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The news of the Hyuga's retreat spread like wildfire throughout Konoha.
The Uchiha were the first to be taken aback.
Deep within the clan grounds, Mikoto had just finished a rigorous etiquette training session and was reporting her progress to her husband, the Clan Head.
When she heard the news he brought back, her mind went blank for a moment.
"So, Daimyo-sama never intended to force the Hyuga from the start?"
"Yes, it was us… we misunderstood."
Fugaku's expression was dazed for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "But it does not matter."
His eyes became resolute again, filled with undisguised ambition.
"Even if this was a misunderstanding, our choice will not change."
"Whether the Daimyo cares or not is not important."
"Before, we had no choice, we could only follow Konoha."
"Now, we must seize this opportunity to let the Daimyo see our loyalty and value."
"As long as we seize this opportunity, our Uchiha will soar."
He looked at Mikoto, his tone allowing no room for argument.
"Continue the training."
"Since those idiots from Hyuga backed down, we Uchiha must do this perfectly."
"For the Uchiha."
Mikoto always harbored a worry about such an extreme gamble.
But her husband's resolve made her suppress her anxiety, and she nodded solemnly. "Alright. For the Uchiha."
For them, the twists and turns of the process were meaningless.
As long as the Uchiha bloodline could truly integrate into the power core of the Land of Fire.
Even if this was just self-serving flattery, they would see it through.
Compared to the Uchiha's attitude of making the best of a bad situation, the atmosphere within the Ino–Shika–Chō clan grounds was much heavier.
Inside the house, Shikaku stared at the intelligence report in his hand, completely stunned.
Inoichi and Choza sat opposite him, their expressions equally dramatic.
After a long time, Shikaku finally let out a long breath, and his entire body slumped.
He looked dejected, his face showing self-contempt.
"We were all wrong."
"Terribly wrong."
As Konoha's recognized strategist, Shikaku was accustomed to calculating everything, accustomed to exchanging the greatest benefit for the smallest cost.
But this time, his proud mind played a fatal joke on him.
"I have been analyzing the Daimyo's motives, thinking he was using both soft and hard tactics to covet our Bloodline Limits, to create division within Konoha."
He gave a bitter laugh, pressing his throbbing forehead.
"Now it seems…"
"Our perspective was too small."
Inoichi swallowed hard and spoke with difficulty. "You mean, the Daimyo… did not even care about our bloodline?"
"It is not that he did not care."
Shikaku shook his head. "Rather, from the beginning, the Daimyo never wanted it."
"We were considering the gains and losses of one village and one clan, how to protect our own secret techniques and legacy."
"But the Daimyo was considering the entire Land of Fire, how to hold Konoha in his hand."
"The concubine selection was just a stone he threw to test the waters."
"Our waiting and watching was just being clever for our own good."
Hearing Shikaku's analysis, Choza broke out in a cold sweat and said with lingering fear, "Fortunately… fortunately, the Hyuga took this blow for us."
"If the Daimyo's ultimatum had been sent to our three clans…"
The consequences would have been unimaginable.
The Ino–Shika–Chō alliance was strong, but in the face of the Daimyo Manor's swift and decisive actions, how many more days could they have lasted than the Hyuga?
"We cannot wait any longer."
Shikaku slammed the table and stood up abruptly.
He made a decisive move.
"Inoichi, Choza, go back and select people immediately."
"The Genius Cultivation Program, the Twelve Guardian Ninja, we must participate in both. We must select the most outstanding juniors and clan members."
"Immediately."
"Right now."
He emphasized his words, his expression extremely serious.
"We absolutely cannot become the next clan to be singled out by the Daimyo."
"This time, not only must we participate, we must do it brilliantly."
…
On this day, not just the Ino–Shika–Chō.
All the clans in Konoha who were still watching began to move frantically.
Hokage Building, advisors' office.
The atmosphere was equally heavy.
Hiruzen silently puffed on his pipe, the smoke rising and obscuring his aged face.
Koharu and Homura sat opposite him, both with expressions of emotion and melancholy.
"We are all old."
Finally, Homura broke the silence, his voice desolate.
"Our thinking is still stuck in the era when the village was first established. We always feel that the Bloodline Limit is the most important foundation of a clan."
"To protect it, we would stop at nothing."
Koharu pushed up her glasses, her gaze behind the lenses complex.
"Yes, we always thought this new Daimyo coveted beauty and power."
"We did not expect that what he wanted was loyalty."
"That is all."
"And we are citizens of the Land of Fire. Giving loyalty is only right and proper."
Hiruzen exhaled a smoke ring and slowly said, "Danzō said before he died that this Daimyo was more evil than the Uchiha…"
"Now it seems, Danzō understood some things, but not completely."
"He is not evil."
"He is a monarch."
"A true monarch who views the entire country as his chessboard."
"And we ninja, our proud village and clans, are merely pawns on his chessboard."
He looked at the carved faces of the successive Hokage outside the window, his eyes dim.
"With such a Daimyo, the era of the Hokage…"
"Is truly over."
…
When Konoha's major clans threw themselves into the two programs launched by the Daimyo Manor with unprecedented enthusiasm, a corner of the village remained lifeless.
The Shimura clan grounds.
There was no bustling activity like in the Uchiha grounds, nor the solemn dignity of the Hyuga main branch.
Only desolation and decay.
The weeds in the courtyard were untrimmed, and the doors and windows of many houses looked old.
Every clan member walking within the grounds wore a gloomy and fearful expression.
Danzō's death was both a relief and a disaster for the entire Shimura clan.
While he was alive, he was Konoha's Root, a blade in the darkness, wielding immense power.
Yet he was extremely harsh on his own clan.
He treated the Shimura as his private source of soldiers and treasury, constantly siphoning off the most outstanding young ninja to send into Root.
He even continuously poured the profits from the clan's industries into Root.
For decades, the Sarutobi, Utatane, and Mitokado clans all flourished due to their close relationship with the Hokage.
Only the Shimura, far from growing, gradually withered.
Now, Danzō had been executed for treason, his corpse displayed in the city.
The Shimura name in Konoha had become synonymous with "criminal."
Inside the council hall, three white-haired elders sat opposite each other, their faces filled with gloom.
They were the Shimura's only remaining elders.
"Outside… what is it like?" asked Shimura Ken, the leading elder.
"All the clans have gone mad," another elder replied bitterly. "The Genius Cultivation Program, the Twelve Guardian Ninja… I heard that the Uchiha and Hyuga submitted lists of their most core disciples."
"Even the Ino–Shika–Chō had their three Clan Heads personally lead the selection, afraid of falling even half a step behind."
Silence once again fell upon the council hall.
For other clans, it was a celebration.
For their clan, it was the end of days.
"Do we… still have a chance?" a younger clan member could not help but ask, his voice full of unwillingness.
No one could answer that question.
Danzō had committed the grave crime of regicide and rebellion.
That the Daimyo had not executed the entire Shimura clan was already an act of mercy.
To still want an opportunity?
It was simply wishful thinking.
"How will we know if we do not try?"
After a long moment, Elder Shimura Ken slowly stood up, a resolute look appearing on his aged face.
"The crime Danzō committed was his alone."
"Our Shimura have been loyal to the Land of Fire for generations. This has never changed."
"We cannot just sit here and wait for death."
He looked at everyone, his gaze becoming sharp.
"Prepare a small gift. I want to see the Fourth Hokage-sama."
(To be continued.)
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