The Sarutobi Clan’s actions caught everyone completely off guard.
The smaller clans were thrown into a state of panic, while even an established alliance like Ino–Shika–Chō was forced to go with the flow.
If Orochimaru had not given everyone an opportunity to step down at the end, no one would have known how to bring the situation to a close.
Align themselves with the Sarutobi Clan or remain independent—this was the ultimatum the Sarutobi Clan had presented everyone with today.
At least, that was how most of the shinobi clans saw it.
Once today’s event ended, they began discussing the Sarutobi Clan and the Uchiha, weighing the consequences of their choices.
But some clans were different.
Among the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance, the Akimichi Clan’s compound was where the three clans gathered.
Akimichi Torifu was still alive, and as the most senior and influential elder of the three clans, their meetings were naturally held at the Akimichi compound.
Ever since the ceremony began, Torifu had remained completely silent.
The older one became, the more cautious one became.
Akimichi Torifu was roughly the same age as Hiruzen Sarutobi. Having witnessed far too many events in Konoha, he thought more deeply than most people.
He was afraid.
Yamanaka Inoichi wanted to say something, but he didn’t know how to begin.
He was in charge of Konoha’s Intelligence Division, and extracting information from the minds of the dead was his specialty.
Consequently, he knew more secrets than most.
So many, in fact, that he didn’t even know where to begin.
His inability to express himself had practically become his trademark.
It wasn’t that he disliked talking. It was that he knew that one careless word could easily expose something extremely important.
At a critical moment like this, he could only count on his friend, Nara Shikaku.
But seeing his friend leisurely coaxing Akimichi Chōza into playing hanafuda, Inoichi became even more irritated.
Within the Ino–Shika–Chō alliance, the Akimichi provided the greatest physical strength and served as its military force. The Yamanaka were its eyes and ears, gathering intelligence for the three clans. And the Nara were the alliance’s brain.
Providing wisdom for the three clans was the responsibility of the Nara.
This tradition had continued for fifteen generations.
The Nara "brains" of every generation had never disappointed the three clans.
That lazy streak, however, had never changed either.
"Shikaku, don’t you have anything to say?"
Hanafuda was somewhat similar to pai gow. It relied more on luck than intelligence, making it the only game Chōza was willing to play with Shikaku.
"What is there to say? It’s probably better if we don’t say anything at all."
Shikaku shifted his position and spoke in a lazy voice.
"Uncle Torifu clearly knows more than we do, yet he hasn’t said a word. I imagine there must be some unavoidable reason behind it."
As he spoke, he discarded the cards in his hand and continued.
"An unavoidable reason? That would inevitably involve some secret. In that case, it’s better for that secret to disappear with his generation. The more we know, the worse it will be for young people like us."
Torifu had been sitting in the main room with his head lowered, saying nothing.
But when he heard Shikaku’s words, he suddenly raised his head.
"You?"
Torifu’s fingers trembled.
"Shikaku, you figured it out?"
Shikaku yawned, apparently less than impressed by the question.
"It wasn’t difficult to figure out. And figuring it out doesn’t mean anything. The solution isn’t in our hands. What matters is whether we want the consequences of this secret to continue affecting the next generation. That’s the choice you have to make, Uncle Torifu."
Shikaku and Torifu spoke in riddles.
Chōza didn’t care in the slightest.
He gathered up the cards, then forcefully split a peach in half and tossed one half to Shikaku.
He didn’t even consider giving any to Inoichi.
Inoichi was already accustomed to it. Chōza simply wasn’t the type to think about things like this. It wasn’t that he had anything against him.
At this moment, however, Inoichi was concerned only with the secret Shikaku had mentioned.
Was there still a secret in Konoha that he didn’t know about?
Akimichi Torifu fell silent.
He thought for a long while before finally deciding to stop thinking about it.
The Akimichi Clan wasn’t suited for this sort of thing.
He might as well let Shikaku decide.
"Shikaku, what exactly have you figured out?"
There were some things one had to pretend not to know after learning about them.
Yet there were also things that, no matter how much one wished not to know, one had no choice but to know.
"Uncle, once we’ve exposed it, we can’t pretend we don’t know anymore!"
Shikaku was helpless.
He handed the choice back to Torifu.
"What can we do? We have to make a choice eventually."
Torifu finally made his decision.
Only after receiving Torifu’s answer did Shikaku begin to speak.
"All right. Then this is going to take us pretty far back. At the very least, we have to start with the death of the Second Hokage."
As he spoke, Shikaku sat upright.
