Schemes Against the Hyuga and Uchiha

Schemes Against the Hyuga and Uchiha

What Hyuga Yuto could not have imagined was that, while he leisurely made his way back to the clan grounds, a meeting that would determine his fate had already quietly begun.

A highly detailed analysis report lay before Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The autopsy reports for Sugisaki Tetsujiro, Sato Mahiro, Yamagata Reiro, and Hirahara Eiji had already been submitted by the Medical Corps' ninja.

There was nothing suspicious about them. If there had to be something, it was Sugisaki Tetsujiro's fatal wound—the penetrating injury between his fourth and fifth lumbar vertebrae. It had been inflicted from behind in a surprise attack, and with a kunai.

For Kumogakure ninja skilled in Lightning Release ninja body techniques, their fingers were the sharpest blades. Thus, the report concluded:

"It is truly incomprehensible why the final battle ended in close combat."

Sarutobi Hiruzen merely glanced at it before dismissing the point from his mind.

Konoha's Hokage had always been practical men who rose through military achievements and strategy. Sarutobi Hiruzen had experienced more than a thousand battles, large and small, in his lifetime. He naturally understood that when ninja fought to the death, they would bite and tear at each other like beasts. He had once personally witnessed two rather powerful jonin, after exhausting themselves in battle, desperately stab frozen fish into each other's bodies.

After the bodies of Konoha's fallen ninja had been recovered, Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen raised no doubts about the sole survivor's report. The credit for the surprise reconnaissance squad "obtaining important intelligence" and "killing multiple ninja from hostile villages" all fell to Hyuga Yuto.

Including his previous accomplishments, that branch family genius now possessed an impressive record of military merit.

Sarutobi Hiruzen closed his eyes, and the words Hyuga Yuto had spoken to him in this office yesterday surfaced unbidden in his mind.

The door creaked open, and three people filed inside.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was not offended by the intrusion. He said softly:

"Danzo, Homura, Koharu, you're here."

"Hiruzen..." The three stood before the desk. When no outsiders were present, they addressed one another by name rather than by their lofty titles.

Every week, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu held a secret meeting in this Hokage's office. No Anbu observed or recorded it, no clan heads from the village attended, and even Sarutobi Hiruzen's prized disciples, the "Three Sannin," never appeared.

Most of the dark, secret plots that could not see the light of day—and even policies affecting the entire Land of Fire—first took shape at these meetings.

"Hiruzen." Shimura Danzo spoke first. A scar marked his jaw, while bandages wrapped around his right eye and forehead. Even in silence, he was difficult to approach. "Let's strike first. Have Namikaze Minato infiltrate Kumogakure and attack the Eight-Tails jinchuriki. We will prepare a portable technique that may be able to break the seal and release the Eight-Tails."

Releasing the Eight-Tails in the heart of Kumogakure was excessively inhumane even by the standards of the ninja world. After all, ninja villages housed large numbers of ordinary people, and given the Eight-Tails' destructive power, casualties in the Land of Lightning would certainly reach six figures.

Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned. There were no outsiders here, so there was no need to preserve an image of righteousness. He seriously considered the plan's feasibility.

"The Eight-Tails has a perfect jinchuriki and excellent compatibility. Ordinary techniques will likely have no effect."

"Then have Namikaze Minato bring an Uchiha with him. With the Sharingan and that forbidden technique, there is over a forty percent chance of releasing the Eight-Tails!"

"Danzo, do you want the entire world to know Konoha did this? Even if the plan succeeds, the major nations will unite against us."

"Then we fight!" Shimura Danzo said dismissively. "By then, Kumogakure will be severely weakened. Iwagakure has only that old fossil Onoki worth worrying about... As for Sunagakure and Kirigakure? Heh. Worthless rabble."

Sarutobi Hiruzen considered it for a while, but ultimately shook his head.

"It's too risky... Facing four enemies alone—I am the Hokage. I cannot drag the entire village into such a gamble."

"Hmph..." Shimura Danzo snorted, but Sarutobi Hiruzen had referred to himself as the Hokage when he spoke, making it clear that he had made up his mind. Danzo could not press the matter any further and could only let it go.

At that moment, the silent Utatane Koharu suddenly spoke.

"But war is approaching. Kumogakure is already stirring, Iwagakure's attacks against us are increasing by the day, and the other two powerful ninja villages are preparing for war as well. Once fighting begins, it will not be a minor conflict... I believe the Third Great Ninja War will break out within the next two years."

"I understand," Sarutobi Hiruzen said calmly, exhaling a ring of smoke. "This is precisely what I wanted to discuss today. If war sweeps across the entire world and all five great ninja villages join the conflict, then we cannot respond with conventional troop strength."

He paused, then continued:

"We must make the Uchiha and Hyuga contribute more forces. The Sharingan and Byakugan have a tremendous impact on the battlefield. We need these two bloodline limits."

Mitokado Homura nodded.

"A good idea, Hiruzen. In the past, although the Hyuga and Uchiha sent troops to aid the village, they kept their core strength hidden. That was enough to deal with minor border skirmishes, but if the Third Great Ninja War truly breaks out, we will indeed need their full support. But deploying more troops means greater casualties. They..."

Shimura Danzo sneered, as though the taste of blood lingered between his teeth.

"If they refuse, we can use this opportunity to..."

"Danzo." Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. "We are all from the same village. In my eyes, whether Hyuga or Uchiha, they are brothers and comrades, all strength belonging to Konoha. There is no need to go that far."

"Oh? Then what do you propose?"

"We can give them a hint." Sarutobi Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and laid out his thoughts. "Hint that the position of the next, or the one after next, Hokage will give priority to the Hyuga and Uchiha... Ah, Danzo, Homura, Koharu, don't be hasty. I know that people from powerful ninja clans like the Hyuga and Uchiha are unsuitable to become Hokage."

"Therefore, it is merely a hint. A hint is an empty promise that will never be fulfilled."

"It is like blindfolding a donkey turning a millstone and dangling a carrot before it. It can smell the carrot, so it works desperately and offers up all its strength, yet it will never get to eat it."

The other three fell silent. Everyone understood the Hyuga and Uchiha's desire for the Hokage's position. Using it to dangle before them was indeed a brilliant way to make both clans fight and work themselves to the bone.

The key was whether the hint could be subtle enough.

They needed to truly feel that the Hokage's seat was within reach, while allowing them to be easily fobbed off after the war.

There could be no substantive promise, yet it had to carry enough weight.

It had to be an open, naked hint.

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not keep them guessing.

"My three disciples include one Senju and two civilians."

"My disciples' disciples also include neither Uchiha nor Hyuga. That is a very bad signal... It seems to imply that, for a very long time, these two ninja clans will not be at the core of Konoha's master-disciple lineage, and will have no chance at the Hokage's position."

"I am old. I no longer have the energy to train more disciples, so I will have my disciples choose an heir from a major clan. This will tell the outside world that I do not reject the Hyuga and Uchiha, and that I am even willing to consider letting them become Konoha's leaders."