Naruto: Fooling the Ninja World, I'm Hailed as a Savior

"Alright, just a minor disagreement, no need to be so serious."

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, moving past the incident, and again looked at the others present, saying seriously, "Back to the main topic, what are your thoughts on my previous proposal?"

Thoughts?

Hyuga Higo was practically fuming, yet he dared not utter a single peep. The example was right there; what thoughts could we have? What thoughts would we dare to have?

But war was not a game. War meant death! If they had to draw ninjas from their clans, the ones who would die would be their family, friends, brothers, sisters, lovers…

So, a perfect silence settled over the conference room. People could almost hear their own breathing, even the frantic thumping of their hearts.

Finally, a jōnin of commoner origin spoke up, expressing willingness to obey the Third Hokage's orders.

"This matter also involves the fault of our Hyuga clan."

Hyuga Hizashi finally spoke, saying solemnly, "On behalf of the Hyuga clan members, I am willing to obey the Third Hokage's orders."

Hyuga Higo, standing beside him, opened his mouth, but in the end, nothing came out. This meant that the authority to mobilize clan ninjas was now completely handed over to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Excellent!" Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction, his tone appreciative. "The Hyuga clan truly lives up to its reputation as a Konoha noble clan; they are indeed concerned for Konoha's safety!"

Hearing the words "Konoha noble clan," Fugaku Uchiha's eyelid twitched. By now, no matter how low his political intelligence, he could tell that Hiruzen was subtly pressuring the Uchiha clan. He could only agree, just like the Hyuga clan.

Among the crowd, Nara Shikaku sighed inwardly. Alongside Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Choza, he spoke simultaneously, respectfully stating, "The Ino-Shika-Cho also agree."

With the Hyuga clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio having committed, the other ninja clans, no matter how unwilling they were, could only pretend to be willing and comply. In the end, they even started scrambling to pledge their loyalty.

"..."

Hyuga Kawa watched this scene of initial arrogance followed by subservience, his mood unusually calm, even wanting to laugh. Was he himself some kind of loyal Konoha dog? No, of course not. The reason people were unfortunate was that they were placed in this lowly human world, bothered by its baseness, forced to make their own words and actions base.

The reason Hyuga Kawa agreed to Hiruzen Sarutobi to be this lightning rod was certainly not because he held some belief in self-sacrifice for Konoha. Rather, it was because, in his view, the ninja clans of today were no longer the all-powerful clans of Konoha's early founding.

This was also why Hyuga Kawa admired Tobirama Senju even more than Hashirama Senju. Tobirama Senju's wisdom and talent lay not only in his ability to develop ninjutsu but also in his political acumen and strategic vision, which surpassed his older brother Hashirama.

Whether it was establishing the Ninja Academy and the Chūnin Exams to cultivate talent from commoners, or taking the lead in openly teaching the ninjutsu he developed, leaving other ninja clans who had their ninjutsu "stolen" with nothing to say, or establishing the Anbu and the Konoha Military Police Force, thereby greatly strengthening the Hokage's centralized power.

Even guiding the Senju clan to abandon the honor and surname of "Senju" and intermarry with commoners—this act could be said to have greatly improved the average talent of commoner-born ninjas at the grassroots level, truly becoming fertilizer and nutrients sinking into the soil to nourish the great tree of Konoha.

Tobirama Senju truly transcended clan views and led by example. His reforms and ideologies influenced the entire Senju clan and even present-day Konoha, a far cry from Itachi Uchiha's seemingly broad-minded yet arrogant and extreme methods. In fact, even without Itachi Uchiha's so-called "righteous" kinslaying, the Uchiha clan lacked the ability to overturn the Hokage faction.

The ninja clans of today had already been half-killed by Tobirama Senju, unless the Uchiha clan united all other ninja clans to act together.

So, would the Uchiha clan unite with other ninja clans? Could the Uchiha clan unite with other ninja clans? The answer was, no, and they couldn't. Because the Uchiha clan couldn't humble themselves, and because the other ninja clans weren't fools. If the Uchiha clan had the kind of personality that could humble themselves and feign compliance, they wouldn't have been pushed step by step to a point where rebellion was almost their only option.

Even if Fugaku Uchiha truly could humble himself to ask other ninja clans for help, it's likely that the other clan heads would smile and agree on the surface, only to immediately report to Hiruzen Sarutobi once Fugaku Uchiha left, fearing that other clans would beat them to it and implicate them as accomplices in pledging loyalty. Because the ninja clans were not a unified block; there were also "pro-Hokage factions" among them.

Hyuga Kawa even felt that the reason Tobirama Senju chose Hiruzen Sarutobi to be Hokage instead of Shimura Danzō was definitely not just because Hiruzen Sarutobi strangely said he was willing to sacrifice himself to protect his comrades a step before Danzō.

It was because Hiruzen was on good terms with the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans, and only with Hiruzen Sarutobi in power could the major ninja clans of Konoha be divided. It was because Hiruzen Sarutobi's identity was more suitable for that position.

Shimura Danzō still believed to this day that he missed the position of Hokage due to a single misstep, being a moment too late. Heh, one can only say that his loss to Hiruzen Sarutobi was indeed well-deserved.

