After the preliminaries ended, the candidates who had advanced were given one week to prepare for the final round.
During that week, it was not only the participants who began making preparations. Behind them, the higher-ups of each village also started moving in silence, each trying to secure the greatest advantage for their own side.
After hearing from his son and Blue B about what had happened during the second stage of the Chūnin Exams, the Third Raikage immediately sensed an opportunity.
He made no attempt to hide his intentions.
Without delay, he went directly to the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki.
His purpose was simple.
He wanted to join forces with Iwagakure and plunder the Land of Wind.
Because of geography, the Land of Lightning lay far to the northeast of the continent, while the Land of Wind was in the southwest. Between them stood the Land of Fire and several smaller nations. A direct march would be difficult and far too obvious.
Because of that, the Third Raikage had originally planned to personally lead a force around by sea and strike from the Land of Wind's coastline.
It was a concealed route, and the coastal cities of the Land of Wind were known to be wealthy. If they could raid those cities, the profit would be enormous.
However, after learning what had happened during the second stage of the exam, the Third Raikage came up with an even bolder idea.
Rather than simply launching a raid, why not drag Iwagakure into it and invade the Land of Wind together?
With that thought in mind, he openly visited Ōnoki.
That action was not only an invitation to form an alliance. It was also a warning aimed directly at Sunagakure's representative, Ebizō.
If Sunagakure could not endure the pressure and chose to lower its head first, that would be even better.
When Ebizō saw the Raikage's actions, his expression immediately darkened.
In order to protect Sunagakure's interests as much as possible, he eventually gritted his teeth and went to meet the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Just like the Raikage had done, Ebizō made no attempt to hide his visit.
His meaning was clear.
If Kumogakure and Iwagakure pushed Sunagakure too far, then Sunagakure would turn to Konoha instead.
To Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other higher-ups of Konoha, this was naturally a welcome development.
They received Ebizō with great courtesy, expressed Konoha's goodwill, and stated that as long as Sunagakure sincerely allied with Konoha, Konoha would protect the interests of its allies.
During the meeting, Hiruzen also brought up Kizaru's proposed exchange-student plan.
Of course, in order to make the proposal easier for Ebizō and Sunagakure to accept, Hiruzen wrapped it in softer words. He described it as Konoha offering free assistance to help Sunagakure reform its education system and cultivate a new generation of shinobi talent.
No one knew what Ebizō truly thought of the proposal.
However, both during and after the meeting, Ebizō wore the expression of someone who had just enjoyed a pleasant and fruitful discussion.
His attitude placed considerable pressure on both the Tsuchikage and the Raikage.
Konoha was already powerful. If Sunagakure also leaned toward them, then Konoha's influence over the shinobi world would grow even further.
That was not something the other great villages wanted to see.
Now, two choices stood before Ōnoki and the Third Raikage.
They could give up pressuring the Land of Wind and try to pull Sunagakure back to their side.
Or they could act first, before Konoha had time to respond, and strike Sunagakure directly, dividing the Land of Wind's resources between themselves.
For the moment, no one knew which choice the Tsuchikage and Raikage would make.
However, their private meetings became more frequent.
The game between the four great shinobi villages stirred the nerves of clan leaders, elders, and village officials alike.
But to Kizaru, none of it was worth paying much attention to.
After all, every night, his uncle would come and talk to him for a while, explaining the day's intelligence and giving his own analysis.
Strangely enough, Kizaru had noticed that Danzo's attitude toward him had become much better recently.
Almost too good.
In the past, Danzo would occasionally scold him over his manners, his posture, or his lazy attitude. But lately, Danzo had not criticized him even once.
On the contrary, whenever he saw Kizaru acting as relaxed as ever, he would sometimes give a faint, complicated smile and say in an unusually gentle tone, "Don't push yourself too hard."
Kizaru, who had left work early and spent the whole afternoon lying around at home, nearly showed a face full of question marks.
He guessed that Danzo's sudden change in attitude had something to do with their conversation before the Chūnin Exams.
Danzo had probably read some deeper meaning into his words again.
As for what that meaning was, Kizaru had no idea.
Still, no matter what Danzo had misunderstood, Kizaru felt that life had become much more comfortable without a stubborn old man constantly nagging in his ear.
And as the saying went, good things often came together.
While Danzo was acting strangely reasonable, Kizaru received another piece of excellent news.
The Hashirama cell transplantation research led by Orochimaru had made major progress.
By using Uchiha cells to fuse with and suppress the violent activity of Hashirama's cells, Orochimaru had successfully transplanted a weakened version of Hashirama's cells into a living Uchiha subject.
The subject was a middle-aged Uchiha who had awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan.
After being persuaded by the clan head and elders, he had voluntarily participated in the transplantation experiment.
This Uchiha, whose potential had already reached its limit due to age, showed no rejection after receiving the weakened Hashirama cells.
Instead, several days after the transplant, his two-tomoe Sharingan evolved into the three-tomoe Sharingan.
When the result appeared, Orochimaru had yet to grow excited.
The Uchiha clan, however, erupted first.
The Sharingan had advanced.
To the Uchiha, there were few things more important than that.
