Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

"What utter nonsense!"

Mokumo Kōdō was furious. "Are the people who say these things brainless? If it weren't for the one-country-one-village system established by the First Hokage, where would the Land of Fire be today?" During the Warring States period, the Land of Fire was just one of many small countries. It was only because the Land of Fire was lucky at the time that it was chosen by Hashirama Senju as a partner that it became the Land of Fire that now occupies the most fertile land in the ninja world.

otherwise,

The Land of Fire has probably long since lost its heritage and become dust in history.

Nara Shikaku, who was interrupted, was not angry. He just smiled wryly and said, "Elder Mokumo, I didn't say that. I was just relaying these rumors circulating among the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Getting angry with me won't help. In short, according to the information we have gathered, it seems that some of the Twelve Guardian Ninja are trying to plan some actions that are detrimental to Konoha."

"You brought up the embassy incident, so this is related to that former Daimyo's deputy envoy to Konoha named Kazuma? If I remember correctly, Kazuma was one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Could it be that Kazuma was the mastermind?"

As Zongxian spoke, some long-forgotten memories in his mind came back to life.

Kazuma, the Twelve Guardian Ninja, Sarutobi Asuma... This series of names outlined the general contours of the event in his mind. However, the course of the ninja world had been distorted beyond recognition by him. Even the same event might not happen according to the original historical process.

In the original process,

A serious internal conflict erupted among the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

After a great battle, the Twelve Guardian Ninjas were almost completely wiped out.

In this ninja world where the future is blurred, even Sōgen doesn't know where things will lead.

"Sōken-kun, you guessed right. According to the intelligence, Kazuma is most likely the mastermind behind the detrimental actions against the village, and there may be more than one. I received this intelligence a week ago, and I've been racking my brains these past few days trying to figure out how to deal with it. I really can't think of any good solutions, so I'd like to take this opportunity to ask for everyone's opinions."

Akimichi Torifu looked troubled.

This is really troublesome. The Twelve Guardian Ninja are the most famous unit among the Fire Daimyo's many guards. A squad of twelve Jonin-level experts is quite intimidating. Of course, such a small amount of strength is nothing to Konoha. Twelve Jonin are nothing. Whether it is the Uchiha clan or the Hyuga clan, it is not difficult to pull out dozens of Jonin.

The biggest problem now is not how difficult the Twelve Guardian Ninjas are to deal with.

The problem lies in the fact that the Twelve Guardian Ninjas are the personal guards of the Fire Daimyo. Attacking them would be a direct slap in the face to the Fire Daimyo, which is far more serious than the death of Hiramiya Nariaki. Moreover, the embassy incident was able to be resolved peacefully because it involved the Jashin Cult, but the chances of being so lucky are slim if the Twelve Guardian Ninjas are attacked now.

"It's...not easy to fight!"

Mokumo was furious, but his reason was not yet affected by his anger. He could not avoid the same problem that Akimichi Torifu was facing. Directly attacking the Twelve Guardian Ninjas would undoubtedly be an insult to the Fire Daimyo. If the Fire Daimyo felt that he could not even control his own protective forces... what would happen was completely unpredictable.

"This matter...this matter is indeed difficult to handle."

Masayuki Hyuga frowned, his expression troubled.

Regardless of whether the Fire Daimyo's attitude after the embassy incident three months ago was not tough at all, the Fire Daimyo is still the nominal supreme leader of the Land of Fire. We can't really not give the Daimyo any face at all; at the very least, we should show some respect on the surface.

"How about... we inform the Daimyo first? Maybe we won't even need to lift a finger; the Daimyo will deal with that Kazuma thing himself," Hyuga Masayuki suggested.

"We tried this five days ago."

Akimichi Torifu sighed: "I contacted the Daimyo, and he did reply very quickly, saying that he would thoroughly investigate the Twelve Guardian Ninja... But so far there have been no results, and I'm worried that something unexpected might happen if this drags on."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Masayuki was completely at a loss.

Even someone as clever as Nara Shikaku couldn't figure it out, so to be honest, it's impossible for anyone else to come up with a solution in a short time.

"Since there's no solution for the time being, we might as well wait and see."

Zongxian spoke up at this moment, "No matter what schemes the Twelve Guardian Ninjas may have, we will do what we can. If they dare to cause trouble in Konoha, we will deal with them as they come. Hokage, please rest assured! With me in the village, no one can act recklessly in Konoha."

