Naruto: Hyuga Warlord

As Hyuga Soushu stepped out of the Hokage Office, anger written all over his face, that persistent sensation of being locked onto like needles in his back immediately disappeared—this was because the Anbu surveillance team assigned to monitor him deactivated their alert stance after he left the Hokage's office.

Yet there remained an odd feeling of being watched, lingering uncomfortably around him.

And this gaze, almost tangible enough for Soushu to sense physically, came from the Byakugan eyes of the Hyuga Clan.

In other words, their conversation inside the Hokage Office had been spied on by Hyuga ninjas using the Byakugan.

That's also why throughout his entire talk with the Hokage—though he spouted nonsense stubbornly and made no effort to hide his irritation—Soushu insisted on articulating every word clearly and carefully, using standard pronunciation. He did so specifically to make sure the Byakugan-wielding watchers could read his lips clearly and avoid any misinterpretation!

"If you keep staring like this, it'll become quite impolite."

After exiting the Hokage Tower, still feeling uneasy, Soushu muttered under his breath.

The uncomfortable gaze then instantly vanished.

Clearly, the Branch House Hyuga ninjas conducting the Byakugan surveillance had already understood Soushu's message and willingly ended their observation.

Although the Hyuga Clan has always publicly claimed not to use the Byakugan within Konoha or activate its penetrating vision during peacetime, whether fellow Konoha ninjas actually believe that is another matter entirely. Saying it out loud and actually believing it are two very different things!

Nevertheless, at the very least, those monitoring Branch House ninjas could be certain of one thing: Soushu had indeed detected their Byakugan gaze. And such secret perception abilities have always been exclusive privileges of the Main House.

"Have you truly made your decision?"

Based on intel received from Anbu, Danzo—who had secretly entered the Hokage's office—fell into deep thought after enduring Hiruzen Sarutobi's long rant about dealing with internal threats.

Since the outbreak of the Second Great Ninja War, Root Division's forces had been severely stretched thin across the Ninja World.

With limited manpower already spread out, Danzo now found himself short on immediately deployable resources.

Moreover, intelligence analysts within Root, having analyzed the capabilities demonstrated by Soushu, offered comprehensive assessments concluding that Root currently lacked the strength required to eliminate someone like Soushu.

That's exactly why, despite Danzo's underlying interest, he kept restraining his inner impulses—even swallowing his pride when publicly humiliated by Soushu!

This wasn't because Danzo suddenly became more patient or friendly; it mainly came from just how complicated Soushu proved to be.

So even faced with encouragement and implied support from his longtime friend Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo still carefully weighed the pros and cons before making any move—he didn't rush into decisions!

"The Hyuga Clan is ultimately an indispensable part of the village. Our top priority should be guiding them back when they've strayed from the path."

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi pointed out, "A few scheming bastards are dragging innocent lower-ranked ninja into their political games for their own selfish gain. This is absolutely unacceptable to us!"

"Hmm..."

Danzo hesitated.

Come on, Old Monkey! There's no one else here—drop the act!

And that was exactly what he was truly thinking.

But Hiruzen had already slipped into full performance mode, a rather dangerous state. So Danzo could do nothing but grit his teeth and listen as he rambled on about the so-called tyranny of the minority over the majority.

Though this indeed applied to powerful clans like the Hyuga, the truth was, it wasn't just the Hyuga Clan growing restless right now. Among the declining clans dependent on the Hyuga, very few were actually being misled!

Therefore, all these decisions were simply based on clan interests—a completely normal and understandable appeal.

But that wasn't really the issue at hand. Tonight, Old Monkey had summoned him specifically to target that most troublesome jonin, right? How did things suddenly shift entirely toward the Hyuga Clan?

"Hiruzen! Hyuga Soushu is no easy opponent!"

Finally losing patience after listening to endless droning, Danzo interrupted the Third Hokage's infinite circular ranting, "That man isn't the kind who'll fall for your so-called 'Will of Fire'!"

If everything could be settled through talking alone, then what need would there be for [Tongue-Cutting Seal] or brutal wars?

This was also why Danzo sneered at his old friend's methods.

"Wasn't handling him already entrusted to you?" The Third Hokage retorted.

"Hmm..."

Danzo was momentarily speechless.

Although he hadn't explicitly agreed, in reality, he didn't have much room to maneuver either. After all, the Hokage himself, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had already made things clear—if Hyuga Soushu walked away unscathed, there'd be no way to justify it afterward.

Still, unless those damn existing problems were solved first, even taking out Soushu with underhanded methods wouldn't be easy!

"With Root Division alone, we can't complete this mission independently!"

Although the Third Hokage had supplied Danzo's Root Division with various ninja tools and secret jutsu, the core execution still relied on Root operatives themselves.

The real problem was that currently, even counting captured shinobi still undergoing "domestication," fully deployable Root members numbered no more than seventy. Their abilities varied greatly, coordination was weak, and rushing in recklessly would only alert the enemy.

Given Soushu's nature, if the first strike failed, retaliation would be fierce—perhaps even at the cost of sacrificing existing benefits to widen the rift between both sides.

"You yourself must prepare to get involved!" The Third Hokage said discontentedly.

"But that still isn't enough!" Danzo shook his head firmly. "You've seen Soushu's tactics and battle intelligence reports yourself—you know full well he's not someone ordinary folks can handle!"

"I will not intervene personally!"

"Being hailed as the strongest Hokage in history, I cannot bring myself to act against another Kage without concrete evidence of betrayal!" The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi firmly rejected his friend Danzo's indirect request for action.

The true reason was even simpler: a god must neither bleed nor reveal any imperfection. Once a deity reveals vulnerability, there will always be ambitious challengers eager to test their strength. Maintaining an aura of mystery was far more advisable.

"So you're just going to let Root perish without dealing with that guy!"

Danzo angrily began to argue back.

"The Daimyo's court," Hiruzen Sarutobi simply replied, dropping a geographical term.

"Huh?!" Danzo immediately caught on.

"Guardian Ninjas!" They both shouted in unison.

"That's a solid enough reason, and it wouldn't be a big deal to get the Daimyo's Guardian Ninjas involved," Danzo mused briefly before nodding in agreement.

At least this plan seemed far more feasible than his previous wild idea of using spies from rival villages to eliminate Hyuga Soushu!

"But what if the Guardian Ninjas at the Daimyo's court refuse to cooperate?" Danzo casually asked.

"If that's the case, ninjas without even basic loyalty instincts are better off eliminated," Hiruzen Sarutobi calmly stated his opinion.

As for success or failure, merits or faults, those were matters for the future. Nothing mattered more than preserving one's image at the moment – reputation was paramount in politics.

"I see," Danzo sighed, realizing his old friend would never abandon his stance or reconsider. "If that's settled, then transfer a squad from the Sealing Team to Root!"

"There will also be a special unit from the Body Disposal Squad temporarily placed under your command. Use them wisely when the moment arrives!" Hiruzen Sarutobi even proactively offered additional resources, clearly showing his conflicted urgency to eliminate Hyuga Soushu.

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