Chapter 66 - "We Uchiha will be Hokage! Who agrees? Who opposes?"
"Speaking of which, it seems our Hyuga Clan hasn't been on such good terms with your Uchiha Clan, has it?"
Inside the Hyuga Clan's tearoom, Hyuga Hiashi looked at Bai Ye with some distress, secretly thinking that Bai Ye was incredibly thick-skinned.
Today, Bai Ye wanted to see him. Originally, he had planned to have someone send Bai Ye away, citing that he didn't have time, as it wasn't appropriate to be so close to the Uchiha Clan at this time.
But Bai Ye, with his thick skin, even directly proposed to stay in the Hyuga compound for the next period, waiting for him, which left Hyuga Hiashi with no choice.
"What does that matter? We now have a common enemy."
"Heh heh, that's between you and Konoha. We are not enemies."
Hyuga Hiashi was well aware of Bai Ye's intention to pull them into his scheme.
But he refused!
Although he had many grievances against Hiruzen Sarutobi, he would not let the Hyuga Clan rebel with the Uchiha Clan.
The Hyuga needed a stable Konoha, not a chaotic Konoha. Even if Hiruzen Sarutobi was defeated, what then? What about the other Ninja Villages?
"Speaking of which, your recent small businesses are doing very well."
Hyuga Hiashi was actually shocked by Uchiha's recent operations.
First, they reclaimed their original clan lands, and then they promoted snacks, perfumes, and lipsticks.
These items were given as gifts to nobles, and they even hired the popular celebrity Kazahana Koyuki as an endorser. As their reputation grew, Uchiha Express also successfully became famous in the industry. Using the money earned, under the name of the Uchiha Merchant Guild, they hired Ninja from neutral Ninja Villages, Ninja from their own Village, or civilians to operate two modes: Ninja Express and regular express delivery. They promised to deliver goods to every customer as quickly as possible and accepted various pre-orders.
This commercial venture was a dimension-reducing strike, instantly revitalizing all of Uchiha's industries.
Due to the support of nobles from various countries, even if some Ninja Villages were unwilling, the Uchiha would still entrust these delivery tasks to their own Villages, which also provided a portion of the remuneration. Additionally, these were just consumer goods, so several Ninja Villages turned a blind eye, as they also needed to do business with Konoha.
They couldn't possibly abandon Konoha and the Land of Fire market completely just because of this, could they?
"Indeed, I also think business has been going quite well recently."
You're really not being modest at all.
Hyuga Hiashi couldn't help but inwardly complain after hearing Bai Ye's reply, but he also gained a deeper understanding of Bai Ye.
Ultimately, after Bai Ye told the plan to Fugaku, and Fugaku then told Mikoto, Bai Ye hadn't expected that she could get everything ready so quickly.
It only took less than a month, and Uchiha snacks, Uchiha luxury goods, and Uchiha Express instantly became hot commodities.
Some Uchiha Clan members who were originally idle at home were arranged to work here.
They even recruited many civilians from the Village to work, which also seemed to slightly reverse the Uchiha's previously poor reputation in the Village.
For ordinary people, whoever can give them a meal, they naturally stand on that side.
Within the clan, because Bai Ye, even if he wasn't wealthy, could receive clan subsidies every month, taken from the profits of those businesses, support for Bai Ye reached its peak.
From reclaiming their clan lands to making the Uchiha wealthy again, Bai Ye took only a few months after taking office to complete everything.
"The tallest tree in the forest is bound to be toppled by the wind, so aren't you Uchiha being targeted even more fiercely recently?"
With the Uchiha having money, the Konoha F4 were naturally displeased.
Moreover, the one in charge this time wasn't an idiot like Uchiha Fugaku; he knew how to win over the people's hearts.
From the Police Force to now, the Konoha F4 found that their previously effective manipulation of public opinion seemed to have lost its effect on Bai Ye.
However, the Uchiha have been targeted recently, mainly because these products can be imitated.
So, the Mitokado family, the Utatane family, the Shimura family, and the Sarutobi family all entered this market, wanting a piece of the pie.
Seeing the Uchiha earn money made them feel worse than losing money themselves.
However, due to the pre-existing brand recognition and occupying good locations, the Uchiha Clan's business remains the best, but it has inevitably been affected.
"Hiashi Clan Head, I didn't come to you to talk about these things. I just want to ask you one question: do you want to be Hiruzen Sarutobi's dog for the rest of your life, or avenge your deceased brother?"
