Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

"Haaah..."

As Hyūga Soushu used Skull Crushing on the last struggling Guardian Ninja who refused to give up, he felt both exhaustion and an unparalleled sense of fulfillment.

Another level up.

After this bloody battle, Hyūga Soushu had accumulated enough experience to finally push his nearly perfected experience bar over the edge, advancing all the way to Level 10—with only one-third of the experience needed remaining until Level 11!

Though the mental fatigue and spiritual strain from the battle couldn't be completely healed by the status reset from leveling up, at least his aching body felt much better now.

Needless to say, this kind of battle—where once a rhythm is established, it turns into a complete stomping—is most suitable for Hyūga Soushu!

Upon receiving new skill points from the level-up, Soushu hesitated slightly before investing them into his E skill [Counter Storm], establishing a final skill distribution of 2-3-4-1.

And aside from that, even more important was the coin reward!

According to system notifications, Hyūga Soushu had killed a total of thirty-four Guardian Ninjas of varying ranks. Among them, three were recognized as Jonin rank and awarded 300 Coins each, while the other thirty-one were Tokubetsu Jonin ranked enemies, granting 50 Coins per kill!

In other words, after this bloody engagement, Hyūga Soushu earned a hefty 2,450 Coins! Combined with the 40 Coins he originally had remaining, his total now reached 2,490 Coins!

Although these attacking Guardian Ninjas weren't limited to just these thirty-something individuals—there were certainly survivors who escaped—the corpses lying on the ground were all that remained.

At this moment, however, Soushu had no intention of continuing pursuit and elimination.

Knowing when to quit and secure your earnings is often the key to long-term success.

Therefore, even though he stood in the middle of a filthy, blood-soaked battlefield, surrounded by noisy chatter, an eager Soushu quickly opened the system shop menu, searched out the highly anticipated Rebirth Armor, and spent 800 Coins to synthesize the [Guardian Angel] using his existing [Storm Large Sword] and [Iron Seal]!

Looking at the "Rebirth" description within the [Guardian Angel] equipment details, Soushu felt immense peace of mind!

When dying from severe injuries, four seconds later, rebirth will activate—restoring 50 base HP and 100 max MP. This power rivals even the Uchiha Clan's ultimate forbidden Secret Jutsu, Izanagi, in its ability to defy fate itself!

As everyone knows, the Caged Bird (Tenketsu) Curse Seal placed upon members of the Hyūga Clan disappears alongside its host's death. Even if the remnants of the seal still lingered slightly upon Soushu's forehead, exerting some restraint upon him, so long as he dies once during a reckless battle and revives, he would completely break free from the Branch House's control forever!

"Oh well, oh well..."

Like a mischievous child with a brand-new toy, Soushu even considered dying on purpose just to test the power of [Guardian Angel]. Fortunately, a sliver of rationality remained intact, allowing him to suppress the strange impulse within.

Meanwhile, Toshimichi Yamanaka, Mitotou Kousuke, and others quickly gathered battlefield evidence and cleared unnecessary remains. Severed limbs were simply piled together and burned on-site using Fire Release.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The whistling sound of the Shifting Body Technique cutting through the air signaled someone's arrival at the edge of the battlefield—a Koryo Jonin, waist-hugging Might Duy.

Upon witnessing the gruesome battle scene filled with blood and gore, even the battle-hardened Koryo Jonin couldn't suppress his nausea.

It was too brutal!

As far as the eye could see, there wasn't a single relatively intact corpse!

Based on the Koryo Jonin's experience, aside from over ten enemies clearly executed with head explosions, the rest had been torn apart by sheer brute force—be it hand-to-hand taijutsu, crushing punches, or literal dismemberment. The violence and savagery were shocking.

Looking at Hyuga Soushu, whose face was now cleaned of blood but still radiated a scholarly appearance mixed with an indescribable aura of menace, along with his completely blood-and-brain-soaked tattered jonin vest, the Koryo Jonin really didn't know what to say.

Could this man truly be a ninja from the Hyuga Branch House?

Even Kumo's Lightning Release body specialists, renowned for their physical training, weren't this terrifying!

