Malphegor
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HSU: Ch. 83
🕑 Added 2024-12-19 15:51:36 +0000 UTCThe 52nd year since the founding of Konoha was drawing to a close.
When it came to organizing meetings, Minato wasn't the most efficient, and he still hadn't given Masashi a definite update.
Masashi wasn't particularly anxious about it, though he did have one regret: this year's Uchiha Ice and Snow Festival wouldn't happen.
The ceasefire between Kumo and Konoha had yet to culminate in a formal agreement, leaving the borders of the Land of Fire less than fully stabilized.
During this period, he took the opportunity to thoroughly assess the recent developments within the Uchiha clan. Perhaps they had indeed come around. The Uchiha clan expanded the Police Force, assigning all clan members to the First Unit.
On this basis, the first outsiders to join were members of the Hyūga clan.
In truth, the Police Force should have been expanded long ago.
Over the decades, Konoha had been steadily growing. The population of the Uchiha clan hadn't increased much compared to the village's founding, and the number of active ninja had actually declined. From a practical standpoint, the Police Force alone was insufficient to meet the village's needs.
This was one of the main reasons why the ANBU, during the Third Hokage's tenure, had been involved in some police functions that technically fell outside their jurisdiction.
Although the Uchiha clan never ceded administrative authority over the Police Force, they had indeed relaxed their control over its structure. The Hyūga clan contributed ninja to form the Second Unit, which ended up slightly larger than the First Unit. The Police Force's overall performance noticeably improved.
To be fair, the Hyūga outperformed the Uchiha in patrol duties.
Their Byakugan activation rate was simply too high. The Byakugan's insight was, frankly, almost unfair. A single Hyūga ninja could patrol an area equivalent to that of two Uchiha of the same level, with slightly better performance.
All of this was accomplished with the support and mediation of the Fourth Hokage.
However, Masashi was no longer a Police Force ninja, so he didn't have the opportunity to personally experience the expanded Police Force's new atmosphere.
As a member of the jonin corps, and with tensions among the Land of Fire, Lightning, and Earth far from settled, he couldn't accept missions either.
Thus, training had become his main daily focus.
On another early morning, he woke up, washed up, and headed to the kitchen by himself. While his parents were still asleep, he prepared breakfast for the whole family.
As he ate breakfast alone, he glanced at the calendar. It was the 28th—just three more days until the end of the year.
After eating, he set aside his parents' breakfast, keeping it warm, and headed to the training grounds for his morning practice.
He trained punctually until 9 a.m.
The focus was on circulating, and controlling chakra. Black Zetsu's guidance was clear, but how far he could go depended on himself.
After finishing his morning practice, he headed to the Hokage Building.
As one of the village's S-rank ninja, Masashi was expected to make a daily appearance at the Hokage Building whenever he was in the village.
The jonin corps had an office there.
As one of Konoha's most prominent jonin, he was widely recognized at the Hokage Building. Staff members greeted him warmly with, "Good morning, Masashi-sama."
"Morning," he nodded to a guard who had been stationed there since his Police Force days.
It was a nice feeling.
Far better than before, when simply approaching the Hokage Building meant being surrounded and monitored by ANBU as if he were a thief.
These days, there weren't as many ANBU at the Hokage Building. Their internal responsibilities had been fully transferred to the Police Force, leaving their only function within the village to protect the Hokage and his family.
This setup was somewhat awkward in Minato's case. Kushina, being a perfect jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, could easily take down ten ANBU without breaking a sweat.
Calling it "protection" was a stretch; it was more about following protocol.
So, the ANBU's actual job was essentially babysitting Naruto, who at this stage could only babble incoherently.
The jonin corps' office was located between the Hokage Building and the main ninja academy.
Jonin often guest-lectured at the Academy.
Within the village, the students at the Academy received direct protection from the Hokage Building.
When he arrived at the office, only one person was there.
Though called an office, it was more like a lounge, as the jonin corps didn't actually need to do any paperwork. They simply needed a daily presence in the building.
A man with a scarred face was dozing on the sofa—Shikaku, the current corps leader.
Despite his somewhat intimidating appearance, he was actually quite amiable with family and friends.
The Nara clan's rise to prominence began with him, and in the original timeline, his son Shikamaru earned the trust of Kakashi and Naruto.
"Captain, you're early today," Masashi greeted him.
"Morning, Masashi," Shikaku said, opening his eyes. "Always so diligent with your training. I envy you…"
He meant it. Most people trained merely to maintain their skills. Masashi, on the other hand, always seemed to make progress.
"Just reaping the benefits of steady effort," Masashi replied with a smile, understanding the sentiment.
"That alone is impressive," Shikaku remarked. "Most lose that drive after a while. What keeps you going?"
