Malicious Retaliation and the Scapegoat

Early morning, in the courtyard of the Hyuga residence.

Hinata, dressed in training clothes, with half-asleep eyes, is fighting against the Sage Hyuga Hiashi.

'Pat pat pat...'

Although only Hinata and her father Hyuga Hiashi were in the courtyard, it was broad daylight, so even if the sounds of Gentle Fist fighting were a bit vulgar, it wouldn't cause any misunderstandings among outsiders.

Having absorbed Urashiki's Chakra and with Hinata's help in sensing Natural Energy, after a period of arduous training, Hyuga Hiashi finally mastered Sage Mode.

However, he dragged Hinata out for practice early in the morning...

This is definitely malicious retaliation!

So what if I disturbed your good time a few nights ago? Is it really necessary to drag me out of bed so early this morning?

Hinata was filled with resentment, and her methods became much more ruthless.

However, with her Dōjutsu, ultimate moves, and even the ability to use Natural Energy to inflict debuffs on her opponents banned, Hinata was unable to defeat Sage Hyuga Hiashi in a short time using only basic Gentle Fist.

It's true what they say: once you teach your apprentice, you starve yourself!

Opposite Hinata, Hyuga Hiashi radiantly, his clothes fluttering in the breeze. If it weren't for the wrinkles on his face and his attire resembling a yukata, he would truly have the air of a refined young gentleman.

What a pity!

Hinata shook her head inwardly; time flies and never returns!

"Alright!"

Seeing that it was time for breakfast, Hyuga Hiashi swung his palm to repel Hinata, then contentedly dusted off his sleeves and turned to leave without a second thought.

Hinata: "..."

If you're so capable, then use your Dōjutsu to fight!

What kind of skill is it to only use Gentle Fist?

I might as well just stand still and let you hit me!

"Snort!"

Hinata cursed Hyuga Hiashi viciously in her heart before tiptoeing toward her room.

Eating or catching up on sleep—that is a very serious question.

The Hokage Building.

Shikaku Nara was summoned by Tsunade early in the morning.

In fact, with the situation in the Shinobi World so chaotic, Shikaku Nara didn't get much rest last night. Instead, he talked with Shikamaru until late at night, learning in detail about Shikamaru's experiences in Sunagakure.

Looking at Shikaku Nara standing opposite her, Tsunade felt a slight sense of relief.

Faced with such a chaotic Shinobi World, having a highly intelligent person to help her analyze the situation certainly saved Tsunade a lot of brain cells.

However, in the world of ninjas, intelligence alone is not enough; one must also possess great strength.

If Jiraiya...

Tsunade slightly.

Given the current situation, even if Jiraiya to return, it probably wouldn't make much of a difference!

I wonder how Naruto's training is going!

"Tell me about it!"

Tsunade rested her chin on her hands, sporting dark circles under her eyes, her overall demeanor extremely low. She stared at Shikaku Nara with dead fish eyes, much like Kakashi's, looking half-dead.

"Well..."

Shikaku Nara was startled and said dryly, "Lady Tsunade, you really should get some rest."

"Cough cough!"

Clearing his throat, Shikaku Nara continued, "I talked to Shikamaru last night. Although the matter you've been worried about hasn't shown any signs yet, in a sense, it's already confirmed!"

"Is that so?"

Tsunade said lightly, "But there's no way to deal with this right now!"

When Hinata was in Sunagakure, she refused to pursue the Cloud Ninja and retrieve the stolen Impure World Reincarnation.

Although Hinata had her own reasons, and they were reasonable considering the situation at the time, they did not fit Hinata's usual personality.

Hinata is not someone who has so many concerns.

Furthermore, according to information from Sunagakure, Hinata reportedly delayed dealing with the Third Hokage for a long time after sealing away three Kage in succession.

Of course, according to Hinata's explanation, this was actually the Third Hokage's fault.

Furthermore, Hinata's 'explanation' must absolutely not be known to the Sunagakure. Even if they may have already guessed it, they must pretend not to know in public.

This is actually quite reasonable.

After all, Hinata didn't deliberately delay when sealing the first three Kage. She had just encountered the Third Hokage and couldn't defeat him for a long time... This clearly shows that the Third and Hinata had something to say to each other.

However, even though Hinata has a reasonable explanation for all her actions, the coincidences combined are enough to establish the facts without any evidence.

If it were Danzo, he would have already started planning how to deal with the Hyuga Clan by now.

However, as Tsunade, Hokage must act only when the evidence is conclusive... In fact, even with conclusive evidence, it would be difficult for Konoha to deal with the Konoha Hyuga Clan's problem given its current strength.

Upon hearing Tsunade's words, Shikaku Nara nodded slightly, no longer dwelling on the matter of the Hyuga Clan.

"As the person who orchestrated the chaos in the Shinobi World, Orochimaru's motives are the focus of our next investigation!"

Shikaku Nara frowned slightly and said in a serious tone, "This doesn't seem like Akatsuki's plan. Even if Orochimaru has connections with the Hyuga Clan, the Hyuga Clan has no reason to do this!"

Even a genius with an IQ of 200 cannot guess someone else's purpose out of thin air without prior intelligence.

Shikaku Nara continued his analysis, "Hinata's appearance in Sunagakure should just be a coincidence, rather than a deliberate arrangement."

Tsunade nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Sending Hinata to Sunagakure to oversee security for the Chunin Ninja Exams was originally Tsunade's plan, as she wanted to take advantage of Hinata's absence from Konoha to investigate the secrets of the Hyuga Clan.

Originally, there was still at least a month left before the Chunin Ninja Exams ended, Tsunade had already made preparations, but she never expected this to happen in Sunagakure.

However, since Hinata's appearance in Sunagakure was a coincidence, it means that the Sand Village Collapse Plan has nothing to do with the Hyuga Clan.

Thinking of this, Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief.

From the current perspective, although the Hyuga Clan has been taking secret medicines to enhance their strength, they at least have no other plans.

Tsunade perked up a bit and looked at Shikaku Nara, saying loudly, "Continue!"

"Yes!"

Shikaku Nara nodded and said, "From what we can see now, it seems certain that Orochimaru and the Raikage will cooperate!"

"The Raikage's goal is to gather Impure World Reincarnation, so what is Orochimaru's goal?"

"Orochimaru got nothing from Sunagakure!"

Tsunade frowned. The Orochimaru she knew was a man who wouldn't act without a profit motive.

Without sufficient incentive, Orochimaru would rather stay in his underground base conducting research than come out and meet people.

"Could it be..."

Suddenly remembering something, Tsunade looked up sharply at Shikaku Nara.

"Orochimaru's goal... must be the Byakugan of Kirigakure!"

Tsunade analyzed, "Two years ago, Orochimaru planned the Konoha Crush Plan in order to obtain Sasuke."

"However, Sasuke's strength suddenly increased recently, and he left Orochimaru's side. His whereabouts are now unknown."

"Then the only thing that could pique Orochimaru's interest should be the Byakugan, which is one of the three great Dōjutsu alongside the Sharingan!"