“Right now, I don’t need to act at all. Just Uchiha Tenxiu alone is enough to make the entire Uchiha Clan smell bad, make all the families in Konoha look down on the Uchiha Clan, and make them permanently withdraw from the Hokage selection!”
Senju Tobirama was delighted. After years of acting, he was increasingly able to control his expressions, not showing a smile on the spot and exposing his true nature.
However, Uchiha Tenxiu, the subject of Hyuga Zongyong's discussion, felt no embarrassment at all.
Anyway, the Uchiha Clan couldn't become Hokage, so what good was a good reputation for?
It was better to just make money.
At least the money received annually was considered operating expenses, and no one in the entire West Gate Branch disliked this money.
Furthermore, no matter how well Konoha developed, it was for the Senju Clan, for those jackals and wild dogs to develop. No matter how well it developed, it would only make outsiders think it was the Senju Clan's contribution.
So why bother?
Just like the Uchiha Police Force branches in the other two directions and the headquarters near the Konoha building, no matter how well they did, they would still be disliked and harassed by various troublesome commoners.
Try that at the West Gate Branch, and I guarantee three hits will shatter a villager's soul, and they'll say, 'Captain, I'm a good citizen!'
Moreover, only if Konoha's living environment worsened could he, as the King of Great Zhou, highlight the good and bad of both sides.
In this way.
The Uchiha Clan gained wealth, criminals spent money to get comfortable treatment, Senju Tobirama gained peace of mind, and other major families gained a legitimate reason to exclude the Uchiha.
This was a win-win for all four parties.
Everyone won big.
As for the Uchiha Clan, who were legitimately excluded, they would not be harmed. What did it matter? Uchiha Tenxiu would secretly pay attention to those normal people who dared to stand up and resist, ensuring their safety and gradually guiding them to awaken their Sharingan.
And those who, despite being oppressed, still thought they were guilty and fawned over the Senju lineage.
Sorry,
The Uchiha had no ship to carry them.
Even Uchiha Lingyue and Uchiha Yukino, who were beside him, completely ignored these mediocre people.
Having been brought to Great Zhou by Uchiha Tenxiu, witnessing Uchiha Tenxiu's identity as a 'King,' and understanding that Uchiha Tenxiu had built his own country with his own power, the two naturally understood that these actions towards Konoha were inherently harming Konoha and intentionally disgusting Konoha.
So why would they feel insulted by what others said was the truth?
Therefore, facing such words, Uchiha Lingyue and Uchiha Yukino both wore expressions of disdain, with a hint of mockery in their eyes: “Hmph! How would you know what Konoha means to our family!”
Tenxiu has the identity of a “King.”
Here.
Xinyue, whose reality was exposed by Hyuga Zongyong, listened to these evaluations of Uchiha Tenxiu but did not take them to heart. She just kept staring at Uchiha Tenxiu's lazy face and indifferent expression, as if he were a true strong person who didn't care about the cries of mere ants.
“This is the demeanor of a true strong person!” Xinyue narrowed her eyes, thinking to herself, at such a young age, her strength already surpassed the Chakra levels of these Clan Head Level individuals, and only true strong people could hide it.
It seemed Uchiha Tenxiu must be an unparalleled strong person.
Not to mention what Xinyue discovered.
On the podium, Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had finished today's graduation speech. Looking at the graduating Ninja whose dreams and fire will were ignited by his words, Senju Tobirama nodded with satisfaction. As long as these people were here, Konoha would continue to grow and prosper in the future.
Next up.
It was time for the Clan Heads and elders of Konoha's major families to present gifts to these graduating children.
This showed their support for the Ninja School, Konoha's blood-making machine.
At this moment, in this Ninja School, the vast majority of students came from commoner families.
They harbored a common dream—to cross social strata and escape a life of poverty.
The parents of these children knew that only through the education of the Ninja School could their children have the opportunity to change their fate and become respected Ninja.
However, in stark contrast to these commoner students, about two-tenths of the students came from various families.
These families sent their clansmen to the Ninja School largely in response to Senju Tobirama's call.
Some families, to show their loyalty to Senju Tobirama, specifically selected trusted family members to send to the school.
Other families were more perfunctory, simply sending a few less important clan members, treating it as a superficial gesture.
“Thank you!” Uchiha Tenxiu calmly nodded, looking at the timid half-grown child who was bowing and thanking him while holding a gift.
Although he didn't know him, the gift was for him!
Otherwise, would he give it to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, Utatane Koharu, Homura Mitokado, Uchiha Kagami, and others?
Although these people were far beyond the Ninja School's enrollment age, as disciples trained by Senju Tobirama, they also held the identity of Ninja School graduates.
It was unclear how they had the nerve to appear here, given their obvious age difference compared to others.
“These people and that traitor are also Ninja School graduates, how ridiculous!” Uchiha Lingyue coldly looked at the disciples behind Senju Tobirama.
