Konoha: Starting with Sage Mode

Finally, she stood up and left the room, her mind heavy with worry.

When Momoka saw that Tsunade was trying to escape again, she immediately wanted to say something, but Kirito stopped her with a gesture.

"Kirito, why are you stopping me? If Tsunade continues like this, she'll only keep running away. Now is a good opportunity. She's soft-hearted, are you too?"

After Tsunade left the room, Momoka said to Kirito with a displeased expression.

She finally confronted Tsunade, leaving Tsunade utterly disappointed in the Third Hokage. She also explained the current predicament of the Senju clan. She had just tried to persuade Tsunade with reason and emotion, but Tsunade still chose to run away. Kirito, who was standing by, not only didn't help, but also tried to stop her.

They were all people who caused her a lot of trouble.

“Tsunade isn’t mentally prepared yet. Pressuring her now will only push her further away. She is Nawaki’s sister, Tsunade of the Senju clan, and the princess of Konoha. She will figure out what the right thing to do is. I believe in her.”

Kirito used some nice words to appease Momoka.

To be honest, he was somewhat disappointed in Tsunade. Things had come to that point, and Tsunade still hadn't made up her mind to strive to become the next Hokage. He didn't know what to say anymore, and could only say that his dear sister was really reluctant to become Hokage.

In the original story, Tsunade had a fantastic start, but ended up tragically. It wasn't until later, when Konoha was so badly damaged by the Konoha F4 that no one was capable of becoming Hokage, and because Naruto wanted to fulfill his brother's and lover's dreams through his talk-no-jutsu, that she reluctantly became the Fifth Hokage.

Although he himself felt that the position of Hokage was a huge pitfall, and whoever took it would be unlucky, the Senju clan really needed Tsunade to step up right now.

Tsunade is a banner. With her leading the charge, the Senju clan and other ninja clans and ninjas who support the Senju clan will have cohesion and be able to form a force within Konoha that can rival the Third Hokage. Otherwise, they will just be a disorganized mess and it will be difficult for them to achieve anything.

"Go ahead and speak up for her. Danzo is dead now, but he has angered the Third Hokage and the interest groups behind him. The Senju clan is going to have a tough time from now on. What do you think the Senju clan should do next?"

Momoka wouldn't listen to Kirito's nonsense, and said with a straight face.

She has limited personal abilities; she can manage to maintain the status quo, but when it comes to reviving the Senju clan, she is at a loss. Currently, the clan is severely lacking in exceptional talents like the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

Fortunately, although there isn't one in the clan right now, she has a similar special talent right in front of her.

After today's assassination attempt on Danzo, she finally understood Kirito's abilities. The entire assassination operation was basically planned by Kirito himself. From inviting various clans to the banquet to arranging manpower and the retreat route, he provided detailed instructions for every step.

Because of this, all parties involved in the operation cooperated very well, and the operation was completed almost perfectly.

Although this kid is only 10 years old, he is full of bad ideas and his courage far surpasses that of Tsunade. If he weren't so young and his prestige in Konoha wasn't enough to convince all the factions, she would have supported Kirito to become Hokage.

"Lady Momoka, why do you think the Senju clan is being targeted by the Sarutobi clan and other ninja clans?"

When Kirito saw that Momoka wanted him to offer suggestions on how to help the Senju clan, he didn't speculate and immediately asked a crucial question.

"It's about profit. They're envious of the Senju clan's land and various industries in Konoha."

Tao Hua pinpointed the answer perfectly.

"That's right, it's about interests. To be honest, the Senju clan has a huge amount of interests in Konoha, but with their current strength, they can't keep up with all of them. If they continue to hold onto them, they'll only attract the covetous eyes of others. It's better to share some of their interests."

Kirito was satisfied with Momoka's answer and shared his views on the current interests held by the Senju clan.

But as soon as he said this, he was met with fierce opposition from Tao Hua: "Give it away? How could that be? That was painstakingly accumulated by the ancestors of the Senju clan. It is rightfully ours. How could we give it away? If I did that, how could I ever face our ancestors again?"

Prioritizing the interests of the family is a strength of Tao Hua as the clan leader.

But in Kirito's eyes, this is both an advantage and a disadvantage. Momoka is ultimately limited by the times. Having not read many books, her vision and perspective are too narrow. Like most ninja clan leaders, she always focuses on her own little territory and is unwilling to give up even a little bit.

Even though she knew that the Senju clan's current strength was insufficient to hold onto these benefits.

"Lord Tao Hua, as the clan leader, you need to broaden your horizons and set aside some immediate interests in order to gain greater benefits in the future."

