Putting aside the fact that Konohagakure currently needed the Uchiha and Hyūga, if he were to take action against these two ninja clans, how would the other clans in the village view it?
And what would the old man who had unconditionally supported his rise to the position of Hokage think?
Thus, Danzo Shimura’s words were simply ignored.
"Hmph! Hiruzen, it seems the power of the Hokage has made you weak! Hiruzen, you will regret this weakness born of power sooner or later. To tolerate such a challenge to the Hokage’s authority... you... you... tch."
Danzo Shimura looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen, then lowered his head and spoke softly, though he left the rest of his words unspoken.
Yet, scenes from the past in the Land of Lightning kept replaying in Danzo Shimura’s mind.
If... if he had spoken up first back then... Tobirama-sensei...
"Enough, Danzo. I am the Hokage."
Seeing Danzo Shimura with his head lowered, Sarutobi Hiruzen naturally understood what he was thinking. However... some things simply couldn’t be explained.
For now, Hiruzen could only speak in a low, firm voice, forcing Danzo to face reality.
This... was merely to prevent his friend from walking down the wrong path.
"Yes... you are the Hokage. But I can see the future that will follow this choice of yours, Hiruzen. You will regret it."
Upon hearing this, Danzo Shimura raised his head as if seeing his old friend for the first time. After a moment, he gazed indifferently at Sarutobi Hiruzen, spoke softly, then turned and left.
Watching Danzo depart, Sarutobi Hiruzen opened his mouth but made no sound, silently taking a drag from his pipe instead.
The glowing red ember flickered dimly amidst the swirling smoke.
"Sigh..."
...
Ninja Academy.
The recent incident had drawn the eyes of all the students to Uchiha Xuan. Now, not only were the girls staring, but even the boys’ gazes lingered on him.
For the moment, Uchiha Xuan, now the center of attention, could only accept this fact in silence.
As for the other protagonist of this farce, he had already been taken home by his younger brother.
Afternoon.
Sarutobi Ichiro led all the students to the training grounds.
"This afternoon’s lesson is shuriken throwing. Many of you likely received some training in this before entering the academy. However, there are certainly those who haven’t touched a shuriken yet. So, pay close attention! First, we need to understand what a shuriken is. Look here..."
Sarutobi Ichiro produced several shuriken and began explaining in great detail to all the students, covering topics like how to generate power from the wrist and basic throwing techniques. As he explained, he also demonstrated by throwing a few shuriken.
"Alright, now it’s your turn to practice. Each of you gets five shuriken. I’ll record your scores for this throwing exercise and compare them with your next training session. Nara Shikaku, you’re first."
Sarutobi Ichiro clapped his hands with a serious expression, glancing at Nara Shikaku, who looked rather disinterested in the crowd.
"Yes, bother... Why does it have to be me first?"
Nara Shikaku responded listlessly, stepping out of the line and walking over to Sarutobi Ichiro.
Once in position, a wooden target stood ten meters ahead of him.
Picking up a specially made training shuriken from the side, Nara Shikaku weighed it lightly in his hand.
’What a bother. Dad, oh Dad, I think you tricked me. This class doesn’t seem as easy as you said. Whose students start learning this right after school begins? Shouldn’t they teach Konohagakure’s history and that Will of Fire first?’
Looking at the shuriken in his palm, Nara Shikaku flicked his wrist sharply, sending the shuriken flying toward the wooden target.
Then...
"Miss! Continue."
"Four points, three points, two points, one... one point?"
Looking at the shuriken embedded in the wooden target, Sarutobi Ichiro couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth as he glanced at Nara Shikaku standing beside him.
With scores like these, combined with what he knew about the Nara clan’s temperament, it was hard to believe that this guy, who looked like he was thinking, "Teacher, why aren’t you switching to someone else?" wasn’t holding back.
"Next."
’The Ino-Shika-Cho of this generation, the parents of the Twelve Strong, are quite weak in strength, but their shuriken-throwing fundamentals are solid.
Is it because they haven’t mastered their ninja clan’s inherited ninjutsu, so they haven’t gained the recognition of the Mist Space? Or... is he just too lazy?’
In the crowd, Uchiha Xuan watched with interest as Nara Shikaku, having finished his throws, wore an expression that said, "Finally, it’s over." When it came to playing with shuriken, no one could surpass the Uchiha.
He could tell that Nara Shikaku was indeed holding back.
’Nara’s intelligence... might be worth getting close to. The Uchiha’s brains really aren’t enough sometimes.’
Watching Nara Shikaku return to the crowd, Uchiha Xuan’s lips curled slightly.
What he planned to do required talent, and the Nara clan were the epitome of high-intelligence individuals.
"So impressive! All nine points in a row! Just a little short of a perfect score!"
Just as Uchiha Xuan was staring at Nara Shikaku, exclamations arose from the crowd. Uchiha Xuan turned to see Namikaze Minato standing in front of the wooden target.
"Not bad, excellent sense of aim. Judging by your posture when holding the shuriken, this must be your first time. To achieve such accuracy on your first try is remarkable."
Looking at the little blond, Sarutobi Ichiro smiled and nodded.
As a jonin, Sarutobi Ichiro could tell at a glance that Namikaze Minato’s shuriken-holding posture was a "perfect" imitation of his own.
Combined with Namikaze Minato’s civilian background and the Third Hokage’s instructions, Sarutobi Ichiro felt quite pleased and offered a word of praise.
’Unearthing civilian geniuses? I didn’t expect to find one so quickly.’
"You may step down now. Forty-five points—currently the highest score. Next, Uchiha Xuan."
’Uchiha’s shuriken...’
Holding the roster, Sarutobi Ichiro’s gaze fell on Uchiha Xuan.
Sarutobi Ichiro was also at a loss regarding Uchiha Xuan. On his first day of school, he had already beaten up everyone in his class, and at noon, he even thrashed the young clan leader of the Hyuga. He nearly sparked a brawl between the Uchiha and Hyuga clan ninjas right there in the school.
Such a student could no longer be explained away with just the word "troublemaker."