Helping each other with countless me.

Chapter 76: Concentrating the Will of Fire and Protecting the Hokage

"Old man, you don't seem strange at all."

Li Zhongren sat at the table and casually opened Sarutobi Hiruzen's small drawer. Inside were some top-quality tobacco leaves, but he was not interested in them. In his past and present lives, he had never been interested in cigarettes. He preferred drinking.

"Or did you foresee Uchiha Fugaku's actions?"

“Unforeseeable.”

Leaning on his own bench, Sarutobi Hiruzen was leisurely smoking his pipe. When he saw Li Zhongren trying to touch his tobacco leaves, he stretched out his pipe bowl and knocked on his hand, then pushed the drawer closed inconspicuously. Only vaguely, one could see that there seemed to be a colorful magazine under the tobacco leaves.
"No one in this world can foresee what the Uchiha clan is thinking."

"Eh? That's right."

Li Zhongren blinked his eyes, and suddenly, he couldn't help laughing.

"The Uchiha clan"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed slowly.

"If they were like other families, I wouldn't have such a headache, but they really do whatever they want. Who could have predicted that a bunch of silk banners could make most of the family betray the owner of a Mangekyō Sharingan? I'm afraid Uchiha Setsuna himself doesn't believe it."

“But that’s where the problem lies.”

"Today, they can rebel because of the banner, but tomorrow, who can predict whether they will rebel against Konoha for other reasons? The most important thing is that the Uchiha clan themselves do not think that it is a so-called rebellion. They only recognize the truth that they recognize."

"In fact, if we treat the Uchiha clan as a group of children, things might be much simpler. We can coax them like we would coax children. Children care more about spiritual recognition than material things."

"hehe."

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Li Zhongren.

"You have never raised a child before, right? I have. Or, could you raise my little son Asma for me for a few days?"

"Haha, the weather is nice today."

"You can scare a child if you can't coax him, but the Uchiha clan is like a child holding a sharp weapon. You may not be able to beat him."

After taking a few puffs of his cigarette, Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head slightly.

"And you, you are also a representative of the naughty kids. It is because of your reckless behavior that my deployment was disrupted."

"What's wrong with me?"

"What do you think? My original plan was to use the war with the Rain Ninja to deplete the resources of these families. Then Uchiha Setsuna would definitely take action to contact other families. I know him too well. He caused trouble when the Second Daeme was in power and was arrested and imprisoned for many years. I released him the year we went to war with the Rain Ninja. I was waiting for this moment."

"However, I will destroy Uchiha Setsuna with lightning speed before they actually take action. Those families that are ready to make a move will have a handle in my hands. I will not reveal it. After so many years of decadent life, they will definitely choose to compromise."

"Then I can use this as an excuse to gradually erode the rights of these families, take away their interests, and train civilian ninjas. When the civilian ninjas grow up and form a true balance with the family ninjas, the family's problems will no longer matter."

"Who would have thought that you would be so far-sighted? But you wouldn't argue with a kid like me, would you?"

Li Zhongren looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a smile, but deep down in his heart, the missing part between the Second World War and the Third World War in the original work suddenly became clear at this moment.

For example, how did Sarutobi Shinnosuke disappear? Most likely, something went wrong during the attack on Uchiha Setsuna. After all, the Mangekyō Sharingan is still very powerful when it first appears.

For example, why didn't he let his second son participate in politics? Even let him go far away to protect the daimyo? Instead, he chose to support Namikaze Minato? Because this process of weakening the family is also a process of offending the entire old power. How could he let his son participate? The old man still has selfish motives.
And why did he choose to completely wipe out the Uchiha clan? After Minato Namikaze died, the balance between the civilians and the clan in the village was broken. But I am afraid that there was also a component of revenge for his son.
"hehe.."

Sarutobi Hiruzen also looked at Li Zhongren, and after a long time, he slowly exhaled a puff of smoke.

"Little Bird Swim Mitsuha listen to my orders!"

"Please give your orders, Hokage-sama."

Li Zhongren immediately jumped off the table and stood up straight.

"As the Third Hokage of Konoha, I have two missions for you."

"First, inform Uchiha Fugaku that as long as he leads the Uchiha clan to participate in the battle against Uchiha Setsuna, the previous events will be forgiven."

