A Six-Year-Old's Words Kept Every Clan Head Awake at Night

"Dad, where's the Senju Clan now? Is Lady Tsunade the only one left among the Sannin?"

At an ordinary dinner table, little pineapple-haired Shikamaru asked big pineapple-haired Shikaku this question.

Shikaku's brows furrowed. He set down his chopsticks, and his face tightened as well.

"Where did you hear something like that?"

Seeing the look on his father's face, Shikamaru sighed.

Just as I thought. This wasn't something kids like us were supposed to ask about.

Shikaku was silent for a while before speaking.

"It's not something that can't be discussed. It isn't a secret. The Senju Clan really only has Lady Tsunade left. The rest of the Senju Clan died in the earlier wars."

Shikamaru's frown deepened.

"Even the battle at Kikyo Mountain a few years ago couldn't have wiped out an old great clan entirely, could it? These days, Konoha doesn't even seem to have a trace of the Senju Clan left. Even their clan grounds are gone."

Shikaku stared at his son for a long time before speaking slowly.

"The only surviving Senju Clan members are women who married into other clans. They took their husbands' surnames, so saying the Senju Clan is gone isn't exactly wrong."

"The clan grounds are in the hands of Lady Tsunade, the First Hokage's granddaughter. While Lady Tsunade has been away from the village these past years, her teacher has been looking after them for her."

Shikamaru froze.

"Teacher? Who? I've never heard of someone like that."

Shikaku looked at his son and enunciated each word.

"Lady Tsunade's teacher is the Third Hokage."

Shikamaru shuddered all over and stared wide-eyed at his father.

Shikaku picked up his chopsticks again and took a bite of food.

"In short, the Senju Clan was always at the very front in the earlier wars, all to uphold the Will of Fire left behind by the First Hokage. Just keep that in mind. Don't go spreading it around."

Shikamaru's mouth twitched. Now he finally understood what Naruto had been getting at when he explained the First Hokage's Will of Fire to them.

Then he thought of people in their prime, like his father, withdrawing from active ninja service, and Shikamaru felt his temples throb.

"This is what Naruto told us—how Konoha came to be."

Shikamaru rubbed his forehead as he explained it to his father, already beginning to regret tagging along for Naruto's barbecue.

"Naruto?"

Shikaku repeated the name twice. Even now, he could not be sure whether the Hyuga Clan stood behind Naruto.

The incident with the Kumogakure delegation had directly torn apart the thin veneer between the Third Hokage and the great clans.

If the Third Hokage had truly forced Hizashi Hyuga to his death, the clan heads would naturally have feared Hiruzen Sarutobi all the more.

Yet Fugaku Uchiha had taken responsibility for the matter, and that had tipped the scales in every clan's heart.

Previously, the ninja clans had always stood by and watched the Hokage election like a show. Whoever became Hokage had little to do with these minor clans that lacked powerful backing.

After all, they had originally come to Konoha seeking protection. Only a few decades had passed, and the thought of becoming the ones in charge had never truly entered their minds.

Konoha's Hokage selection sounded like an open election, but in truth, it was simply a direct teacher-disciple succession. Without the right seniority, one could not become Hokage, not even if one could get past the daimyo.

The First, the Second, the Second's disciple, the Third's granddisciple—the Hokage line had always been tied to the Senju Clan.

Unfortunately, the Second had only passed his political methods to Hiruzen Sarutobi, not the capacity to match that level of calculation.

The two greatest clans of the Warring States Period—one had been worn down until it vanished without a trace, while the other had been penned inside Konoha as a guard dog.

They had turned Konoha, which could once fight four enemies at once even without Hashirama Senju, into a soft persimmon anyone could squeeze.

In the end, aside from the Senju Clan and the Uchiha, all those other clans had merely been small ninja clans running errands across the Land of Fire during the Warring States Period.

And the Kumogakure delegation's little performance a few years ago had forced every clan to reassess its relationship with Konoha.

It was not that the clans did not want peace, but using their own people's lives to fill the gaps for the sake of peace crossed the red line for every ninja clan.

They had joined Konoha for protection. Yet when outsiders came bullying them, Konoha pushed its own people out to die. Who could swallow that?

If I can't afford to provoke you, can't I at least hide from you?

That was why this generation of Ino–Shika–Cho, the Inuzuka, and the Aburame Clan all withdrew from active service together.

They could not afford to serve him anymore, lest Hiruzen Sarutobi, that old schemer, push them out to take the blade one day.

That was also why Danzo had shamelessly gone to block Shibi Aburame and demanded people from him.

It was also the root of why Hiruzen Sarutobi had resolved to uproot the Uchiha completely.

If another Hokage selection took place, his entire line would basically be finished.

No clan would choose someone who could push them out to fill the gaps at any moment as Hokage.

Then, at precisely this time, six-year-old Naruto suddenly said that the Will of Fire had been about peace among the clans from the very beginning.

Naturally, the clan heads began guessing at the family behind Naruto.

The Hyuga Clan.

After running ten laps, Naruto stood at the entrance of the Hyuga Clan compound, drenched from head to toe, sweat dripping from his chin.