If the weakened Hashirama cells developed by Orochimaru could truly help members of the Uchiha clan evolve their Sharingan, then in the future, would it not be possible for every Uchiha to awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan?
The moment they realized that possibility, the Uchiha clan head and several elders quickly reached an agreement after a short discussion.
The Uchiha clan would fully support the research into Hashirama cells.
This time, it was not because they were betting on Shimura Kizaru as a future Hokage candidate.
It was for the future of the clan itself.
The Uchiha were an extreme clan.
Their love was extreme.
Their hatred was extreme.
And their pursuit of power was just as intense.
Because of that, after learning that Hashirama cells might promote the evolution of the Sharingan, the clan head and elders could not possibly remain calm.
If Konoha's current leadership had not been strong, and if the clan head and several elders had not suppressed the more aggressive faction after seeing hope for the future, some members of the Uchiha might already have shouted for them to seize Hashirama's cells by force.
That was exactly what worried Hiruzen Sarutobi after he received Orochimaru's progress report.
As soon as he finished reading it, Hiruzen summoned Danzo, Orochimaru, and Kizaru to his office.
Inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen set the report down on his desk and took a slow drag from his pipe.
"Hashirama's cells may be able to promote the evolution of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan," he said, looking at the three people before him. "What are your thoughts?"
Danzo considered the matter briefly before answering in a low voice.
"Place the Uchiha shinobi who participated in the experiment under control. Increase surveillance on the Uchiha clan as a whole."
Hiruzen frowned slightly.
He was clearly not satisfied with that answer.
His gaze shifted to Orochimaru and Kizaru.
Orochimaru stood there with a faint smile on his face, but he did not speak. Instead, his golden eyes moved toward Kizaru.
The longer Orochimaru spent around Kizaru, the more he appreciated the young man's political sense.
In Orochimaru's opinion, Kizaru was more suited to becoming Hokage than even his teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Being stared at by everyone present, Kizaru gave a troubled smile. He scratched the back of his head and spoke in his usual slow tone.
"How troublesome…"
He let out a lazy sigh, then smiled.
"But isn't this a good thing?"
"A good thing?" Danzo's eye narrowed.
In his view, the Uchiha clan was already powerful enough. If they gained further strength through Hashirama's cells, they would become a serious threat to the village sooner or later.
Hiruzen was not as hostile toward the Uchiha as Danzo, but he was also puzzled by Kizaru's answer.
The Uchiha clan had always been difficult to handle. If their strength increased further, their already restless elements might become even harder to control.
"Kizaru," Hiruzen said calmly, "explain what you mean."
Kizaru's smile remained relaxed.
"If Orochimaru-nii's improved Hashirama cells can really help the Uchiha evolve their Sharingan, then those cells become chains made of candy."
He looked at Hiruzen and Danzo.
"The sweeter the reward, the more willingly they'll wear the chain."
Danzo's gaze sharpened.
"You mean the village should use Hashirama's cells as a reward and make the Uchiha serve for them?"
Kizaru nodded.
"Something like that."
Hiruzen did not immediately respond.
He lowered his pipe slightly and fell into thought.
Danzo, however, spoke again.
"That will still increase the strength of the Uchiha. If one day they develop improper ambitions, the village will suffer for it."
Kizaru turned his head toward him.
"But the Uchiha are part of the village too, aren't they? If they become stronger, doesn't that mean Konoha becomes stronger?"
Danzo's expression turned grim.
"And if they rebel after becoming stronger?"
"Danzo," Hiruzen warned, his brow furrowing.
Danzo did not back down.
"Hiruzen, you know very well what I'm saying."
Kizaru only smiled faintly.
"Then let them earn it."
Hiruzen's eyes moved.
"Earn it?"
Kizaru's voice remained casual, almost careless.
"If they want Hashirama's cells, let them make contributions to the village. Dangerous missions, battlefield merits, protection assignments, border conflicts… things like that."
He tilted his head slightly.
"The village gives them hope. They give the village results. Everyone gets what they want."
Hiruzen silently repeated those words in his mind.
Make contributions.
Behind those words lay blood, danger, and sacrifice.
At that moment, Hiruzen understood Kizaru's meaning completely.
If Konoha controlled the distribution of the improved Hashirama cells, then the Uchiha's individual strength could increase, but the overall scale of that increase would remain in the village's hands.
At the same time, Konoha could use the Uchiha clan's desire for power to make them take on more dangerous missions and contribute more during conflicts and wars.
The village would gain benefits.
The Uchiha would gain rewards.
And the Hokage faction could use the resources obtained through those missions and wars to support civilian shinobi and smaller clans, strengthening their loyalty to Konoha's leadership.
In this way, the Uchiha would obtain what they wanted, but their power would not expand beyond control.
At the same time, the village could gain their service while continuing to strengthen the Hokage's own foundation.
Once he understood this, Hiruzen looked at Kizaru with undisguised admiration in his eyes.
A Hokage needed kindness.
But kindness alone was not enough.
A Hokage also needed the ability to make calm judgments for the sake of the village as a whole, even when those judgments required sacrifice.
And Kizaru possessed that quality.
For the shadow of a village, that was something necessary.
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