Nara Clan!
Though they had never produced a Hokage or elder, their status in Konoha had never been low. They were also the brains of the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio.
This was because the clan's intelligence was simply too high.
Basically, the position of Konoha Strategist had never fallen into anyone else's hands.
Unfortunately, the Nara Clan had now fallen into a difficult situation.
First, the previous clan head, Nara Shikaku, had been assassinated on the battlefield. It was later confirmed that Hinata Cang Yue had done it.
Then, Nara Shikamaru, the new clan head, had also gone missing during this decisive battle.
That's right!
For now, he was merely missing. His death had not been confirmed.
After all, a large number of ninja were still hanging from the God Tree as "batteries."
The news had been brought back by Asuma, Naruto... and several others.
If they had merely lost two successive clan heads, it would not have been too serious. With the Nara Clan's status and standing, they would still have remained as steady as Mount Tai in Konoha.
But after Tsunade returned to the village with Shizune and Ino, a rumor swept through the village.
It claimed that the Lord of the Blazing Sun had said, "Konoha can be spared, but the Nara Clan must die."
Naturally, no one would have believed an ordinary rumor.
Yet quite a few people believed this one, because everyone knew just how much Nara Shikaku had targeted Tang Ping back then.
It had been the kind of targeting born entirely from personal grudges.
Then he had died. Even at the time, people had suspected it might have been the other side's retaliation, but there had been no evidence or leads.
And once they learned that Hinata Cang Yue had been the one to strike,