"Root...?"
Namikaze Minato looked at the ninja, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"What did you say?!"
The Hyuga Ninja was furious.
"Why are you ordering Shin to die?! He's a hero! He severely wounded the Cloud Village! He's a hero of Konoha too!!"
However, the other ninjas stopped him.
By then, the other members of the Hyuga clan had already activated their Byakugan!
"What are you trying to do? Rebel?" The Root ninja wasn't afraid in the slightest. His eyes were chillingly sharp.
Namikaze Minato raised his hand.
Everyone's eyes immediately turned toward him, and the commotion subsided.
That was how great Namikaze Minato's prestige was in the camp.
"Is this the Hokage's order, or Root's order?" Namikaze Minato stepped forward and stood face-to-face with the Root ninja.
His question struck directly at the heart of the matter.
The other Hyuga Ninjas immediately understood. "That's right! We don't believe the village would issue such a mission! You Root bastards must be plotting something!"
"Unfortunately... this is the Hokage's order. This document was personally signed by the Hokage. Please take a look."
The Root ninja's words silenced the surroundings once again.
The Root ninja then took out a document and handed it to Namikaze Minato.
Namikaze Minato examined the document, pressing his lips together without saying a word.
Danzo was more than happy to shift the blame onto Hiruzen Sarutobi and put more pressure on him, so he had specifically instructed them that, in similar situations, they could directly invoke the Hokage's name.
Fortunately, because of the theft of the Scroll of Seals, Konoha's Anbu were completely overwhelmed with work. Root, on the other hand, mainly handled external affairs and had plenty of manpower, so they had been assigned this minor mission to stop the rescue.
"What!"
"The Hokage's order?"
"How could this be..."
The surrounding ninjas were deeply shaken.
"Putting the mission first and the bigger picture first—this is a ninja's duty! We can't disrupt our deployment just to rescue one Hyuga Shin. If this is a trap and Namikaze Minato falls into it as well, who will take responsibility?"
The Root ninja spoke loudly.
Namikaze Minato clenched his fists.
He was just as confused inside.
How could this be?
His teacher was Jiraiya, while Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi was Jiraiya's teacher...
And Hiruzen Sarutobi was the Hokage, the highest leader of Konoha.
Whether personally or publicly... there was no reason for him to disobey the order.
"I understand."
Namikaze Minato nodded.
The Root ninja said with satisfaction, "Very good. Namikaze Minato, you truly are the finest ninja."
"However, as the camp's temporary commander, I will exercise my authority. I judge that Kumogakure must be aiming to move Hyuga Shin at this moment. Launching an attack now will have a tremendous effect. All troops, assemble!"
Namikaze Minato shouted.
The surrounding ninjas froze, and hope rose again in the eyes of the Hyuga Ninjas.
The Root ninja's expression turned ugly. "Lord Namikaze Minato, are you planning to disobey the order and insist on rescuing Hyuga Shin?"
"Not at all. This is a normal wartime offensive operation. Or did the Hokage sign an order restricting us Konoha Ninjas to defense and forbidding us from launching attacks? Or perhaps... Kumogakure and Konoha have already signed a peace treaty?"
"You!"
The Root ninja was rendered speechless.
He didn't dare take responsibility for that.
Sacrificing Hyuga Shin was something the Konoha High Command had decided on, formally signed off on, and approved.
But "not allowing attacks against Cloud Ninjas"?
Not only had such an order never been discussed or documented, but the implications of issuing it would also be enormous!
"I advise you to think twice before acting, Elite Jonin Namikaze Minato!"
"I'm carrying out my duties as temporary commander! If you have a problem, report it to Konoha, or have the official commander—my teacher Jiraiya—stop me in person right now..."
"Hmph... Foolish. Even you wouldn't dare confront the Third Raikage head-on. What good will it do for you to go?"
"You needn't worry about that."
By then, the troops had finished assembling.
The leading Hyuga Ninja was both moved and excited. He shouted, "Lord Minato! We're assembled!"
"Attack!"
Whoosh!
The many ninjas used the Body Flicker Technique and charged toward the battlefield at tremendous speed!
As always, Namikaze Minato rushed at the very front!
But his heart was filled with disappointment.
How could this happen...
Sacrificing Hyuga Shin could never make Kumogakure stop!
Instead, it would deal a devastating blow to their own morale!
Third Hokage...
How could you do this...
Namikaze Minato was a pacifist, but he understood very well that peace could not be obtained through retreat!
Absolutely not!
Some wars had to be fought!
Blindly pursuing "not going to war" itself meant suppressing those just wars.
There was nothing to fear about a just war. It had to be fought—and fought brilliantly, so that one punch could break the siege and prevent a hundred more punches from coming!
"Hyuga Shin... I hope you're safe."
Namikaze Minato offered this prayer.
The Flying Thunder God Technique in his hand grew even faster!
Sukuna was the type who would use any means necessary to achieve victory.
He had ambushed and bisected Gojo Satoru, killing him, and didn't consider that method of fighting despicable in the slightest. After Gojo Satoru's death... Sukuna had proudly proclaimed his victory.
And after he himself was killed through a series of successive battles, Sukuna likewise didn't consider Itadori and the others despicable. When Itadori offered him a final deal—to live another way, to live as a human, leave Fushiguro Megumi's body, return to Itadori's body, and continue living—Sukuna refused.
"Living another way... that sounds like a pretty good feeling."
"But I won't change... not until I'm defeated."
"But you, Hyuga Shin, have already been defeated."
"You lost."
"Your life was sacrificed as a scapegoat by the village you revered."
"This..."
"This is the turning point that caused your 'drastic change in personality,' isn't it?"
Su Nuo let out a sinister laugh.
The next moment.
"Hyuga Shin" suddenly opened his eyes!
At the same time, countless black markings appeared across his body!
The Cloud Village Ninja escorting Hyuga Shin only had time to glance at him.
Just one glance.
It was his last!
Pfft!
All around them, countless heads flew into the air!
"What's going on?!"
"Enemy attack!"
The Cloud Village Ninjas immediately entered combat, taking up defensive stances one after another.
However, they had no idea who the enemy was!
Large groups of Cloud Village Ninjas continued to fall one after another!
After most of the people around Hyuga Shin's escort had died,
the only remaining Special Jonin finally realized what was happening and retreated.
He stared in terror at the iron cage.
At that moment,
Su Nuo slowly rose to his feet.
His Byakugan had already activated.
All the Fuinjutsu placed on him had been undone.
At some point, all his injuries had completely recovered.
The black markings covering his body made him seem ominous and terrifying...
Cold sweat broke out on the forehead of the last Cloud Village Special Jonin, and fear filled his heart.
In the blink of an eye, out of the eight people in the two squads escorting Hyuga Shin, only he remained.
Of those seven dead, two had been Jonin and five had been Chunin!
"You... What kind of monster are you?!" the Cloud Village Special Jonin screamed in terror.
"Well... some kind of curse, I suppose."
Su Nuo raised his hand with a smile.
Whoosh!
A slash shot out, and in an instant, it severed the head of the Cloud Village Special Jonin!!
Before you continue