Chapter 29: Peering from the Hokage Office

Bang!

The heavy doors of the Konoha Hospital slammed shut.

Everyone present had witnessed the young boy dash out. They glanced at Sarutobi Sasuke, who had just recovered from his critical, near-death state, then looked back at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who was being scolded by that boy. The story behind these two young friends suddenly became clear.

A boy, having just heard the news that his friend's father was on the brink of death, had rushed to the hospital in a panic out of concern for his friend. Only to find that the friend's father looked as if he hadn't been sick at all—naturally, he was furious at having been the victim of a prank.

Toying with a friend's feelings! Such a thing sounded truly malicious.

"Danzō!"

"Listen to me, let me explain!"

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen scrambled to chase after him to clarify, insisting that his father, Sarutobi Sasuke, really had been critically injured and had only been saved by a mysterious medical ninja.

"Are you telling the truth?" Young Danzō remained skeptical.

"Of course it's true!"

As someone who had witnessed the miracle firsthand, Sarutobi Hiruzen, lively and curious as a monkey, detailed his observations. "That medical ninja’s identity is very mysterious... Everyone calls him Lord Emiya. His status is incredibly high, his medical skills are profound, and it is very likely he has ancestral ties to the greatest medical ninja of all time..."

Young Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his chin, thinking as he spoke. "But he is truly strange. Even after saving a patient, he doesn't look the least bit happy; he just wears a face like a coffin..."

"What does that have to do with us?" Young Danzō still wore a deep frown.

Compared to his bubbly friend, young Danzō was much colder; rarely did a smile grace his face. "If his identity is a mystery, it is likely an important secret of the village. It’s not something for us, mere genin, to be prying into!"

Even at this age, Danzō already possessed a keen sense of hierarchy. He held a certain reverence for the power of Konoha’s upper echelon, believing that when he eventually reached those heights, he too would strictly forbid those below him from touching the secrets of their superiors.

"But..." Sarutobi Hiruzen remained curious about Emiya Shirou. If it were truly a secret, surely they wouldn't have been allowed to see him so easily? Yet, neither the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, nor his own father, Sarutobi Sasuke, had stopped him—a lowly genin—from interacting with the man.

As the two friends talked, Hiruzen noticed two figures walking out of the hospital, which only deepened his confusion.

Sunset. The work at Konoha Hospital was winding down. In Hiruzen’s line of sight, he saw the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama—a man of the highest prestige and status in the village—walking side-by-side with the medical ninja. Even Hashirama treated the man with great respect, looking as if the First Hokage himself were accompanying some high-ranking dignitary.

"Those are the young sprouts of our village..." Hashirama said, guiding Emiya Shirou on a tour of Konoha while casually introducing the group of boys. "Tobirama founded the Ninja Academy, and those little ones are the first batch of students. The monkey you just saw is the most outstanding among them..."

This was no exaggeration. Young Sarutobi Hiruzen’s talent was indeed exceptional. He had already mastered the Sarutobi clan's unique summon, Enma, and by his current age, he had already refined chakra of all five elements, learning five-element ninjutsu under Senju Tobirama.

Beyond that, the boy’s temperament was also endearing. At the very least, all the elders who had watched him grow up recognized a quality in him more precious than his talent: leadership.

It was a trait impossible to ignore. Though he often appeared mischievous and unserious, he became remarkably calm when faced with serious matters, capable of suppressing his own panic and soothing his companions with composure. For instance, regarding his father's injury today: the ninjas present had seen the boy arrive at the hospital full of anxiety and unease, deeply terrified for his father’s condition. Yet, when his friends arrived, equally distressed, he was able to hold himself together and take the lead in calming them down.

"The little one next to the monkey is called Shimura Danzō," Hashirama said, having noticed the bond between them, a hint of nostalgia on his face. "I hear that back in the Academy, the two of them were rivals who refused to give an inch, yet now that they are older, they are companions who mutually acknowledge one another..."

