At least, judging from the growth rate of the family Sai provided.
The growth mentioned here is a comparison to other families who also joined Konoha Village.
And the main target of comparison.
It was precisely those families close to the Sarutobi line.
Such as the so-called Ino–Shika–Chō three clans.
They were not within Danzo Shimura's scope of recruitment; as loyalists of the Sarutobi Clan, in Danzo Shimura's eyes, all he could offer them was to follow the Sarutobi Clan to their graves.
After the flame of change ignited in Danzo Shimura's heart, he had already resolved to eliminate Hiruzen Sarutobi and the vile existences who committed evil by his side, with the Ino–Shika–Chō three families being the most egregious among them.
Recalling how the patriarchs of these three families had constantly denied his plans and suppressed his schemes in the name of the Hokage while by Hiruzen Sarutobi's side.
Danzo Shimura's heart rejected their future.
...
At this moment, with Ryuma Aburame's covert actions, under certain subtle hints and intelligence transfers, the patriarchs of the small and medium-sized families who usually harbored dissatisfaction, and even hostility, towards Danzo Shimura began to feel an unprecedented pressure.
However, when Ryuma Aburame threatened them with the future of Konoha Village and the life and death of their families, these patriarchs had no choice but to face reality.
Although their hearts were filled with reluctance and fear, and they did not believe Danzo Shimura had any great righteousness, they still decided to risk secretly contacting Ryuma Aburame.
Anyway, the other party only requested a conversation; who knew if what he said might actually be true!
But this contact made them feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, their bodies chilling, and the shock in their hearts was inexpressible.
When these patriarchs received the secret intelligence about the Sarutobi Clan handed over by Ryuma Aburame, their eyes widened like brass bells, and their faces were filled with disbelief.
"More than 5000 Chunin-level strength..." someone muttered, his voice full of astonishment and fear.
What kind of concept was this!
This meant that the Sarutobi Clan's power alone was enough to completely annihilate all of their families.
And it could be done with ease.
These patriarchs were astonished to find that, compared to such formidable strength, their own families were as fragile as candles in the wind.
Could this really be a family of Konoha?
They couldn't help but wonder.
These families had developed over many years, and their strength should not have been underestimated, yet under the ravages of war, their family members continuously decreased, gradually falling from large families to medium-sized families, and from medium-sized families to small families, which was a common occurrence.
The Sarutobi Clan, however, was completely different; not only did it not suffer any damage, but it continuously expanded, growing ever stronger.
Facing such a reality, these patriarchs couldn't help but wonder how the Sarutobi Clan managed to do it?
Did they suck the blood of Konoha to possess such astonishing strength? Were they digging at Konoha's roots?
For a moment, everyone discussed animatedly, with various speculations and doubts rising and falling.
And the sheer number of Ninja displayed by the Sarutobi Clan, as well as the personnel list revealed by Danzo, were even more astounding. Although the estimated 5000 Chunin only amounted to nearly 2000 people on this list, this was already enough to prove that the Sarutobi Clan's strength far surpassed that of other families.
However, everyone was speculating.
The remaining three thousand or so were merely hidden in other secret locations in the Land of Fire, like a cunning rabbit with three burrows.
After all, even two thousand-plus Chunin could never have been developed by a normal family. It must have been maintained and grown by encroaching on Konoha Ninja Village's development funds and harming the interests of other families.
Only in this way, by secretly and continuously sucking Konoha's fresh blood and letting others serve as cannon fodder, going to the battlefield to die, could they avoid heavy losses in the two Human World Wars and thus achieve such a scale of growth.
At this moment, these small and medium-sized patriarchs suddenly realized, recalling various past situations, and instantly saw through what kind of human-faced beast Hiruzen Sarutobi truly was, and how disgusting he was. He spoke of grand righteousness, but only let others sacrifice while his own family secretly developed.
What kind of Hokage is this?
Naturally, each family had already made their calculations.
Such a Hokage could no longer be allowed to continue.
Compared to such a Hokage.
Danzo Shimura, who occasionally came to their families to extort, was already considered a pretty good person.
...
The Inuzuka Clan.
As an important family of Konoha Village, it has always silently guarded the Village. The Ninja hounds cultivated by their family are also an important component of Konoha's strength. Because they have always stayed away from the power struggles of the upper echelons, they have consistently contributed silently.
Therefore, in Konoha, they had no enemies and were rarely specifically targeted by any family.
However, the recent covert contact by Ryuma Aburame and a piece of intelligence from Danzo Shimura had plunged Inuzuka Sou, the patriarch, into deep worry.
Originally, as a neutral family, the Inuzuka patriarch had always stood in the same camp as other neutral patriarchs, not interfering in Konoha's power struggles, simply maintaining the family's development and changes as a family guarding Konoha.
Logically speaking.
Such a person should not have had any entanglement with Danzo Shimura, who was the second in command of Konoha's power, nor should he have contacted him, thereby causing Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage, to be suspicious.
But now, facing Ryuma Aburame's threats and inducements, he still chose a covert contact.
And this contact made it impossible for him to stay out of it any longer.
Because when these intelligence reports of the Sarutobi Clan's misdeeds fell into his hands, he already knew that even if he pretended nothing had happened, the Sarutobi Clan, pressured by the leak of their own intelligence, would not let him go and would surely eliminate him completely.
This prompted him to immediately mobilize the entire family's high-ranking members and make careful arrangements after obtaining this intelligence.
Facing the Sarutobi Clan, which was constantly growing by gnawing at Konoha's foundation, they had to gather the entire family's strength.
Inuzuka Sou slowly put down the intelligence in his hand, a sigh rising in his heart. This intelligence revealed a shocking fact: the Sarutobi Clan was secretly cultivating 5000 Chunin! This number shocked Inuzuka Sou and also made him realize the disparity in strength between the Inuzuka Clan and the Sarutobi Clan. Facing such an enemy, they had to unite with other neutral families to avoid continued oppression.
Inuzuka Sou turned to look at the elders beside him, saying with a solemn expression, "It seems we have no choice but to accept Danzo's invitation this time. If we continue to remain silent and allow this situation to develop, I fear that when our families weaken to the point of disappearing, that will be the moment the Sarutobi Clan claims the entire Village for themselves. I will never allow such a thing to happen; we can no longer remain neutral."
"The Sarutobi Clan's ambition is to completely turn the entire Village into their own family's rule. No matter how indifferently neutral we remain, what they want is for us to slowly disappear, to grow upon the Mukuro of our families!"
The Great Elder nodded in agreement, a hint of helplessness in his voice: "Yes, Patriarch. We can no longer stand idly by. Such abnormal development by the Sarutobi Clan is truly worrying."
"Looking back, since our family joined Konoha Village, the number of Ninja has not significantly increased, and every time war breaks out, we always suffer heavy losses."
"And now, Danzo says the Sarutobi Clan has secretly cultivated so many Chunin; their purpose is already self-evident. This is simply wanting to make the entire Konoha theirs, the Sarutobi Clan's. If this continues, as our neutral Konoha families become weaker and weaker, the Sarutobi Clan will become stronger and stronger, until one day, they completely devour all our families and turn Konoha Village into Sarutobi Village!"
Just thinking of that outcome, his eyes were filled with fear, not daring to imagine the day his family would vanish.