Upon hearing this, Akimichi Torifu gave a helpless, bitter smile.

That's what I meant.

He was truly full of confidence.

With that, the meeting quickly came to an end. Further discussion would not yield any further results and would only be a waste of time. After everyone left the office, only Akimichi Torifu and Nara Shikaku remained.

"Lu Jiu, find a way to deal with Daming Prefecture..."

Akimichi Torifu stood up and was talking when he suddenly felt a little dizzy. His vision blurred and doubled. He rubbed his temples and blinked hard. His vision returned to normal. Nara Shikaku stood at the table with a worried look on his face.

"I'm fine, I just sat for too long and felt a little dizzy when I stood up... Anyway, Shikaku, try to keep an eye on the situation in Daimyo Prefecture." After saying that, Akimichi Torifu sighed inwardly. He was getting old after all, and his health was getting worse and worse.

[Chapter 268. Sarutobi Asuma's Wrath]

The so-called "temporary lack of options" doesn't actually mean there's no real solution. Some things weren't explicitly stated, but everyone knows the truth: the Twelve Guardian Ninjas may sound impressive, but they're not worth the Hokage's attention.

Akimichi Torifu's true target was not the Twelve Guardian Ninja.

It's not that he's famous for being hot!

Although the intelligence gathered from various channels so far shows no signs of the Fire Lord manipulating things behind the scenes, it seems that only a small group of people, led by Kazuma, are jumping around trying to target Konoha. The Fire Lord seems to be kept in the dark, but anyone who believes that the Fire Lord is truly unaware of this can only be described as either truly naive or truly stupid, or perhaps pretending to be ignorant.

Regardless of what others think,

As the Fifth Hokage, Akimichi Torifu did not believe for a second that the Hokage was truly an innocent and pure person.

Because of the possibility that the Fire Lord might be involved, what was originally a minor matter became a major issue that Konoha's high-ranking officials discussed collectively, and in the end, they only came to a decision to wait and see.

There's nothing we can do about it.

The Fire Lord is the nominal head of the Land of Fire.

Even though the Hokage is nominally one level below the Fire Lord, it is difficult for Konoha to take the initiative to prevent problems before they arise. Even if Konoha has evidence that the Fire Lord is trying to take actions against Konoha, as long as the Fire Lord does not make the first move, there will always be various aftereffects.

The system of one village per country is so deeply ingrained that even though the large number of lower and middle-ranking ninjas in Konoha Village believe that the Hokage is the supreme leader of the village, they still maintain a certain respect for the Daimyo. Under such circumstances, taking action against the Daimyo would put them under tremendous pressure.

of course,

If the Hokage is strong enough and has a deep enough foundation, it's not impossible to replace the Hokage. In Zongxian's opinion, there are not a hundred ways, but the most direct and brutal method is to support and encourage one of the Hokage's many children who originally had no chance of becoming the next daimyo to launch a coup.

Unfortunately, Akimichi Torifu is not that kind of person.

The Ino-Shika-Cho clan has always been known for its low-key nature, unlike the Uchiha and Hyuga clans. It's unrealistic to expect Akimichi Torifu to make radical choices, so Sogen didn't even mention any methods to nip all the subsequent troubles in the bud.

Anyway, he didn't take it to heart.

What kind of waves can a bunch of shrimp soldiers and crab generals stir up?

Even if he gets incredibly lucky and causes a stir, so what? As the saying goes, he'll meet force with force and not be afraid of any challenge.

······

Daming Mansion, Imperial Palace.

By the way, let me clarify here that "Daimyo's Mansion" does not refer to the palace or residence of the Fire Daimyo, but rather to the capital of the Land of Fire, a bustling city comparable to Konoha. Although Konoha always refers to itself as a village, that's not important. The main point is to clarify that the "Royal Palace" is the Daimyo's palace, that is, the king's palace, the emperor's palace.

The Twelve Guardian Ninjas work at the Imperial Palace.

They were responsible for providing close protection to Huo Daming.

this day,

After Sarutobi Asuma finished his work and handed over his duties to his companions, he prepared to go out for a drink. He had just returned to his room to change into casual clothes when someone came to his door. "Asuma, are you going out?" The person who came was bald, with excellent looks, and wearing a gray and white monk's robe.

