Chapter 28: Best He Dies at the Hands of Mist Ninja
The Hokage Tower blazed with lights.
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane sat on the sofas in the Hokage's office. Neither spoke, appearing almost asleep, but the instant the office door quietly opened, all four eyes snapped open, staring intently at Hiruzen entering.
"Hiruzen, did something unexpected happen?"
Koharu asked.
They had decades of friendship. Perhaps ordinary people couldn't read any emotion from Hiruzen's aging face, but they could see his spirits were low, his mood poor.
"The operation failed!"
Hiruzen sighed, somewhat wearily reaching up to scratch his head.
Koharu and Homura exchanged glances.
Homura looked toward Minato, who'd entered alongside Hiruzen, and asked: "Minato, what exactly happened? And where's Danzo? Where did he run off to?"
"Minato, you explain. Let me catch my breath. Getting old really takes its toll."
Hiruzen sat down in his chair and began stuffing tobacco into his pipe, clearly preparing to smoke a bit to relax.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Minato acknowledged, then turned to face the two Hokage advisors. After briefly considering for two seconds, he began: "Daichi acted rashly on his own initiative, attacking prematurely and giving Ritsu the opportunity to rally the Branch Family's hearts. Ritsu seized the chance and killed Daichi first, then eliminated the father and son, Hisho and Daisho..."
"You didn't stop him?"
Homura's brow furrowed as he interrupted with a question.
"I did act."
"Then why couldn't you stop him?"
Homura expressed surprise.
Even he was fully aware of how terrifying the Yellow Flash's reputation was. Hiruzen had privately remarked that Minato's abilities had already surpassed his own—though in Homura's view, Hiruzen was referring to his aged, declining Third Hokage self, not the ninja hero who'd been invincible on the battlefield in his prime!
In any case, if Minato had acted, there should have been no reason for failure.
Minato gave a bitter smile. Advisor Homura certainly had confidence in him. He replied helplessly: "Ritsu isn't weak. The Hyuga clan's greatest prodigy isn't just empty boasting. Both times I acted, I came up empty-handed. He forcibly killed Hisho and Daisho despite my intervention."
After speaking, he glanced at Hiruzen, uncertain whether he should mention the Shikotsumyaku.
"To think he made you come up empty-handed twice. Seems we underestimated this Hyuga Ritsu... Then what? After Ritsu killed those Main Family fools, what happened? Was Hiashi killed too?"
Homura didn't delve into the specific details of how Ritsu had thwarted Minato, continuing to inquire about subsequent events.
"Hiashi is still alive—at least he was when we left. Ritsu stopped immediately after killing Hisho and Daisho. At the same time, the Hyuga clan's jonin and special jonin all gathered around him. You could see the clan's ninja clearly support Ritsu."
"After that..."
"After that, Danzo and Ritsu got into an argument."
Hiruzen, now puffing on his pipe and exhaling clouds of smoke, picked up the thread. "Danzo was enraged and nearly broke completely with Ritsu. I stopped him, so Danzo left in anger."
"So why did you stop Danzo, Hiruzen? Punishing the ringleader was what we'd all agreed upon." Koharu spoke up.
"But the premise of punishing the ringleader was that we all believed Ritsu couldn't truly gain the Hyuga clan's support, and that killing him wouldn't cause too much upheaval. However, as Minato just said, the Hyuga jonin and special jonin clearly revere Ritsu. Under these circumstances, forcing his death would be equivalent to going to war with the Hyuga clan. That's something I absolutely cannot allow!"
Hiruzen stated decisively, exhaling grayish-white smoke.
Hearing this, both Homura and Koharu frowned. Indeed, maintaining the Hyuga clan's stability was extremely important. Unlike the volcanic instability of the Uchiha clan, the Hyuga clan was a crucial foundation guaranteeing the village's prosperity.
Moreover, the Hyuga clan's overall strength had long surpassed the Uchiha clan. The disparity in both population and jonin numbers was considerable. It was just that the Hyuga had never really produced any top-tier experts, being overshadowed by the Uchiha clan who produced such experts almost every generation.
Speaking truthfully, the Main Family-Branch Family system had restricted the Hyuga clan. The Main Family was small in number and mostly pampered, while the Branch Family was not only bound by the Caged Bird Seal but even learned a castrated "Thirty-Two Palms" version of Gentle Fist. Under such circumstances, if they could still produce a top-tier expert, that would absolutely be a first-rate monster!
Precisely speaking, such a monster had already been produced.
Hyuga Ritsu.
Being able to block Minato's attacks twice while killing Hisho and Daisho, rendering him ineffective—such ability had already entered the ranks of top-tier experts.
In short, the village couldn't currently afford the cost of going to war with the Hyuga clan. Even if the village had the strength to annihilate the Hyuga, what then? With the village severely weakened, how could they deal with the persistent Mist ninja to the east? What would they use to guard against the Cloud ninja in the northeast who hadn't given up and remained restless?
"Once this precedent of subordinates rebelling against superiors is set, who knows how many ambitious people will follow suit in the future."
Homura sighed deeply.
"Of two evils, choose the lesser. The Hyuga clan absolutely cannot have problems."
"Then how do we explain this publicly? Such a major incident occurred in the Hyuga clan—there must be some explanation!"
"Just say the Hyuga Main Family was cruel and tyrannical, harming their own clan members. The village couldn't stand by, so it assisted the Hyuga Branch Family in overthrowing Main Family rule... Polish it up and announce it publicly like that."
Hiruzen completely accepted the explanation Ritsu had provided earlier.
After speaking, he looked at Minato, his tone very gentle: "Minato, you've worked hard today! Now hurry home and rest!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Minato agreed directly without any polite refusals, immediately leaving via Flying Thunder God.
About five or six seconds later, urgent footsteps came from outside. The office door was flung open as Danzo strode in. Upon entering, he immediately spoke harshly: "Hiruzen, this naturally evil brat Ritsu cannot be allowed to live! He's a disaster waiting to happen. We must find a way to eliminate him!"
"I know."
Hiruzen nodded, speaking softly: "But we can't act openly. His death must be reasonable and legitimate, with no connection whatsoever to the village. He happens to have said he's going to the eastern front to reclaim the Byakugan stolen by the Mist ninja. So then, he'd best die at the hands of the Mist ninja!"
After hearing this, Danzo turned and headed back toward the door, only dropping one sentence: "I'll handle it!"
On the sofa, the two advisors' tightly furrowed brows relaxed. Hiruzen and Danzo were still so in sync, and still so reassuring.
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