Meeting

"Lord Hokage!!!"

When Sarutobi Hiruzen entered the combat command headquarters’ conference hall with Gu Sheng, everyone inside stood up at the same time.

"Everyone, sit!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen took his seat at the head of the table. Tsunade and Orochimaru sat on either side of him. On the other sides of Orochimaru and Tsunade were White Fang and Dan Katō respectively.

After giving Orochimaru some instructions, Sarutobi Hiruzen had Orochimaru arrange for a chair to be placed behind his position, signaling for Gu Sheng to sit down.

Once seated, Gu Sheng glanced around. At the very least, everyone qualified to attend the strategy meeting was a Special Jonin. There were many familiar faces: the Uchiha, the Senju, and the Hyuga’s Byakugan were easy to recognize, as were the distinctive physiques of the Ino-Shika-Cho and the tightly wrapped members of the Aburame Clan…

Uchiha Fugaku noticed his gaze, nodded, and greeted him. What surprised Gu Sheng was that Nawaki and Chu Xin, two juniors, were also present.

"Today’s topic is simple. The war against Sunagakure has entered a stable phase, and the village has encountered some new circumstances recently. I intend to transfer some personnel from the front line to the rear."

After looking around, the Third Hokage began, "The first to withdraw, of course, will be those who are seriously wounded. Then…"

As Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke, his gaze swept over the senior leaders in charge of the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga. This time, the three clans had advanced and retreated together, putting forward a reasonable request for recuperation. Though he had been somewhat unwilling, he had ultimately agreed.

What puzzled him was who had been pulling the strings behind this. Or had someone seen through his and Danzo’s plan to weaken the three founding clans? Sarutobi Hiruzen would never have imagined that the person he wanted to find was sitting not far away, having just spoken with him at length.

It was not that Sarutobi Hiruzen had been careless. Gu Sheng’s age was simply too deceptive. A twelve-year-old boy who, before this great battle, had been no more than a marginal figure among the Uchiha—how could he possibly have had the ability to unite the three clans?

"Thank you, Lord Third…"

Fugaku stood and exchanged some polite words. His meaning was that even if several clans returned to recuperate, they were still part of Konoha and would come whenever summoned. The elders of the Senju and Hyuga said nothing more, leaving the stage to Fugaku.

It was not that they did not want to let their younger generation show off. The truth was that few of them had anyone capable of holding their own.

The Hyuga Clan’s strength was very balanced. Most of its shinobi were at the Chunin or Jonin level. There were few Genin, and few Elite Jonin. In terms of distribution, it was a perfect sphere: the middle was the largest, while both ends were sparse.

To put it more plainly, the Hyuga’s Byakugan and physique made it easier for them than ordinary shinobi to advance to Jonin, but they also restricted their development.

The Hyuga Clan had very few Kage Level powerhouses. Most were at Quasi-Kage Level. Compared with the Uchiha and Senju, they lacked some strength at the very top, but their upper and middle ranks were stronger than those of other ninja clans.

The Uchiha’s Sharingan was another matter. A Single Tomoe did not match the Hyuga’s Byakugan under the Caged Bird Seal, and not every clan member could guarantee awakening the eye. Compared with the Hyuga, whose entire clan possessed the Byakugan, they were generally at a disadvantage when it came to ocular techniques.

The Senju Clan were descendants of the Sage Body. Their physiques were extraordinarily powerful, but few could develop that physique to its limits. Or rather, it depended too heavily on bloodline. Aside from the direct lineage, the boost granted by their physique was not as powerful as one might imagine.

Among this generation’s direct descendants were Tsunade and Nawaki. Nawaki had yet to mature. As for Tsunade… forget it. She was still politically clueless at present. Who knew what kind of mess she would create if she spoke?

"Sigh! I wonder whether the First Hokage’s decision back then was right or wrong. That little monkey and Danzo have gone too far."

An elderly-looking kunoichi watched Fugaku speak eloquently with a worried expression. After glancing at the composed Third Hokage, she felt even more exhausted.

She was Senju Momoka, a trusted aide of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. She had personally orchestrated the Senju’s discreet integration into Konoha. However, the changes in Konoha since the Third Hokage took over felt unfamiliar to her. They were not part of the plan the First Hokage had devised back then.

The Third Hokage and Danzo had gone too far in trying to eliminate the Senju’s influence. Tsunade and Nawaki did not feel much of it, but the elders who had survived from the era of the ninja clans had keenly noticed that something was wrong.

If things continued like this for several more decades, the name of the Forest Senju would probably disappear entirely. By then, they might even be inferior to the Uchiha and Hyuga. That did not match the First Hokage’s intentions.

The First Hokage’s plan had been to use the Senju as a standard and integrate them into every aspect of Konoha, not to make the Senju disappear and be completely erased within the village.

"Uchiha…"

Senju Momoka looked at Fugaku, then at Gu Sheng behind Orochimaru, and could not help sighing inwardly. Compared with the Senju and Hyuga, the Uchiha’s Sharingan was actually the most egalitarian form of Kekkei Genkai.

The Hyuga had the distinction between the Main Family and Branch Family. The Main Family’s purity was higher than the Branch Family’s, and its power was greater. The Senju were the same. The clan leader’s line had always produced many experts; their direct bloodline was purer, and their physiques were correspondingly stronger.

The Uchiha, however, were different. Theoretically, every Sharingan among the Uchiha possessed limitless potential, unrestricted by bloodline. The branch currently in power, Fugaku’s line, had no particularly close blood relationship with the original clan leader, Madara Uchiha.

Even among his descendants, Itachi and Sasuke were both geniuses. Shisui, a descendant of Kagami Uchiha, was also a genius among geniuses. One could say that they all had glorious pasts and might have inherited the legacy of their predecessors.

But Uchiha Obito, who would later start the Fourth Great Ninja War, had truly come from a commoner family. Aside from his bloodline connection to the Uchiha, he had nothing else. Yet his Sharingan awakened faster than anyone else’s in the Uchiha: first reaching the Two Tomoe soon after awakening, then advancing directly to the Mangekyo. He was practically a cheat.

The Uchiha’s Sharingan was tied to emotion and had little to do with bloodline. There was no rule that the direct lineage was necessarily stronger than the collateral branches. In that regard, the Uchiha were the clan with limitless potential.

At the very least, for Reincarnators, becoming an awakened Uchiha was more worthwhile than becoming a Hyuga. After all, every Hyuga Reincarnator except Chu Xin belonged to the Branch Family. They were given a Caged Bird Seal right from the start. Just imagining it was terrifying.

"Regarding this withdrawal, does anyone have any other opinions?"

The Third Hokage stood and ended the various parties’ statements. After looking around, he spoke in a low voice again: "The situation on the front line is complicated, and I cannot return to Konoha in the short term. Therefore, I intend to choose an Acting Hokage to return to Konoha and oversee the situation."

Sarutobi Hiruzen’s words caused a commotion in the hall. Gu Sheng was also utterly astonished. Wasn’t the Acting Hokage position something Tsunade had created, only for Danzo to interfere, trick Kakashi, and get him to serve as a trial Hokage for a few days?

Sarutobi Hiruzen’s gaze swept across the room. Orochimaru and Tsunade also became somewhat unsettled. "Acting Hokage… Uchiha… Sheng…"