The peak of power breeds false supporters; only at dusk can one see who the true believers are.
A massive public ceremony gave the bustling Konoha Village a chance to witness the true peak of the Sarutobi Clan.
Izuno, Kazamatsuri, Ise, Ebisu, Yūhi, and Morino.
These clans, normally little more than background figures in Konoha, were enjoying their moment of glory today. They had become the first groups, after the Sarutobi Clan, to participate in the ceremony.
These minor clans, each barely held together by one or two Jōnin or Special Jōnin, had suddenly stepped into the public eye, receiving cheers from the people of Konoha.
They occupied the positions originally belonging to the Ino–Shika–Chō trio, following closely behind the Sarutobi Clan and enthusiastically cheering on the ceremony.
Yet this spectacle left the Konoha Elder Council standing at a distance in an awkward position.
Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzō Shimura—people who normally maintained close ties with Hiruzen—had not appeared at his side immediately.
Whether they were harboring doubts of their own or simply had not received the news in advance was unclear.
Their clans, however, had already joined the Sarutobi Clan’s celebration.
They had done so spontaneously, without needing anyone to order them to, almost as though it were second nature.
The three members of the Elder Council, meanwhile, huddled together far away from the festivities.
Danzō Shimura, half his body wrapped in bandages, remained remarkably calm.
Everyone believed that, at this point, war was inevitable.
The Elder Council simply felt that no matter who won the war, it would bring them no real benefit.
Nor would it necessarily bring them any harm.
Especially Danzō.
To Hiruzen, Danzō was an enemy of Uchiha Kei who could never coexist with him.
Yet from Uchiha Kei’s side, they had recently seen Danzō repeatedly sending gifts to the Uchiha.
The elders therefore suspected that Danzō was betting on both sides.
That was why the three of them had arranged this private discussion today.
Danzō, however, was thinking about things differently.
For the first time, he had begun seriously considering himself and his clan rather than Konoha.
Because Konoha no longer needed him to worry about it.
In the current environment, if he wanted the Shimura Clan to survive, Danzō believed he should learn from Uchiha Kei during the latter’s weaker days.
Gather strength.
Abandon short-term interests.
Preserve his forces.
Externally, he needed to display an attitude of fighting to the death, making everyone understand that anyone who tried to swallow the Shimura Clan whole would break their own teeth in the process.
But when Danzō saw the strength displayed by the Sarutobi Clan, his heart ached with envy.
"Dammit! We’re all disciples of the Second Hokage. I’ve spent all these years doing the dirty work and the thankless work, yet I’ve struggled just to keep the Shimura Clan alive. I couldn’t even support a proper Root organization without having to rely on the Hokage’s prestige to forcibly drag in members from other clans."
As he spoke, he pointed a trembling finger toward the Sarutobi Clan, his meaning obvious.
Look at them. Just look at how glorious their clan is.
At the thought, the veins on Danzō’s arm bulged.
Faintly, the outline of a human face and a pair of red eyes could be seen beneath his skin.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane, however, took things much more calmly than Danzō.
Their alliance with Danzō was nothing more than mutual protection.
None of them were particularly good people, so naturally they had to help one another.
History had shown that the less capable a person was after rising to power, the more likely they were to surround themselves with other incompetent allies.
At the same time, they would scheme against anyone who actually possessed ability.
The moment a genuinely capable person emerged, the contrast would expose the incompetence of people like them.
And once that happened, they would risk losing the authority entrusted to them.
Therefore, they had to unite, promote people even more foolish than themselves, and suppress anyone truly capable.
The people they admired were those skilled at flattery, bootlicking, forming factions, and pursuing personal interests.
That was why Homura and Koharu understood better than anyone just how incompetent they themselves were.
Their survival strategy was simple:
Follow the Third Hokage’s lead.
Earn his trust.
Use that trust to obtain political power.
Then form an alliance with Danzō, whom they regarded as another incompetent man who was jealous of anyone more talented than himself.