If the Hyuga Clan hadn't had Naruto become Hokage later and Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't died at that time,
They might really have been purged.
Moreover, wasn't the incident with Hyuga Hizashi at the very beginning also considered a warning from Konoha?
Because of this, the Hyuga Clan had been holding back for many years, known as Konoha's top clan after the Uchiha were destroyed, but within the Village, they often acted as if they were walking on eggshells.
"What do you mean?"
Hyuga Hiashi gripped the edge of the table excitedly. Last time, Bai Ye brought up this matter, but not so directly. Now that Bai Ye had spoken about it without hesitation, the anger in his heart instantly became somewhat uncontrollable.
"I want to overthrow the rule of Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group. The Uchiha Clan is basically unified now. Konoha is pressing us step by step, and there's no need to continue backing down. Hiashi, you also know how chaotic Konoha has been in the hands of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, and others all these years, right? This farce can pretty much end now."
Bai Ye said calmly. He had already prepared for all resistance.
Now, if the other clans just stayed out of it and watched, he could pretty much act directly. He just needed a pretext.
"We don't need to take such a risk."
Hyuga Hiashi was actually a bit tempted, but he felt that there was no need for him to take such a risk.
"No, actually, we are taking the risk for you."
"What do we get? If you succeed, we seem to get nothing. If you fail, we also have to bear the consequences of failure."
Hyuga Hiashi was no longer as firm as before.
He was weighing the pros and cons. If they succeeded, it would be revenge for Hyuga Hizashi.
At the same time, he had long been dissatisfied with Hiruzen Sarutobi's rule, but the other party's control over Konoha was very strong at present, so even with countless dissatisfactions in his heart, he still couldn't do anything.
But this wasn't just his personal problem; it was a problem for the entire Hyuga Clan.
If he were to do this, he would have to persuade the clan elders, and the Hyuga Clan couldn't possibly help for free, could they?
"Aren't the interests of those four families enough?"
Bai Ye said calmly. As long as those four people fell, wouldn't the four families, who weren't particularly powerful to begin with, have to spit out those interests?
Did they not have any idea why they gained those interests?
"The Uchiha Clan doesn't want anything at all?"
Hyuga Hiashi didn't believe Bai Ye wanted nothing.
"Hiashi Clan Head, this generation, fully support me as the Hokage of Konoha. In the next generation, if your Hyuga Clan wants to become Hokage, you will also have a chance. Hokage is not their game. Since everyone is from Konoha, why can they, and we can't?"
Bai Ye initially didn't want to become Hokage, but he thought that if he did become Hokage, it would also count as changing the plot, and naturally, he would have a chance at a lottery.
At the same time, he also knew that the current situation of the Uchiha was that a Hokage needed to emerge. This was the lifelong pursuit of the Uchiha.
"You want to become Hokage?!"
Hyuga Hiashi's eyes widened, looking at Bai Ye with some disbelief, clearly not expecting Bai Ye to want even more than he had imagined.
At the same time, he was also calculating the gains and losses. How could the Hyuga not want to produce a Hokage?
It's just that Hyuga Hiashi was very clear that the Hokage had always been passed down in a single lineage.
The First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, was one of Konoha's founders. The Second Hokage was Senju Hashirama's younger brother. The Third Hokage was the Second Hokage's disciple. The Fourth Hokage was the disciple of the Third Hokage's disciple.
The Hokage had always been passed down within this lineage. Although the Hyuga Clan had thought about it, compared to being Hokage, they preferred a peaceful environment, so they didn't have many thoughts about it.
But the Uchiha Clan was different. As one of Konoha's founders, it was fine that the Hokage position was taken by the two Senju brothers. They didn't have much to say. But the Third Generation was actually from the Sarutobi clan, a family that was once beaten and forced to evacuate their original clan lands during the Sengoku period. How could they be reconciled?
Moreover, the Hokage was chosen by everyone, but this Third Generation was chosen by the Second's deathbed wish.
By the Fourth Generation, although the Uchiha were still somewhat dissatisfied, the Fourth promised to improve the relationship between the Village and the Uchiha, and he indeed did so. So everyone naturally didn't think too much about it. But when the Fourth died and the Third took office again, everything changed.
"That's right, there's no such thing as 'the Hokage' or 'everyone can be Hokage.' They are old, and we are still young. The Village shouldn't always be in the hands of a group of old fogeys who hold power. The Village is already dissatisfied with them, and Hiashi Clan Head, you probably don't know that Danzo is researching the Village's Kekkei Genkai, do you?"
