Though the agreement reached with Onoki—where both sides would withdraw and cease hostilities—had proceeded smoothly, and its execution afterward had gone off without a hitch, Sakumo Hatake couldn't stop thinking about the Sealing Scroll that Onoki had freely given to Hyuga Soushu.
In fact, he was so preoccupied that he seemed almost absent-minded beyond reason.
Once Iwa's Ninja Force had fully withdrawn and Konoha's forces had retaken control of the border town in the Land of Rain, Hyuga Soushu noticed Sakumo's distraction and pulled him aside.
"Do you want to see what's inside?"
Hyuga Soushu held up the Sealing Scroll and spoke plainly. "What's within might deeply disappoint you, even cause you to lose your way as a ninja—or worse, lead you down a dark path."
"Have you looked at it?" Sakumo asked curiously.
Although they hadn't been together constantly, during the process of taking over positions across the shinobi world, Hyuga Soushu shouldn't have had time to open this scroll.
"Not yet," Hyuga Soushu shook his head, then grinned faintly without any real humor. "But I can probably guess what's in there."
"Maybe it's just another one of Onoki's schemes."
Sakumo remained silent for a long while before finally speaking softly. "The cost of sowing discord is so low; I didn't expect him not to exaggerate further."
"Precisely. And it was an open ploy, done right in front of us."
Hyuga Soushu shrugged indifferently. "Yet it reveals human nature all too well, doesn't it?"
"When there's smoke, there's fire. A single sealed scroll has unsettled you because deep down, you're already full of doubt yourself."
"Sakumo-kun, stop deceiving yourself."
Hyuga Soushu's words ruthlessly pierced Sakumo's final psychological defenses.
"I understand."
After a long pause, Sakumo—who had turned pale—nodded slowly. "If it really is like that, then what should we do next?"
"If you don't push forward against the current, you'll only be swept away by it. You've already lost the chance to retreat."
Hyuga Soushu suddenly changed his tone, tossing the question back to Sakumo. "However, behind you stand many others, including Kōryō, waiting eagerly for you to take the next step forward."
Sakumo said nothing.
"Then this scroll shall be yours to handle."
Seeing this, Hyuga Soushu stopped pressing him further and simply handed over the Sealing Scroll. "It may contain real evidence, or it could be forged documents. More likely, it's a mix of truth and deception."
"What you do with it is entirely your choice."
Sakumo sighed softly and reached out to take the scroll.
He held it in his palm for a moment, then clenched his teeth and summoned a burst of chakra fire, turning the Sealing Scroll into ash.
Hyuga Soushu arched an eyebrow but didn't try to stop him.
Only after completely destroying the scroll did Sakumo let out a breath, scattering the remaining ash into the wind. The tense look on his face eased slightly.
"Feeling better now?" Hyuga Soushu asked with a smile.
"Indeed!"
A faint smile graced the face of Sakumo Hatake.
"It'll be troublesome for anyone who tries to confront us without evidence in the future."
Hyuga Soushu continued to fan the flames.
"I don't care about evidence!"
Sakumo Hatake shook his head. "When it comes to the Ninja Way and the Will of Fire, there's only one way this ends—one side wipes out the other. Do you really think a worthless piece of paper could possibly bring someone down?"
"Besides, accusations like this can be made up anytime!"
It would naturally be best to subdue the enemy without battle.
The Iwagakure army, personally led by Third Tsuchikage Onoki, was forced to retreat under the overwhelming might of Konoha's military forces. This marked a great victory for Konoha! Although members of the Hokage faction bitterly resented what they saw as a pointless war, they were powerless to alter the outcome.
Because even they themselves no longer wished to keep fighting—it's always easier to argue than to engage in real combat, so they clung tightly to their verbal advantage.
Hyuga Soushu directly ignored their complaints and ordered a withdrawal to regroup after Sakumo Hatake began reorganizing the defense line.
At the same time, Hyuga Soushu issued an official victory dispatch detailing the battle results back to the village and petitioned rewards for all participating ninja.
However, when this report reached Konoha and was submitted to the Hokage Tower, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi felt as if he had swallowed a dead fly.
According to Konoha's rules of ninja forces administration, Hyuga Soushu's action of traveling a thousand miles to reinforce Sakumo Hatake would certainly constitute breaking discipline, moving troops arbitrarily, and abandoning his defensive zone—an entire chain of charges serious enough to ruin and disgrace him completely.
