Several days passed.
Kiyoshi finally returned to Konoha, which he had been away from for a long time.
The atmosphere on Konoha's streets was still bustling. That was because from time to time, wealthy merchants would move into Konoha for their own safety. They boosted Konoha's economy, allowing the villagers to earn a good deal more. Only those families with ninja relatives would look worried.
"You've worked hard."
After the usual debriefing was concluded, only Hiruzen was left in the Hokage Building office.
Soon after, Danzo, Koharu, Homura, and other Konoha elders arrived one after another.
This incident was a major event for Konoha. It was similar to what happened with Kushina back then, both nearly leading to the outflow of bloodlines.
Now, the good news was that the Hyuga bloodline was preserved, and the enemies attacked by surprise, not expecting to actually be able to seize Nobuhiko's eyes, and there were no ninja capable of reverse summoning there.
The bad news was that two Byakugan had leaked out, which would inevitably lead to the emergence of two very powerful reconnaissance ninjas.
The Byakugan's abilities would only be transplanted by Kirigakure to already excellent ninjas, creating a strong alliance.
"A time of trouble." Hiruzen sighed.
The battle at Kannabi Bridge had finally given them the upper hand in the war against the Land of Earth.
Konoha had also taken a big breath, recuperating.
Now this incident had occurred again. Although it was a close call, what kind of things would happen in the future?
The village founded by the First Hokage was only a few decades old, it absolutely could not perish in his, Hiruzen's generation.
Otherwise, he would be a sinner for all eternity, unable to face Hashirama and Tobirama in the Pure Land.
"Hmph, that Kiyoshi fellow is becoming increasingly disobedient." Danzo said coldly.
He had just agreed to Nono's request for a few days to consider, but on his way back, he heard the latest report from his subordinates.
Nono had refused him.
Why?
Because that Kiyoshi kid had somehow pulled out another large sum of money for the orphanage.
Originally, Danzo had wanted to make an issue of this. Kiyoshi, a newly promoted Jonin, shouldn't have had that much money.
A quick investigation revealed that he had some connection with the Daimyo and the Priestess of the Land of Demons. It seemed the Daimyo's symptoms could only be cured by Kiyoshi, so he had given him a lot of money. This made it difficult for Danzo to make an issue of it, as he wasn't truly the Hokage yet.
If anything went wrong, Hiruzen would definitely hold him accountable.
Konoha still needed funding from the Daimyo. Rashly doing something against another Daimyo would make the Fire Country Daimyo sensitive. There are connections between Daimyo. At the end of the day, no matter how fiercely they fight, Daimyo are always the privileged class and will not be shaken in the slightest.
Even if their country falls and they can no longer be a Daimyo, they can still seek refuge with other Daimyo and become new nobles. This game has been played countless times in the Ninja World over thousands of years, and other Daimyo will tacitly agree to this rule.
Because it is a retreat.
So, there are very few Daimyo who truly push things to the absolute limit.
"Hiruzen, Kiyoshi's strength indeed shows a tendency to escape our control." Homura pushed up his glasses.
Beneath his glasses, his eyes flashed with caution.
"That's right, Homura's words are indeed reasonable. Kiyoshi is too dazzling." Koharu spoke.
What they wanted was an obedient Uchiha, not an overly strong Uchiha. If Kiyoshi became too strong, he could easily become another Madara if they weren't careful.
Keep in mind, after Madara left Konoha back then, he tried to attack Konoha with the Nine-Tails.
That time, there was Hashirama to stop him. What do they have this time?
Konoha has many rising stars, such as Minato, Kakashi, and others.
But once an Uchiha steps into another domain, he will gain the power of Susanoo and possess two incredibly mysterious Dojutsu. Not only that, but he also has terrifying secret Jutsu like Izanagi.
Izanagi, back then, caused quite a few problems within the Uchiha clan before it was finally resolved and sealed away. This is also one of the reasons why the Uchiha clan makes them extremely wary.
Every Uchiha who awakens their Sharingan can potentially have two minutes of invincibility. Who wouldn't be afraid of that?
As for the difficulty, no one dares to bet on how many Uchiha can learn it.
The office fell silent.
There was only the sound of Hiruzen puffing on his cigarette, one after another.
Whenever Hiruzen fell into deep thought, he liked to smoke, using nicotine to numb himself and bring new ideas. He was also the Hokage who smoked the most among all the previous Hokage.
"The situation is unclear right now. It's good for the village if the Uchiha are stronger." Hiruzen spoke after a long pause.
The war hasn't even ended yet, and they're already thinking about the consequences of an ally becoming too strong.
First, Konoha needs to survive until then. Without the power of the Shinobi God, Hashirama, who pacified the chaotic Sengoku era, none of the Five Great Nations dared to claim themselves as the victor or to be free from the crisis of national collapse.
"Hmph, Hiruzen, you will regret your optimism one day."
Danzo was quite annoyed that Kiyoshi had disrupted his plan. This evil Uchiha not only ignored the olive branch he extended but also influenced Nono not to return to Root.
"Perhaps we can give the Uchiha a sweet deal. We can later make Kiyoshi the next Hokage's guard." Homura said after thinking for a while.
Regarding Kakashi's Sharingan, the Konoha higher-ups promised to give the Uchiha some benefits, hinting at eligibility for Hokage candidate nomination. However, being eligible is one thing, it doesn't mean they'll be selected.
They could also continue to offer the Uchiha a grand vision, making them willing to continue working. That would be to include Kiyoshi in the ranks of the Hokage's guards.
This was not unprecedented. Kagami was the Second Hokage's guard and their teammate from the same generation. This could be said to be the Hokage's inner circle, allowing access to a few core individuals.
The better the relationship with the Hokage, the greater the benefits gained behind the scenes. Of course, the exact amount is open to discussion.
"Next Hokage?"
Danzo's eyes narrowed slightly.
He had already bet on Orochimaru. If Orochimaru were elected Hokage, he would be under his control. In other words, the Uchiha would also be under his control.
"Homura, your suggestion is good."
Hiruzen thought for a while, this plan was indeed killing two birds with one stone.
It could not only strengthen Kiyoshi's sense of belonging to the village but also appease the Uchiha if they weren't selected as Hokage.
"What do you all think?" Hiruzen looked at Koharu and Danzo.
Koharu nodded, indicating she had no objections.
"Hmph, Hiruzen, since you already have an idea, you don't need to ask me. I'm going to the Land of Rain." Danzo snorted coldly.
A group called Akatsuki had recently emerged in the Land of Rain and was not yet very strong. However, Danzo could see that this organization was full of idealists, and they might actually succeed in a place like the Land of Rain.
He could now go and plant a few pawns, and then he might be able to cooperate with Hanzo to gain benefits from it.
Orochimaru wanted to become Hokage and gain support from others, so he had to exchange some resources for the nominations of those Ninja clans.
A trip to the Land of Rain might just solve this shortfall.
Hiruzen nodded, asking Danzo a few questions about what he was going to do.
Danzo's answer was, of course, for Konoha.
Hiruzen didn't ask any more questions and continued to discuss a few more things with the others, ending the meeting.