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The News Spreads Through Konoha
The news of the Hyuga's retreat spread like wildfire throughout Konoha.
The Uchiha were the first to be taken aback by this development.
Deep within the Uchiha clan grounds, Uchiha Mikoto had just finished a rigorous etiquette training session. She was reporting her progress to her husband, the clan head.
When she heard the news her husband brought back, her mind went completely blank for a moment.
"So, the daimyo never intended to force the Hyuga clan from the very start?"
"Yes, it was us... we misunderstood the situation," Uchiha Fugaku said.
His expression was somewhat dazed at first, but he quickly recovered his composure. "But it doesn't matter anymore."
His eyes became resolute again, filled with undisguised ambition.
"Even if this was all a misunderstanding, our choice will not change."
"Whether the daimyo cares about it or not isn't important to us."
"Before, we had no choice. We could only follow Konoha!"
"Now, we must seize this opportunity to let the daimyo see our loyalty and our value!"
"As long as we seize this chance, our Uchiha clan will soar to new heights."
He looked directly at Mikoto. His tone allowed no room for argument.
"Continue the training!"
"Since those idiots from the Hyuga backed down, then we Uchiha must do this perfectly!"
"For the Uchiha!"
Mikoto had always harbored worries about such an extreme gamble with their clan's future.
But her husband's firm resolve made her choose to suppress her anxiety. She nodded solemnly. "Alright! For the Uchiha!"
For them, the twists and turns of the process were meaningless.
As long as the Uchiha bloodline could truly integrate into the power core of the Land of Fire, that was all that mattered.
Even if this was just a self-serving act of flattery, they would see it through to the end.
Compared to the Uchiha's attitude of making the best of an unexpected situation, the atmosphere within the clan grounds of the Ino-Shika-Cho was much heavier and more tense.
Inside the Nara house, Nara Shikaku stared at the intelligence report in his hand. He was completely stunned.
Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza sat opposite him. Their expressions were equally dramatic and shocked.
After a long time passed in silence, Nara Shikaku finally let out a long, exhausted breath. His entire body slumped forward.
He looked utterly dejected. His face showed deep self-contempt.
"We were all wrong," he said quietly.
"Terribly, terribly wrong."
As Konoha's recognized strategist, Nara Shikaku was accustomed to calculating everything carefully. He was used to exchanging the greatest benefits for the smallest costs.
But this time, his proud mind had played a fatal joke on him.
"I've been analyzing the daimyo's motives this entire time," he continued. "I thought he was using both soft and hard tactics to covet our bloodline limits. I thought he wanted to create division within Konoha."
He gave a bitter laugh, pressing his hand against his throbbing forehead.
"Now it seems..."
"Our perspective was far too small and narrow."
Yamanaka Inoichi swallowed hard. He spoke with difficulty. "You mean... the daimyo didn't even care about our bloodline limits?"
"It's not that he didn't care," Nara Shikaku shook his head slowly.
"Rather, from the very beginning, the daimyo never wanted them in the first place."
"We were sitting here considering the gains and losses of one village and one clan. We were thinking about how to protect our own secret techniques and clan legacies."
"But the daimyo was considering the entire Land of Fire. He was thinking about how to hold all of Konoha firmly in his hand."
"Choosing a concubine was just a stone he threw into the water to test the currents."
"Our waiting and watching was just us being clever for our own good. We thought we were being smart."
Hearing Shikaku's analysis, Akimichi Choza broke out in a cold sweat. He said with lingering fear, "Fortunately... fortunately, the Hyuga clan took this blow for all of us."
"If the daimyo's ultimatum had been sent directly to our three clans..."
He didn't need to finish. The consequences would have been unimaginable!
The Ino-Shika-Cho alliance was strong, yes. But in the face of the daimyo manor's swift and decisive actions, how many more days could they have lasted than the Hyuga clan?
Three days? Five days?
Not much longer, that was certain.
"We can't wait any longer!" Nara Shikaku suddenly slammed the table and stood up abruptly.
He made a decisive move without hesitation.
"Inoichi, Choza, go back to your clans and select people immediately!"
"The Genius Cultivation Program, the Guardian Shinobi Twelve—we must participate in both. We must select the most outstanding young members and the most capable clan members!"
"Immediately!"
"Right now!"
He emphasized his words with unusual force. His expression was extremely serious.
"We absolutely cannot become the next clan to be singled out and pressured by the daimyo!"
"This time, not only must we participate, but we must do it brilliantly and perfectly!"
All of Konoha Mobilizes
On this day, it wasn't just the Ino-Shika-Cho three clans that moved.
All the shinobi clans in Konoha who had still been watching and waiting from the sidelines began to move frantically.
Everyone scrambled to show their loyalty and value.