Yet he couldn't handle it that way.
Because the war had been won!
Although it was only a unilateral declaration of victory by Konoha, nothing could stop the villagers from falling into celebration upon hearing this news. Sakumo Hatake, Hyuga Soushu, and the Sannin became the most discussed topics among villagers. Of course, information regarding the existence and roles of his three disciples was mainly spread secretly at the instruction of Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi himself, aiming to create equal influence against Hyuga Soushu and Sakumo Hatake in public opinion.
For a ninja, nothing comes before victory—not rules, not rank, nothing.
From breaking ranks and marching on the capital to returning to purge rivals—so long as one keeps winning, opportunities will always arise. This was precisely how Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi gradually climbed to the highest peak of power in Konoha after achieving victory in the First Great Ninja War.
Because only the ones who win—and survive—get to write the rules from now on.
Clearly, Sakumo Hatake had already grasped this rule.
Another sealed letter lay before Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, its title particularly eye-catching:
[Proposal for Direct Jonin Balloting in Konoha Affairs]
At the bottom, it was signed by Sakumo Hatake.
This was a challenge to authority—a formal demand for surrendering power.
Of course, Sakumo Hatake wasn't really in such a rush as to force the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi into resignation from the Hokage seat. His demand was simple and clear: fully establish and implement the Jonin Council Election System—setting clear rules so every Jonin in the unit could cast one vote to directly elect the Hokage.
After all, as the condition for Sakumo agreeing to leave the village during a critical moment to station himself at Rain Country's military camp, Konoha had indeed announced this so-called direct election proposal—but nothing more followed.
As for those clan leaders, they conveniently chose not to make a big deal out of it. One reason was to keep pressure off themselves, and the other was their belief that Sakumo Hatake wouldn't bring up a motion just on a whim to be displayed uselessly.
Now, with Sakumo defeating the Iwagakure-Rain Ninja Alliance alongside Soushu Hyuga, the clan leaders' initial suspicions were further confirmed.
Therefore, right after Soushu Hyuga's victory report reached the village, Sakumo Hatake's enhanced proposal landed on the Hokage's desk too.
However, to the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two advisory elders, this so-called enhancement proposal was nothing more than Sakumo Hatake overstepping due to self-conceit. From the very beginning, they had actually opposed the idea of Jonin direct elections for Hokage.
"Somebody witnessed Onoki giving that young brat from the Hyuga household a scroll."
Homura Mitokado rushed into the Hokage Office, his face looking sour, as if he'd just tasted some 'ori gai'—the kind of thing that makes your face twist like you've eaten raw chili paste.
"That scroll has already been personally destroyed by Sakumo," replied the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi without even lifting his head, calmly speaking.
But he didn't open the proposal either—he simply let his hand linger over the cover.
"Are you certain?"
Still uneasy, Homura asked again.
"What difference does it make whether such evidence exists or not?" The Third Hokage looked up, meeting Homura's anxious expression with calm words. "Homura, do you think I would abandon you and use you as a scapegoat to sacrifice?"
"That won't happen," Koharu Utatane shook her head.
Just then, Koharu Utatane also entered the Hokage Office.
Clearly, she had caught wind of the reports Soushu Hyuga and Sakumo Hatake had sent back to the village through her own sources; otherwise, she wouldn't have hurried here like this.
This was Konoha's Hokage Tower.
To Konoha's top leadership, it might as well have been nothing more than a ramshackle makeshift team—a bunch of actors thrown together on a rickety stage with no script.
Had it not been for their deep-rooted heritage and the fact that no matter what crisis arose, someone always stepped up to turn things around, Konoha's F4 would've likely caused the village to collapse long before the First Great Ninja War even ended.
"Orochimaru had already led the troops back to the Land of Lightning," said Koharu Utatane. "Hiruzen, we can't let our own people keep fighting to profit that Hyuga brat!"
"Disband the forces now?"
The Third Hokage had been expecting that.
"Not only should we disband them, but we must also redeploy the Northern Front forces to the Eastern Coastal Camp!"
"Now that I know you're unharmed, let's focus on our course of action." Homura Mitokado immediately started scheming after learning of his own safety. "We must stir up real chaos between the Hyuga Main House and Branch House. Ideally, we could force them to trigger the Caged Bird Seal's self-destruction right then and there!"
"A complete split isn't realistic," he continued, "but turning the Main House and Branch House against each other shouldn't be too difficult."
