The Branch family members stared in shock at Hizashi Hyuga.
They never expected that Hizashi would willingly sacrifice himself, becoming a marked man of the Hyuga clan just to fight for a future for them.
One of the Branch family members passionately said, "We can follow you, head of the family! Let's kill those elder tyrants and fight for the rights we deserve as true Hyuga clansmen!"
The rest of the Branch family members passionately echoed his words.
Hizashi shook his head and refused, "No. The sin of shedding blood of our own clan—this burden I shall bear alone. As your clan leader, this is an order—you must obey! Disband now!"
Hizashi didn't give the Branch family members any chance to argue; he made the final decision right there.
Hizashi walked out of the room. The Branch family members watched his retreating figure, each filled with frustration.
Danzo could never have imagined that his entire plan had completely backfired.
Danzo wanted to seize political power in Konoha and eliminate Hikaku Uchiha, Minato Namikaze, and the ninja from Sunagakure.
Sunagakure assisted Danzo in attacking Konoha, hoping to weaken it and reverse its own village's decline, while also targeting Shindai and Pakura for elimination.
Nagato wanted to destroy Konoha and then kill Danzo to avenge Yahiko.
Hizashi Hyuga decided to betray Danzo, setting his sights not on external enemies, but on the elders of the Hyuga clan itself.
The only one who hadn't changed was Yuto Uchiha—he was still happily fantasizing about how great life would be once Danzo succeeded in his coup and rose to power.
...
"Just seven days left, Shindai, Kakashi. How are your students coming along? Don't embarrass yourselves when the time comes!"
Inside an izakaya, Shindai, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin Nohara were having dinner together.
"Heh, not to brag," Shindai said proudly, "but if you, Obito, were around Hinata's age, she might even thrash you pretty badly!"
Kakashi added confidently, "I believe in Naruto and Sasuke."
Obito protested, "Me getting beaten up? Come on, I was already super strong back then!"
Kakashi teased him further, "Well actually, you actually did get thrashed by Shindai back then."
Obito argued, "What are you talking about? I totally gave as good as I got!"
Shindai asked curiously, "By the way, what mission are you, Shisui, and Itachi working on? You're always away from Konoha lately."
Obito grumbled, "It's all because of Kirigakure. Those ninja there are seriously unstable. They keep sending people to harass us even though they know they can't beat us. But it should be over soon—we won't need to go there anymore."
Shindai guessed, "Is it because Kirigakure plans to ally with Konoha now?"
Obito nodded. "That's right. The current Mizukage of Kirigakure seems to have a new holder recently. Her name is Mei Terumi, and she appears to have ended the Blood Mist policy. She's attempting to reintegrate the village into the wider world again. The Mist ninja still harassing the Land of Fire's borders are just hardliners unwilling to accept that the Blood Mist era is over. They're nothing to worry about."
Kakashi asked about Rin Nohara. "Lyn, how is Sakura doing with her training under you?"
Rin smiled as she spoke. "Sakura has great talent for medical ninjutsu. She's progressing very quickly."
Kakashi visibly relaxed. "That's good to hear. Naruto and Sasuke have been growing so fast that Sakura always felt like she couldn't keep up. Now she's finally found her strength."
Shindai spoke up with a reminder. "You should all be careful during the official matches of the Chunin Exams. I sense that something dangerous might happen."
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin simultaneously had a twitch in their eyelids and said in unison, "You won't seriously consider going after the Kazekage directly, will you?"
Shindai responded with an annoyed tone. "Do I seem that foolish to you? Would I really be reckless enough to attack him right in front of so many people during the official matches? If I were going to strike him down, wouldn't I choose somewhere isolated where no one else was around?!"
Kakashi thought for a moment before speaking. "Actually, that makes sense. Still, you can be pretty unpredictable at times."
Shindai rolled his eyes. "I'm being serious this time, not joking around. I genuinely feel like something bad might happen during these official matches."
Obito suddenly turned serious. "What Shindai says does make some sense. Shisui and Itachi have noticed some suspicious activity within our clan. Some clansmen who had opposed the Uchiha-Konoha alliance back then have been meeting frequently lately. It definitely feels like they're plotting something. Shisui and Itachi went to report this to Minato-sensei."
Shindai, Kakashi, and Rin all grew solemn.
Especially Shindai.
According to Shindai's understanding, since Orochimaru had supposedly reformed, the Leaf destruction plan shouldn't happen.
But recently, Shindai had been feeling an ominous premonition, sensing that something significant was about to happen.
Shindai advised, "We should all stay cautious anyway. It's always better to be prepared."
Obito, Kakashi, and Rin nodded in agreement.
...
Time passed quickly.
Today marked the beginning of the official matches of the Chunin Exams.
Outside the arena, Shindai gave Hinata final instructions: "Hinata, remember, you must first believe that you can defeat Neji. Only then will you stand a chance. Actually, your odds of winning aren't low at all now. Everything depends on how much you've grown and how fiercely you fight. Pakura and Hikaku will be watching from the audience seats with me. Good luck!"
Hinata's heart pounded with anticipation. After a month of special training, today was finally the day to prove herself.
Hinata resolutely replied, "Yes, I'll do my best! I'm going in now!"
Hinata entered the venue alone.
Shindai, Pakura, and Hikaku also took their seats in the audience area, waiting for the official matches to begin.
At this moment, the long-sealed Root headquarters stirred with activity once more.
Inside the Root base were Danzo and his former Root ninja.
Danzo's heart pounded with a mix of excitement and tension.
If they succeeded, they would gain everything. But if they failed, they would lose all.
In Danzo's eyes, the moment he was stripped of his titles as Hokage's advisor and leader of Root, he had already lost everything. Now he was a man with nothing left—barefoot and unafraid!
Danzo issued the command: "Infiltrate the venue in disguise and target Hikaku Uchiha's location, but do not act recklessly. Our main objective remains killing Minato Namikaze. Priority must be given to aiding Rasa in Minato's assassination!"
The Root ninja sprang into action.
Meanwhile, outside Konoha Village,
members of the Akatsuki organization had arrived as well.
Deva Path gave the order: "Proceed according to the plan. No one outside the operation should act independently!"
Together with Animal Path, members including Deva Path, Kakuzu, Deidara, Hidan, and Setsuna Uchiha disguised themselves and infiltrated Konoha Village.
The Sunagakure ninja had also completed their deployment and were waiting outside Konoha for the signal. Once the signal was given, they would strike immediately.
Hizashi Hyuga did not go to the championship arena to witness Neji's match. Instead, he sat alone at home with his eyes closed, waiting for the mission to begin.
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