"There's always something new to learn," Masashi said. "The second you think you've hit your peak is when you start sliding downhill."
Shikaku had watched too many ninja lose heart after hitting walls, their fire for training dying out until they were just going through the motions.
Masashi, however, remained enthusiastic about his growth.
Of course, Shikaku knew Masashi was only 20. Whether he could maintain this drive in the future was another question. Everyone hit their limits eventually; it was just a matter of time.
"Minato mentioned you again yesterday," Shikaku informed him, "but it doesn't look like there'll be time for a meeting soon. So many messy things this year."
Since the outbreak of the Third Great Ninja War, peace had been elusive for the village.
He longed for the old days of tranquility.
Minato worked late every night, not because he hoarded power but simply due to the sheer workload. The old Third Hokage-era council had largely disbanded.
"It's fine. As long as you know, it's just a matter of announcing the outcome to avoid unnecessary speculation."
"The village needs stability now more than ever," Shikaku sighed.
"Stability doesn't mean stagnation. Change is inevitable," Masashi replied.
"Please understand, Masashi," Shikaku sighed. "People grow nostalgic as they age. Those they once disliked become old acquaintances, and they hope for good endings. Everyone was grateful when you released the Edo Tensei."
"I understand."
"Let's not dwell on it," Shikaku said, adjusting his hair. "When the war ended, I thought we'd finally get some peace, but the chaos hasn't stopped. Things are tenser now than during the war."
He thought about the most pressing issue.
The Fourth Hokage's administration still hadn't fully taken shape.
Following Konoha's victory over Kumo, Hiruzen, who had served as an advisor since Minato became Hokage, officially announced his retirement.
He moved back to his clan's estate, abandoning all duties except for an honorary advisory title.
The Hokage advisory position was now vacant.
The two elder advisors had also shown signs of stepping back recently.
Disagreements over Police Force reforms had laid bare the rifts in the council, and the same was happening within the advisory team.
The main cause was Minato greatly expanding the size of the advisory team, leading to a lack of unity.
As Fugaku put it, "The arrival of the Fourth Hokage era is marked by the Hokage's office lights staying on past midnight and endless squabbles in the advisory meetings."
This was beyond what the elder advisors, with their experience and prestige, could manage. Their inclination to step back was understandable.
No one wanted to tarnish their legacy.
Danzō was a cautionary tale.
"Masashi, does the Uchiha clan have any thoughts on this? Don't tell me you don't know."
"Even if they did, they wouldn't tell me," Masashi said. "I don't think so. The Police Force reforms are just beginning. Honestly, I think retiring on time is perfectly fine."
Once you're old, you retire. What's the big deal?
But this was a ninja village, not a retirement home.
Moreover, major ninja villages provided pensions and numerous subsidies for retired leaders. In the past, people would have fought for such a deal.
"It's not that simple…" Shikaku sighed.
Sighing or not, class still had to go on.
After Minato took office as Hokage, the series of changes in the village were all witnessed by Shikaku. There were naturally many good things, but accumulated risks were just as many.
Whatever one thought of the Third Hokage's governance philosophy, his efforts to maintain stability were undeniable.
In his view, the first priority was still stability.
The Nara clan in Konoha never needed to pick a side. As long as the village was stable, the Nara could rely on their clan's secret techniques and medicinal businesses to live comfortably.
If it wasn't stable, that would be a different story.
Standing before him was Masashi, someone quite the opposite—a beneficiary of "instability."
He was also one of the driving forces of that instability.
Shikaku wanted to subtly suggest to this young man: Could you perhaps ease up a little?
But judging by Masashi's response, either he didn't grasp the hint or he was pretending not to hear it.
Either way, it was very Uchiha.
As for Masashi's claim of ignorance, Shikaku didn't believe a single word.
Decisions among the ninja clans were always finalized in clan meetings, requiring a collective vote by the jonin of the clan. All ninja clans followed this procedure.
Konoha's decision-making mechanism was gradually developed from such a framework.
For someone of Masashi's rank, even if he was out of the village, he would still have ample access to information.
"Care to join me for a visit to the Academy?" Shikaku extended an invitation to Masashi.
Perhaps it was better to talk in a place that made it easier to build rapport.
"Sure," Masashi nodded.
The two left the jonin office and headed for the Ninja Academy building.
In December, Konoha was in the peak of its cold season. It had even snowed a few days ago, but this hadn't affected the Academy's classes. While civilians huddled in their warm homes, the ninja world continued without pause.
When Shikaku and Masashi arrived at the edge of the training ground, the students were in the middle of simulated team battles under their teacher's guidance.
They both spotted children from their respective clans.
The children clearly reflected the positions of their families within Konoha's ninja forces.
The Uchiha children were always at the forefront, while the Nara children preferred the flanks—just like how their clan's adults behaved on the battlefield.
