Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction when he heard his son's firm reply.
"Go on, then. Make sure you handle the handover properly. Assign the post to Mitokado Homura for now. At least he's loyal to the Sarutobi clan—he can be used."
Sarutobi Masao nodded again, then said:
"Understood!"
On the surface, Masao's position didn't seem particularly important, since it didn't involve military command.
But in truth, he was one of Konoha's senior advisors, meaning his status was second only to the Hokage. He even had the authority to dispatch various border forces throughout the Land of Fire.
If a crisis arose—or if the Hokage became unable to give orders—the advisory council could directly seize control of Konoha's administration.
Hiruzen handing such a position to an outsider clan naturally had its reasons.
The Mitokado family was only a minor clan, with no political foundation strong enough to spark a coup. And thanks to the pressure Hiruzen had exerted on him since childhood, Homura had long since become nothing more than a loyal lapdog.
Now he was an invaluable pawn. Since Hiruzen's own son would soon take up the position of Daimyō, giving the advisor post to Homura posed no problem at all.
Next, Hiruzen planned to appoint one more advisor. With two advisors balancing each other—and Danzō holding military authority—no single subordinate could monopolize power.
And Hiruzen himself, as Hokage, could sit above them all, playing the role of the "final arbiter," achieving what he believed to be true and permanent supremacy.
As for the second advisor, he had already decided: his old classmate Koharu Utatane. A civilian-born woman who had been flattering the Sarutobi clan for years. Give her a little authority, and she would surely sell her life in service to the Sarutobi family.
Thinking of how Konoha would soon fall entirely under his control, a faint smile tugged at Hiruzen's lips.
After sending his son away, Hiruzen slowly opened a drawer in his desk and took out a photograph.
The man in the picture was his deceased father—Sarutobi Sasuke, once a formidable figure who had shaken the shinobi world.
Because of Sasuke's former identity as the Daimyō, Hiruzen couldn't publicly reveal how he had died. Not even a proper hero's funeral could be given.
He could only claim that Sarutobi Sasuke had passed away from old age and frailty.
Pathetic, really—Sasuke spent his entire life scheming for both Konoha and the Sarutobi clan, yet in the end, not even a hero's burial awaited him.
Hiruzen's expression held a faint sorrow as he stared at his father's black-and-white portrait. Then he set it down, gazed toward the distant sky, and whispered so softly it was almost inaudible:
"Thank you, Father. If not for your death, I wouldn't have been able to seize control of the Land of Fire so quickly…"
He spoke so quietly that he wasn't worried anyone might overhear this cold-blooded confession.
But just as he finished, Arata—preparing to knock on the office door—heard everything through his Mind Net.
In that instant, Arata's opinion of Hiruzen plunged straight to the freezing point. This old man hadn't felt even a shred of grief for Sasuke; instead, he was celebrating the advantages his father's death had brought him?
Before this, Arata had considered—if he ever became Hokage—whether he should at least spare Hiruzen's descendants, out of respect for Sasuke's contributions to Konoha.
But now?
Forget it.
A clan with such a patriarch… who knew what kind of trash his descendants would become?
Just look at Asuma in the original timeline—a textbook example of a spoiled second-generation noble, even knocking someone up out of wedlock. Truly classic.
Arata dispelled all lingering hesitation. The Sarutobi clan, as it stood, would be better off erased from the shinobi world entirely.
He pushed the door open.
Hiruzen jumped in shock when he saw Arata suddenly enter. Remembering his earlier words, a chill ran down his spine—had Arata heard anything?
But even if he had… Hiruzen didn't care anymore. The relationship between them had already shattered beyond repair. There was no longer any room for reconciliation.
Arata entered without a shred of courtesy and spoke bluntly:
"My mission is complete. From now on, I'll act independently. As for my three battalions—leave them stationed in Konoha."
Hiruzen bristled at Arata's blatant disrespect, anger boiling up—but he didn't dare erupt.
Arata had revealed strength far beyond the Kage level. The only reason he hadn't killed Hiruzen already was political convenience. If Arata wanted him dead, he could end him in an instant.
Thinking of all the power he had just secured—and the plans about to unfold—Hiruzen forced himself to swallow the rage and exhaled slowly.
"In that case, the situation in the Land of Rain is becoming urgent. Perhaps you should—"
Before he finished, Arata had already vanished. He clearly no longer intended to follow Hiruzen's orders.
Seeing this, Hiruzen finally snapped. He slammed his fist onto the desk—
BANG!
The desk exploded into splinters from the blow. Even the photograph of Sarutobi Sasuke lying atop it shattered into pieces.
Staring at the closed door, Hiruzen snarled through clenched teeth:
"Just wait… in a few days, I'll make sure you disappear from the shinobi world forever!"
He wasn't acting yet only because his plans were not fully executed. Once they were in motion, he wouldn't fear even an "over-Kage-level" Arata.
After all—didn't even Tobirama Senju, a super-Kage-level monster, ultimately die to the Sarutobi clan's schemes?
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