I, Uchiha: Split Konoha

Chapter 37 Konoha's Political Direction (Please continue reading)

Leaf.

The bright sunshine shone on the village, exuding a youthful and peaceful atmosphere. Konoha seemed to be thriving and immersed in a time of peace.

Inside the Hokage's office building, looking at the current atmosphere of Konoha through a crystal ball, the Third Hokage, with a pipe dangling from his lips and puffing out swirling smoke, revealed a sense of relief and exhaustion.

"Hiruzen, you've been working hard lately."

At this moment, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado were sitting in the office, drinking hot tea. Homura Mitokado's words made the Third Hokage sigh softly.

"You guys! Sigh, Orochimaru may have gone astray, but he shouldn't have gone like this."

As a master, he was somewhat distressed that his disciple was taking all the credit for himself and even going so far as to hide his disciple from the public eye.

Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi's remorseful expression, Koharu Utatane calmly sipped her hot tea and said peacefully, "Hiruzen, Orochimaru joined Danzo's Root. Root is a hidden force, just like Ryoma Aburame, so you don't need to blame yourself. This was Orochimaru's own choice."

Orochimaru joined Root after failing to be chosen as the Fourth Hokage.

Mitokado Homura also noticed Hiruzen Sarutobi's melancholy and hesitation. He sighed softly and shook his head, saying, "Hiruzen, you can't hesitate at this time. Orochimaru is too dangerous, and he's getting too close to the Hyuga and Uchiha clans. If Orochimaru becomes Hokage, it might cause another upheaval for Konoha."

From a political perspective, the power and influence of the Third Hokage's faction have been solidified over the years. Once Orochimaru takes power, the first to be impacted will be this group of people who originally had vested interests.

The pie of the Hokage is only so big, and it has already been almost completely divided up by the high-ranking members and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. If Orochimaru were all alone, it would be fine, but he also has his own group under his command, and they will surely come to snatch the pie.

Moreover, Hiruzen Sarutobi also believes that Orochimaru has gone astray. If he becomes the Fifth Hokage, the political struggles in Konoha will need to be reshuffled, and the price of this would be that Konoha, which has just begun to stabilize, will fall into turmoil again.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep look at his two old friends. Everyone has their own selfish desires, but at the same time, the problems that Konoha needs to face are also very serious.

"Perhaps you're right, Orochimaru isn't Minato after all."

In the end, Hiruzen Sarutobi chose to remain silent and compromise, or rather, from the beginning he chose to stand by and watch as countless people pushed things along, including the Sarutobi clan behind him.

Minato Namikaze's biggest advantage in becoming the Fourth Hokage was that he didn't have his own faction. After taking office, he would need to cultivate his own political partners, and the original Hokage lineage was just right for him.

The older generation retires, and the new generation forms new alliances—how wonderful! But Orochimaru has his own small, powerful group, which is different.

After exhaling a puff of smoke, Hiruzen Sarutobi lowered his Hokage hat slightly and looked at the two of them, saying in a deep voice, "This matter ends here. The stability of Konoha is more important than anything else."

Was the Third Hokage wrong? From a political perspective, he wasn't wrong. Konoha couldn't withstand any more turmoil; in fact, the current stable situation was the best.

After all, Konoha had just experienced the devastating Third Shinobi World War. It's worth noting that Konoha had to send its students to the battlefield during the war, which shows how much damage it had inflicted. The Third Shinobi World War had barely ended, and before they could even catch their breath, the Nine-Tails' attack not only resulted in the loss of countless elite ninjas, but also the death of the Fourth Hokage, who had only been in office for a year.

This is simply adding insult to injury; Konoha is now truly weak and in dire need of rest and recuperation.

If Orochimaru is chosen to take power, then the power structure of Konoha will be reshuffled, and political struggles will ensue in Konoha. Orochimaru is someone who is obsessed with ninjutsu and has even begun to go astray.

Konoha is currently in a weakened state, and Hiruzen Sarutobi would absolutely not want to see it fall into turmoil again.

"Hiruzen, don't worry, the village only needs three to five years to recover." The two of them naturally understood Hiruzen Sarutobi's unspoken meaning. This could be considered a form of guilt. Orochimaru was his disciple, so Mitokado Homura nodded solemnly as well.

This is a political struggle. After Orochimaru had his own group of loyal followers, who were not descendants of the original Hokage lineage, a division arose, especially after the Hyuga and Uchiha clans joined Orochimaru. These were two very important clans.

Therefore, Orochimaru's biggest challenge in becoming Hokage is facing all the original Hokage families. They have already divided up the spoils and will not allow anyone to take them away from them again and redistribute them.

"Hiruzen, Shinnosuke will be able to stand on his own in another three to five years."

Koharu Utatane's words immediately brought a smile to Homura Mitokado's face, while the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, lowered his head slowly upon hearing them, a complex look in his eyes.

Everyone has selfish desires!

Sarutobi Shinnosuke, son of the Third Hokage and former head of the Anbu, is now a commander stationed on the front lines. While he may not be as strong as the older generation of Kage and cannot be compared to the Legendary Sannin, he is definitely the strongest among the new generation.

Not to mention their identities, the Sarutobi clan now represents the interests of the entire Hokage lineage.

This is not just Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado's personal desires, but a decision made by the entire Hokage faction. If Shinnosuke Sarutobi becomes Hokage, the first thing he will definitely not do is harm the interests of everyone at present, and Konoha will remain as it is.

Konoha is still Konoha, it's just that it has a different young man.

Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, remained silent, which signified his tacit agreement. Perhaps in his heart, the stability of Konoha was more important than anything else. He had recommended Minato Namikaze for the sake of the village's stability, and now he had tacitly approved of his son becoming Hokage.

From a political perspective, if Sarutobi Shinnosuke becomes the Fifth Hokage, then Konoha will still be their stable Konoha, the interests of the major clans will remain unchanged, and there will naturally be no turmoil.

From a personal perspective, he was naturally gratified that his son became Hokage, making it a family with two Hokage.

"Sarutobi, keep a close eye on the Uchiha. Now that things are stabilizing on the front lines, I'm afraid the Uchiha might cause trouble."

Finally, the topic turned to the most pressing issue facing Konoha at the moment, and Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and pondered deeply upon hearing it.

"The Anbu has already begun monitoring the Uchiha clan, and at the same time, they have ordered people to make contact with the new generation of Uchiha. The Uchiha need a ninja who can inherit the Will of Fire."

As Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke, his resolve was unwavering. Upon hearing this, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado immediately smiled and nodded, saying, "We'll do whatever you say, Hiruzen."

It must be said that Hiruzen Sarutobi is incredibly cunning. He will definitely keep an eye on things, and at the same time, he is preparing to recruit several new generation Uchiha members.

From the very beginning, his plan was to have his own people within the Uchiha clan. He needed to know whether the Nine-Tails was related to the Uchiha, and he also needed to keep track of the Uchiha's movements at all times. After all, controlling the Nine-Tails at its peak was already a sword hanging over Konoha's head.

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(End of this chapter)