Naruto: From Capturing the Main Clan to Becoming the Mastermind

Chapter 84 People's Hearts Yearn for Change

Leaving aside the Akimichi clan, who have been in the same "trench" as Nara for many years, they have been cooperating since the Warring States period and have enough tacit understanding to generally avoid making mistakes.

But other ninja clans... if there's an emergency and there's no time to communicate with them, Shikaku is worried they might do something big to him.

With Elder Mingzheng holding the fort, Nara could have done much more. However, they only pretended to align themselves with Danzo a little bit, without even making a formal gesture. As a result, some ninja clans behind them began to lean towards Danzo, forcing Nara to stop and remain neutral.

We can't let our own people be betrayed and have them punished by four generations, can we?

However, in Konoha at that time, remaining neutral would result in being closely monitored by Root, which meant that some plans could only be carried out by them.

The differentiation plan wasn't implemented thoroughly enough.

Hearing Shikaku's helpless voice, Hyuga Yu smiled and said, "This shows that the ninja clan recognizes Nara's abilities."

Looking at the ninja world, it's hard to say which ninja clan suffered the most, but the Nara clan certainly had the best life.

Each generation of Hokage entrusted the Nara clan with important responsibilities. Nara Shikaku, who was in front of him, had experienced the era of three Hokage. The Third, Fourth, and Fifth Hokage all had high opinions of him.

The Sixth Hokage, Kakashi... Although his experience as Hokage is not described in detail, it is clear that he would not abandon the Nara clan.

The relationship between the Seventh Hokage Naruto and Shikamaru goes without saying.

When carrying out missions, Nara clan ninjas often serve as the team's strategist.

Their exceptional intelligence and considerable strength allowed the Nara clan to live a very good life, far better than most ninja clans that relied solely on strength.

This is something that everyone in Konoha can see, so those ninja clans that are not blinded by profit will follow Nara and wait for the wise ones to make the decision for them.

"You flatter me," Shikaku sighed. "We didn't achieve our goal completely. We had the opportunity to share the interests of more ninja clans with the top-ranking ones."

The interests of different ninja clans are not aligned.

The great ninja clan yearns to go further, to produce a Hokage, and to enjoy the feeling of being at the pinnacle of power.

The smaller ninja clans often follow the crowd and drink the soup of the larger ninja clans.

The latter usually have no choice, and are sometimes inexplicably drawn into the struggle.

But they undoubtedly also hope to gradually become a top-tier ninja clan.

But that's difficult.

What is the Ninja Clan?

A powerful and wealthy family whose foundation lies in bloodline and whose core values ​​are secret arts, bloodline inheritance, power, and influence.

For the major ninja clans that enjoy such glory, would they want ordinary ninjas to squeeze in and compete with them for power and profit?

will not!

Would the top-tier ninja clans allow smaller ninja clans to rise and enjoy the same opportunities as them?

No, not at all!

"Powerful ninja clans don't want Konoha to see the emergence of other ninja clans of equal strength, as that would take away their opportunities. So if someone rises to power, they will try to push that person down."

Nara Shikaku shook his head, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "The Fourth Hokage faced a similar situation, because his success represented the rise of a powerful ninja clan."

The Uzumaki clan is already quite strong, and Minato is exceptionally gifted. Given time, even without considering the Nine-Tails, they would pose a significant threat.

"Some ninja clans can't see this point. Danzo gave me an opportunity to make them clearly see the difference between themselves and powerful ninja clans, and also to gain leverage against them."

Nara Shikaku's voice turned cold. "Nine ninja clans may not seem like many, but if you include the ninja clans that have dealings with them, the number is quite considerable. Now that you understand the conflict of interests, and with our warning, you'll be more cautious in the future and won't follow the lead of the top-ranking ninja clans in everything you do."

The ninja clans that participated in Danzo's plan would never dare to reveal that they had once wanted to undermine the one-country-one-village system, and they would feel uncomfortable being around the great ninja clans.

Only by accepting these ninja clans at this time can we put their minds at ease.

"This doesn't solve the fundamental problem. They are weak and will inevitably follow the strong." Hyuga Yu took out a teacup and poured tea for each of them. "This can only temporarily disrupt the original order. Sooner or later, a new order will be formed with us."

"For a person, those closest to them are often their descendants, and the lineage of ninjas is mostly passed down through bloodlines. Ninja clans can never disappear."

Nara Shikaku said helplessly, "With the existence of ninja clans, Konoha will naturally form a new power structure with the strongest clans. There's no way to resolve this."

This problem is unsolvable; once the old system is destroyed, a new system will naturally form a new community of interests.

The Uchiha and their group won once, so we can't let them get nothing out of it.

By sowing discord and disintegrating certain ninja clans, severing their ties with their original community of interests, it is inevitable that these clans will form a new power structure in Konoha.

"There's nothing I can do..."

Hinata Yu muttered to herself, smiled at the bewildered Shikaku, and changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, this approach has another advantage: after giving them a warning, it will deter these ninja clans from ever attempting to disrupt the one country, one village system again."

Hinata Yu looked up at Nara Shikaku and asked in a calm voice, "Who are you on guard against, Shikaku-sensei?"

Nara Shikaku: "..."

He remained silent for a long time, then looked up to his left, his gaze seemingly penetrating the wall to see the Hokage Building.

Shikaku lowered his eyelids. "Yu, you should understand that the resistance to destroying the one-country-one-village system is... a little too little for that person."

If Danzo wanted to destroy the one-country-one-village system, he first had to face the potential betrayal of his own ninja clans. Therefore, he had to carefully probe and gradually figure out the source of the resistance.

What about the water gate?

He was born a commoner ninja, and the majority of his supporters were also commoner ninjas!

"Commoner ninjas don't have as many concerns as ninja clans... On the contrary, if they can help the Fourth Hokage obtain the position of Daimyo, they can gain far more than the ninja clans."

"So even though I know very well that the fourth generation himself didn't have those thoughts, I'm still a little worried. Sometimes, individual ideas can be pushed along by the collective."

Nara Shikaku stared straight at Hyuga Yu, "That day, the Fourth Hokage slapped the Daimyo in the face in front of a group of ninjas."

"Although the Fourth Hokage used the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach the Daimyo's residence, saving face for the Daimyo, I've recently heard some commoner Jonin discussing... 'If only the Fourth Hokage had become the Daimyo, he would surely have brought peace to the ninja world.'"

In the eyes of those ninjas, the Daimyo was a useless figure who would only cause trouble for the Hokage after the war was won. They thought he would be a hindrance and it would be better to just kill him so that the power of the Land of Fire could be focused on one thing, and the Fourth Hokage could definitely do more.

is it wrong?

Given their support for the fourth generation, there's not much to say.

But this has a different meaning.

The small ninja clan wanted to change the one-country-one-village system to create a path for advancement, and the commoner ninja who regarded the Fourth Hokage as a figure of faith also wanted to support them.

People's hearts are yearning for change... sometimes that's not a good sign.

If everything didn't seem so reasonable—that using the righteous path was the best way to preserve Konoha's vitality, and that the plan to test resistance was also Danzo's own scheme—he would have to wonder if someone had deliberately pushed the situation to this point.

The relationship between Konoha and the Land of Fire is now fractured.

Hinata Yu met Shikaku's gaze without looking away and took a sip of tea.

"Class President Shikaku, you're overthinking it. The Fourth Generation wouldn't do that."

(End of this chapter)