He paused, picked up his teacup, and wet his throat before continuing. "But if we're quick to stand on Lord Hokage's side this time and help him get this done—and done well... wouldn't that be a ready-made stepping stone for us?
"Think about it. When Lord Hokage needs people to work under him in the future, who do you think he'll think of first?"
As soon as he said this, Yamanaka Kiyono and Akimichi Kira's eyes lit up. If they could use this chance to enter the village's inner circle of power, then giving up a little profit for now didn't seem so hard to accept.
Nara Lvxun was, after all, the head of the Nara Clan. His mind worked fast.
While the other families were still scratching their heads and trying to come up with a plan, he'd already figured out what was going on and mapped out which path his own family should take.
He'd calculated it all carefully: trade the family's modest "ninja interests" for "political influence" in the village. The exchange wouldn't just leave them even—it might make them a fortune.
Seeing that both his old friends were tempted, Nara Lvxun curled the corner of his mouth and added fuel to the fire. "My friends, times have changed. Our thinking has to change with them.
"Put the family's little interests on one side and the village's greater interests on the other. Which matters more?
"We're all ninja clans of Konoha now. Only when Konoha grows strong and flourishes can we vines clinging to its branches climb higher too.
"When the village thrives, we all thrive.
"Otherwise, to put it bluntly, if war breaks out again one day and we lose, won't we be the ones who have to bleed and give up our land?"
At that, Yamanaka Kiyono and Akimichi Kira exchanged a glance. Their last traces of hesitation vanished. Yamanaka Kiyono slapped his thigh. "All right, it's settled! We'll fully support Lord Hokage's proposal! There's no time to waste. We—"
Before he could finish, the door was suddenly shoved open with a bang. A burly figure rushed in—Torifu Akimichi.
"Father! Uncles! There's urgent news!" Torifu Akimichi panted, speaking at a rapid pace. "I just got word from Hiruzen. The Sarutobi Clan has already issued a statement.
"They fully support Lord Hokage's decision and will contribute to the Ninja Academy! Hiruzen himself is going to teach at the school!
"I heard that over this matter, Uncle Sarutobi Sasuke even 'invited' several of the family elders back to the ancestral home to 'enjoy their retirement'!"
Nara Lvxun didn't look particularly surprised by the news.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was Lord Tobirama's personal disciple, while Sarutobi Sasuke had been through life and death with both Lord Hokage and Tobirama. The two families were close enough to share the same pair of pants.
Since Lord Hokage had dared to bring this matter out into the open, he must have already sounded things out with the Sarutobi Clan. Their response was only to be expected.
Still, although he'd anticipated it, Nara Lvxun couldn't help admiring how quickly and ruthlessly Sarutobi Sasuke had acted. A glint flashed in his eyes as he immediately grasped the key point. "This does remind me... The Ninja Academy itself is a juicy prize!
"There'll definitely be more civilian ninjas in the future. If we claim a few 'teacher' positions early, we can win their support sooner and cultivate people who'll be on our side.
"And if we're lucky enough to find a few gifted children among the students..."
He paused, a foxlike smile spreading across his face. "Then we can find a way to marry them into our families or recruit them into one of our three clans. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
With that, he forgot all about the board game and stood up. "Kiyono, Kira! Our three clans will issue a joint statement right away! Make the slogan loud and clear... Sacrifice the family for the greater good! Put the village's interests first!
"We'll do everything we can to help Lord Hokage build a Ninja Academy that meets Konoha's standards!"
Seeing this, Yamanaka Kiyono and Akimichi Kira no longer hesitated. They answered in unison, "Done! We'll do as Lvxun says!"
As the Ino-Shika-Cho clans finalized their decision, the other prominent families in Konoha were also debating the matter, from the Aburame and Inuzuka to the top-tier Hyuga and Uchiha.
As one of Konoha's established noble clans, the Hyuga Clan might have been slightly inferior to the Senju and Uchiha in strength and influence at present. But when it came to the depth of their history and the purity and nobility of their bloodline
, the Hyuga Clan could call itself second in the Shinobi World—and no one would dare claim first place.
That was why, after the Uchiha Clan was later wiped out and the Senju Clan gradually faded from sight for reasons unknown, the Hyuga Clan had brazenly declared itself the strongest clan in Konoha.
And what gave them such confidence? It all went back to the progenitor of chakra, Otsutsuki Kaguya, and her second son—Otsutsuki Hamura.
The Hyuga Clan possessed the purest Byakugan Kekkei Genkai. The source of that bloodline was their ancestor from beyond the heavens.
And who were the ancestors of the Uchiha and Senju Clans?
They were the sons of Otsutsuki Hagoromo, the Sage of Six Paths.
By that reckoning, the Hyuga Clan was the venerable elder of both the Senju and Uchiha Clans. Their standing was naturally a generation above the others.
However, unlike the Senju and Uchiha, the Hyuga Clan was famous for its strict rules. Its Main Family and Branch Family system had been passed down through countless generations.
The benefit was obvious: the Byakugan bloodline had been preserved without the slightest deviation for centuries. But the drawback was just as clear. The entire clan had become rigid and inflexible.
With so many rules and such a rigid outlook, they were bound to be slow in getting things done.
