In general, as my uncle had hoped, Hiruzen had failed miserably in his attempts to harm me and contribute to my elevation, hence his less than happy demeanor after the exam. I even understood his hope - very few people could stand up to Susanoo, a strong Uchiha, especially without access to summons, and if I hadn't thought about it a few years ago, I'd hardly have been able to stand up to him in a direct confrontation, having failed the exam.
And the famous pride of sharingan wielders would not have let Anbu leak the fight to some youngster, albeit a genius. Sarutobi had only left out one thing in his calculations - my strength, but otherwise the plan was good.
It wasn't his fault that Nara's chief smartass was farsighted and able to calculate the situation. Had Hiruzen acted more cunningly and slipped me a weakling, ensuring an easy victory, rumors of a rigged fight could have been started, damaging my reputation a bit and sowing doubt in those who weren't knowledgeable enough to have a point of view of their own.
But despite the rather positive trends for Nara's assembled coalition, a few days after I received my vest, Hyuga became active in the battle for the opinion of the clanless shinobi, who until then had supported the current power at the head level without interfering with the rank and file.
And the possibility of Hiruzen's removal from the throne, already planned for the beginning of the next six months, has been pushed back to an as yet undetermined date. Still, we're going to legally remove a figure in power who doesn't suit the clans, not plan an armed coup and have to play by the rules, trying to get the majority on our side.
Of course, this is only a delay, but it seems that Hiruzen did not have time to properly prepare a replacement in the person of Orochimaru and smelling the smell of fried under the ass, decided to buy the necessary time or at all to delay until the next war, postponing the question of the next Kage until the victory.
Because, if the clan intelligence supplies information from which it is possible to understand about the huge possibility of the Third World Shinobi War in the next two or three years, then the Hokage must know about it. And then it's either a lost cause or a dead one.
The clans need to resolve the issue before the start of hostilities, because the only way to change the leader in a war is to have the leader die in the past, as was the case with the First and Second, otherwise, the losses in the last war will seem acceptable to us.
Getting rid of rivals has always been easier in the chaos of carnage and the opportunity to pin the blame on enemies, in any world. It is not for nothing that we have the expression "war will wipe everything out".
But let my uncle worry about that, and I'll mind my own business, building up my personal power and earning more money to be able to sponsor all the planned research for the former.
I've got more interesting stuff on patreon (+ 200 chapter)
patreon.com/Chill76