A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Aoba's casual "I know" left Nichien Sarutobi stunned. What did he mean, you know?

I sent people to kidnap your woman and your students, yet you're telling me you know? And if you knew, why are you still here?

Unless…

"Did you set a trap at your house?" Nichien asked hesitantly.

"No, there's no one else at my house. Because… there's no need," Aoba replied calmly.

At Aoba's residence, six ninjas were bound tightly by countless vines. These vines drained their chakra completely but it didn't stop there.

The vines continued writhing, with more tendrils piercing their skin and delving into their flesh. Eventually, the vines tore them apart and devoured them entirely.

Yes, they were eaten by the vines. This was Yumi's unique Wood Release technique. She hadn't been idle all this time.

Yumi had been constantly training and had developed some Wood Release techniques of her own. The one she used here, capable of consuming flesh and blood, was one of them.

In battle, this technique didn't significantly boost her combat effectiveness. However, for disposing of bodies, it was perfect.

As everyone knows, killing is easy, but getting rid of the bodies is hard. Yumi's technique skipped the body disposal step entirely.

Meanwhile, as Tsunade walked down the road, she suddenly stopped and turned around.

Behind her, two figures briefly clashed before falling silent. Simultaneously, in over a dozen different locations nearby, similar events played out.

Each encounter ended quickly and quietly, with no commotion.

Back in Nichien's compound, facing Aoba's indifferent demeanor, he finally realized that his plan might have some flaws.

"Aoba, that's the Hokage's position we're talking about. Are you really not going to consider it?"

"Hah, believe it or not, if I wanted the Hokage's position, I could have taken it a long time ago. In fact, I've been expecting everything that's happened tonight.

I just didn't expect your methods to be so… crude. Sending assassins after the Hokage and kidnappers after my people? You've been brewing this for days, and this is the best you could come up with?

To put it bluntly, is this even a plan? You're dissatisfied with the Hokage, so you kill them? Dissatisfied with me, so you kidnap my people? Is this really Konoha?"

"…" Nichien was rendered speechless by Aoba's sharp critique.

The truth was, Aoba had never truly let the conservatives off the hook. The problem was their identities, they were the family of a former Hokage.

This status made them both insignificant and significant. As the late Hokage's family, wiping them out entirely wouldn't cause much public outcry. But their position still carried weight.

Take a look at Hiruzen Sarutobi's actions during his tenure: the Uzumaki clan, the Uchiha clan, Sakumo Hatake, even Hizashi Hyuga... All gone. Yet nothing ever happened to him. At least not on the surface.

But later, during the Konoha Crush, everyone eagerly awaited his death...

Now, Aoba and Tsunade faced a similar situation to Hiruzen's back then.

Was the Uchiha issue really that hard to solve? Not at all. Give them a Hokage position, or at the very least a Hokage advisor role, allowing them to participate in Konoha's higher-level politics. That alone would have appeased them for at least a generation.

There was an amusing irony here: every Konoha leader staunchly guarded against the Uchiha, as if their leadership would cause Konoha to collapse.

But in Aoba's view, the Uchiha clan was the most suitable for the Hokage position. Why? Because they were the clan that valued honor above all else.

When the Uchiha were sent to the Blood Mist of Kirigakure, a place that restrained their abilities the most, they never complained. They did so because they were Uchiha, founders of the village, and they considered Konoha their home.

These were the people who stayed behind when Madara Uchiha left. They were the ones most loyal to Konoha.

To shed blood for Konoha was, in their eyes, a matter of course.

Unfortunately, this ideology became distorted under the continued suppression by the Hokage line.

To put it bluntly, if Madara Uchiha had been stronger than Hashirama Senju back then, and had become Hokage, the ninja world would have been unified long ago, and most of the subsequent chaos wouldn't have occurred.

But sadly, the Sage of Six Paths favored Ashura. Throughout history, Ashura's successors always suppressed Indra's.

Why did the Uchiha have a bad reputation? Because they were strict and unyielding in law enforcement.

But let's not forget they were in charge of the Konoha Police Force. Strict law enforcement was part of their job.

For some reason, certain fools liked to imagine themselves as those being harshly disciplined.

In reality, most people were ordinary citizens. It was the hooligans, thugs, drunkards, and harassers who got punished.

Think about it... If you were beaten on the street by a drunkard, and the police came and just made them apologize to you, would you be satisfied?

What would the Uchiha do? They'd follow procedure: arrest the offender, document your injuries, and ensure proper justice was served.

So, which would you prefer? Unless, of course, you relate to the drunkard.

The Uchiha Police Force was that kind of institution. As an enforcement body, if it left the impression of being "kind and gentle," then it had failed.

The truth is, the Sarutobi faction's fear of the Uchiha never stemmed from the laughable idea that they were inherently evil.

At its core, it was about interests.

Think about the vast wealth of the Sarutobi clan. Think about Danzo Shimura's Root and its shady experiments.

If an Uchiha became a Hokage advisor, what would they do upon discovering these things? Most likely, they'd investigate thoroughly. The Uchiha Police Force even had the authority and responsibility to do so.

But could the Hokage lineage withstand scrutiny? Of course not. That's why the Uchiha were never allowed to enter Konoha's leadership, because their interests didn't align.

Aoba believed that Tobirama Senju probably understood this. Unfortunately, his death came too soon, and he didn't arrange things properly. He chose Hiruzen, who seemed honest enough. But people change.

Hiruzen Sarutobi went from a revered hero to a Hokage whose death everyone awaited.

Aoba didn't want Tsunade to experience the same fate. He intended to end this cycle of corruption and decay once and for all. But everything had to be justified and legitimate.

The dismantling of the Sarutobi clan was meant to preserve Konoha's combat strength as much as possible. If they accepted their fate without resistance, Konoha would retain this power.

But if they chose to act, it would give Aoba the perfect justification to deal with them.

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Currently on Chapter 192 - Planting a Seed of Doubt