Uchiha Yukino glanced indifferently, a hint of sadness appearing in her eyes, but it vanished in an instant, and she merely said to Uchiha Lingyue, “His fate is already sealed!”
Apparently, both of them understood the arrangements for Uchiha Tenxiu, and they knew that under Uchiha Tenxiu’s plan, his future was destined to be a tragic one, full of struggles and suffering.
The show was over.
Senju Tobirama, as the Hokage, also took this opportunity to hold a meeting.
The next matter was extremely important and could only be achieved with the approval of all the core Konoha personnel present.
...
In a Konoha conference room large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, Senju Tobirama, escorted by a squad of Anbu, arrived and silently looked at the high-ranking Konoha Clan members present, saying sternly, “Everyone, take a look! These are some arrangements for the Village.” After speaking, he had an Anbu hand out the documents to everyone.
Swish, swish, swish~
“As expected! The dagger is revealed at the end of the rope, no wonder such a big fuss was made!” Uchiha Tenxiu flipped through the document in his hand, revealing a look of understanding.
“Konoha Jonin voting rights, forming a Jonin Class?”
“Only Jonin promoted from the Ninja School can join the Jonin Class and can vote for Hokage approval?”
“In the future, the Hokage can only inherit the Hokage position if approved by all members of the Jonin Class. This, this...”
“Does this mean that if the Jonin Class doesn’t acknowledge a Hokage chosen by everyone in the Village, then that Hokage doesn’t count?”
“Hokage-sama, this, isn’t this a bit unreasonable?” Sarutobi Sasuke asked tentatively.
As he spoke, others began to voice their opinions.
“That’s right! Hokage-sama, how can the Jonin Class have the right to contradict the Hokage? This is too absurd!”
“That’s not right either! The Hokage must receive everyone’s approval to become the true Hokage. If the Jonin Class doesn’t approve, there must be a reason!”
“That’s right, what kind of Hokage is it if the Jonin Class doesn’t even approve? Anyway, the Ninja of the Jonin Class also come from our various Konoha Clans! It’s also for the consideration of our legitimate Konoha Clans, allowing us to share the burden for the Village!”
“Does this mean that all future Hokage must seek the approval of the Jonin Class to be considered a true Hokage?!”
“...”
Listening to these voices, Senju Tobirama raised his hand, stopping the discussion, and said, “As I once said, the Hokage must receive the approval of the majority to be considered a true Hokage, and the Jonin Class is an organization that gathers excellent future Ninja of Konoha, representing the will of the various Konoha Ninja Village Clans. If a Jonin from a certain Clan is not among them, it only means he is not loyal to the Village!”
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present trembled.
“At the same time, the Hokage of Konoha is a position that can only be held by someone who protects everyone in the Village. Every fire will inheritor can inherit the Hokage position, but they must meet the strength requirements and receive the future approval of the Jonin Class!” Senju Tobirama nodded and continued, “This is also to ensure that all Konoha Clans protect Konoha as their own home. Only by establishing their bonds within the Ninja School and trusting each other can we ensure that future Hokage will not engage in favoritism or corruption, only seeking benefits for their own Clan and ignoring other Konoha Clans!”
“Of course, the selection of the Hokage itself does not necessarily have to come from the Jonin Class, but Ninja from the Jonin Class have a greater chance in the Hokage selection!”
Upon hearing this, all the Clan Head Level members present planned to send their Clan’s talented individuals to study at the Ninja School after returning.
According to Senju Tobirama, future Ninja from the Ninja School could not only join the Jonin Class and have the ability to veto the legitimacy of the Hokage, but also participate in the Hokage selection. What this meant was self-evident.
Of course, as Senju Tobirama spoke, the expressions of many people changed. They had been waiting for Senju Tobirama to finish his term as Hokage so it would be their turn.
With these words, half of the people present were excluded from the Hokage position.
Especially the other eight elders of the Uchiha Clan, all of them looked indignant and were clearly unwilling to agree.
Unfortunately, their opposition was ineffective.
Senju Tobirama knew that the Third Hokage would definitely not be from his Senju Clan, as two generations had already served, and continuing would provoke hostility from all the Clans.
That would be a disaster for the Senju Clan, not a blessing.
Therefore, Senju Tobirama made preparations in advance.
Most of the excellent talents in the entire Ninja School came from the Senju Clan that had been separated by Senju Hashirama.
However, on the surface, the name of the Senju Clan was removed, and they were considered “commoners.” With their talent, the future Jonin Class would undoubtedly be firmly under Senju’s control, and the leader of the Jonin Class could choose whether to approve new members.
Thus, even if other Jonin passed the Ninja School examination, they would not be able to join the Jonin Class.
In this way, even if the Senju Clan could not become the Third Hokage, no one else could become Hokage without the Senju Clan’s approval.
Among them, the Uchiha were the most important focus.