Konoha.
The Inuzuka clan kennels.
"So I'm telling you, Clan Head, our dog food should have been upgraded long ago. What were we feeding them before? Just minced raw beef thrown straight to the ninken. How is that supposed to have any nutrition? In the end, a ninja's battle is a battle of chakra. The stronger our ninken are, the stronger our techniques become. That's why throughout history the Inuzuka clan earned its name—because we excel at raising ninken. Without them, the Inuzuka clan is nothing. Do you understand, Clan Head?"
Inuzuka Ryoha ranted nonstop at the Inuzuka clan head in front of him.
Meanwhile, Inuzuka Rinko stood to the side, covering her mouth as she giggled.
She had only recently learned that this man was her biological father.
She found out last night.
Ever since the Inuzuka clan head became the leader of the clan, he had never dared to openly acknowledge his wife. After all, this was Konoha—cough cough—this was the ninja world. How could the head of a clan allow such an obvious weakness to exist?
Of course, everything changed after yesterday.
Yesterday, the two of them had a long conversation.
...
Inuzuka Clan Head: "Ryoha, do you know what the greatest weakness of a clan head is?"
Inuzuka Ryoha: "Family."
Inuzuka Clan Head: "That's right… huh? How did you know?"
Inuzuka Ryoha: "Because my weakness is Rinko."
Inuzuka Clan Head: "She isn't your family."
Inuzuka Ryoha: "She will be sooner or later."
Why do I suddenly feel like punching him? Do you realize Rinko's father is standing right in front of you?
Well… he doesn't know.
No, I'm still angry. I'll beat him up in training later.
Inuzuka Clan Head: "Then I'll teach you a trick for hiding your weakness."
Inuzuka Ryoha: "No need. As long as you're strong enough, you can overcome any difficulty."
Inuzuka Clan Head: "Ryoha, I have to tell you something. Ever since the ninja ranking system was established, genin had no subdivisions. Chūnin were divided into regular chūnin and elite chūnin. Jōnin were divided into regular jōnin and elite jōnin. But after the hidden villages were founded, the number of genin and chūnin skyrocketed. There weren't enough jōnin to manage such a massive number of lower-ranked ninja."
"So Konoha created a new position—Special Jōnin. Anyone who excels in a particular field at the level of a jōnin can be promoted to Special Jōnin."
Inuzuka Ryoha nodded.
"Special treatment for special circumstances. It's not exactly fair, but it's understandable."
The clan head continued.
"Actually, the Special Jōnin position was originally seen as a gesture of goodwill toward the ninja clans. Anyone who cultivates a Secret Technique will inevitably have a strength greater than others. The Uchiha clan's genjutsu, the Hyūga clan's vision, the Aburame clan's insects, the Nara clan's intelligence, the Yamanaka clan's information gathering, the Akimichi clan's frontal offense and defense, the Senju clan's massive chakra reserves… and many other clans with their own unique enhancements."
"So most outstanding members of ninja clans could become Special Jōnin. But…"
Inuzuka Ryoha finished the sentence for him.
"But this was a scheme by the higher-ups, right? Special Jōnin are still considered jōnin. They take jōnin-level missions, not chūnin missions. Even if one ability reaches jōnin level, they still aren't truly jōnin. Taking jōnin missions recklessly… the casualty rate among the clans back then must have been very high."
The clan head stared at him for a moment.
"You're more suited to lead the Inuzuka clan than I am."
"Konoha was originally founded by Senju Hashirama-sama together with many ninja clans. But now, the proportion of clan ninja to civilian ninja in Konoha has reached three to seven."
"Do you know the Sarutobi clan? It didn't even exist before. Now that clan has more than six thousand members—more than the Uchiha and Hyūga clans combined."
"So Ryoha… do you understand now?"
Inuzuka Ryoha nodded seriously.
"Konoha's higher-ups are all terrible people. The Third Hokage is lining his own pockets."
The Inuzuka clan head instantly clamped a hand over his mouth.
"Idiot! Is that something you can say out loud?! Do you realize Konoha could crush us easily? When you're outside, you must be extremely cautious!"
Ryoha shrugged.
"It's fine. Within a five-kilometer radius, I haven't smelled any ANBU. I also don't smell that foul stench from Root."
The clan head let out a long breath.
"Oh… that's good. Wait. Super smell? You've mastered that too? How old are you?"
Ryoha blinked.
"Isn't that something that just comes naturally?"
The clan head went silent.
Naturally?
How much suffering did I go through to learn that back then…
Ryoha waved his hand.
"Clan Head, do you have anything else? I've got something to do, so I'm leaving first."
Seeing that ordinary matters no longer impressed this kid, the clan head finally revealed the cruelest truth of the Inuzuka clan.
"Above elite jōnin, there is an unofficial rank—Kage-level. Anyone below that level is weak. The First Hokage-sama and that forbidden man from the Uchiha clan were both Kage-level. In front of them, even jōnin were like insects."
"But the Inuzuka clan's Secret Techniques have limits. We can never reach the Kage-level."
"Right now, the Third Hokage is Kage-level. Our clan will never escape this man's influence."
Ryoha stopped and looked back.
"Clan Head, have you ever considered another possibility?"
"The Hokage might truly be Kage-level… but the First Hokage-sama and that forbidden Uchiha might actually be above Kage-level."
"What?! Explain that carefully. Isn't the Third Hokage supposed to be the strongest Hokage?"
So that illusion—the strongest Hokage—didn't just fool academy students.
It even fooled the heads of ninja clans.
I'd rank it alongside the Will of Fire as Konoha's most powerful genjutsu.
Ryoha slowly revealed the intelligence he and Aburame Shiken, Uchiha Kamito, Hyūga Hiyasu, and Senju Hideki had pieced together.
As he spoke, the Inuzuka clan head burst into loud laughter.
"So that's how it is! Hahahahaha!"
"Sarutobi Hiruzen… you really are something."
"Hahahaha!"
After laughing, he walked toward the door.
Bang.
The door wouldn't open.
Someone was watching them.
"Shiken, sorry to trouble you."
A swarm of insects slowly fell from the ceiling of the clan head's room. They landed on the ground and disappeared.
"What is this…?"
Ryoha replied calmly.
"Clan Head, if you're having private meetings in the future and discussing important matters, remember to set up a barrier. Otherwise it's too dangerous."
After saying that, Ryoha turned and left.
The Inuzuka clan head watched his back.
Yeah… right now you look more like the clan head than I do.
...
The clan head hurried to Inuzuka Rinko's house.
He lifted Rinko's mother—Inuzuka Misa—into his arms.
"Misa, we don't have to hide anymore. From now on I can openly declare that you're the rightful wife of the Inuzuka clan head."
Misa gently patted the man in front of her.
Only she knew how much pressure he carried for the sake of the clan.
And how powerful the enemies he faced were.
As their emotions deepened and the atmosphere grew increasingly intimate—
"Who are you?! Don't bully my mother!"
"Woof! Woof!"
Rinko rushed forward with a broom pointed at the Inuzuka clan head.
Beside her, Sumimaru crouched, ready to pounce.
Honestly… why is it that children catching adults in compromising situations always use brooms?
Is that some kind of universal law?
Although the mood from earlier disappeared—
The warm atmosphere of a happy family didn't seem so bad either.