Think about it: if the Senju clan could voluntarily relinquish some of their uncontrollable profits to other ninja clans, thereby winning them over and getting them on the Senju side, wouldn't that reduce one potential enemy and gain one more ally?

This would also benefit Tsunade in becoming Hokage in the future; otherwise, the Sarutobi clan would definitely try to win over these ninja clans and make them enemies of the Senju clan.

Furthermore, if Tsunade becomes Hokage in the future, the Senju clan can reclaim the power they lost from the Sarutobi clan and other ninja clans, and perhaps even more.

Kirito remained calm in the face of Momoka's fierce opposition and calmly explained his own perspective.

Momoka wasn't a pedantic person; she was just reluctant to part with every single tree and blade of grass of the Senju clan. But now that Kirito had explained it this way, her resistance began to ease, and she started to seriously consider the pros and cons.

"Lord Taohua, please think it over carefully. I'm just making a suggestion. Whether you adopt it or not is up to you. I have some things to take care of, so I'll take my leave now."

Seeing that Momoka was thinking, Kirito decisively chose to leave, handing the decision over to Momoka.

That's all he can do to help the Senju clan right now. If the Senju clan wants to truly revive, they still need to rely on their own efforts. If they continue to blindly follow the old ways and fail to make progress, such a ninja clan is destined to disappear into history.

He can help for a while, but not forever.

……

Meanwhile, in the Hyuga clan compound, in the main family's meeting room, members of the main family and some branch family elders were gathered, engaged in a heated debate.

The core of their debate was how to deal with a mysterious Kage-level powerhouse with Byakugan.

After a period of debate, they roughly split into two factions.

One faction, led by the head elder of the main clan, is radical. They believe that the fact that this mysterious Kage-level powerhouse possesses the Byakugan should be reported to the Third Hokage, so that the Third Hokage can assist the Hyuga clan in executing the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse, reclaiming the Byakugan, and preventing its loss.

One faction, led by the second elder of the main family, is a conservative group. They believe that the matter of the White Eye should not be exposed. Instead, they can secretly send someone to contact the mysterious Shadow-level expert to win him over. If that fails, they can find a way to kill him.

The two factions argued endlessly and were unable to reach a consensus or reach a conclusion.

"Kazuma, as the clan leader, what are your thoughts?"

Soon, one of the clan elders couldn't take it anymore and decisively passed the buck to Hyuga Kazuma, who had been silent during the meeting.

Upon hearing this, the meeting room quickly fell silent, and everyone turned their attention to Hinata and Ma.

In the corner of the conference room, two children who looked exactly alike stared intently at Hinata Kazuma, listening carefully to his next insightful remarks.

“I think everyone’s opinions are very good. It is highly likely that the fact that the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse possesses the Byakugan cannot be kept secret. It would be more beneficial for our Hyuga clan to report it. However, the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse is likely a member of our Hyuga clan who has been separated from us. If possible, we might as well bring him back to the clan and let him recognize his ancestors.”

"I'm sure everyone is aware of the strength of this mysterious Kage-level powerhouse. If he were willing to return to the Hyuga clan, our Hyuga clan would be greatly enhanced, and our position in Konoha would be even more secure."

Seated in the main seat, Hyuga Kazuma pondered for a moment before slowly expressing his opinion.

When the people from both factions heard Hyuga and Ma say this, they fell silent, unsure of what to say for a moment.

The idea of ​​Hinata and Ma sounds good and perfect, but it is very difficult to implement and there are contradictions involved.

Putting aside the question of whether revealing the secret of the mysterious Kage-level expert's Byakugan to the Third Hokage would anger him, let's just talk about how they should find this mysterious Kage-level expert.

The other party possesses a Byakugan power stronger than all of them present. If the other party is unwilling to see them, they probably won't be able to find them in their lifetime.

Even if they do manage to make contact, would the other party be interested in the current Hyuga clan?

The opponent is a ninja who can even overpower the Third Hokage. I heard that he also possesses the power of Sage Mode. Does the Hyuga clan have such great influence that they would allow him to return to their ancestral clan and become their grandson?

Finally, if the other party really does return, will he be considered part of the main family or a branch family? This is another very serious question.

If it's the main family, then who will become the head of the family in the future?

If they are separating, what reason or ability do they have to make the other accept a caged bird?

Therefore, while Hyuga Kazuma's viewpoint seems good, it actually has many problems, including some related to the core issues of their Hyuga clan.

As a result, many members of the main branch who originally supported the conservatives, as well as those who held a neutral stance, began to express their support for the radical views.

"As expected, this is the result."

The branch family elder, Kirito's physical training teacher, and Hinata Karen's father, Hinata Yama sneered inwardly.

Whenever the issue involves caged birds, these members of the main family will oppose it at all costs.