"Second, this is the Red Flame Army Token. With it, you can mobilize a Red Flame Army that can fully perform the Four Red Yang Formation. You need to keep an eye on Uchiha Fugaku at all times. Once he changes his mind and joins forces with Uchiha Setsuna, I allow you to control them with the Four Red Yang Formation and then perform Wood Release: Cyberpunk." "Yes!"

"Father, I made you some ginseng tea."

After saying goodbye to Li Zhongren who was leaving and nodding, Sarutobi Shinnosuke came to Sarutobi Hiruzen's room with a tray of food.

"It tastes good, but I prefer wolfberry tea to ginseng tea."

"., Father, my son has a question."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke rolled his eyes at his somewhat unreliable Hokage father before asking.

"explain."

"Why does Kotori Mitsuha?"

"Why are you willing to obey me? Or, are you willing to be a knife in my hand and offend these ninja families in Konoha?"

"Yes, he is clearly the young patriarch of the Senju clan. Even if it is just a title now, but with the revival of the Senju clan in the future, what he does is tantamount to digging out the roots of the future of the Senju clan with his own hands. Moreover, he is so smart that I don't believe he can't figure this out. As for his belief in the will of fire, I can't see any trace of it..."

"Do you remember what Uchiha Setsuna said at the Nanga Shrine that day?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen blew on the ginseng tea.

"He said that there would be no intact bird eggs in a destroyed nest. He said this from the perspective of the family, but what if he said this from the perspective of the entire Fire Nation? The biggest difference between the Fire Nation and other countries is that we are a place of war."

"Other countries and villages may be able to rely on the rule of the ninja clan to survive, but we must have a strong Hokage or a strong system to survive on this continent. You and I are very strong, but compared with the first and second generations, we are far behind, and the shackles are too great. Therefore, the Hokage centralized power policy is the best and only way I can think of to fight against the entire ninja world."

"I see. You mean, he also saw through this?"

"He should understand. He knows that only a strong Fire Nation and a strong Konoha can guarantee the long-term survival of the Senju clan. After all, you know that I have never thought of severing the traditions of ninja families. Unfortunately, this kid's personality is like a toad. He won't budge unless you poke him. Just now, when I asked him if he wanted a chance to be Hokage, he directly refused."

"You didn't ask."

Sarutobi Shinnosuke looked confused. He had been waiting outside with ginseng tea in his hand.

"So, now you understand why I let you be the captain of the army instead of the assistant of the Hokage."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed.

"Just now I said, 'It's because of your reckless behavior that my deployment was disrupted. What I meant was that I could give him a chance to eliminate Uchiha Setsuna to improve his reputation. After all, this is a major rebellion involving the entire village. What did he say? You wouldn't argue with a kid like me, would you? He politely declined."

"Ah this."

"So, you are not cut out for this. Your brother is even more useless than me. The only thing I can leave for you is this Red Flame Army."

"Father, didn't you say that when balance is achieved in the future, the Red Flame Army will be disbanded and incorporated into the Konoha Ninja Forces?"

Sarutobi Shinnosuke poured another cup of ginseng tea for Sarutobi Hiruzen and asked casually.

“I’ve thought so before.”

So in front of his own son, Sarutobi Hiruzen rarely showed his sentimental side.

"But, my teacher is a lesson for us. What is left of the Senju clan now?"

"Then it's you. You are not good at politics, and your ninja talent is even worse than mine. Why do you think I shamelessly embezzled the village's money to build this Red Flame Army? Balance and centralization are one aspect, but from the bottom of my heart, I also have selfish motives. I just want to leave something for you."

"After all, one day, I will retire. This can be regarded as leaving a way out for the Sarutobi clan. After all, you have offended so many ninja clans. If you don't have the strength in your hands, they will definitely take advantage of you."

"Concentrate the will of fire, protect the Hokage. These are the ten words. I have studied under my teacher since I was seventeen years old. The result is that I think the teacher's ideas are too extreme. The ninja family has also made contributions. There is no need to do what he envisioned, to completely destroy all ninja families."

"Okay, you go back and get ready. Uchiha Lake has sent a message that Uchiha Setsuna has secretly contacted most of the ninja families. They will choose to launch a rebellion on New Year's Eve."

"Yes, father."

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(End of this chapter)