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly analyzed: "Although tensions indeed run high between them, they haven't reached the breaking point yet."
"Why not?"
Homura Mitokado intentionally asked despite already knowing the answer.
"Because their interests haven't been completely divided yet. The Branch House still has a path forward through service in the Northern Front."
Clearly enjoying this interaction with his old friend, Hiruzen continued: "More importantly, neither side has fully realized their ultimate strength yet."
"Still, the Hyuga Clan's power can unquestionably be called Konoha's top powerhouse."
Koharu Utatane added with a sinister tone, "It's time for the village to recognize this officially!"
"That's right! Especially since they command two major Ninja Force headquarters—there's no exaggeration in calling them Konoha's top powerhouse!"
Homura Mitokado immediately acted as though he'd just come to this realization.
Now, if the Hyuga Clan were labeled Konoha's top powerhouse—even the leading ninja clan across all nations—who'd take offense?
Undoubtedly, it would be the conceited, arrogant Uchiha clan with their lofty pride.
And once these two powerful dojutsu clans went head-to-head, the Coalition of Ninja Clans would lose its strongest pillar of strength.
Beyond that, how would Hyuga Soushu fare with numerous Uchiha ninjas under his command?
After all, when it comes to clan pride, neither the Uchiha nor the Hyuga are known for backing down easily!
While their alliance held briefly out of shared interest, it was obvious the other clans still preferred negotiating with the more reasonable Hyuga. If the Uchiha were expelled from the coalition and returned to their previously isolated state, what kind of reaction might they have?
Especially considering the Uchiha controlled Konoha's strongest department—the Policing Department (Konoha's elite security force)! What a perfect weapon for old grudges!
Almost instantly, schemes began bubbling up endlessly in Homura Mitokado's mind—plots to stir up trouble, fabricate incidents, fan the flames, and exacerbate tensions.
"How should the village respond to their official declaration of return then?" Koharu pointed at the documents on Third Hokage's desk while asking.
"Or perhaps we should simply ignore it?"
"That won't work!"
Homura Mitokado immediately shook his head vigorously. "If we handle it like that, public opinion will surely turn against us!"
"So how do you think we should properly manage this situation?"
The Third Hokage asked promptly—this was exactly the part he found tricky.
"Reward all participating ninja generously, especially Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade!"
Homura Mitokado pointed at the combat report sent back by Hyuga Soushu while speaking. "We must highlight all participating ninja's great contributions and promote this battle as [Will of Fire] – the spirit that defines Konoha's best example!"
"Uh..." Koharu seemed somewhat confused now.
"As for that Byakugan boy, just mention him briefly in the propaganda. But Sakumo requires special handling."
Homura Mitokado added.
"How should we handle him?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi became more interested.
"Split it fifty-fifty!"
Homura declared, "Strike a 50-50 balance between his merits and faults! After all, before the arrival of reinforcements, Sakumo Hatake suffered repeated defeats—his record was nothing but a waste of Konoha ninjas' lives and sacrifices!"
"Appropriate?"
Hiruzen raised his eyebrows.
"Perfectly appropriate!"
Koharu Utatane immediately chimed in support.
"In that case, I'll leave this matter in your hands,"
Hiruzen nodded, handing Hyuga Soushu's combat report to Homura. "It's entirely in your hands. The village needs clever minds like yours to steer the changes!"
"Don't you worry, Hiruzen!"
Homura nodded with modest arrogance. "You know my work style—you can rest assured!"
"What about this proposal then?"
Hiruzen picked up Sakumo's enhanced proposal document and asked.
"This is extremely significant," Homura gave another suggestion. "I recommend holding both the Ninja Clan Summit and Jonin Meeting discussions. We must let those wavering clans see how many Jonin Units actually support Sakumo, making them see how commoners rising in power threatens their own interests!"
"This is an open scheme, but could cause divisions within the village."
Hiruzen sighed, appearing hesitant.
"All of this is Sakumo and Soushu's fault!"
Koharu's eyes turned as she instantly understood this was her old friend trying to act morally superior again, so she willingly took the villain role: "It's not your fault at all. Sakumo simply pushed too hard, and besides, we can't let the teacher's hard work go to waste!"
"You're absolutely right! Let's do it!"
Hiruzen clenched his teeth as if making a tremendous decision.
The two council elders then began performing dramatically in unison, appropriately supporting and praising each other.
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