"Excellent."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept over the crowd. His previously heavy heart lightened considerably. He said seriously, "As long as you all work together, neither the Hidden Cloud Village nor anyone else can defeat us." Konoha had indeed grown weaker. But that didn't mean their defeated foes had grown stronger. And…

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Hyuga Kawa standing beside him. He thought of Shisui of the Body Flicker from the Uchiha clan, and of the young Naruto, still like a blank slate. A trace of satisfaction involuntarily flickered in his cloudy eyes. Konoha still had a future. The path ahead was bright.

Click.

The meeting concluded quickly, and everyone gradually left. Hiruzen Sarutobi kept Hyuga Kawa until the end. Surprisingly, there was also someone else of a similar age: Hatake Kakashi, an Anbu member and a Konoha jōnin. Kawa saw the dead fish eyes and immediately recognized the guy.

"Allow me to introduce Hatake Kakashi," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with a smile. "Speaking of which, you two became jōnin at similar ages; you are both the future hopes of Konoha." After the jest, he became serious, saying grimly, "Hyuga Kawa, I hope you can join Hatake Kakashi's team. After the troops depart, you will then proceed to the Land of Hot Water to investigate the so-called 'Abyss.' This mission is preliminarily classified as S-rank. What are your thoughts?"

Abyss? Land of Hot Water? S-rank mission?

Hatake Kakashi thoughtfully glanced at Hyuga Kawa, wondering what this "Abyss" was. It seemed the escort team's failure and casualties were far more complex than just encountering a Hidden Cloud ambush.

"I'm willing." Hyuga Kawa nodded without hesitation. If Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't brought it up, he would have proposed it himself. Being able to join Hatake Kakashi's team was an unexpected bonus. He knew very well who was on Hatake Kakashi's team: the current "Tenzo," and the future Itachi Uchiha. Even for Tenzo's Wood Release cells, Hyuga Kawa had to join Kakashi's team.

Hiruzen Sarutobi reiterated a few more instructions, then dismissed the two. He still had much to do. However, before leaving, Hiruzen Sarutobi patted Hyuga Kawa's shoulder and whispered with a smile, "Before you depart with the troops, remember to make a trip to the Forbidden Scroll Archive."

Hearing this, Hyuga Kawa's eyes flickered slightly. He knew this was compensation for him, and an incentive to win his loyalty. The Forbidden Scroll Archive, the Scroll of Seals—those were good things.

Click.

A moment later, Hyuga Kawa walked out of the conference room and saw Hyuga Higo at the door. At this moment, the wound on Hyuga Higo's face had almost healed, but the trauma, accompanied by humiliation, was still etched in his heart.

"Hyuga Kawa."

Seeing Hyuga Kawa emerge from the conference room, Hyuga Higo's tone was cold and threatening. "Do you think just because the Third Hokage values you, I can't do anything to you?"

Hyuga Kawa didn't answer. He didn't even glance at Hyuga Higo, ignoring the other's shadowy gaze as he brushed past him and walked away. If Hyuga Higo had dared to activate his cursed seal the moment he stepped out of the conference room, perhaps Hyuga Kawa would have been a little surprised and thought more highly of him. Now? It was just the impotent barking of an old dog.

Hyuga Higo watched helplessly as Hyuga Kawa left. He trembled all over, veins throbbing on his forehead, yet he was powerless. The moonlight outside the window shone on his temples, which had already turned white. He truly didn't dare to make a move. He was indeed old.

[Scene Break]

Morning light streamed into the Raikage's office in the Hidden Cloud Village. A violent crash shattered the morning's tranquility.

Bang!!

The solid wood desk was directly smashed by a thick, dark fist. Papers and documents scattered everywhere, and the floor was left with a web of cracks from the residual force of his punch.

"How dare Konoha?!"

The Fourth Raikage was enveloped in lightning, his hair standing on end. His face showed nothing but fury and shock. Mabui, standing beside him, also had a grim expression, looking at the declaration of war from Konoha in her hand.

The Fourth Great Ninja War had begun.

This news began to spread throughout the shinobi world, instantly causing turmoil and alarming both overt and covert forces.

Many were surprised by Hiruzen Sarutobi's swift reaction and decisive action. They immediately responded by sending people to the Land of Hot Water to investigate and contacting spies planted in Konoha to understand the situation.

The threat posed by an indecisive Hiruzen Sarutobi and a decisive, strong Hiruzen Sarutobi was completely different.

They wanted to know what had happened between Konoha and Hidden Cloud to make Hiruzen Sarutobi decide so quickly and to unite opinions so rapidly with the other ninja clans.

Aside from Hidden Cloud and Konoha, the only ones who knew part of the reason were the Akatsuki, who were still lurking in Amegakure and had not yet moved to seize power. However…

"Given Hiruzen Sarutobi's personality, he should have been indecisive and overly cautious in this situation. Why is he suddenly so resolute?"

In the Land of Rain, amidst a dark curtain of rain, a hoarse, surprised voice emerged, but it quickly became calm. "Nagato, it seems our plans have changed. You must act immediately."