No More Branch Families

Hiruzen Sarutobi pressed one hand to the ground, Chakra streaming out along his arm.

"Summoning Technique! Enma, King of the Monkeys!"

Bang!

Amid swirling white smoke, a hulking ape walking upright appeared at his side.

"Yo! Sarutobi, long time no see."

It spoke in human language, acting very familiar with the Third Hokage.

The Third Hokage's expression darkened slightly as he said in a grim tone, "Mm... let's fight side by side!"

Enma looked around for a moment, his expression turning solemn.

"Jiraiya, Orochimaru, Tsunade... are they all enemies this time? Your skill at teaching disciples is a little lacking..."

Having been struck where it hurt, Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly and attacked without another word.

His hands hung slightly before him as he formed seals at lightning speed, dazzling the eye.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

In an instant, a sky-filling barrage of shuriken whistled toward Tsunade's side.

The dense swarm of shuriken resembled a plague of locusts, making scalps tingle and palms sweat.

Though the name of this ninjutsu did not sound particularly imposing, it was a genuine A-rank technique, an extremely difficult ninjutsu created by Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.

It used Chakra to increase the number of shuriken, creating a sword formation like a heavenly net. It was a combination of ninja tools and ninjutsu.

"The old man is still fairly spry. He hasn't completely let himself go." The corners of Orochimaru's mouth curled upward, and a chillingly sinister smile showed on his face.

These physical shadow clones were more difficult than ordinary shadow clones. Precisely because of that, no preparation was needed beforehand, and every shuriken possessed tremendous killing power.

Hiruzen Sarutobi unleashed a large-scale AOE technique to clear the field. Dust rose into the air, obscuring the outcome of the battle.

"How was it? How many did you take out?" Utatane Koharu asked anxiously.

Mitokado Homura shook his head and sighed. "Not one... everyone they brought this time is an expert."

Seeing how numerous the enemy was, and how young they all looked, they had assumed they were merely small fry brought to fill out the ranks. Who would have thought they were all elites?

That expressionless white-haired youth had not used any weapons. With only a few casual swats, he precisely shattered every shuriken that could have struck him.

The purple-haired young woman protected herself with crimson crystals.

The burly youth with black Runes swirling across his face...

The more clearly Mitokado Homura saw the enemy's strength, the more alarmed he became.

"Damn it!"

Utatane Koharu's face was full of fury. "It's all those traitors' fault! The Hyuga Clan, Ino-Shika-Cho... at the crucial moment, they all turned into fence-sitters! This is practically defecting to the enemy! Once this is over, we'll make them pay!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi was far calmer than the two of them. He had long seen that their opponents were formidable; this attack had merely been a test.

"Are you not going to make a move?"

His gaze passed over Tsunade's group and settled on the buildings in the distance.

"Hahaha... as expected of the Third Hokage!"

A large group of ninja with pure white eyes slowly emerged. Their leader, Hyuga Hiashi, spoke up. "Lady Utatane Koharu, you said one thing wrong. Perhaps the other clans are fence-sitters. But the Hyuga Clan has completely thrown in with the Three Ninja!"

At this sight, Utatane Koharu's expression twisted hideously. "Damn it! Your Hyuga Clan is already Konoha's greatest clan, yet you still want to go further? Just wait! Sooner or later, you'll be completely wiped out like the Uchiha Clan!"

Hiashi sneered and mocked, "Go further? I've never had such thoughts. As long as I can preserve the clan, I don't mind bearing the blame. If Danzo had not foolishly tried to make a move against my Hyuga Clan, do you think I would have switched sides so quickly?"

The moment those words were spoken, Utatane Koharu was rendered speechless.

After all, she had some idea what kind of asshole her teammate was.

Shimura Danzō.

That bastard had gone behind their backs to pull more tricks again!

No one realized that Hiashi was actually deliberately pinning the blame on Danzo.

Then again, if Danzo did not take the blame, what purpose did he even serve?

"Where is Shimura Danzō?! Didn't he say he would bring Root over to support us within a quarter hour? It's already been half an hour!"

Utatane Koharu gritted her teeth in hatred.

"Forget it, he's always been like this. Haven't we gotten used to it long ago?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled bitterly.

After Namikaze Minato died, Danzo was dissatisfied with him taking power again. Thus, he sent Yamato, who possessed Wood Release, along with numerous Root experts to assassinate him.

After the attempt failed, he had refrained from punishing Danzo out of consideration for their past relationship. He never could have imagined that he would indulge him to such an extent.

Mitokado Homura clenched his fists and shouted at the Hyuga Clan members in the distance, "Members of the Hyuga branch families, as long as you abandon darkness and return to the light, I have a way to break the Caged Bird Seal! From now on, you will never again be bound by the Caged Bird Seal!"

After speaking, he looked at the young Byakugan boy in the distance, whose face was still childish but whose expression was steady and stern. "You're Neji Hyuga, right?! Your father, Hizashi Hyuga, died in your uncle's place back then! And you're still listening to them now?"

It was all because that bastard Danzo had run off with Root. Otherwise, why would an old man like him need to stand here and waste his breath?

Neji Hyuga gave Mitokado Homura an expressionless glance and said coldly, "My uncle already had a serious talk with me about the truth of what happened back then. I don't need you to spout nonsense. Besides, the Hyuga Clan no longer has any distinction between branch families and the main family. I advise you not to waste your effort."

The moment those words were spoken, the Hokage faction's hearts turned cold.

The Caged Bird Seal existed for two reasons: one, to protect the purity of the Byakugan and prevent it from degenerating; two, to prevent the Byakugan from being leaked.

That man Hiashi actually had the resolve to directly remove the Caged Bird Seal from every branch family? Did he not understand what that meant? Was he not worried about the consequences of such an action?

"Something feels wrong. Sarutobi, don't act rashly yet..."

Mitokado Homura rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling that he had overlooked something.

Lately, he had felt that many things were not quite right.

Could someone have used Genjutsu to seize Hyuga Hiashi's mind, causing him to make such an outrageous move?

"Fight! Why so much nonsense? Old monkey! Let's go!"

The arrow was already on the bowstring; there was no choice but to fire. During peacetime, the Third Hokage would heed the words of the two Advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, but this was war!

He called out to Enma beside him, and the two immediately attacked shoulder to shoulder.

That action also became the fuse that escalated the conflict completely.

Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yuhi, Shiranui Genma, Yamashiro Aoba, Namiashi Raidō, Morino Ibiki, Ebisu, Gekko Hayate...

Everyone loyal to them charged forward.

Except...

Kakashi was absent.

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There will be two more updates today!