Inside the Hokage building, in the advisors' office, the atmosphere was equally heavy and somber.
Hiruzen Sarutobi silently puffed on his pipe. The smoke rose steadily and obscured his aged face.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura sat opposite him. Both wore expressions of deep emotion and melancholy.
"We are all old," Mitokado Homura finally broke the long silence. His voice sounded desolate and tired.
"Our way of thinking is still stuck in the era when the village was first established. We always felt that bloodline limits were the most important foundation of any shinobi clan."
"To protect them, we would stop at nothing."
Utatane Koharu pushed up her glasses carefully. Her gaze behind the lenses was complex and troubled.
"Yes, we always thought this new daimyo coveted beauty and power like the nobles of old."
"We didn't expect that what he actually wanted was loyalty."
"Just loyalty!"
"And we are originally citizens of the Land of Fire anyway. Giving our loyalty is only right and proper."
Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring slowly. He spoke in a measured tone. "Danzo said before he died that this daimyo was more evil and dangerous than even the Uchiha..."
"Now it seems that Danzo understood some things, but not completely."
"The daimyo is not evil."
"He is a monarch."
"A true monarch who views the entire country as his chessboard."
"And we shinobi, with our proud village and our proud clans, are merely pawns on his chessboard."
He looked out the window at the carved stone faces of the successive Hokage. His eyes were dim and distant.
"With such a daimyo now ruling the Land of Fire, the era of the Hokage..."
"Is truly over."
The weight of those words settled over the room like a heavy blanket.
The three old advisors sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts about the changing times.
While Konoha's major shinobi clans threw themselves into the two programs launched by the daimyo manor with unprecedented enthusiasm and energy, one corner of the village remained lifeless and still.
The clan grounds of the Shimura clan.
There was no bustling activity like in the Uchiha clan grounds. There was no solemn dignity like in the Hyuga main family compound.
Only desolation and decay remained here.
The weeds in the courtyard were untrimmed and overgrown. The doors and windows of many houses looked old and weathered, in desperate need of repair.
Every clan member walking within the clan grounds had a gloomy and fearful expression on their face.
Danzo's death had been both a relief and a complete disaster for the entire Shimura clan.
While he was alive, Danzo had been Konoha's Root. He was a blade operating in the darkness, wielding immense power and influence.
Yet, he had been extremely harsh and demanding toward his own clan.
He had treated the Shimura clan as his private source of soldiers and his personal treasury. He constantly siphoned off the most outstanding young shinobi to send into Root.
He even continuously poured the profits from the clan's industries directly into Root's operations.
For decades, the Sarutobi clan, the Utatane clan, and the Mitokado clan had all flourished and prospered due to their close relationships with the Hokage.
Only the Shimura clan, far from growing stronger, had gradually withered away under Danzo's leadership.
Now, Danzo had been executed publicly for treason. His corpse had been displayed in the capital city for all to see.
The Shimura surname in Konoha had become synonymous with the word "criminal."
Inside the clan's council hall, three white-haired elders sat opposite each other. Their faces were filled with gloom and despair.
They were the Shimura clan's only remaining elders of any standing.
"Outside... what's it like out there?" asked Shimura Ken, the leading elder.
"All the clans have gone mad," another elder replied bitterly. "The Genius Cultivation Program, the Guardian Shinobi Twelve... I heard that the Uchiha and Hyuga both submitted lists containing their most core disciples and clan members."
"Even the Ino-Shika-Cho had their three clan heads personally lead the selection process. They're afraid of falling even half a step behind the others."
Silence once again fell heavily upon the council hall.
For other clans, this was a time of celebration and opportunity.
For the Shimura clan, it felt like the end of days.
"Do we... still have any chance?" a younger clan member finally couldn't help but ask. His voice was full of unwillingness and desperation.
No one could answer that question immediately.
Danzo had committed the grave crimes of attempted regicide and open rebellion against the daimyo.
That the daimyo had not ordered the execution of the entire Shimura clan was already an extraordinary act of mercy.
To still want an opportunity to prove themselves?
It seemed like nothing more than wishful thinking.
"How will we know if we don't try?" After a long, tense moment, Elder Shimura Ken slowly stood up. A resolute look appeared on his aged face.
"The crimes Danzo committed were his alone to bear."
"Our Shimura clan has been loyal to the Land of Fire for generations. This has never changed!"
"We cannot just sit here and wait for death to come!"
He looked at everyone gathered in the hall. His gaze became sharp and determined.
"Prepare a small gift. I want to request a meeting with the Fourth Hokage!"
The other elders and clan members looked at each other uncertainly. But slowly, hope began to kindle in their eyes.
Perhaps there was still a way forward after all.