Twenty minutes to settle everything here, or the entire Hyuga clan would die.
At that moment, the others also realized something was wrong, though they didn't know what exactly.
To be honest, they were already behind the times. In terms of both strength and strategy, Genshi, Toneri, and the others were way behind the current game.
Meanwhile, the ninja of the Konoha had gone through so many things in the new era that their strength and wisdom had grown tremendously.
This growth was terrifying—especially the growth in wisdom, which was even scarier than strength.
Under Shikaku's careful planning, all the open and hidden conflicts in the Hidden Leaf had been kept under control. But that didn't mean they didn't exist. Especially now that the new era had begun, with so much at stake, every ninja clan had its own ambitions.
Hyuga Hiashi, of course, had also grown a lot in this environment. The Hyuga clan had many members, and because of the Byakugan, they were placed across many battlefields.
In a way, this was also to build good relations with other clans, something clearly different from the Uchiha clan.
But that goodwill was under normal circumstances. Now, all of a sudden, hundreds of "branch" members of the Hyuga clan had arrived—and these were the true elites.
With so many people showing up, the balance was completely broken.
No matter what you were before, there's only one outcome now. The ninja villages in Konohagakure will never allow the Hyuga clan to be in this kind of situation. So if the Hyuga clan wants to suppress the whole of Konohagakure, don't blame the other clans for striking first and crushing you.
This is the real rule.
When others suspect you have a weapon of mass destruction, you'd better actually have one—otherwise, just wait for death.
And now, that suspicion has already been confirmed.
"Boom!!"
Outside the Hyuga clan's compound, Shikaku quietly stood guard with his men. A massive explosion suddenly erupted from inside the Hyuga compound.
The next moment, a huge dome-shaped ball of chakra appeared, its terrifying force destroying all the nearby houses.
"Eight Trigrams: Great Rotation!"
Hyuga Hiashi's voice rang out, followed by an even greater burst of chakra.
Everyone just stood there watching. They wanted an answer, and this was the Hyuga clan's answer to all of them.
Right now, if the Hyuga clan fought back, they might still find a way to survive. If they didn't, the end would be dying under the siege of tens of thousands.
Inside the Hyuga compound, Hiashi had already led the few remaining clan members into battle.
Both sides had the Byakugan—this power was all too familiar.
But twenty minutes was nowhere near enough to talk things out. Besides, Gensuke and the others were already radicals. In the original story, they even ended up fighting the main family, and in the end, only Toneri survived.
So at this moment, Hiashi could only give the order to take down all these "impostors."
"Toneri!!"
"Run!!"
The fight was far more intense than Gensuke and the others had imagined. Even though they had more people, their strength wasn't even on the same level.
Right then, Gensuke was stunned. How could the Hyuga clan of the ninja world be even more aggressive than their own branch family? Wasn't this just a disagreement in words?
How did it suddenly turn into a fight?
But Gensuke didn't have time to think. His only hope now was for his son to escape. If Toneri got out, there was still a chance.
"Don't let him get away!"
Spotting the small boy quickly breaking away from the crowd, Hiashi gathered chakra in his body. With his powerful chakra and the new-generation taijutsu, he forced Gensuke down in an instant.
But more people threw themselves in his way, fighting to the death to block Hiashi's path. To them, Toneri was their greatest hope.
"Damn it!!"
"You idiots!"
Looking at the people blocking his way, Hiashi felt no gratitude at all...
In the end, Toneri's trace completely disappeared.
Seeing the ones who fought to the death to protect Toneri, Hiashi felt not only anger… but also a faint sadness.
They were of the same clan, yet they were killing each other here. He was the head of the Hyuga clan, yet he couldn't protect anyone.
Even though he had tried his best, there were still so many people standing against him.
Looking at the hatred in Gensuke and the others' eyes, Hiashi fell into another state of mind. All he had ever wanted was to protect every member of the clan.
But under his "efforts," the Hyuga clan had ended up in such a state.
