"Asana, if you fought Uchiha En again, could you win?" Hyuga Chiwa asked, clearly displeased.
"Yes. No matter how many times we fight, I will always win!" Hyuga Asana answered without hesitation.
Hyuga Chiwa was clearly satisfied with this answer. She smiled and said, "Then next time, help me teach him another lesson!"
"Yes, Miss Chiwa."
In a sense, Hyuga Asana was not lying.
This was because neither Uchiha En nor Hyuga Asana were the type of people who cared deeply about winning or losing, or who had strong self-esteem.
Moreover, Uchiha En knew very well that if he defeated Hyuga Asana, Hyuga Chiwa would make trouble for Hyuga Asana.
Therefore, at least while they were in the Ninja Academy, no matter how many times they sparred, Uchiha En would never be able to defeat Hyuga Asana.
After the sparring session ended, the Third Hokage encouraged the children, then had the teachers lead them away.
Next, the Third Hokage had the teachers of the other classes bring their students over as well.
This time, there was only a brainwashing speech; there was no sparring.
There was no need to arrange sparring for these later classes; their strength was too poor, and they would be standard cannon fodder on the battlefield.
The Third Hokage stayed at the Ninja Academy for the entire day, only leaving when it was close to dismissal time.
When the Third Hokage returned to his office, the two Hokage Advisors and the Hokage Assistant, Danzo, were already waiting for him.
"Hiruzen, I heard you went to inspect the Ninja Academy?" Danzo asked.
"Yes. This batch of students is about to head to the battlefield, so I went to gauge their general strength and encourage them," the Third Hokage replied.
"How did these children perform?" Homura Mitokado asked.
"They were decent. There are a few students with excellent strength and talent."
"Speaking of which, Hiruzen, your son Asuma is also among this batch of students, right? How do you plan to arrange things for him?" Utatane Koharu asked.
"He will be treated the same as the other students in his class. I won't give him any special treatment just because he is my son," the Third Hokage answered without hesitation.
"Hiruzen, you just mentioned that this batch of students has promising candidates with both strength and talent. Are there any suitable recruits for my Root?" Danzo asked, changing the subject.
"Danzo, your Root shouldn't recruit anyone for now. The situation on the front lines is tense, and the immediate priority is stabilizing the situation." Utatane Koharu voiced her opposition before the Third Hokage could speak.
"Koharu is right. Stabilizing the battlefield situation is what we should be doing now," Homura Mitokado added.
"I agree. Danzo, don't recruit any of the students graduating this time. I plan to dispatch most of them to the Land of Bears," the Third Hokage said.
"Have you still not found a way to deal with the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist?" Danzo asked, frowning.
"Yes, they are very difficult to handle. All I can think of is sending more people to stall them," the Third Hokage replied.
Danzo fell silent for a moment, then said, "The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki should still be in the Village, right?"
"Kushina cannot be moved. Only by having her in the Village can the Village's safety be guaranteed," Homura Mitokado said.
"Indeed, the current situation has not escalated to the point where we need to use the Nine-Tails' power," Utatane Koharu agreed.
"Hmph! Are you unaware that the Sand Ninja's Ichibi, the Cloud Ninja's Two-Tails and Eight-Tails, the Stone Ninja's Four-Tails and Five-Tails, and the Kirigakure's Three-Tails have all appeared on the battlefield?" Danzo asked with a cold snort.
"Of course we know this information, but the Nine-Tails is different from the other Tailed Beasts. Danzo, you can't be unaware of the Nine-Tails' power, can you?" Homura Mitokado countered.
"If you had given the Jinchuriki to me earlier, no matter how unruly the Nine-Tails was, it would be obedient now," Danzo said with an indifferent tone.
"The Nine-Tails is right there; you can go take it yourself. The prerequisite is that your Root can handle Minato, as well as Minato's teacher, Jiraiya," Utatane Koharu said.
"If you support me, what could those two possibly do? Are they going to dare oppose the entire Village?"
"How could we possibly support you in such a matter? Danzo, don't forget that Kushina was the Jinchuriki chosen by Lady Uzumaki Mito."
"So what? She's already dead! We can't let a dead person..."
"Enough! Danzo, watch your tone. Lady Mito is Lord Hashirama's wife!" the Third Hokage interrupted their argument with a cold expression.
"Hiruzen."
"Danzo, say no more. The Nine-Tails absolutely cannot be sent to the battlefield. To Konoha, a Jinchuriki is more than just a weapon."
After hearing the Third Hokage's words, Danzo sat down with a dark expression.
"I called you here not to discuss these matters. Recently, I received intelligence that Kirigakure forces in the Land of Bears are gathering strength, intending to seize the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan," the Third Hokage brought the topic back.
"Seize the Byakugan? But the Hyuga Clan mostly sends Hyuga Branch Family Ninja, right? At most, only one or two members of the Main Family are sent, and they rarely participate in war, only coming out to gain some military merits when the situation is absolutely safe. How would Kirigakure get a chance to take the Byakugan?" Utatane Koharu asked.
"I find it strange too, but this intelligence has been verified by Anbu through multiple channels. Kirigakure has also been making related preparations, so it doesn't seem like a smokescreen."
"Then simply don't let anyone from the Hyuga Main Family deploy. They aren't of much use anyway," Danzo said.
"That won't work. The conflict between the Hyuga Clan's Main Family and Branch Family is already serious enough. If the Main Family doesn't even send anyone to the battlefield this time, what will the Branch Family think?" Homura Mitokado said.
"Homura is right. It's impossible for the Main Family not to send people to participate in the war. Even if the Village steps in to negotiate with the Branch Family and tells them the whole story, the Branch Family won't believe it. They will only think it's an excuse the Village made up to protect the Main Family," the Third Hokage said.
Danzo was silent for a moment after hearing this, then said, "In that case, we can only increase protection for the Main Family members."
"I was thinking the same thing. Danzo, how about I assign this mission to you?" the Third Hokage asked.
"Assign it to me? You want Root members to secretly protect the Hyuga Main Family members this time?"
"That's right."
"I refuse." Danzo immediately voiced his opposition without thinking.
"Why?"
"Every Root Ninja is an elite. It's too wasteful to have Root elites protect useless dead weight. The value Root Ninja create on the battlefield is countless times greater than protecting Hyuga Main Family members."
Just as the Third Hokage was about to speak after hearing Danzo's words, Homura Mitokado interjected, "Hiruzen, I think Danzo is right. It's too wasteful for Root to protect the Hyuga Main Family. How about we place this Hyuga Main Family member in a more central position within the camp and have several squads with excellent sensory abilities protect him in shifts? Wouldn't that solve the problem?"