"It seems their relationship is quite good," Emiya Shirou nodded, his expression unreadable.

"If all goes well..." Hashirama, who greatly admired Hiruzen and his group, sighed with emotion, "the future of Konoha will rest upon the shoulders of these little ones."

"Is that so?" Emiya Shirou seemed to take interest in the group of boys, remarking, "Humanity always seeks to entrust its will to the hope of the future. Even the Sage of Six Paths was no exception, let alone mortals like us..."

Nearby, an assistant silently recorded Emiya Shirou’s words. He had been sent by Senju Tobirama specifically to assist Emiya, primarily to secretly gather any information the man might casually let slip. To this era, Emiya Shirou was a treasure trove; Tobirama dared not miss a single opportunity, even ordering his assistant to secretly document everything.

Inside the Hokage’s office, Senju Tobirama was busy. Since Uchiha Madara had not been killed and had escaped capture, Tobirama had to deploy more men to suppress and monitor the Uchiha clan to prevent any internal trouble in Konoha.

Beyond that, Tobirama had to prepare for another major endeavor. With his older brother, Hashirama, having only ten years left to live, he decided to utilize the stories Emiya Shirou had told regarding the ancient era of Asura and the Ninshu to dismantle the major clans within Konoha and reshape their sense of identity toward the village.

The Warring States period was not far behind them, and the villagers still preferred to trust their respective clan heads. They had to be liberated from the shackles of clan-centric thinking and be made to believe in and protect Konoha as their true home. Only then could Konoha, which had reached its current state through the prestige and power of Senju Hashirama, survive after his death.

"It seems..." Tobirama mused, "only the Senju clan leading by example will work..."

He understood Konoha’s situation perfectly; the most powerful clan, the Senju, had to set the standard before other clans would accept his approach. First, dismantle the Senju clan. He would even have them leave their designated residential district, with each family living in different areas throughout the village. Only when the Senju led the way would the other clans believe that the Senju were not trying to swallow them whole.

Once that was done, the next step could begin. Tobirama could then use this as a justification to gradually disperse the ninjas of the major clans, encouraging them to cast aside the prejudices of their clan names and integrate into Konoha. If this plan succeeded, everyone would eventually identify only as Konoha ninjas, rather than members of a specific clan. They would act in the name of Konoha, and the children raised in the village would continue to identify solely with it.

"However..." Tobirama thought, "the Uchiha clan cannot be dismantled. They must be kept together so they can be easily monitored, ensuring no other dangerous existence like that bastard Uchiha Madara emerges from them."

"The Hyuga clan is also troublesome... In order to protect the Byakugan from leaking out, they have always placed the Caged Bird seal on the foreheads of branch family members. Even if I demand they disperse, the clan head would still have the power to control the branch family through those seals..."

"Such traditions... cannot be changed overnight. Besides, keeping the Byakugan from falling into outside hands is also highly beneficial to Konoha. If I want the Hyuga to honor the village's leadership in the future, I may have to wait for an internal rebellion of the branch family against the main house to find an opening..."

"As for the other clans... there are basically no special circumstances."

Tobirama understood the situation of every clan in Konoha. He quickly finalized his strategy, intending to find an opportunity to discuss this decision with his brother.

*Knock, knock, knock.*

A knock came at the door. The assistant assigned to Emiya Shirou arrived with the day’s report.

"Lord Tobirama. This is the intelligence regarding Lord Emiya."

"Most of it concerns surgical techniques and medical experience, as well as treatments for various illnesses. However, he says that once the herbs are found, they must be verified by him first..."

"I understand." Tobirama flipped through the report, nodding with satisfaction at the harvest. "It seems Lord Emiya saved quite a few patients at the hospital today..."

"Yes."

"What a pity..." Tobirama felt a pang of regret that the intelligence did not involve anything that could be used to enhance the combat power of ninjas. His gaze eventually rested on the final note.

"Only Konoha... is the future worthy of his trust..."

"For the sake of Konoha, it is not unacceptable to use certain means..."