Chapter 49: Clash of Ideals

"Hiruzen, this is also unavoidable. The situation on the battlefield is not optimistic for us."

"The variables brought by a Byakugan are too great."

"We must do this."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded.

"The current situation in the village is indeed not good."

"On the Hidden Cloud Village side, over the years, they have silently accumulated strong power. In terms of core ninja strength, they have surpassed many in our Konoha. Fortunately, they are also engaged in conflicts with the Hidden Rock Village."

"Among the young ninjas, the son of the Third Raikage and the jinchuriki of the Eight-Tails are quite formidable."

"But Minato surpasses them all."

"The Hidden Rock Village has more core ninjas than the Hidden Cloud Village, but among the young ninjas, there doesn't seem to be any particularly outstanding individuals; it's just a matter of quantity."

"Furthermore, the Hidden Sand Village can help us resist some pressure from the Hidden Rock Village."

"That one named Sasori, I hear he's not bad."

Danzo seemed to have a low opinion of Sasori, he said.

"Sasori of the Red Sand's parents were killed by Hatake, so Sasori of the Red Sand is only a few years older than Kakashi. When Kakashi grows up, he will likely surpass him."

Mentioning Kakashi, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but think of Kakashi being defeated by Hoshigaki Kisame.

"On the Hidden Mist Village side, both the young and core ninjas are not performing well. They've resorted to relying on battles with the younger generation to boost morale. But unfortunately, the only opponent for the Hidden Mist Village is us, Konoha."

"So for us, Konoha, it has become a more significant problem."

Danzo asked, "Hiruzen, have the ANBU Ninja investigated the situation with the new Ninjato?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. "Not yet."

Danzo proposed his idea. "Hiruzen, perhaps we can use this opportunity to have the Hyuga Clan gather information from the Kaguya Clan about the new Ninjato. As members of the Hidden Mist Village, the Kaguya Clan would surely know."

"This..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitated.

The matter regarding the Byakugan could still be somewhat justified.

After all, the Byakugan should not be left unattended, not just according to Konoha's perspective, but also the Hyuga Clan's.

But if they were to obtain information from the Kaguya Clan through the Hyuga Clan regarding the new Ninjato, it wouldn't sit well.

Pressuring the Hyuga Clan too heavily could likely backfire.

Even though the Hyuga Clan is currently showing considerable compliance, more than the neighboring Uchiha Clan.

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't want to tarnish his reputation.

"Let it go."

"Let it go? But..."

Danzo wanted to say something else but was interrupted by Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Danzo, I have already made my decision about this matter."

"But..."

"That's enough. I am the Hokage!"

Danzo: "..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen glanced at Danzo and continued speaking.

"The request to the Hyuga Clan is too demanding. Let's conduct the investigation through other channels. I heard Thunder Swords have appeared on the battlefield again?"

"Yes, the one using Thunder Swords is named Kaguya Hikari."

"How does he compare to Kurosuki Raiga?"

"He doesn't have the same level of mastery over Thunder Swords as Kurosuki Raiga, but he is more ferocious and crazed. Most people from the Kaguya Clan have such personalities."

"Then let's find a way to gather information about the new Ninjato from this Kaguya Hikari."

"Agreed."

Danzo left the Hokage Building.

When he reached the end of the road, he glanced back.

"Hiruzen, you're too indecisive!"

In Danzo's view, his idea was perfectly fine.

First, pressure the Hyuga Clan to gather information about the Byakugan from the Kaguya Clan. At this point, there would be two possible outcomes.

One possibility is that the Kaguya Clan provides information about the Byakugan.

The other possibility is that the Kaguya Clan and the Hyuga Clan break ties.

Both of these outcomes are acceptable for Konoha.

In the former case, Konoha might retrieve or destroy the Byakugan.

In the latter case, severing the connection between the Hyuga Clan and the Kaguya Clan means cutting off a potential retreat route for the Hyuga Clan, making them more loyal to Konoha.

In the former scenario, pressuring the Hyuga Clan again to obtain information about the new Ninjato from the Kaguya Clan could yield two outcomes.

One is that the Kaguya Clan refuses.

In this case, the Hyuga Clan and the Kaguya Clan would still break ties.

At the same time, Konoha could also reveal that the Kaguya Clan provided information about the Byakugan to Konoha, creating discord between the Hidden Mist Village and the Kaguya Clan.

The other possibility is that the Kaguya Clan agrees.

This would be the best outcome for Konoha in terms of obtaining information.

The entire plan, one could say, regardless of the outcome, is beneficial for Konoha.

It's just that they may have to deal with the possibility of backlash from the Hyuga Clan.

But, would the Hyuga Clan dare?

Danzo doesn't think so.

With the Caged Bird Seal restraining the branch family, Danzo sees the entire Hyuga Clan as deeply submissive, absolutely unwilling to confront the village.

"You will regret this!"

Back at the Hyuga headquarters, Hyuga Kazuo immediately called for a clan meeting.

He recounted the words of Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo.

Immediately, some members of the Hyuga Clan expressed dissatisfaction.

"What do Danzo and Hokage-sama mean?"

"Are they suggesting that we intentionally lost the Byakugan?"

"He's going too far with these words!"

"What do they take us, the Hyuga Clan, for?"

However, when Hyuga Kazuo posed a question...

"Do any of you have any good ideas?"

Everyone fell silent.

Hyuga Kazuo sighed inwardly.

Then he looked towards a figure.

"Hizashi, I'll have you go to the Hidden Mist Village. Have a discussion with the Kaguya Clan. If they agree, that's good. If not, don't force it."

Hyuga Hizashi nodded.

"Yes, Clan Head."

"Hurry back."

...

Mayuko Ringo watched Uehara Soma's surgery. The more she watched, the more admiration filled her eyes.

"Such skilled hands, it's a shame not to perform surgery."

"But alas, he's a blacksmith."

At first, Uehara Soma was slow, but gradually he got into the rhythm. With the boost from the Familiar-level Body Modification Technique, such surgery seemed effortless for him.

And there's also the assistance of God's Hand.

Uehara Soma's movements became faster and faster.

One wound after another, all stitched up by Uehara Soma.

Soon, it was time for the eye area.

"For non-Uchiha clan members, transplanting a Sharingan will have certain side effects."

"For non-Hyuga clan members, transplanting the Byakugan will also have certain side effects."

"But what if I use the Body Modification Technique?"

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