldn't it?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said, frowning as he took a couple of puffs from his pipe!
"Gah—Hiruzen, have you lost your mind? One Mangekyo is already this hard to deal with, and you want to find another pair?" After hearing Hiruzen's suggestion, Mitokado Homura sucked in a sharp breath, making a significant contribution to cooling the entire Ninja World!
"Hiruzen, calm down. I know you've been under too much pressure lately. Why don't you go home and rest first? We can discuss this slowly later!" Utatane Koharu had begun to wonder if the Third Hokage had cracked under the pressure.
"I object! Hiruzen, you're playing with fire!" Hiruzen wasn't doing a single sensible thing! Uchiha Gen with one Mangekyo was already enough of a headache. And now he wanted another one? No matter how much Tenzo developed, he couldn't stand up to two pairs of Mangekyo! Danzō ranted inwardly.
"Don't get worked up. Hear me out. We can't guarantee anything about the other Uchiha, but Uchiha Shisui is Kagami's descendant, and we've watched him grow up. He's still young and can't compare to Uchiha Gen yet, but Shisui's talent is plain to see. If he awakens the Mangekyo, I'm sure that with our support and training, he'd be more than capable of keeping Uchiha Gen in check!" Hiruzen Sarutobi reasoned.
"Impossible, Hiruzen! Have you forgotten what the Second said about the Uchiha Clan? Uchiha Gen isn't the only naturally evil brat among them. Shisui may be very promising now, but can you guarantee his personality won't change drastically once he awakens the Mangekyo? There's no telling whether he'd pick up his blade and go after Uchiha Gen—or you!" Shimura Danzō vehemently objected. The Uchiha Clan absolutely could not be allowed to produce another Mangekyo wielder!
Before you continue