"Of course. I believe that when the Third-sama previously agreed to hand over Hyūga Hiashi, it was simply because he, like everyone present, was overly concerned about the village's safety and took your feelings into account. That's why he had no choice but to make such a painful decision. I imagine he must have been deeply conflicted inside."
Suddenly, Akashō changed his tone, and the crowd immediately fell silent, shifting their attention to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"But now that everyone in the Hidden Leaf Village has shown their resolve to protect their families even at the cost of their lives, the Third-sama can understand and support that as well, right?"
Seeing Akashō turn his smiling gaze toward him, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but be taken aback.
In a situation like this, shouldn't Akashō be trying to elevate his own image while dragging him down, paving the way to overthrow him later? Why the sudden shift…?
Nara Shikaku also frowned. Naturally, he could tell that Akashō was giving Hiruzen Sarutobi a way out. As long as Hiruzen nodded, everything would pass smoothly. But if he refused, winning back the people's support later would become extremely difficult.
But why offer this way out? Wouldn't it be better to just overthrow Hiruzen Sarutobi outright?
However, when Nara Shikaku glanced at the leading figures present, he suddenly understood Akashō's true intention.
If Hiruzen Sarutobi were overthrown, who would take the position of the Fifth Hokage?
Uchiha Fugaku?
Hyūga Hiashi?
Shimura Danzō?
Obviously impossible. No one would support someone else taking that seat. The only reason they were united now was because Akashō served as the bond between them.
But that didn't mean they could accept contributing their efforts just to help someone else become Hokage—including Akashō himself. And even setting that aside, none of them truly had the strength required for the position.
More importantly, the peace talks with the Hidden Cloud Village had clearly broken down. No one knew whether war would break out again. They needed Hiruzen Sarutobi—the current strongest—holding the line.
Besides, in terms of both military and political power, Akashō had already gained a massive advantage in a very short time. With a bit more maneuvering later, he could completely seize control. At that point, wouldn't Hiruzen Sarutobi just be an empty puppet, easily manipulated?
At that realization, Nara Shikaku felt enlightened.
So that's how it is—an open scheme hiding a hidden scheme, and that hidden scheme itself is also an open one. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi saw through it, he had no other choice.
No wonder this kid Akashō could flip the board so decisively. Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't even qualified to play against him—he was no different from a character in Akashō's writing, toyed with and controlled at will.
Terrifying.
At this moment, although Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't understand Akashō's actions, just as Nara Shikaku had thought, he had no choice but to accept this "kindness," whether he wanted to or not.
Thus, Hiruzen Sarutobi forced a smile onto his wrinkled face.
"Yes… Akashō, what you said makes perfect sense."
"Mm."
Akashō nodded in satisfaction. In truth, his thoughts were somewhat similar to Nara Shikaku's, but not nearly as deep. After all, he had no real interest in the politics of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Once this turmoil fully settled, he planned to leave the Hidden Leaf Village for a while.
As for whether the alliance would collapse without him as the bond, or whether those people would suffer retaliation from Hiruzen Sarutobi afterward—what did that have to do with him?
"I knew it. As a relative of the Fourth-sama, Uzumaki Akashō would never do anything harmful to the village."
"Exactly. Everything he's done was for the sake of the Hidden Leaf Village. He's truly put in a lot of thought."
"Oh, spare me—you were the ones cursing him the loudest just now."
"And the Third-sama… who would've thought that the once-mighty 'Professor' of the shinobi world would endure such humiliation for our sake?"
"They're all heroes of the Hidden Leaf Village—the inheritors of the Will of Fire!"
In the end, with the way out Akashō provided, this major incident that had shaken the entire Hidden Leaf Village came to a smooth conclusion.
Unfortunately, during the conflict, aside from the small and medium ninja clans led by Nara Shikaku, the other factions all suffered varying degrees of losses. Still, for the village as a whole, the few who died were considered insignificant.
After all, dying to awaken the village's spirit and the Will of Fire was seen as a righteous sacrifice. No one would blame Akashō for being reckless over a few lives.
"Good thing it worked out."
The four members of the "Hidden Leaf F4" walked side by side down the street, receiving friendly nods and smiles from passersby.
"I might've gone crazy, doing something like that… I probably can't stay in the ANBU anymore…"
Kakashi sighed, hands behind his head.
"Heh, it's already lucky we weren't labeled missing-nin."
A faint trace of sadness lingered on Shisui's face. Although they had achieved their goal, both of them had belonged to the Hokage's system before. Where they could go next was uncertain—and if they ended up being targeted or sidelined, it wouldn't be a pleasant situation at all.
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