"That's great. I never imagined there were people outside who could use the Byakugan freely. It's wonderful that he wasn't born into the Hyuga clan. If Karen knew this, he would definitely be very happy."

Hinata Yama couldn't help but feel envious, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

"Alright then, since most people support the First Elder's opinion, let's report the information that the person has the Byakugan to the Third Hokage and ask him to help us find the Byakugan that we lost."

Hinata and Mami, with their expressions blank, said that most people present supported the radical viewpoint.

Hyuga Kazuma was not surprised by this result at all. After thinking about it carefully, he knew that the mysterious Kage-level powerhouse with the Byakugan would definitely be involved in the Hyuga clan's Caged Bird problem.

He himself did not want to lose his position as clan leader just because a complete stranger returned to the clan.

Moreover, this person is currently an enemy of the Third Hokage and Konoha. Since the Hyuga clan has taken root in Konoha, they cannot afford to be biased.

Chapter 178: The Movements of Sunagakure

The following day, around four in the morning, an emergency meeting was quickly convened in Sunagakure.

Upon receiving the notification, many Sand Village elders got out of bed and rushed to the round table room in the Kazekage Building. Along the way, they subconsciously asked acquaintances what kind of emergency had occurred.

Unfortunately, none of them knew what was going on.

However, when they arrived at the round table room, they found that the Third Kazekage, Chiyo, and Ebizo were not there, and they immediately realized that the situation was quite serious.

In order to be prepared for the upcoming meeting, they all subconsciously looked at a middle-aged blue-haired man in the conference room whose face was painted with strange paint patterns.

Shakumo is currently the strongest puppeteer in Sunagakure besides Chiyo and Ebizo. He is skilled in using his family's unique puppetry techniques, Puppet Curse Technique and Sand Puppet Technique.

In Sunagakure, the Sand Clan, the family behind Sand Cloud, is the largest landowner in the village, controlling one-third of Sunagakure's trade activities. At the same time, the Sand Clan is also a backbone of Sunagakure's puppeteers, supplying the village with many skilled puppeteers and puppets.

In terms of strength and status, Sha Yun is definitely the highest-ranking among the three Kage-level powerhouses: the Third Kazekage, Chiyo, and Ebizo. He is also the leader of the conservative faction and has been engaged in open and covert struggles with the martial arts faction led by Chiyo for many years.

Unfortunately, due to their relative strength, the conservative faction led by Sha Yun was often at a disadvantage in their clashes with the militant faction.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Sha Yun did not reveal any inside information as expected. He calmly continued drinking his tea without saying a word.

However, though he appeared calm on the surface, his heart was already in turmoil.

In fact, he had no idea what had happened. He only knew that something very big had happened in Konoha, so big that the Third Kazekage's expression changed drastically after receiving the news from Konoha's spies, and he immediately summoned Chiyo and Ebizo for a secret meeting.

"Damn it! My Sand Clan has worked so hard for Sunagakure for so many years and made countless contributions, yet we still can't get into the final decision-making level. The Third Kazekage's actions are really unfair. I must protest afterwards."

Sha Yun glanced at the other people in the conference room out of the corner of her eye, thinking to herself with great displeasure.

In Sunagakure, this round table room is said to be where the high-ranking officials of Sunagakure make collective decisions. However, it is clear to everyone that this round table room is just a place to discuss some less important decisions. The real high-ranking decision-making place is not here.

The members who can participate in the real high-level decisions are the advisory group headed by the Kazekage, namely the Kazekage faction.

Every major decision in Sunagakure is announced after the Kazekage and his two advisors have discussed it in advance and then come to the Round Table Room to announce it. The elders who come to the Round Table Room are just executors who follow orders.

Over the years, Sha Yun has been trying to get into the real high-level decision-making process. This is not only his personal desire, but also the desire of his family and the conservative forces behind him.

Unfortunately, he was constantly suppressed by the militant faction led by Chiyo and was unable to achieve his goal.

Fortunately, the Third Kazekage had the intention of balancing the power within the ninja village; otherwise, the conservative faction would have been crushed by the militant faction long ago, and morale would have collapsed.

"In the end, it's just a matter of insufficient strength. Two Kage-level members in one family is outrageous. Could it be that most of the fortune of Sunagakure has fallen into the hands of that old woman Chiyo's family? Moreover, all the talented young people in the village have been brainwashed by Chiyo and her martial arts faction, and have been pulled into their camp by them at a young age."

Sha Yun felt a pang of sadness when she thought about the current predicament of the conservatives.

The conservative faction is actually quite powerful, because there are still many ninjas in the village who do not want to fight, or are tired of war.

That's how people are. As long as they can make a living, who would want to fight and kill? Isn't it better to live a peaceful life?