Before the council, Shenesu had made thorough preparations, notifying his friends, the heads of the clans of the triple alliance (only them, warning them to keep quiet and not to tell even their fellow clansmen, given the lack of a monolith in their ranks, unlike Nara), informing Senju, and even managing to involve a political heavyweight in the person of Mito Uzumaki, with whom he had developed a good relationship recently.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was in for some very unpleasant moments, from which Shenesu intended to squeeze maximum advantage. It was high time to pin the old monkey's tail back a bit and shake the authority earned over the years, especially since he himself had decided to give an excellent excuse that could well have been overlooked if it hadn't been for his nephew.
Especially since the jonin council would be present with suitable shinobi, albeit clanless, who cared a lot about Konoha's image on the international arena. That was what Nara planned to play on.
Meeting Yamanaka and Akamichi at the latter's restaurant, Nara greeted his friends with a nod and went inside the building, where their favorite meeting room was already prepared for their own. He knew his companions well and understood the need to give them a chance to mark their positions before putting the plan into action.
- Shenesu, are you sure we should escalate relations with the Hokage," Chouji broke the silence, "given the circumstances, I'm on your side, but you know that not all of the elders will be happy with this decision.
- I have some of my clan members serving in the Anbu Ne," Yamanaka said with a wry chuckle, "and they're willing to support the Hokage's faction rather than their own clan and allies.
Nara grimaced, as he always did when it came to internal divisions within the clans of the alliance - his father had had the foresight to maintain a monolith of ideology among his own, but had been unable to keep his allies from making the obvious mistake. The fact that the Hyugas had fallen for the same trick, but more firmly, was little consolation.
Now the next generation of clan leaders are reaping the rewards, allowing Sarutobi and Co. to limit the influence of the alliance until recently. Getting the Founders on their side, thanks to Ryo's successful marriage, has added a great deal of credibility to both Shenes and his friends, making them feel more confident in the political arena of Konoha.
- Hiruzen is getting older, and in another year or two he'll have to be replaced by a new leader, so the ground for his ascension must be prepared in advance," Shenesu explained, drumming his fingers on the tabletop thoughtfully, "and it's better to start preparing the ground now than when he appoints a successor to his seat like the previous Hokage.
All three shinobi were well aware that the only option that would suit them all was Hatake Sakumo, who was a match for both his strength and reputation among the village's armed forces, but no sannin, even if it was Senju Tsunade. All this had been discussed more than once in private meetings between friends, but to escalate relations with the main figure of the village, the best strategist of the alliance of clans decided only now.
According to all predictions, a new round of armed conflict between the great villages that had recovered from past losses was just around the corner, and Konoha had to start fighting under a new leader, otherwise, there was a great risk of losing even more clan fighters than in the last war, thanks to Sarutobi's strategy of plugging all dangerous areas with elite fighters without regard to price. None of the trio desired this development.
The first two shinobi world wars had undermined the armed might of the vast majority of clans (with the exception of Sarutobi and his vassals, who got off the easiest), and as a natural result, the clans had lost influence to the clanless clans, who were known to support each other.
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