Hokage’s Office.
“How did this happen? Who leaked the negotiations?!”
Hiruzen Sarutobi was furious.
Konoha’s renegotiation with Kumogakure had been conducted in absolute secrecy.
With Konoha’s military strength greatly diminished, the Cloud naturally wanted to reduce the reparations it had previously agreed to pay.
Any concession Kumogakure gained would come directly at Konoha’s expense.
Worse, several of the proposed terms were openly disadvantageous to the village.
That was precisely why Konoha’s leadership had intended to keep the negotiations quiet.
Settle the matter behind closed doors, sign the revised agreement, then let the issue fade from public attention.
It had been a reasonable plan.
Unfortunately, plans rarely survived contact with reality.
The agreement hadn’t even been signed yet, and details were already spreading throughout the village.
How could Hiruzen not be angry?
“The Uchiha?”
They were his first suspicion.
A considerable portion of the rumors focused not merely on the agreement itself, but on how badly the concessions reflected on the Third Hokage.
Given the Uchiha Clan’s current relationship with Konoha’s leadership, they had more than enough motive.
Then another name came to mind.
“…Or Danzo.”
Danzo had competed with him since they were young and had coveted the position of Hokage for decades.
Hiruzen had survived the first serious challenge to his position when Minato became the Fourth Hokage.
After Minato’s death, however, Hiruzen had returned to office under the justification that he would serve only until a suitable successor could be found.
Danzo had never been pleased about that.
Which meant he had motive as well.
“Investigate this. Thoroughly!”
Hiruzen’s voice thundered through the office.
The ANBU operative before him bowed.
“Yes, Lord Hokage.”
He vanished.
Unfortunately for Hiruzen, he could have investigated until the day he died and still might never have guessed the truth.
The person who had started all of this…
was a three-year-old child from the Hyuga Clan.
At roughly the same time, Danzo also received word of the rumors spreading throughout Konoha.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Anything that weakened Hiruzen’s reputation was useful to him.
After a moment’s consideration, he issued an order to Root.
There was no need to create the fire.
Someone else had already done that.
Root merely needed to add fuel.
Elsewhere, Fugaku Uchiha heard the same rumors.
His reaction was equally uncomplicated.
Serves you right.
The Uchiha had been pushed away from Konoha’s central districts, subjected to increasing suspicion, and watched from surveillance posts day after day.
Now Hiruzen’s reputation was taking a beating?
Fugaku saw no reason to help him.
Orders were quietly passed down.
The Uchiha also began spreading the news.
By the end of the day, every supposedly confidential clause that harmed Konoha’s interests seemed to have found its way into public conversation.
And naturally, most of the anger turned toward the Hokage.
The village erupted.
“Lord Hokage must have his reasons!”
“Reasons? I never thought the Hokage would agree to something like this!”
“Konoha shinobi would rather die standing than live on their knees! We can’t accept those terms!”
“Konoha can’t afford another Shinobi World War! Sometimes compromise is necessary!”
“Absolutely not!”
Arguments broke out everywhere.
Some remained arguments. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Others ended with fists.
What had begun as a controlled diplomatic negotiation had become a village-wide political storm.
At the Hyuga compound, beside a quiet lake, the person responsible for starting that storm couldn’t have cared less.
Tenriki Hyuga was training.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
His small figure raced across the surface of the lake.
Ripples spread beneath his feet with every step, but he never sank.
His pace remained steady.
His balance never broke.
He moved across the water as naturally as if he were running over solid ground.
It had only been three days.
Yet Tenriki had already reached the point where he could regulate the chakra beneath his feet with astonishing precision.
Standing on the shore, the Hyuga Clan’s First Elder watched with obvious satisfaction.
Every so often, he stroked his beard and nodded.
“Perhaps the Hyuga really could compete for the Hokage’s seat someday…”
His eyes gleamed.
“Perhaps we could restore the kind of prestige the Senju possessed during the First Hokage’s era.”
For someone who had devoted his entire life to the clan, there were few ambitions greater than seeing the Hyuga rise to true prominence.
Footsteps approached from behind.
Hiashi Hyuga entered the lakeside training ground.
The elder glanced at him, then turned his attention back toward the lake.
Hiashi did the same.
Despite everything he had already witnessed, surprise still crossed his face.
His son’s rate of improvement was simply too fast.
