"Father, where is the Senju clan now? Is Lady Tsunade from the Sannin really the only one left?"
At the dinner table, Shikamaru, with his small pineapple-like hairstyle, suddenly asked his father Nara Shikaku, whose hair looked like a larger pineapple.
Shikaku frowned slightly and put down his chopsticks. His expression became serious.
"Why are you asking about this?"
Shikamaru sighed when he saw his father's reaction.
"Shouldn't we children know about things like this?"
Shikaku stayed silent for a moment before speaking.
"It's not really a secret. The Senju clan only has Lady Tsunade left. The other members died in previous wars."
Shikamaru frowned even deeper.
"But even the Battle of Kikyo Mountain a few years ago didn't wipe out an entire powerful ninja clan, right? Yet now it seems like there's not even any Senju land left in Konoha."
Shikaku glanced at his son and replied slowly.
"The Senju clan still exists in a sense. Many of the women married into other clans and took their husbands' names. That's why people say the Senju clan disappeared."
"As for the Senju clan's land, it belongs to Lady Tsunade, the granddaughter of the First Hokage. Since she left the village, the land is currently managed by her teacher."
Shikamaru was stunned.
"Teacher? Who is that? I've never heard of it."
Shikaku calmly answered:
"Lady Tsunade's teacher is none other than the Third Hokage."
Hearing this, Shikamaru suddenly felt uneasy and looked at his father in surprise.
Shikaku picked up his chopsticks again and continued eating.
"In any case, the Senju clan bravely fought on the front lines in past wars to protect the Will of Fire left by the First Hokage. You already know this, so don't go spreading rumors everywhere."
Shikamaru's lips twitched.
He suddenly remembered the story Naruto had told them earlier about the true meaning of the Will of Fire.
Thinking about how his father and the others had once been powerful ninjas before retiring, Shikamaru suddenly felt a headache.
"That story… Naruto told it to us. The one about how Konoha was founded."
Shikamaru bitterly explained the whole situation to his father and even regretted going to the barbecue with Naruto.
"Naruto…"
Shikaku murmured the name twice.
He couldn't help wondering whether Naruto was being supported by the Hyuga clan.
The mission incident with the Hidden Cloud Village a few years ago had already damaged the relationship between the Third Hokage and several ninja clans.
If the Third Hokage had successfully forced Hyuga Hizashi to commit suicide, many clan leaders would have feared Sarutobi Hiruzen even more.
However, that event had happened in front of Uchiha Fugaku, which caused many clans to have different opinions about it.
Originally, ninja clans had always remained neutral when it came to choosing the Hokage.
For smaller clans without strong backing, it didn't matter much who became Hokage.
After all, they originally came to Konoha seeking protection.
Only a few decades had passed since then, and most clans had never seriously thought about ruling the village themselves.
Because when Konoha talked about choosing a Hokage, it was mostly symbolic.
Without approval from the Daimyo, no one could truly become Hokage.
From the First Hokage, to the Second, to the Second's student, and then the Third's student—
the position of Hokage had always remained within the same circle.
Unfortunately, the Second Hokage had taught Sarutobi Hiruzen political strategies, but perhaps not the heart needed to match his ambitions.
During the Warring States Era, the two strongest clans were the Senju and the Uchiha.
One had disappeared.
The other had been tightly controlled inside Konoha.
Without those two clans, Konoha had gradually become weaker.
After all, aside from the Senju and Uchiha, the other clans had only been smaller ninja families during the Warring States Era.
The Hidden Cloud incident years ago forced many ninja clans to reconsider their relationship with Konoha.
It wasn't that the clans didn't want peace.
But sacrificing their own family members for the so-called peace crossed the bottom line of many ninja clans.
They had joined Konoha to seek protection.
Who could accept giving up their own family members when faced with oppression?
Because of this, many clans gradually withdrew from active service.
The Ino–Shika–Cho, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans all reduced their participation.
They didn't want to be pushed onto the battlefield as cannon fodder by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
This was also why Danzo shamelessly tried to recruit people from the Aburame clan.
And it was one of the deeper reasons why Hiruzen eventually chose to eradicate the Uchiha clan completely.
If another Hokage election happened in the future, things might become even more complicated.
After all, no clan wanted a Hokage who would sacrifice them whenever it was convenient.
At this moment, Naruto, only six years old, had suddenly reminded everyone of the original purpose of the Will of Fire—
to protect families and bring peace.
This made many clan leaders begin to suspect something.
Was the clan behind Naruto actually the Hyuga clan?
Meanwhile, Naruto himself had just finished running ten laps and arrived at the Hyuga clan's residence, covered in sweat.