His younger brother, Hyuga Hizashi, had been willing to face death alone for Konohagakure. His daughter had been kidnapped multiple times, and all the Hyuga clan could do was swallow their anger.
This so-called number one clan of Konohagakure…
"Pathetic… laughable…"
In that moment, Hyuga Hiashi's willpower surged, his chakra already mixing with faint traces of natural energy, and his resolve broke through its limits.
How could the head of Konohagakure's number one clan accept such humiliation?!
The instant Hyuga Hiashi closed his eyes, he locked onto Toneri's position. The next moment, his figure slipped past everyone in his way like a falling leaf.
His chakra burst out recklessly, muscles swelling beneath his large robes, and his figure vanished from where he stood.
Meanwhile, Toneri had already reached the edge of the Hyuga clan's compound. He leapt onto the roof of a house near the boundary, trying to find the exit of the barrier.
But in the very next instant… in Toneri's sight, the area outside the Hyuga compound was already packed with people.
Countless terrifying auras filled the air, each one carrying an overwhelming killing intent, as if the sky itself was about to collapse. Toneri's breath stopped for a moment.
"Bang!!"
A gunshot ripped through the air. A pitch-black bullet tore the sky, leaving a white streak in Toneri's world.
The next moment—
"Boom!!"
A massive explosion obliterated the entire house in an instant. Hot blood splattered as a tall figure wrapped Toneri in his arms.
Shaken to the core, Toneri curled up in Hyuga Hiashi's embrace, feeling the terrifying shockwaves all around, the torn air and shattered ground, and the thick stench of blood in the air.
Hyuga Hiashi's clothes were already in tatters, his body covered in wounds big and small, but his chakra had not weakened in the slightest.
Beneath the shredded robes, solid, terrifying muscles were laid bare, and the chakra surrounding him burned like flames. Hyuga Hiashi swept the dust away with a single movement.
His messy hair fluttered in the wind.
He placed Toneri behind him for protection.
In the distance, Shikaku stood at the front of the crowd, with the heads of the other great clans lined up behind him.
Behind them were the Devil Fruit users who had joined different ninja clans, along with the Marines.
"Everyone, you wanted an answer, and I'll give you one!
My Hyuga clan has never wronged any other clan, and we have never done anything to betray Konohagakure."
"If you are still not satisfied, then…"
"You'll have to step over my dead body!"
Hyuga Hiashi's voice echoed through the sky. At that moment, Toneri, standing behind him, was shaken to his core.
This… this was the head of the Hyuga clan? The true leader of the Hyuga?
Such spirit… it had to be like this!
In that instant, Toneri seemed to understand something.
It was starting to feel like… they had done something very foolish.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Toneri—he was still just a child.
But Toneri was smart enough to figure out the gist in an instant, and he could feel the spirit of the Hyuga clan. It was completely different from the "Otsutsuki" branch living on the moon—completely different.
Seeing Hyuga Hiashi like this, Nara Shikaku stayed silent for a long time before raising his hand to halt everyone.
His gaze was deep. For the sake of his clan's interests, he was willing to give up some things, but… behind that depth, there was still emotion.
He didn't have Shanks' kind of spirit—the spirit to give up everything—but he could still make room for the Hyuga clan, even if the Hyuga truly wanted to act on their own.
"Hiashi… you owe us a favor."
"Take care of the wounds and bring those people to the Hokage's building."
After Shikaku said that, he turned and left.
The people behind seemed like they wanted to say something, but the pressure coming off Shikaku made them all shut their mouths.
This was one of the few men in the ninja world who could see the bigger picture, and his strength was far from simple.
There was another thing—over the past year, Shikaku had already built up his own trust within Konoha. To the different ninja clans, Shikaku was someone reliable, someone fair.
Watching Shikaku leave with his people, Hyuga Hiashi let out a sigh of relief. He knew this was a favor he owed Shikaku.
If Danzo and the Third Hokage were still around, the Hyuga clan would have been wiped out by now—not a single survivor left.