Every time Hiashi thought he had adjusted his expectations, Tenriki shattered them again.
The First Elder gave Hiashi a knowing look before quietly leaving.
Tenriki continued training until his chakra reserves were almost exhausted.
Only then did he return to shore.
“Father.”
Hiashi looked at him.
“Do you have news?”
Hiashi nodded.
“The plan is progressing smoothly. The rumors about the peace agreement have spread throughout the village.”
He paused.
“We’ve also confirmed that Danzo and the Uchiha have both begun interfering.”
Tenriki wasn’t surprised.
That had been the point.
Hiashi, however, found himself staring at his son again.
Three years old.
Three.
Yet there was already something composed about Tenriki that made it difficult to treat him like an ordinary child.
A few days earlier, when Tenriki had first proposed deliberately damaging the Third Hokage’s reputation, Hiashi had nearly wondered whether he’d heard him correctly.
The Hyuga Clan had never been particularly ambitious politically.
Despite often being regarded as one of Konoha’s foremost clans, its strength at the very top was limited.
Hiashi himself was apparently the clan’s only Kage-level shinobi.
Compared with the political influence wielded by Konoha’s leadership factions, the Hyuga had always kept a low profile.
They obeyed.
They supported the Hokage.
They avoided unnecessary conflict.
And then Hiashi’s three-year-old son had calmly suggested undermining the Hokage.
It had been absurd.
At least until Tenriki explained why.
Tenriki had asked him one simple question.
“What happens if the Cloud tries to abduct me?”
Hiashi had frowned.
Tenriki continued.
His expression had remained perfectly calm.
“Then Kumogakure claims we murdered their people and threatens another Shinobi World War.”
He looked directly at his father.
“What do you think the Hokage will choose?”
Hiashi hadn’t answered immediately.
Tenriki had answered for him.
“The interests of the Hyuga…”
He paused.
“Or peace for the village?”
Hiashi’s expression had changed.
Tenriki’s voice turned colder.
“My guess?”
“He sacrifices the Hyuga.”
Tenriki knew because, in the original timeline, that was essentially what had happened.
Kumogakure had attempted to steal the Byakugan by kidnapping Hinata.
Their shinobi died during the attempt.
Yet the Cloud had turned around and blamed Konoha, threatening renewed war unless the Hyuga paid with blood.
They had demanded Hiashi’s body.
In the end, Hizashi had died in his twin brother’s place.
And throughout the political crisis, Hiruzen’s position had effectively been that the Hyuga should make a sacrifice for the sake of the village.
The Hyuga had supported the Hokage for years.
That was the reward they received.
From Tenriki’s perspective, blindly accepting the argument that an individual should sacrifice everything for the greater good was nonsense.
Especially when the people demanding the sacrifice weren’t the ones paying the price.
Tenriki had been unequivocal.
“The Hyuga can’t keep placing all of its political weight behind the Third Hokage.”
Hiashi had listened silently.
“If Hiruzen has no meaningful opposition, then whenever Konoha’s interests conflict with ours, he has no reason to fear sacrificing us.”
Tenriki’s eyes narrowed.
“So we change the balance.”
“Danzo wants to become Hokage.”
“Fine.”
“Let him believe he has a chance.”
Hiashi had stared at him.
Tenriki continued.
“We weaken the Third’s position enough that Danzo can pressure him.”
“Not enough to immediately replace him.”
“Just enough that neither side can completely ignore the other.”
He clenched his small fist.
“When two powerful factions are forced to keep each other in check, the Hyuga gains room to move.”
That argument had finally convinced Hiashi.
For decades, the Hyuga had stayed out of Konoha’s political struggles and assumed obedience would guarantee stability.
Tenriki saw it differently.
Neutrality only mattered when everyone else respected it.
If the Hyuga could be sacrificed whenever the village found it convenient, then remaining politically harmless wasn’t wisdom.
It was vulnerability.
And so, several days earlier, Hiashi had quietly begun implementing his son’s plan.
Now the results were spreading across the entire village.
Hiruzen’s reputation was under attack.
Danzo was helping.
The Uchiha were helping.
And the funniest part was that none of them realized they were dancing to the tune of a three-year-old Hyuga.
Hiashi looked toward his son.
Then toward the distant center of Konoha.
A strange thought entered his mind.
Why does screwing with the Hokage feel this exciting?