"Too much! Those bastards are clearly here to stir up trouble!"
A Hagoromo clan ninja, dragged out of bed against his will, stormed up to Hagoromo Chinkai with anger written all over his face.
"So what? None of our people hold positions in either the Police Force or the Internal Affairs Department."
One of the Hagoromo elders, who had seen plenty in his years, tried to soothe Chinkai into backing down.
"Whatever. I'm going back to sleep."
Hagoromo Chinkai couldn't be bothered to argue with them. He was old now—far past his prime—and a single sleepless night was already a heavy burden for him.
Ah, it was better when he was young. Back then, he could stay awake for three days and nights straight—and might've even been able to thrash that so-called Fifth Hokage.
After all, in his youth, he'd sparred with the "prodigy" Sarutobi Hiruzen himself. Back then, even when fighting both Hiruzen and Danzō together, he hadn't fallen behind in the slightest—he'd beaten the two of them so hard they couldn't even fight back.
What's that? You want to know when that was?
Hmm... probably when he was three years old—before Konoha was even founded.
When he finally dragged himself to the bed, ready to get some rest, an ANBU operative suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Hagoromo Chinkai-sama, the Fifth Hokage requests your immediate presence at the Hokage Building for a meeting. Same room as yesterday."
"...I understand."
At that moment, Hagoromo Chinkai finally grasped Takeshi's scheme.
You bastard... you're making me stay up all night, huh?!
...
"Isn't this a bit too harsh on them?"
As one of the insiders aware of the plan, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but voice his concern about Takeshi's "old-man torture" tactic.
"Harsh? Please. They're hoarding jutsu that have been passed down for centuries and refuse to contribute them for Konoha's sake. That's treason."
Takeshi stretched by the window as he spoke, his tone dripping with disdain.
Recently, he had resumed the same intense training regimen he had in his youth. Every morning before work, he'd go through a rigorous set of drills—preparing himself for future threats, whether from other artificial humans or the Ōtsutsuki clan.
As for lesser matters, they naturally fell on Itachi and Shikaku's shoulders.
Sometimes Itachi really wondered—Takeshi was the Hokage, wasn't he? Then why did he, Itachi, end up doing all the work?
"Alright, I'm going to meet those old geezers again. I wonder what kind of attitude they'll have today."
From Takeshi's tone, it was clear that Hagoromo Chinkai hadn't been the only one subjected to such treatment yesterday.
Sure enough, in the conference room, all the opposition members from yesterday were present—each one with dark circles under their eyes so huge that anyone unaware might have thought it was a new Konoha fashion trend.
Takeshi sat at the head of the table and repeated the same speech as yesterday.
Hagoromo Chinkai, as stubborn as ever, immediately voiced his opposition again.
"Alright then. That's all for today's meeting. Dismissed."
Takeshi got up and left right after saying that—only for the same exact scenario to repeat again later, just like yesterday.
On the third day.
The fourth.
The fifth...
After seven consecutive sleepless nights, the old men finally broke. On the eighth day, the opposition voluntarily announced that they would fully support all of the Fifth Hokage's decisions—so long as the Internal Affairs Department could swiftly capture the unidentified spies who had infiltrated the ninja clans.
"See? Isn't this much better? Compared to my old man's reign of terror, my kind-hearted leadership is far more beloved."
The forever-childish Hokage said shamelessly.
And, as expected, the matter of how to allocate the ninjutsu ended up being handed off to Uchiha Itachi and Nara Shikaku.
So basically, you just wanted to take them—but didn't bother to think about how to distribute them, huh?
The two hardworking and perpetually overburdened men were furious—but ultimately gave in.
Fortunately, Shikaku was as reliable as ever. Understanding Takeshi's true intention—to raise the ceiling for civilian ninja—he poured his heart and soul into reorganizing Konoha's ninjutsu acquisition system. His plan allowed civilian-born ninja to gain access to high-level techniques at minimal cost.
The new policy passed the jōnin council vote and was officially implemented in Konoha.
However, even though it passed, Takeshi knew that this was a plan whose benefits would take time to show. It would do nothing to improve the current situation.
His strength might be among the top of the Five Kage—but against the Ōtsutsuki, it merely meant he was qualified to face them, not that he could win.
The most urgent task now... was to continue strengthening himself.
But with his bloodline being nothing special to begin with, how could he possibly grow stronger?
The only paths before him seemed to be: human modification... or sage arts...
Or perhaps—having Orochimaru develop a way to counter the Ōtsutsuki...
Or even...
Takeshi wasn't the only one harboring such thoughts—his father, Danzō, shared them as well.
At a secret location, Danzō met with Shigaraki Tanuki, one of his former subordinates.
"The serum you gave—the Fifth injected it. No visible side effects so far."
Danzō couldn't help but feel that the scene was eerily reminiscent of when he once supported Orochimaru's experiments.
"Excellent, Danzō-sama! That means Takeshi-sama can proceed with the 'Bloodline Fusion' project." Shigaraki Tanuki's face lit up with excitement.
"Your so-called 'Bloodline Fusion'—how does it differ from Hiruko's Chimera Technique?" Danzō didn't commit immediately, but instead threw Hiruko's research onto the table.
At the mention of Hiruko's name, Shigaraki Tanuki frowned slightly.
"With all due respect, Danzō-sama, Hiruko's Chimera Technique is far too dangerous—and it only allows the fusion of kekkei genkai."
"My Bloodline Fusion is different. I've already successfully merged the cells of the Uzumaki, Senju, and Uchiha clans—some of the most powerful lineages in the ninja world. It may not drastically enhance the subject's power, but it subtly alters their physique—allowing the advantages of all three bloodlines to coexist!"
"Is that so? I'll continue supporting you. But I'd prefer if your fusion could also include Ōtsutsuki cells."
Ever since learning that Konoha possessed Ōtsutsuki samples, Danzō had all but lost interest in the so-called Hashirama Cells.
Looks like I grafted this arm a bit too early, he thought grimly.
"I... I'll do my best..."
Shigaraki Tanuki's confidence faltered.
He had already tried experimenting with Ōtsutsuki cells retrieved from the moon—but the results were disastrous.
Hashirama's cells were already dominant enough, yet against Ōtsutsuki cells, even they were completely devoured.
To uncover their secrets would take much more time.
Danzō understood this couldn't be rushed, so he didn't impose strict demands.