"Speaking of which, your student has already graduated, hasn't he?" Shikaku observed one of his clan's children, who was teamed up with a member from the Yamanaka clan and one from the Akimichi clan, following the tradition of the three clans.
"Itachi was never my student; I only served as a home tutor for a while," Masashi clarified.
To be honest, he hadn't even taught Itachi any ninja techniques. He simply didn't have the time.
The one who had been consistently teaching Itachi was Shisui.
"That kid's a genius—graduated in just one year."
"Well, that's how the process works." When you're born with talent and power, why pretend otherwise?
Shikaku was momentarily at a loss for words but knew Masashi was telling the truth.
Every clan had such individuals who essentially just went through the motions at the academy.
Take Itachi, for example. He definitely didn't need to learn basic techniques like the Three Basic Jutsu and could simply take elective courses aligned with his chosen development path.
For children from ninja clans, the academy's main purpose was more about forming bonds.
But even so, graduating in a year was still remarkably fast, even for someone just going through the motions.
Masashi observed the Ino-Shika-Chō team in action. A young Nara successfully trapped an opponent in his shadow while his Yamanaka teammate prepared a mind transfer technique.
The Sarutobi, Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans were famously united in Konoha, often giving the impression that the Ino-Shika-Chō trio were loyal vassals of the Sarutobi.
In reality, however, the Nara and Yamanaka clans were somewhat forced into this alignment.
The Akimichi clan was the real close ally of the Sarutobi, bound by an oath taken long ago. The Akimichi clan took such oaths seriously, always standing by the Sarutobi.
As a result, the Nara and Yamanaka clans had little choice but to align with the Sarutobi as well. Their bond with the Akimichi clan wasn't just an alliance but akin to brotherhood. If the Akimichi took action, so did they.
Moreover, Hiruzen treated the Nara and Yamanaka clans with the same fondness, which led to them becoming accustomed to the arrangement over time.
But it was merely an accustomed habit.
When dealing with Danzō, the Akimichi clan hesitated due to their bond with Hiruzen, but the Nara and Yamanaka clans showed no such restraint.
They had long found Danzō troublesome.
Shikaku glanced at Masashi, who was watching with great interest and had already shifted his attention to the Uchiha children.
He decided to speak more bluntly.
Masashi was young, which made it all the more important not to underestimate him.
To other ninja clans, the Uchiha were the hot-headed ones who never backed down.
"It hasn't been easy for the village to reach this point," Shikaku began, choosing his words carefully. "Could you perhaps persuade Fugaku to hold off on running for the position of Hokage Advisor? The other clans are already uneasy with the Uchiha controlling the Police Force. Adding advisor influence could damage the delicate balance we've maintained. A bright future could easily be ruined."
"A bright future?" Masashi withdrew his gaze. "Shikaku, are you being deceived? That doesn't sound like you."
Convincing Fugaku to relinquish control of the Police Force wasn't about playing nice.
Ninja conflicts always moved forward; there was no retreat.
The same applied to clan power struggles—everything was about mutual benefit.
Giving up a concrete benefit in exchange for a vague sense of camaraderie? No ninja clan would do such a thing. Those that had tried were long gone.
"Masashi, if things continue this way, the village will descend into chaos…"
"Look over there," Masashi gestured toward the training ground.
Following his direction, Shikaku saw an Uchiha child paired with two civilian ninja children. The Uchiha child charged forward aggressively, leading his team, yelling his heart out.
But their teamwork paled in comparison to the Ino-Shika-Chō trio on the opposing side.
As a result, while the Uchiha child suppressed the Akimichi child, his teammates were outmaneuvered by the Nara and Yamanaka children.
If not for the Uchiha child's strong individual performance, their team would've already lost.
Actually, they had lost.
The teacher was already scoring their performances, and in team battles, scores were based on overall teamwork.
"Shikaku, our clan isn't like yours. We don't have brother clans to support us," Masashi remarked pointedly, his eyes never leaving the training ground. "Whatever happens, we carry the weight ourselves and earn our own respect. This 'bright future' wasn't gifted to us."
"That's a bit much," Shikaku frowned. Masashi had been frank with him, but the attitude revealed was even more concerning than anticipated.
"Before the Sarutobi ever set foot in the village, the Uchiha stood side by side with the Senju to protect it. Those old grievances should be left in the past. Why bring them up now?" Masashi asked.
"You're overthinking. These are just my personal views," Shikaku replied, raising his hands in a placating gesture.
"Shikaku, I'm not a fool, and you're no Danzō. There's no need to bear someone else's blame," Masashi sighed and said no more.
He resolved to stir things up in the Uchiha clan, pressuring Fugaku to run for Hokage Advisor.
He'd almost forgotten about it—thankfully, this conversation served as a reminder.
