After Shimura Musashi left, Sarutobi Sasuke put away the scroll on the ground and was about to leave when a beautiful woman with a large belly and a face full of worry walked in.
“Kyōko, why are you here?”
As soon as Sarutobi Sasuke saw the woman, he quickly stepped forward and carefully helped her sit down: “Didn’t I tell you to rest well?
Don’t worry about Clan matters for now; your health is the priority.”
Sarutobi Sasuke’s look of concern warmed Kyōko’s heart.
Her husband was already the Clan Head at a young age and doted on her immensely.
Now, their crystallization of love was about to be born.
By all appearances, this was a happy family that Uzumaki Naruto couldn’t even dream of having.
But whenever Kyōko thought of the worries in her heart, she couldn’t feel happy.
“Why is your brow furrowed like that, Kyōko?”
Sarutobi Sasuke gently smoothed the wrinkles between his wife’s eyebrows and said softly, “Is it because I’ve been too busy lately and haven’t paid enough attention to you?
Don’t worry, once this busy period is over, I will spend quality time with you and the child.”
“No, Sasuke.”
Noticing the self-reproach in Sarutobi Sasuke’s eyes, Kyōko was deeply touched and quickly explained:
“I always felt that the Shimura Clan was not a good choice for an alliance.
Look at this assassination mission; it’s obvious they weren’t putting in their full effort.”
“Especially that Shimura Musashi—he is extremely cunning!”
“How can that be?”
After listening to his wife, Sarutobi Sasuke smiled and said, “Musashi and I have been friends for nearly twenty years.
I know exactly what kind of person he is.
He already explained to me the reason for the mission’s failure.”
Hearing Sarutobi Sasuke speak up for Shimura Musashi, Kyōko immediately grew anxious: “You are too easily fooled!
Shimura Musashi only sent a few nobodies on this mission.”
“If it succeeded, it was due to Shimura Musashi’s superior planning.
If it failed, he turns around and blames our Sarutobi Clan?
Now even Tarō-san is dead, and the war against the Hagoromo Clan will be even harder!”
Sarutobi Sasuke listened to his wife and patiently explained, “Musashi isn’t as calculating as you think.
He just explained to me why he didn’t deploy the clan’s elite forces for this mission.”
“Musashi is not like me; he ascended to the position of Clan Head entirely on his own.
The hardships involved are beyond our comprehension.”
Kyōko snorted coldly: “Those are all excuses!”
Sarutobi Kyōko was not only Sarutobi Sasuke’s wife but also the daughter of a Sarutobi Clan elder.
She clearly knew how much political capital she brought him by marrying Sarutobi Sasuke, who was a commoner at the time.
She not only secretly used her father’s influence to clear many obstacles on Sasuke’s path to becoming Clan Head but also relied on her father’s prestige to help him consolidate most of the clan’s power even before Sarutobi Sasuke officially took office.
And Shimura Musashi?
He relied entirely on himself from start to finish, stubbornly climbing to the position of Clan Head.
During this process, he not only had no helpers but also eliminated many opponents.
This was the part Sarutobi Kyōko admired about Shimura Musashi, but it was also the reason why she was wary of him.
A person like that must be extremely cunning—anyone could tell—so how could he be as simple as Sasuke claimed?
“You just suffer from being too suspicious.”
Sarutobi Sasuke took Kyōko’s hand: “Don’t think too much.
Your due date is approaching, and worrying about these things will tire you out.
How about I accompany you back to rest?”
“Okay.”
Kyōko noticed the exhaustion in Sarutobi Sasuke’s eyes and knew he had indeed been working hard recently, so she didn’t press the argument further.
She just silently decided that after the child was born, she must help Sasuke guard against the Shimura Clan properly, resolving any schemes or tricks they might have one by one.
On the other side, Shimura Musashi and his subordinates had already walked a good distance away from the Sarutobi Clan grounds.
“Lord Clan Head, please allow your subordinate to undertake the mission of going to the Senju Clan to request an alliance.”
