Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

"Can't solve the problem? Then wipe out its root instead!"

Deep inside a dark cave, Danzo sat reading a special report on Hyuga Soushu delivered by a Root ninja. Like a venomous serpent lying in wait in the abyss, Danzo quietly admired Soushu's words even though they stood on opposite sides with countless conflicts between them.

"Such a waste—he ended up joining the wrong side, becoming one of those hotheaded Martial Faction fools!"

Though his tone dripped with regret, a stronger killing intent settled on Danzo's face.

As one of many ideological factions within Konoha, the Martial Faction was known for its combativeness and strong sense of struggle—traits Danzo always considered his exclusive domain. After all, during Root's early days, many of its members came from the Martial Faction, especially those who were dissatisfied with the village's internal and external policies.

What made this faction unique, however, was that despite being a small group, it lacked any clear representative figurehead. That was precisely why Danzo could manipulate them so skillfully, using them as expendable tools whenever necessary.

The reason behind this unusual situation was simple: most of the Martial Faction's supporters were young, frustrated shinobi who saw themselves as misunderstood geniuses. These hot-headed kids thought they knew better than everyone else when it came to how the village and the whole ninja world should be run. But such youthful arrogance and wild ideas usually faded once they achieved fame and success—or after being hit with brutal reality checks. This wasn't surprising at all, considering that ninja are still human, and people's understanding naturally spirals upward as they learn more about the world.

In addition, these relatively radical martial artists never gained favor among top leaders like the Hokage, who generally saw them as nothing more than...

Of course, whether the Martial Faction survived or died didn't really concern Danzo. His real concerns lay in maintaining a steady supply of private troops and ensuring reliable sources of intelligence when public appearances weren't feasible.

Therefore, no matter what happened, Danzo couldn't allow Soushu's reputation and influence to grow any further. He had to turn the current passive situation around—and he needed to settle everything before Sakumo Hatake returned to Konoha!

The Chunin Exams offered the perfect timing for action since outside communication would be significantly limited during that period.

Still, after suffering repeated defeats at the hands of Soushu, Danzo had grown far more cautious than he used to be. He now constantly assigned operatives to gather information on Soushu's movements and combat intelligence for thorough analysis, striving for one decisive blow to avoid complications caused by unnecessary delays.

Moreover, he also planned to use intelligence gathered on hidden enemy agents to construct an entire scenario—a staged surprise attack by foreign ninja targeting Konoha's war hero—thereby diverting suspicion from himself and placing the blame squarely on the Uchiha Policing Department, which was responsible for defending the village.

After all, the Hyuga Clan had become far too arrogant lately!

Ever since the reconstruction of the Eastern Coastal Defense Garrison in the Land of Fire, command over this overseas ninja force remained firmly in the hands of the Hyuga Clan. This authority had become an essential tool for the clan to attract mid- and lower-tier members from other clans within Konoha.

If things had been just that simple, it wouldn't have been so bad. In a crisis, passing authority around temporarily wasn't out of the question. Danzo craved power, but he was ruthless, not foolish—he at least knew how to tell what was urgent and what was important, understanding well that revenge could wait until after the dust settled.

But what both he and his older allies in the Hokage Tower found totally unacceptable was the fact that the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan had already begun showing signs of reconciliation!

Officially, their relationship hadn't gone beyond the scandalous affair between Hyuga Soushu and Mahiru Uchiha, plus occasional joint patrols on Konoha's high walls by members from both clans—there weren't any direct interactions beyond that. Yet even this seemingly routine cooperation was enough to make the Hokage faction, already overwhelmed by the sudden rise of Hatake Sakumo, extremely uneasy!

And human nature tends toward self-interpretation and even self-deception—shinobi were no exception. Although there was currently no evidence pointing to deeper contact between the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans, the real question remained: Was that really all?

Who would willingly place their hopes for victory on the assumption that their enemies were fools?

Even if the two prestigious dojutsu clans had only just started showing hints of unity, the Hokage faction still regarded them with immense caution.

The Hyuga, known for their superior reconnaissance skills and presumed awareness of most village secrets; and the Uchiha, who controlled the Anbu through the Policing Department—if these two dojutsu clans actually formed an alliance, the once-dominant Hokage faction would quickly find itself at a serious disadvantage.

Adding even more concern from the Hokage perspective was the Hyuga Clan's recent frequent attempts to contact and win over smaller declining ninja families. Though these lesser clans weren't strong, each could at least field one special jonin and several chunin. And like ants bringing down an elephant, there was strength in numbers.

Moreover, no leader wanted to see nearly a third of the village's jonin lined up—even potentially—against them!

Still, the Hokage faction couldn't rashly move against either the Hyuga or Uchiha Clans. After all, outwardly, everything they were doing was perfectly normal official business. Internal unity within Konoha was also fully in line with the Will of Fire. From a formal standpoint, there wasn't a single flaw to be found!

Yet provoking them might stir the hornet's nest and trigger a defensive response. If actual conflict did break out, then Hatake Sakumo's faction would end up winning by simply sitting back and doing nothing.

Thus, although this situation required urgency, the top priority was precisely to avoid rushing headlong into action.

Through effective, sustainable methods of resource exploitation combined with extreme labor efficiency, the originally scheduled seven-day mission to eliminate dangerous elements in the Forest of Death was completed in just three days under Hyuga Soushu's urging.

And not a single corner was cut during the process. With the hard work of twelve chunin and guided by Hyuga Soushu's foresight and leadership, safety conditions inside the forest now met even the lowered standards of the actual Chunin Exam. Even the pickiest administrative ninja couldn't find fault with the results, so they greenlit the mission without hesitation.

Hyuga Soushu exchanged a few words with the chunin assigned to him and shared contact details with Nara Yuki, who stood out among the rest. Then he returned alone to the temporary dormitory arranged by the Jonin Unit.

Just like the Ninja Force's cafeteria, the Jonin dormitory served three meals a day too. It wasn't great, but it was clean, nutritious, and there was plenty of it. Soushu quickly filled his stomach before heading back to his room to meditate.

In the absence of Mahiru Uchiha's company, meditation was the only way to suppress the rising anger in his heart.

But just as he was about to enter a meditative state, he suddenly sensed clattering footsteps coming from outside his door.

Judging from the rhythm and direction of the steps, someone was definitely heading toward Soushu's current dorm room.

Sure enough, a few seconds later there came a knock on the door:

"Knock knock!"

"Excuse me, Honorable Jonin Soushu, do you have a moment?"

"If you have something to say, just say it!"

Soushu activated his Byakugan and glanced at the visitor, identifying him as a chunin dorm attendant from the Jonin Unit. He also swept his gaze over the entire building slightly, noticing three Anbu ninja downstairs, immediately understanding the situation.

"A message came through Anbu that the Hokage wishes to see you, so I've come to inform you."

The chunin dorm attendant's nervous voice replied from outside the door.

"I understand. I'll be down shortly."

He paused for a moment before replying.

It wasn't an issue at all for Soushu to travel from the Jonin Unit dormitory to the Hokage Tower; the distance between them wasn't far.

<><><><><><><><>

Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!

~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!

<><><><><><><><>

~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!

~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!

patreon.com/Tansnovel

<><><><><><><><>