Danzo was interested in researching the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, but the Byakugan of the Main House was genuinely difficult to obtain.
But to say he didn't covet it was impossible. Danzo wanted to get his hands on all the secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai in the Village.
"What do you mean?"
"His arm is covered in the Sharingan of our Uchiha Clan, and that arm was made using the First Hokage's body cells. Isn't it strange why he always wears bandages on his arm and eye? He's actually been researching all along. He even took out the First Hokage's corpse for research. Do you think Hiruzen Sarutobi knows about this? It's impossible for him not to know, right? Don't you find such a Konoha terrifying?"
"How is that possible?!"
Hyuga Hiashi's eyes widened, clearly finding it difficult to accept what Bai Ye said. This was simply too shocking!
He hadn't expected Danzo to have already started researching these things.
If it was truly as Bai Ye said, he instantly felt his hair stand on end, and a chill ran down his spine.
Danzo researching other Kekkei Genkai, and even transplanting the Kekkei Genkai of the First and the Uchiha, it was impossible for him not to want the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai.
With a venomous snake staring at them from behind, how could Hiashi remain calm?
"How can I believe you?"
Hyuga Hiashi forced himself to calm down a bit. He felt that he couldn't so easily choose to believe Bai Ye.
This was all Bai Ye's one-sided story. It was not impossible that he deliberately fabricated it just to get him to cooperate!
"It's simple. I recently took on a disciple, Fugaku's youngest son, Uchiha Sasuke. He will graduate early the day after tomorrow, and Danzo will come to the exam site then. You can just use your Byakugan to see for yourself."
Bai Ye said slowly. This was actually not just about Sasuke's graduation.
It was him, in his capacity as the Uchiha Clan Head, inviting Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo to discuss the matters between the Uchiha and Konoha at that time.
And recently, Hiruzen Sarutobi and others also hoped to stabilize Bai Ye, plus Bai Ye's previous words seemed to imply some compromise, so the two of them agreed after a discussion.
And the reason Bai Ye invited Danzo was precisely to show Hyuga Hiashi.
Danzo currently would not appear in public, fearing the Byakugan.
"Okay, if what you say is true then, our Hyuga Clan will cooperate with you. So, how do you want to cooperate?"
They were already coveting the Kekkei Genkai of other clans; the Hyuga Clan would absolutely not stand by and watch.
Damn it!
If this continued, they might not even be able to keep their own Kekkei Genkai. Hyuga Hiashi didn't believe Hiruzen Sarutobi knew nothing about what Danzo was doing.
"I will tell you the plan later. At that time, if other Ninja clans need help, you will need to help block them. As for the others, you don't need to deal with them; we Uchiha can deal with those few people!"
Bai Ye said calmly. He didn't want the Uchiha to suffer increased casualties. Bringing in the Hyuga was partly to prevent the Hyuga from interfering later, and partly to have the Hyuga help block a portion of the Ninja.
"Okay, as long as what you say is true, then we Hyuga can block them. Then, the interests of those four families you mentioned, and later, if our Hyuga Clan wants to become Hokage, your Uchiha must support us to be the Sixth Generation!"
Hyuga Hiashi quickly clarified his conditions.
If it was as Bai Ye said, the Hyuga Clan would make a move, and at that time, there would likely be very few Ninja clans helping, because Danzo had already touched the bottom line of the Ninja clans: secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai!
No Ninja clan could accept that.
Similarly, he agreed to Bai Ye becoming the Fifth Generation; they would fully support Bai Ye as the Fifth Generation. But in exchange, if the Hyuga Clan had a suitable candidate for the Sixth Generation, then the Uchiha must also support them.
"Okay, happy cooperation!"
Bai Ye extended his hand towards Hyuga Hiashi, a hint of pleasure flashing in his heart.
Indeed, as long as he brought up Danzo researching Kekkei Genkai, and even transplanting the Kekkei Genkai of the First and the Uchiha, Hyuga Hiashi would absolutely not be able to sit still.
Ultimately, who could be sure that the next research target wouldn't be them?
Moreover, the most important thing was that only the Main House could act, and Hyuga Hiashi did not want himself to become their target again.
He even suspected that Konoha might have been behind that incident back then.
Thinking this, Hyuga Hiashi's chilling sensation grew even stronger.
Under their rule, Konoha truly seemed to have become so terrifying!