"Ugh!"

Might Duy, still being held around the waist, couldn't help but make a dry retching sound at the bloody sight, snapping the Koryo Jonin back to his senses.

"Sorry, Jonin-san," said Hyuga Soushu with a nod, "the monitoring room in the Tower has been destroyed due to combat. May I ask whether the Chunin Exams should continue?"

"Eh…"

The Koryo Jonin was momentarily taken aback. Of all things, he hadn't expected Soushu's first concern to be the Chunin Exams!

After thinking for a moment, he realized he shouldn't take initiative himself—such matters, clearly involving transcendent conflict, required consultation with Sakumo Hatake first. So he went along with it: "I dare not take initiative here. Let me consult with Lord Hokage first."

"Oh, right. Also, deploy backup communication equipment immediately, and clear away these unnecessary battle remnants as soon as possible!"

At the same time, the Koryo Jonin issued instructions, directing all the jonin examiners—except for Hyuga Soushu—into a frenzy of activity.

Hyuga Soushu remained indifferent as he accepted a sealing scroll offered by Toshimichi Yamanaka, storing it away before standing silently aside. Then he beckoned Might Duy over to make small talk.

From this, the Koryo Jonin could tell that the scroll handed to Soushu likely contained sealed evidence such as identity documents of the attackers.

After the severed limbs were burned, the most critical piece of evidence now rested in the sealing scroll handed to Hyuga Soushu.

Furthermore, as the victim of the attack, Soushu essentially held proof that could point fingers wherever he wanted—especially once he put his stamp on it; authenticity would become almost irrelevant after that.

Now the ball was firmly in Hyuga Soushu's court. If mishandled, Konoha would certainly face a fierce political tempest!

But would Hyuga Soushu be someone who considers the big picture?

Even if he was, would the Hyuga Clan behind him really be as gentle and respectful as people outside the clan always assume?

Deeply conflicted, Koryo Jonin silently contacted Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi at the Hokage Tower using a backup communication device.

After giving a focused report on the battle situation and its key outcomes, the Hokage Tower issued important instructions:

First, to severely condemn any attack against Konoha's jonin and pledge thorough investigation without retreat;

Second, that the Chunin Exams were crucial matters for the village, which must continue forward to protect the legal rights of participating genin;

Third, the Hokage Tower would immediately dispatch a special unit from the Body Disposal Squad to participate in onsite recovery work, ensuring better preparation for smoothly completing the first phase of the Chunin Exams;

Additionally, the compassionate Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi also asked Koryo Jonin to convey his care for Jonin Hyuga Soushu, and urged him to keep up the good work and shine in his duties as an exam proctor!

In short—nobody heads back to the village just yet!

"How interesting"

When Koryo Jonin passed along the Hokage's words, Soushu Hyuga couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"This..."

Koryo Jonin, being a quasi-ally, also felt somewhat embarrassed, unsure what to say.

Just then, six Konoha ninja wearing black cloaks and crow masks rapidly approached from the village direction. Under Soushu Hyuga's gaze, they landed at the outer edge of the tower battleground.

"What a coincidence"

Soushu Hyuga smiled. "Body Disposal Squad, are you?"

"Yes indeed, honorable Jonin Hyuga," the leader of the Body Disposal Squad bowed respectfully before replying, "We've come by the Hokage's order to handle disposal of enemy corpses."

Although all those severed limbs and remains had already been burned away, and Soushu Hyuga had already collected the key personal evidence, these squad members still needed to fulfill their notification duty despite having no actual work left here.

"That is indeed too much of a coincidence"

Soushu Hyuga nodded. "There's nothing much left to clean up here. However, a lot of the attackers managed to flee in chaos. To avoid putting the participating genin at risk during the exams, it would be better to start eradication operations as soon as possible!"

"Understood, I'll inform all proctor ninjas immediately!"

Hearing that, Koryo Jonin snapped into action, grabbed the backup comms unit, and began sending urgent messages.

Meanwhile, the Body Disposal Squad members—who came with hidden agendas but now had to pretend to be helpful—stood there awkwardly, clearly flustered.

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