Chapter 58 Flexing Muscles

Recently, the rumors circulating in the village regarding Kakashi had put everyone on edge. After all, people were afraid that while today it was Kakashi, tomorrow the turn might fall on them. Furthermore, most of these ANBU operatives had received favors from Kakashi, and more than half of them had been present at Kakashi's banquet earlier. Therefore, their decision to stand by and watch at this moment came as no surprise.

Meanwhile, after receiving their orders, the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans urgently assembled their shinobi. However, before the three clans' shinobi could even step out onto the streets of Konoha, a squad of shinobi and a pack of ninja hounds were already making their way toward the clans' residential district.

Inuizuka Gatsu and Aburame Shibi, leading the group, looked at Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Choza with smiles on their faces.

Seeing this, Nara Shikaku let out a slight sigh and asked, "I wonder what brings the two of you and your clansmen to the territory of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans?"

"Nara-族长 (Clan Head), you're being too formal. We're just here to pay a visit, nothing more," Inuizuka Gatsu smiled and said.

"Just here to pay a visit?" Yamanaka Inoichi frowned as he looked at the opposition, whose ninja hounds were fully equipped for combat.

"Of course," Inuizuka Gatsu replied. "However, it seems we've come at a bad time. So late at night, where are the three clan heads heading with their clansmen? Could it be that you are unaware of the village's curfew tonight?"

"Our three clans are acting under the orders of the Third Hokage-sama to maintain order in the village. We kindly ask the two of you to make things convenient for us," Nara Shikaku said in a deep voice.

"However, the orders we received are that tonight is under martial law. Aside from Military Police Force members, anyone moving about the streets without authorization will be treated as rioters," Aburame Shibi stated.

"Since when did the Aburame and Inuzuka start following the orders of the Military Police Force?" Nara Shikaku frowned and asked.

"It's not that our two clans are following the orders of the Military Police Force," Inuizuka Gatsu said. "It's just that, unlike you Ino-Shika-Cho, our clans don't have hordes of younger generations holding important positions in the village. Now that we finally have two promising juniors serving as squad captains in the Military Police Force, clan heads like us naturally have to give our full support to their work. Please forgive us, Nara-族长 (Clan Head), if there is any offense."

***

Inside the chat channel constructed by Yamanaka Inoichi using his clan's secret technique, Akimichi Choza asked, "What should we do now, Shikaku? Should we make a move?"

After pondering for a moment, Nara Shikaku spoke in the chat channel: "No, they've come at just the right time. Let's leave it at that. We'll just stay here with them until this matter is over."

"But if we do that, it won't be easy to give an explanation to the Third Hokage," Yamanaka Inoichi said.

"With them here, it's more than enough for us to give an explanation," Nara Shikaku replied.

Making a move was out of the question. Although in terms of pure strength, the Ino-Shika-Cho clans possessed a greater total number of jōnin, and their combined clan techniques offered tactical advantages, taking down the allied forces of the Inuzuka and Aburame shouldn't have been too difficult. However, Nara Shikaku had to consider the Uchiha clan standing behind those two clans. Once a physical conflict truly broke out, the enmity would be set in stone. The Ino-Shika-Cho clans would be forced to bind themselves completely to Sarutobi Hiruzen's chariot. Even if Sarutobi Hiruzen won the subsequent political struggle, how much longer could he remain in power at his age?

And what about the Fifth Hokage who would succeed him? In Nara Shikaku's estimation, the only candidates capable of succeeding the Third were Jiraiya and Tsunade. If Tsunade were to return to the village now and declare her intention to take the position, Nara Shikaku could place his bets without hesitation. But right now, she preferred wallowing in massive debt to returning to the village.

As for Jiraiya, Nara Shikaku certainly didn't dare to gamble the fate of his clan on someone who was sent scurrying all over the world searching for the Child of Prophecy, entirely sweet-talked by some illusory prophecy from his own summoning beast.

Aside from those two, the only remaining candidate with a suitable background was Kakashi. Although his current strength was still somewhat lacking, he was young after all. But putting aside the question of where Kakashi's true loyalties lay, even if Kakashi genuinely stood on the Third Hokage's side, they could afford to act even less. If they, the Ino-Shika-Cho, stepped in to suppress the Military Police Force who had stood up for him, would they be waiting to eat bitter greens in the future?

Therefore, after careful consideration, Nara Shikaku concluded that stalling here with the Inuzuka and Aburame clans was the optimal course of action. This way, they could provide an acceptable explanation to the Third Hokage while simultaneously distancing their three clans from the entire affair.

Soon, the Third Hokage in the Hokage's office realized that the situation in the village was not easing up, leaving him no choice but to use the Telescope Technique to observe the situation.

However, upon seeing the loafing ANBU operatives on the streets and the standoff right outside the entrance of the Ino-Shika-Cho compound, Sarutobi Hiruzen's heart turned half cold. Although he hadn't originally expected the ANBU to exert much effort in this matter, the people he had envisioned stepping forward to stop the Military Police Force were supposed to be the Ino-Shika-Cho clans. He had never anticipated seeing a fully armed allied force of the Aburame and Inuzuka clans stationed right at the gates of the Ino-Shika-Cho compound.

***

He vividly remembered the posture of the Inuzuka clan when welcoming Uchiha Dōkan's visit a few days earlier, as well as the ceremony the Military Police Force held to welcome the Inuzuka's ninja hounds at that time. He knew the Inuzuka clan had leaned toward the Uchiha faction, but he had never imagined they would adopt such an all-in attitude to support the Uchiha. In this squad, virtually every member of the Inuzuka clan above the rank of chūnin—excluding those on duty at the Military Police Force—was present.

The fact that the Aburame clan had also gotten involved was something he hadn't even dreamed of.

By now, the Third Hokage had to admit that following Danzō's death, his grip on the village had indeed diminished significantly.

Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe and looked toward the last remaining ANBU operative stationed inside the Hokage's office: "Go mobilize the village's Jōnin Squad to support the ANBU."

"Understood." After the last ANBU operative in the Hokage's office departed, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura began chattering away incessantly, but at that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't even have the desire to listen to what they were saying.

Sarutobi Hiruzen understood that today's events were not merely the Military Police Force making a mountain out of a molehill; to a greater extent, it was Uchiha Dōkan flexing his muscles at him. In the less than a month since Danzō's death, Uchiha Dōkan had quietly assembled a complete deck of cards sufficient to launch an armed rebellion. What made his scalp tingle even more was that Uchiha Dōkan had operated entirely within the rules throughout, leaving even him, the Hokage, unable to find fault. It was a stark contrast to the successive clan heads who had inherited the Uchiha clan after the death of Uchiha Madara.

For the Third Hokage, the only piece of good news was that Uchiha Dōkan possessed enough restraint not to let things escalate to a point of total loss of control.