"Hey! Dilu, you're here! I came back and didn't see you. I thought you went out. How about it? Want to go out for a drink with me?"

Sarutobi Asuma extended an invitation to his friend with a smile.

"You still have the mood to drink?"

Di Lu frowned and demanded, "Do you know what He Ma has been up to lately?"

"What Ma does is his freedom, and I have no right to interfere with his thoughts."

This answer fueled the rage within Jiraiya even more. His expression instantly transformed into that of the wrathful statue of the Fire Temple. He gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "Asuma, what's wrong with you? What are you thinking? Are you just going to stand by and watch Kazuma run rampant? You don't even care if Konoha is attacked because of this?"

The anger stemmed from the recent actions of Kazuma and his group, as well as from Sarutobi Asuma's inaction.

He was confused.

I don't understand what's wrong with Asuma?

He turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to the behavior of Ma and others. He was as serious and responsible as ever when he was working, but after work, he reduced his interactions with his colleagues and often wandered alone in the taverns of Daming Prefecture.

"care?"

Sarutobi Asuma looked at Jiriku blocking the doorway and knew that if he didn't make things clear today, he would probably have a hard time getting out of there. After staring at Jiriku for a few seconds, he couldn't help but scoff, "Why should I care?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at his friend. He never expected to hear such words from Asuma. "You, you, Asuma, do you know what you're saying? Why should I care? Is this even worth asking? You're a Konoha ninja!"

It's so weird.

The origins and backgrounds of the Twelve Guardian Ninjas are quite complex.

Kazuma comes from the Oniwaban, a ninja organization that serves the daimyo; Chiriku comes from the most famous temple in the Land of Fire, the Hijiri-ji; Hokane and the others come from the Shiramine-no-Sato, the premier ninja gathering place in the Land of Fire; and Sarutobi Asuma is the only ninja among the Twelve Guardian Ninja who comes from Konoha.

In terms of care,

Sarutobi Asuma is the one who should be most concerned about this matter.

However, he acted as if he didn't care at all.

“When I joined the Twelve Guardian Ninja, I was already voluntarily stripped of my identity as a Konoha ninja. The Fifth Hokage told me this the last time I went back to the village.” Sarutobi Asuma looked at Chiriku coldly. “According to your logic, Chiriku, as a Konoha ninja, I should naturally dedicate everything to Konoha. But I am no longer a Konoha ninja, so… can you make way? I’m very tired from work today, and I need to go have a drink to relax.”

"You... Asma, you still doubt your father's actions?"

Di Lu subconsciously voiced his thoughts.

"Yes, I have never forgotten. How could a mere Juzo Hibiki kill the Third Hokage? What a joke! Does he think I'm a brainless idiot?" Sarutobi Asuma roared at the last moment. Jiraiya was furious.

But he was also filled with rage!

Jiraiya opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that he had nothing to say. It involved the internal struggle of Konoha Village... He didn't know what to say. He also thought that there was something fishy about the death of the Third Hokage, but the succeeding Fifth Hokage and many high-ranking officials of Konoha Village had no objections. What could he, a lowly ninja monk from the Fire Temple, do?

Even if you're the host, you can't do anything.

The affairs of Konoha are not for outsiders to interfere with.

Having said all that, he clearly realized that Asuma probably really didn't intend to get involved in the mess that Kazuma had made. A sense of gloom washed over him. He remained silent for a moment, then silently took two steps back to make way for Asuma. Sarutobi Asuma didn't say another word, and silently walked out the door, his steps firm as he walked away.

Di Lu returned to his residence with mixed feelings.

Upon entering,

Someone asked, "How did it go? What did Asuma say? Is he going to talk to Kazuma? Why haven't we seen him?" The person who spoke obviously assumed that Jiraiya would definitely bring Sarutobi Asuma with him.

"Asma won't get involved in these things."

Di Lu answered concisely and clearly.

He walked in. The three-square-meter room didn't have many external things. As a ninja monk, Jiraiya had very low demands for material things, so even though the room wasn't big, it didn't feel crowded, even with two guests.

"Asuma won't care... What does that mean?"

Only after Jiriku sat down on the tatami mat did one of the guests speak.

"It means exactly what it says. Asuma's father was the Third Hokage, and he hasn't yet recovered from the shadow of his father's death. Hokane, Naruma, we can't expect Asuma to act with us now. We can only rely on ourselves."