While the Ino-Shika-Cho and Sarutobi Clans were rushing to declare their support for Lord Hokage's academy, the Hyuga Clan was still arguing among themselves.
Most thought they should wait and see. Some old traditionalists even considered the whole idea absurd and insisted they had to oppose it outright.
Of course, a clan couldn't survive for so many years without a few people willing to "smooth things over." There were opponents and fence-sitters alike, which only muddied the waters further. The current Hyuga Clan head couldn't make up his mind, so he decided to wait and see which way the wind blew.
Perhaps that was one reason the Hyuga Clan, despite its lofty status in Konoha, could never squeeze into the innermost circle of power.
The Hokages throughout the generations weren't blind. They'd long since seen the Hyuga Clan's major shortcomings: it acted slowly and always put its own interests first.
If a clan like that held real power, it might make the whole village old-fashioned and stodgy. The drawbacks would outweigh the benefits.
Unlike the Hyuga Clan, which wavered this way and that, the Uchiha Clan's position was clear-cut. Their lineage was formidable, and a peerless genius appeared among them every few years.
Relying on the Sharingan, they were famous for their Fire Release, but their other styles of ninjutsu were just as strong. They also possessed a whole host of secret techniques outsiders had never even heard of.
So, in their eyes, the Ninja Academy was completely unnecessary. Training civilian ninjas? What a joke! How noble was Uchiha blood? Why would they need civilians to make up the numbers? Were those people even worthy?
And learning other clans' ninjutsu and basic knowledge? That was even more ridiculous.
What kind of ninjutsu wasn't in the scroll library at the Uchiha Clan Compound? Why would they need to learn anywhere else?
So every Uchiha, from top to bottom, felt that this lousy school offered them no benefit whatsoever. It was simply trying to take a piece of the meat from their bowl, and they had to oppose it without question.
Would opposing the school anger the villagers? Was that something the noble Uchiha needed to consider? Of course not. They were just a bunch of civilians. They could shout all they wanted, but would they really dare to do anything?
So the Uchiha Clan didn't give it a second thought. They immediately sent someone to the Hokage Building to express their strong displeasure and opposition, claiming that establishing the Ninja Academy would upset the village's balance, bring unpredictable changes, and undermine stability, among other things.
At that moment, a room in the Uchiha residence was packed with people, every one of them dressed in clothes bearing the clan's Gunbai crest. The heated arguing was almost enough to lift the roof.
"We absolutely cannot agree!"
"Lord Hokage's move is a mistake!"
Most of them loudly voiced their opposition, worked into a frenzy. But in a corner, a few younger clan members looked uncertain. Their lips moved as if they wanted to say something, but in the end, none dared speak.
Even the most glorious clan would have a few people who saw things clearly, and the Uchiha were no exception.
But they'd spent so long immersed in their clan's strength and glory, with their noses in the air, that they couldn't see anyone else.
After the village was established, some of the younger generation had quietly begun to change their minds. They wanted to become more involved in the village.
Unfortunately, they were young and had little influence. They couldn't change the clan's prevailing opinion at all. Their influence might only become apparent later. For now, they were of no use.
Just as the group was arguing and discussing how to put more pressure on the Hokage...
The door opened.
A Uchiha ninja stood at the entrance. He looked at the dismal, rancorous scene inside, frowned, then let out a helpless sigh.
The noise in the room died down, and many people looked his way. An elder asked, "Kagami, didn't we send you to the Hokage Building to deliver the clan's position? Why are you back so soon?"
The young ninja was Kagami Uchiha, the only Uchiha whom Second Hokage Tobirama Senju truly trusted.
Kagami Uchiha drew a quiet breath and said, "Lord Hokage has made up his mind. The process of establishing the Ninja Academy is already underway.
"Also, the Sarutobi Clan and the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans have all publicly declared their full support for Lord Hokage's decision... Everyone in the village is praising it. If we—"
"They're them, and we're us!" The elder furrowed his brows and cut him off sharply, even slamming his hand on the table as he stood. "Kagami, don't you dare forget that Uchiha blood runs through your veins!"
Kagami Uchiha raised his head and met the elder's gaze without flinching. "But the Uchiha are also members of the Hidden Leaf Village first, aren't we?"
The room fell silent. The elder, Uchiha Eisen, was so taken aback he almost choked. That was true enough, but was that really how you looked at the matter? Kagami Uchiha, Kagami Uchiha... Did you really have no idea where your loyalties lay?
As the room hung in an awkward silence, a large hand suddenly reached from behind Kagami and patted him on the shoulder.
"Kagami, you're still too young." Sarutobi Sasuke's voice rang out, carrying a touch of an elder's teasing. "You can't talk to your elders like that. Go on and get back to work. Doesn't Lord Hokage have other things for you to do?"
At his words, Kagami's agitation eased a little. He turned to look at Sarutobi Sasuke behind him and nodded.
"Thank you for the reminder, Lord Sarutobi. I'll carry out Lord Hokage's orders right away."
With that, he saluted Sarutobi Sasuke, then turned and quickly left the suffocating room.
As soon as Kagami was gone, Sarutobi Sasuke stepped over the threshold of the Uchiha residence as if he belonged there. He glanced at the Uchiha experts sitting around the room, all looking displeased, and smiled, perfectly at ease.
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