"Konoha under the Second Hokage’s rule wasn’t exactly a good Konoha."
A single sigh carried their thoughts far into the past.
"I’ve looked through countless records and read countless books. Konoha in its early days was truly magnificent—enough to make anyone yearn for those times."
There was both regret and longing in Shikaku’s voice.
"But I suppose it’s only natural. Whether it’s a person, a family, an organization, a region, or even an entire nation, when something is first established, everyone devotes themselves wholeheartedly to it. No one is careless, and no one holds back their effort. Perhaps those early days are filled with hardship and suffering, when people have to fight desperately for the slightest chance of survival.
"But once circumstances gradually improve, people’s spirits gradually relax. Given enough time, inertia naturally takes hold. What begins with a few eventually spreads to the majority. Once that atmosphere becomes established, even tremendous effort can no longer reverse it, let alone repair the damage.
"And as one’s territory gradually expands, that expansion may come naturally, or it may be driven by the desire for achievement. When expansion is pursued too aggressively, talent and capable personnel eventually become stretched thin, making it increasingly difficult to cope. Meanwhile, the environment becomes ever more complicated, and one’s ability to maintain control inevitably weakens.
"There are those who become corrupt as the administration declines. There are those whose policies die with them. There are those who seek glory only to bring disgrace upon themselves.
"In the end, no one can escape this cycle."
Konoha was no different.
What was strange was that the Shinobi World had endured a thousand years of warfare, yet because of two extraordinary men, the form of conflict had so suddenly changed from warfare between clans into battles between hidden villages.
Shikaku had always felt that the daimyō and the shinobi existed in a relationship of mutual dependence and mutual suspicion.
Once the shinobi grew too powerful, the daimyō’s authority would inevitably diminish.
Yet if the shinobi of a nation became too weak, that nation could be swallowed by another daimyō at any moment.
Regardless of how one looked at it, however, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha had brought the Shinobi World into an entirely new era.
Shikaku’s mind was tangled with countless thoughts as he continued sighing over the past.
"Konoha during the First Hokage’s era may have constantly been apologizing to other hidden villages, but the arrogance of the entire village was plain for anyone to see."
Shikaku pulled a book from inside his robes and pointed to the passages recorded within.
"Look at these records. ’Today, we apologized to so-and-so again.’"
At this point, Shikaku’s expression became almost proud.
"Konoha back then was truly something else. They were absolutely fearless!
"Apologizing? Naturally, there were victims. But the victims’ reactions weren’t recorded in Konoha’s history.
"The message was practically written between the lines: We’ve already apologized. How dare you refuse to forgive us?"
At this point, Shikaku raised his head and looked at Torifu.
"Uncle Torifu, Konoha back then must have been a village so proud that it practically looked down upon the entire world, wasn’t it?"
Torifu nodded.
He was also proud of Konoha during that era.
But then Shikaku’s tone suddenly changed.
"Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. I’ve always felt that someone was stirring things up behind the scenes. Even after the Senju and Uchiha Clans had become relatively harmonious, the leaders of the two clans somehow ended up in conflict.
"The two men who had stood above everyone else in the world fell apart just like that."
Regret.
His words were filled with regret.
"After that, the era of one dominant village and four other great powers was gone. The Shinobi World was left with five major hidden villages and countless smaller ones."
Shikaku’s regret was based on his speculation about an idealized past.
Torifu, however, had experienced it firsthand.
"Yes. After the First Hokage died and Madara Uchiha left the village, Konoha was no longer that supreme Konoha."
Torifu’s words confirmed Shikaku’s speculation.
Shikaku picked up the thread.
"Put that way, Senju Tobirama, who inherited the position of Second Hokage, really was unlucky. It’s not that he wasn’t powerful. It’s just that compared with those two, his strength seemed far too ordinary."
Torifu nodded.
He understood exactly what Shikaku meant.
Perhaps it was also an excuse for some of the choices he himself had made in the past.
"Yes. Sometimes, mediocrity itself can be a sin.
"Master Tobirama wasn’t weak. With his brilliant mind, he solved countless internal and external problems facing Konoha.
"He established the ANBU to consolidate the Hokage’s authority. He established the Konoha Military Police Force, both to protect Konoha and to monitor the Uchiha Clan. He founded the Ninja Academy to cultivate talented young shinobi.
"Through Master Tobirama’s series of reforms, Konoha grew from a fledgling sapling into a towering tree.
"But the more you do, the more people you offend.
"Especially because Konoha under Master Tobirama simply couldn’t compare with those two when it came to its strength against the outside worl
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