"Toneri, right?"
"Yeah."
Toneri nodded.
This "disturbance" came quickly and ended just as fast.
To most people in Konoha, it didn't seem much different from a normal training exercise.
Only the Hyuga clan members knew that they had just taken a real trip to the brink of death.
"Your talent is strong. You're destined to become one of the greats of this era."
"You can see the future?"
Toneri even changed the way he addressed Hyuga Hiashi, speaking with more respect.
"I… can't. But I believe that one day, you'll meet the man who can see the future."
Hyuga Hiashi patted Toneri's head and started walking back with him.
Toneri didn't really understand, but he wasn't in a hurry—he knew he would, eventually.
Even though he had lived on the moon almost his whole life, Toneri had still heard things about the ninja world. But after coming here this time, he felt that a lot had changed.
It even made him wonder if the last time he came here was actually the ninja world at all.
Still, kids adapt quickly. The last time he came, it was just a quick visit anyway.
It was clear now that what the people on the moon thought they knew about the ninja world was wrong, and Toneri became even more curious about it.
"Aren't you curious about who that man is?"
"No. If you say I'll meet him, then I'll definitely meet him."
Toneri replied.
Seeing that Toneri was about the same age as Hinata but clearly not as mature, Hiashi made up his mind.
Toneri might be immature, but his natural disposition was very unusual. It was just a pity—no one knew how this branch family had raised him to be like this.
Still, there was hope for him.
"Let's go. Time to save people."
Hyuga Hiashi let out a long sigh.
The favor he owed was going to be hard to repay.
And it didn't take long before he realized just how big a favor it really was. He had to admit—if Shikaku had been in his place just now, he would have already wiped out the Hyuga clan.
Hokage's building—Hyuga Hiashi, his whole body covered in bandages, stared at the intel in his hands in shock.
"You mean… the immortals have completely agreed to let us become World Nobles, and even allow us to found our own nation?"
"Becoming World Nobles, founding a country… that means we'll be able to enjoy the power of the Earthly Sage Kingdom built by the immortals.
For now, everything the World Nobles have, we'll have a chance to get as well. Even a naturally-born immortal could appear in our clan."
Nara Shikaku explained. They had just received this news, and then something like this happened to the Hyuga clan. Wasn't this basically aiming to wipe them out?
Hearing Shikaku's words, Hyuga Hiashi broke into a cold sweat. He finally understood—understood what exactly the Hyuga clan had just gone through.
"As long as the World Government stays stable, we won't have problems.
And besides enjoying everything the World Nobles have, as a ninja clan we might also be able to get certain benefits after we establish our country.
About the existence of the world's will, I believe you all have some idea by now. These kinds of changes are ones we can't sense…
But certain conditions still have to be met first…"
"And the last ones who were both World Nobles, founded their own country, and were also a ninja clan… were the Uzumaki."
"Even though there's no solid proof, from the current situation it seems that if we meet these three conditions, we'll have a shot at reaching the very top of this world."
When Shikaku finished, every ninja clan member present froze their breath. The very top!!
Even if there was only a one percent chance, they would still go for it—let alone the fact they could steadily gain all the blessings of the Earthly Sage Kingdom.
At that moment, one person appeared in Hiashi's mind—Toneri!!
That branch family showed up at the perfect time, and Toneri's appearance was just as perfectly timed.
He didn't believe in fate, but in this moment, Hiashi did. The Hyuga clan's era was coming!!
The time and destiny were with him!!
But in the next moment, everyone's eyes turned to Hyuga Hiashi.
Hiashi instantly pulled back his joy. He knew that achieving this would likely require a big price.
Still, in this chaotic age, Hyuga Hiashi had no shortage of ambition to leave his name in history.
Of course, it wasn't just Hiashi—others had the same ambition.
A naturally-born immortal, the next Shanks, the next Sage of Six Paths—why couldn't one come from their own clan?
In this chaotic world, they would claim their place.
"Shikaku, make the arrangements!!"
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