That was how they survived.
"Stop complaining, Danzō. He’s the Hokage, after all. Perhaps when you become Hokage, you’ll be even more impressive than he is!"
Koharu Utatane laughed as she spoke, as though she had just told an incredibly amusing joke.
The sarcasm in her voice was impossible to miss.
Homura Mitokado, however, was looking at the situation more seriously.
"This is pointless. Trading barbs with each other is pointless. Sarutobi has gone to such lengths for this ceremony, yet we weren’t among those invited. We weren’t even informed ahead of time. Aren’t either of you worried? Aren’t you afraid that, in Sarutobi’s eyes, we’re already no different from those other shinobi clans?"
"Worried? Why should I be worried?"
Koharu looked into the distance.
One by one, the clans that knew what was happening knelt in worship.
Those who had not been informed had not even been given time to communicate with one another. They could only follow the crowd and kneel along with everyone else.
At that very moment, the entire village of Konoha seemed to kneel as one.
On a magnificent temporary altar, only Hiruzen Sarutobi and the elite children of the Sarutobi Clan remained standing, performing the Awa Odori.
"Worrying is meaningless. Don’t you see? In Konoha today, no one dares to voice the slightest opposition to Hiruzen’s decisions."
Koharu’s tone carried an air of superiority, as though she herself were the one standing above everyone else.
But that was not what Homura meant.
"Tch. And what would have happened without this ceremony? Hiruzen has been the Third Hokage for so many years. Do you really think that was for nothing? Has there been a single voice in the village openly opposing Hiruzen?"
Homura could not understand what Koharu was so proud of.
Yet Koharu was genuinely proud.
"Of course there has! The three of us, for one! Aren’t we the greatest opponents of the Third Hokage right under his nose? Isn’t balancing the Hokage’s authority part of our job?"
"Hahahaha!"
Danzō burst into laughter when he heard this.
"You foolish woman. Stop flattering yourself. What opponents? We’re nothing of the sort. All we’re doing is handling the things Sarutobi wants done but doesn’t want to do himself."
Homura nodded along.
"After all these years, Koharu, haven’t you realized it yet? Have any of our opinions that were actually detrimental to Sarutobi ever been allowed to proceed?"
Koharu Utatane froze.
She had been shaken by the fact that Hiruzen had not invited them to his grand ceremony in advance, while at the same time being intimidated by the strength displayed by the Sarutobi Clan.
"Surely it isn’t that bad. We’ve still accomplished quite a few major things behind Sarutobi’s back."
Danzō stepped forward and positioned himself in front of the two.
He left his back toward them.
Looking at Hiruzen, who stood proudly upon the altar, Danzō shook his head.
"Accomplished major things? Koharu, give me an example."
Koharu’s expression became even more uncomfortable.
She stammered for a long while without managing to produce an answer.
Finally, she said:
"Homura and I are merely advisers. We don’t have much power we can directly command. But I refuse to believe that you, Danzō, haven’t done anything behind the Third Hokage’s back!"
Koharu became agitated.
Having her years of self-deception exposed so bluntly was humiliating.
Danzō gave a bitter laugh.
"Does killing Uchiha Saka count? He was the Third Hokage’s only true opponent. That’s the biggest thing I can say I did behind Sarutobi’s back."
As he spoke, Danzō turned around.
"Everything else requires money. And the moment money is spent, it leaves traces. Once traces are left behind, there’s no way to escape the Third Hokage’s eyes."
Everyone knew that the Sarutobi Clan kept an extremely tight grip on every coin in Konoha’s finances.
"So for everything else, if Sarutobi didn’t openly support it, he still provided the money."
After hearing Danzō’s words, Koharu fell silent.
For the first time, she began to doubt herself.
Could it be that all these years, I really have only been the Third Hokage’s puppet?
Don’t wander around carelessly on rainy days, especially don’t wade through standing water. You never know where the electrical wiring has deteriorated.
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