The True Plan of Hiruzen

Toki frowned. 'Is this scene in the plot?'

Suddenly, he remembered that the peace treaty between the Hidden Cloud Village and the Leaf Village was signed during Hinata's third birthday banquet, and it was also when Neji Hyuga was marked with the caged bird seal. Toki only remembered that Minato Namikaze ended the Great Ninja War, but forgot that after the Nine-Tails incident, the Hidden Cloud Village fought against the Leaf Village for three more years.

It was during these three years that each ninja clan was severely weakened by Hiruzen Sarutobi's cunning tactics, leading to the rise of civilian ninjas and the dominance of the Sarutobi clan. Coupled with a wave of punitive actions from the Hidden Cloud Village, it directly reduced all the ninja clans to vassals, voluntarily sending their heirs to ninja school to inherit the Will of Fire.

Now that the Uchiha clan had taken over this mess, it meant they had to face the Hidden Cloud Village in place of the other ninja clans.

Toki looked at the smug Hiruzen Sarutobi and immediately understood. The reason he agreed to what Toki called the separation of powers was because the ANBU had surely already sent him intelligence on the Hidden Cloud Village's movements. No wonder Toki felt that pushing the Hokage out of office this time was too easy.

Now all of Hiruzen Sarutobi's power was concentrated in the City Management Brigade, responsible for the village's security. Once the Uchiha clan couldn't hold on, the other ninja clans would still have to be sent to the battlefield.

After suffering heavy losses, they would be able to rise as the true leading family and force in Konoha.

By then, matters like the separation of powers and the Hokage would be nothing more than a mere formality. Ultimately, the ninja world respected strength.

Toki looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi with surprise.

"Well done, I underestimated you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, wore an unconcerned expression tinged with regret.

"Ah, being Hokage was never my intention. I just wanted to prevent this situation."

Shikaku Nara looked at Toki. If he yielded now and returned the position of Hokage to Hiruzen Sarutobi, perhaps things could still be salvaged. However, Toki just gave Hiruzen Sarutobi a disdainful glance.

"Just the Hidden Cloud Village. As long as the military funds are in place, our Uchiha clan will naturally push them back."

Shikaku Nara sighed.

"I will report to the Daimyo for funding as soon as possible. The current military funds and supplies will be prioritized for your Uchiha clan."

Toki nodded and turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi with a sneer.

"Bring back Uchiha Shisui. He belongs to our Uchiha clan."

At this time, Uchiha Shisui, although already renowned for his Shunshin no Jutsu, was still an elite jonin, indicating that he had not yet opened his eyes. Although he and Uchiha Itachi were both devoted to their clan, Shisui's goal was for the peace of his people, while Itachi's was for the peace of Konoha. There was a big difference between the two. In simple terms, Shisui's level of indoctrination wasn't as high.

When Hiruzen Sarutobi heard Toki's request for Shisui, he immediately hesitated.

"Shisui, I also want him back, but he is currently stationed in the Hidden Mist Village. Once he leaves his position, Konoha may be attacked from both sides. It's impossible for him to come back."

"Weren't you saying that everything external belongs to the Uchiha clan? At the very least, you should go replace Shisui externally before bringing him back, right?"

Toki sneered. He knew that at this time, Obito had already gone to retaliate against the Hidden Mist Village. In the coming days, the Hidden Mist Village would be too preoccupied to send troops to invade Konoha.

"We don't need Obito to manage the Hidden Mist Village. If you don't bring Shisui back, I won't let our clan members go to the front lines.

If worst comes to worst, let the Hidden Cloud Village come to us. It's easier to defend than to attack."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face darkened. The Great Ninja War was essentially a military balance between the various ninja villages. He was like a plus version of "Kouga Ninja Scrolls." (reference to a story, the Koga ninja clan is hired to assassinate the Iga ninja clan.). An invasion by the Hidden Cloud Village would not target the nobles or Daimyo of the Fire Country; it would only attack Leaf Village ninja. If Konoha allowed the Hidden Cloud Village to advance unchecked, not only would the reputation of Konoha as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages be completely ruined, but it would also lead to the Fire Country severing its alliance with Konoha. A weakened Konoha without deterrence would be doomed to be eliminated from the ninja world.

This was absolutely unacceptable to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had always wanted to control Konoha.

He snorted. "I'll see what you do when the Hidden Mist Village attacks!"

With that, he left angrily, ignoring Toki and Shikaku Nara.

Shikaku Nara sighed. "He's right. Right now, Shisui is deterring the ninja from the Hidden Mist Village. If you bring him back, it might really expose you to a double-sided attack. I don't recommend you do this."

Toki wore a confident expression. "Don't worry, the Hidden Mist Village is in much worse shape than Konoha right now."

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen had been turned into auspicious treasures by Might Daiti, and the elite forces had been killed by the rampaging Obito, leaving only a few. Now Obito was looking for an opportunity to control the Mist's power and implement even harsher policies to vent his anger on the Hidden Mist Village.

At present, the Hidden Mist Village couldn't even produce a high-ranking ninja, let alone come across the sea to trouble Konoha.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door, and Kakashi walked in from outside.

"Village Chief ? I want to join the Defense Department." He looked defiantly at Toki. "I don't believe Obito would betray us!'"