Watching the Sarutobi Clan grounds fall far behind, a young Ninja following Shimura Musashi said with determined eyes, “I will complete this mission perfectly this time.
Please grant your subordinate a chance to redeem himself.”
Shimura Musashi stopped, looked around, and after confirming they were alone, turned back and scolded, “Shut up, idiot!”
The Ninja was slightly stunned by Shimura Musashi’s outburst.
I…
I shouldn’t have said anything wrong, right?
Is the Clan Head not even going to give me a chance to redeem myself?
What kind of punishment will I receive when I return?
He thought of the miserable state of the clan Ninja who had failed missions before, and the more he thought about it, the more panicked he became.
Shimura Musashi watched the young Ninja’s face grow paler and knew the other party had misunderstood.
He had an impression of this person; he seemed to be called Shimura Bushin.
He had considerable strength at a young age, but his brain was too foolish. The source of this chapter is g.com.
If it weren’t for the fact that he had just taken over as Clan Head and lacked trusted subordinates, he would have long ago transferred this kind of idiot to the front lines as cannon fodder.
But now, having no one else to rely on, he could only patiently explain to Shimura Bushin: “Bushin, compared to the Hagoromo Clan, do you think the Uzumaki Clan is stronger or weaker?”
Hearing the Clan Head call out his name immediately, an expression of disbelief flashed in Shimura Bushin’s eyes, and he then excitedly replied, “The Hagoromo Clan is certainly stronger.”
Although the two clans didn’t get along, the Hagoromo were indeed one of the great Ninja Clans in the Ninja World.
Strictly in terms of power, the Uzumaki Clan, who only specialized in Sealing Jutsu, couldn’t measure up.
“Then do you think the combination of Senju and Uzumaki can defeat the combination of Uchiha and Hagoromo?”
Shimura Bushin hesitated before answering, “Of course not.”
He didn’t understand why the Clan Head would ask such a simple question.
The Senju and Uchiha have always been equally matched rivals.
Now, the Senju, with the Uzumaki alliance, temporarily hold an advantage over the Uchiha, but the Uchiha will soon have the support of the Hagoromo as well.
Wait—if Senju and Uzumaki can’t defeat Uchiha and Hagoromo, why is the Clan Head going to the Senju to request an alliance?
Perceiving the confusion in Shimura Bushin’s eyes, Shimura Musashi nodded almost imperceptibly.
Not too stupid after all; he’s worth training.
“Even if we defect to them, the Senju simply won’t be able to spare manpower to help us.
We will have to withstand the Uchiha’s retaliation on our own.”
At that moment, a gust of wind blew past, causing the leaves overhead to rustle.
Shimura Musashi raised his hand and caught a leaf that had been blown down.
“This time, Sarutobi Taro almost killed Uchiha Tajima’s son.
If the mission had succeeded, that would be one thing, but unfortunately—”
Shimura Bushin had just explained the entire sequence of events regarding the assassination mission to him on the way out of the Sarutobi Clan grounds.
Therefore, Shimura Musashi knew that Uchiha Tajima absolutely would not tolerate the continued existence of the Sarutobi and Shimura Clans, who dared to lay hands on his son.
But the situation was not without a favorable turn.
Although the Shimura Clan and the Sarutobi Clan were allied, the two clans were geographically very far apart.
The Shimura Clan was geographically closer to the Senju, while the Sarutobi Clan was geographically closer to the Uchiha.
Even if the Uchiha wanted revenge, they would first ally with the Hagoromo Clan to eliminate the closer Sarutobi Clan.
By the time the Uchiha finished destroying the Sarutobi Clan, he would have already successfully led the Shimura Clan to defect to the Senju.
The two clan grounds were far apart.
Once their rage was appeased after destroying the Sarutobi, the Uchiha might not bother continuing the attack on the Shimura, as it would be a thankless effort.
But if this happened, the Sarutobi Clan, Sasuke—Shimura Musashi lowered his head, gazing at the fallen leaf in his hand, hiding his expression in the shadows.