After returning home, Senju Mori once again sat in the study, where the many young Clan members who had been there earlier were now gone.
Senju Mori sent them all home, telling them to invite their parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and other family elders to a dinner together to foster their relationships.
He didn't want to be busy trying to win over other Ninja Clans only to be backstabbed by the Senju Clan, which would be a huge joke.
Fortunately, Senju Mori had a plan when he first formed this small group.
If these thirteen people, including himself, were considered the core, this vast network of relationships would almost completely cover the entire Jonin group of the Senju Clan.
The only two who might not be affected were the two family elders who had no successors, but Senju Mori wouldn't dwell on those two votes.
With the support of the Hyuga Clan and his own Senju Clan, Senju Mori's confidence had greatly increased.
Excluding today, there were still two days left until the Jonin confidence vote, so Senju Mori didn't have much time.
But he was still considering whether to try his luck with the Uchiha Clan after everything else was arranged.
What if someone there was willing to support him?
Surely, out of the more than thirty Jonin in the Uchiha Clan, not all of them were so abnormal as to waste their precious vote on their own Clan Head.
Senju Mori also thought of Hiruzen Sarutobi; while he was busy winning over Ninja Clans, his opponent was certainly not idle.
According to the intelligence he received, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed very confident in the support of the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, and these past two days he had instead been visiting smaller Ninja Clans like the Inuzuka Clan and the Aburame Clan.
Senju Mori truly didn't believe in this superstition.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was so confident, wasn't he? Then he would try to poach his support.
"Bang!"
Senju Mori cut his finger, summoned his summoning beast Kuromaru, and asked him to deliver his name card to Senju Hane, who would then deliver it to the Nara Clan.
Compared to the stubborn fat people of the Akimichi Clan, the smart people of the Nara Clan should understand the principle of adaptability better, right? Later that evening, Senju Mori received a reply from the Nara Clan, and it could only be said that Hiruzen Sarutobi's confidence was not unfounded.
Compared to the grandeur and enthusiasm of the Hyuga Clan, the Nara Clan was much more aloof, even subtly mentioning the tradition of the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio as one entity.
The implication was that if the Akimichi Clan was unwilling to change its stance, then the Nara Clan would certainly not abandon its allies and go it alone.
However, the Nara Clan was, after all, the Nara Clan; although their attitude was a bit cold, there was nothing impolite about it.
They still followed etiquette, sending someone to deliver a reply to Senju Mori and setting the meeting for the afternoon of the next day.
After all, smart people don't hang themselves on one tree from the start; no matter what, they always leave themselves a way out... While Senju Mori was running around Konoha Village seeking support, Hiruzen Sarutobi, his biggest opponent, naturally wouldn't sit idly by.
Evening,
Sarutobi Clan territory.
Hiruzen Sarutobi and others gathered here, sitting around a small table under dim light, subtly forming the prototype of the future Konoha F4's secret meetings.
If there was any difference, it was probably the addition of Akimichi Torifu as a participant.
Under the immense pressure brought by Senju Mori, Hiruzen Sarutobi only wanted to firmly grasp every opportunity to increase his chances of winning, and he no longer worried about the formidable power of the combined Ino-Shika-Cho Trio.
"Hmph! I didn't expect all those incidents before to be Mori's doing. Looking at his past respectful and obedient demeanor, even Master Tobirama was deceived."
"Truly cunning..."
Danzo's expression was very grim, and coupled with the bandages covering half his face from his previous injuries, he gave off an exceptionally extreme and sinister impression at first glance.
"Enough, Danzo, what's the use of saying that now?"
"Hiruzen, the Hyuga Clan still hasn't sent a reply. It seems they've already made their decision."
Homura Mitokado's face was clearly a bit unsightly; Hiruzen Sarutobi's name card had been personally delivered by him, and the Hyuga Clan's almost dismissive behavior was undoubtedly an insult to him.
Generally speaking, even if they refused, a major Clan like the Hyuga Clan, which values rules, should have courteously sent back a subtly worded reply.
It's unclear if it was because he was thoroughly enraged by the Main Family Elder's remarks after meeting with Senju Mori in the afternoon, but Hyuga Sogo actually chose to express his stance through such an extreme method.
Next, a distinctly female voice rang out.
"I wonder what price Senju Mori offered to make that old man Sogo so crazy..."
Compared to her future appearance as an old woman, the still young Utatane Koharu, though not beautiful, possessed a certain heroic spirit unique to female Ninja, drawing attention.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression was also quite serious; compared to Senju Mori's immediate success in getting the Hyuga Clan to clearly take a side, his own lobbying over the past two days, while somewhat fruitful, wasn't as significant as he had anticipated.
This was unavoidable; ultimately, the price he offered wasn't generous enough.
Who told him that his Sarutobi Clan was far less powerful than the Senju Clan?
It wasn't that Hiruzen Sarutobi was stingy.
It should be noted that Senju Mori had only promised the Hyuga Clan an Advisor position so far.
But what about Hiruzen Sarutobi?
Just to gather these "classmates" who came to the meeting today, he had already generously promised four Advisor positions.
Before considering how to win over the support of other Ninja Clans, in order to gain the capital to contend with the Senju Clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi first had to maintain this current small political alliance.
He couldn't possibly promise two more Advisor positions just to win over the Inuzuka and Aburame Clans.
It should be known that the sum of power and interests in the village is constant; once even the most cherished positions are over-issued, they become worthless... Just as the few of them were frowning in worry, Akimichi Torifu, who was usually silent, suddenly spoke:
"Actually, the conditions you've offered, Hiruzen, are already generous enough. Instead of promising additional benefits, why not take one disciple each from the Inuzuka and Aburame Clans?"
"That would be enough to completely win over both Clans."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression brightened slightly at his words, but then he showed a troubled look, saying:
"It's just that Master Tobirama asked me to take Tsunade and the others as disciples before he passed away..."
"What's the big deal?" Danzo scoffed directly after hearing this. "Didn't Master Tobirama take Kagami and all five of us as disciples? Who said you can only take three disciples at a time?"
After only a brief pause, Danzo couldn't help but continue, his face full of sarcasm:
"What's more, Mori is a Senju. Even if you take Tsunade and the others as disciples, do you really expect the Senju Clan members to turn around and support you as Hokage?"
"Stop daydreaming."
"If we can secure the support of the Aburame and Inuzuka Clans, plus our current number of Jonin, we can truly be on par with Senju Mori."
"It's just..."
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