Koharu was never a fool. Otherwise, she wouldn't be in her current position.
If it were other Uchiha, she would certainly not empower them. In fact, she would become a vanguard against them.
After all, these people, even without considering their own and their clan's interests, would oppose the Uchiha. They were all disciples of Tobirama, and they often heard Tobirama's frequent remark, "The Uchiha are inherently evil."
It's worth noting that Tobirama always had this phrase on his lips. Even when facing Kagami, Tobirama would speak it without reservation, presenting facts and reasoning, and highlighting some of the problems with the Sharingan. Even Kagami sometimes doubted himself, wondering if the Uchiha clan was truly an inherently evil clan.
Of course, Tobirama also told Kagami privately that the Uchiha clan was also a clan of love. It was precisely because their love was too intense that it led to them becoming extreme.
Combining this with his own situation, Kagami himself felt that the Uchiha clan indeed had significant problems, and for Konoha, they seemed to be an unstable factor.
Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura were also deeply influenced by Tobirama.
However, Kazuki was different. He was Kagami's son. If that were his only identity, then he could only be considered half an insider.
If it came down to it, he wouldn't even be qualified to compete for Hokage in the future. But he was also Tsunade's disciple and was usually taught by Mito, making him Mito's de facto disciple.
If one were to consider it from Mito's side, Kazuki was actually of their generation. With Mito's endorsement, the Uchiha influence on Kazuki was weakened to a negligible extent.
The only concern was whether Kazuki becoming Uchiha clan head, or even Hokage in the future, would affect their interests and the interests of their clans.
After some thought, Koharu decided to do Kazuki a favor. After all, she herself was not averse to Kazuki, which was different from Homura.
Recently, Homura had been on the Land of Water battlefield, and he had often assigned arduous tasks to the Uchiha, which put considerable pressure on Fugaku.
Of course, Homura was also full of dissatisfaction with Kazuki, but Kazuki's squad was specifically under Hiruzen's direct command. Although Homura was an elder, he had no authority over the Hokage's direct Anbu.
Hiruzen usually wouldn't meddle in these affairs, and he could turn a blind eye to Homura and Koharu's interactions with the Anbu. If Kazuki ignored Homura, no one could say anything, as he was an Anbu, and theoretically, Homura had no jurisdiction over him.
But Fugaku and the others were in trouble. They couldn't deal with Kazuki, but Fugaku?
...
"Kazuki, the hot pot is ready." Mikoto called out to Kazuki from inside the house.
They had already returned to an island to rest.
There are many islands within the Land of Water, and even Kirigakure cannot govern all of them.
Sometimes, Kazuki would think that if his strength wasn't already sufficient, he would choose to wage guerrilla warfare within the Land of Water, adhering to the strategy of "Enemy advances, we retreat. Enemy camps, we harass. Enemy tires, we attack. Enemy retreats, we pursue." This place was too suitable for establishing rear bases.
"Mm." Kazuki sat down and looked at the pot full of seafood, sighing softly, "I wonder when I can stop eating seafood."
"Indeed, I'm tired of seafood. I don't know how long it's been since I had fresh vegetables, beef, or lamb." Nawaki, who was originally bonding with Samehada, heard Kazuki's words and agreed enthusiastically.
"Speaking of which, Kazuki, can't you use the Flying Thunder God Technique to go to some towns and buy some meat?"
"It's always the taste of sea fish. I feel like I smell like fish now."
"Do you think it's safe here?" Kazuki didn't mind making a trip, but Mikoto, Rinka, and the others wouldn't be safe.
Putting aside Kirigakure ninjas, there's also Madara and Black Zetsu.
They were the most dangerous. Even the current Kazuki didn't think he could definitely defeat the current Madara.
If the opponent were to attack Mikoto and the others while he was away, to threaten him, what would he do?
"Alright, Nawaki, let's go catch more different kinds of seafood later." Minato quickly comforted Nawaki.
Unlike Kazuki and the others, Minato was very adaptable to this environment. After all, his background was the worst among them, and he didn't usually eat particularly well until he was taken in as a disciple by Jiraiya. Minato's life gradually improved after that.
Now, working in the Anbu, Minato had a good salary, and his life had gotten better.
Being able to eat various sea fish and seafood now, Minato was very satisfied. It was all high-protein, which was good for physical growth.
"Ah, alright, consider it Water Release practice." Nawaki gave a wry smile.
"I've been studying Lord Second's training scrolls. Besides various Forbidden Jutsu, he usually researched Water Release the most."
"It's said that one year, Lord Second researched Water Release by the sea for two years, and from then on, his Water Release underwent earth-shattering changes."
"If my Water Release could reach his level, I'd probably die laughing in my dreams."
"The Second Hokage was the Hokage most like a Mizukage." Kazuki's face showed a playful smile.
"I heard a joke that every time the Second Hokage created a Ninjutsu, the First Hokage would ask him if it was a Water Release Ninjutsu. If it wasn't, he would demand that it be written into a Forbidden Jutsu scroll and forbid him from using that Ninjutsu."
"There's such a thing?"
Nawaki was dumbfounded. He immediately believed it, after all, Kazuki usually studied with Mito. He could usually hear information he didn't know. Perhaps his grandmother really told Kazuki this.
"Of course, I'm kidding. Most of Lord Second's Water Release Jutsu were created before the village was founded, mainly to target the Uchiha, especially Izuna."
***
40 Advanced Chapters on