In the Hokage's office of Konoha, documents were piled mountain-high on the desk.
Amidst these paper mountains, Hiruzen Sarutobi was overwhelmed with concerns.
He hadn't been home for two days, spending nearly twenty-four hours in his office during this time.
On one hand, there was the escalating conflict within the Uchiha clan; on the other, the attempted attack on the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
Although Lady Mito hadn't suffered any substantial harm, the fact remained that an intruder had managed to reach the Senju Mansion.
Such an occurrence was previously unimaginable!
After all, Lady Mito, born into the Uzumaki clan, possessed not only enormous chakra reserves and longevity but also terrifyingly powerful sensory abilities.
Yet now, even someone with such powerful sensing capabilities had been targeted.
This not only exposed major flaws in the village's infiltration defense but also served as a wake-up call to Konoha's leadership.
Lady Mito was truly getting on in years!
The selection of the next Nine-Tails Jinchūriki needed to be prioritized.
Following Shimura Danzō's suggestion, they could simply relocate the entire Uzumaki clan to Konoha.
This would solve both the Jinchūriki issue and eliminate the need to protect Uzushiogakure.
Honestly, Hiruzen found this idea quite appealing.
However, the reality was that the Land of Fire's feudal lord would never approve such a proposal.
Just look at how even when Rinjin overthrew the Land of Grass's feudal lord, none of the other major nations made any moves.
The gap between the feudal lords' personal forces and the major hidden villages was like comparing a toddler learning to walk to a warrior wielding a great sword.
This had led to an unspoken rule among the feudal lords.
War was acceptable, but national borders must never change.
Breaking this rule would severely damage the interests of both major and minor nation feudal lords alike.
It's simple: if war is won, whose territory does the expanded border belong to?
The feudal lord's? Hardly, as a feudal lord without soldiers is at best half a puppet.
And for the defeated feudal lord? Though it may not hurt much, the loss of land is very real.
The key point is, no one can be a perpetual victor.
Thus, the feudal lords use this method to control the hidden villages.
They let them fight their battles, but they don't want any extra land, observing the skirmishes like watching children fight.
After all, these battles yield no substantial results.
Moreover, having small nations around prevents direct border contact between the five major countries.
Setting aside the Land of Fire's feudal lord's thoughts, more importantly, the Uzumaki clan is unwilling to merge into Konoha.
They're leading the clan well; why join Konoha only to become subordinates?
Reluctantly, Hiruzen had to send the ANBU to the Uzumaki clan to fetch someone.
The chosen candidate was, of course, Naruto's mother, Queen Kushina.
Compared to this matter, what troubled Hiruzen Sarutobi even more was the Uchiha clan.
Hiruzen hadn't anticipated that Uchiha Kagami being expelled from the Uchiha clan would stir such a storm.
Kagami himself showed little reaction, but those clan members who once strongly supported his ideals couldn't sit still.
One after another, they stepped forward, deeming the clan leader's decision unreasonable.
Back when Madara Uchiha left the village and even returned to fight the First Hokage, the clan hadn't stripped him of his surname. Why should Kagami be stripped of his?
What they didn't know was how insane people could become in the face of power.
The Uchiha clan leader had long coveted the position of Konoha's senior advisor.
The crux of the issue was why the Hyuga's spot was held by the clan leader, while the Uchiha's was held by Kagami.
And Kagami possessed a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, which naturally sparked jealousy.
Imagine if such a person existed within the clan; could the clan leader's position be secure and comfortable?
Of course, these matters were kept from outsiders.
Thus, Kagami's supporters were enraged.
It's important to note that Kagami hadn't been idle all these years; whether in the Konoha Police Force or among the upper echelons, his beliefs had influenced many Uchiha clan members.
Faced with these people's doubts, the Uchiha clan leader, who was busy networking to take over the senior advisor position, felt only irritation.
Hence, the conflict intensified, threatening to split the Uchiha clan.
The villagers' reactions further fueled this trend.
There were mocking voices, spectators, disdainful remarks, and sneaky gossip.
People have many faces, and at times like these, all sorts of strange comments emerged.
It could be said that during this period, every Uchiha clan member lived quite unhappily.
And the Uchiha's discontent directly led to a significant drop in the village's security level.
To put it plainly, whether Konoha is chaotic is up to the Uchiha.
At the eye of the storm was Uchiha Kagami... or rather, just Kagami now.
Kagami stayed home, receiving wave after wave of his supporters, patiently advising them to stop causing disturbances.
He had witnessed the village's chaos, and as the staunchest inheritor of the Will of Fire, it pained him deeply.
Yet his reassurances appeared especially weak and powerless in the face of the harsh reality.
His supporters were being marginalized and oppressed by the clan leader.
Those who had served in the Konoha Police Force were driven out.
Those living in the center of the clan grounds had their homes requisitioned.
They had children and wives, needing to support their families and earn a living.
Yet their identity as Uchiha limited their employment opportunities.
Apart from a select few exceptionally talented individuals, the ANBU had little interest in most Uchiha clan members.
Root organization? Forget it; that's Danzō's base, and they wouldn't dare go even if invited.
Taking missions outside the village...
Even if they wanted to, the village wouldn't let them leave en masse.
After all, the Sharingan is a highly valuable asset to the village! If other villages seized it, the consequences would be unimaginable.
So here's the problem: how can they earn a living without defecting?
This dilemma stumped a portion of the clan, and Kagami... was stumped too.
And when Kagami approached Hiruzen Sarutobi, he was stumped as well.
They couldn't possibly plan another Konoha Police Force division, could they?
At present, power within the village had already been carved up, leaving little room for these Uchiha clan members.
For the first time, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly felt his role as Hokage was utterly pointless.
Seeing Kagami's haggard appearance, Hiruzen even considered taking off his Hokage robe to have a 'good talk' with the Uchiha clan leader.
Unfortunately, he couldn't do that.
All the clans within the village were watching, weren't they?
Especially the Hyuga clan; though they opposed the Uchiha, when it came to internal clan governance, they were always in the same trench.
Internal clan governance was a baseline, a baseline for all major clans, and one that Konoha had to acknowledge.
Remember, even the mighty First Hokage Hashirama Senju only changed the Senju clan and did not alter the Hyuga or Uchiha, right?!
Rinjin saw this very clearly.
He had calculated that Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't dare openly intervene in the Uchiha clan's internal affairs, thus forcibly splitting off a portion of the Uchiha clan.
And it could be confirmed that this separated portion of the Uchiha would definitely attract a lot of envy.
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