Hyuga Family Funeral, Namikaze Minato Joins Strategic Discussions on Countering Iwagakure

The Hyuga Family held a grand funeral...

It appeared to be a memorial for the many deceased members of the Hyuga Main Family.

However.

Of the three graves in the best location, the two below belonged respectively to the Hyuga Clan Patriarch and Hyuga Hiashi, the two highest-ranking members of the Main Family.

Yet the grave at the very top, in the position of honor, was a Nameless Grave.

Hizashi Hyuga led all the Hyuga Ninja to the graves and bowed deeply, remaining bent over for a long while.

The Hyuga Clan was a major clan.

They were one of Konoha's most prominent families.

Especially back when the Senju Clan had faded into obscurity and the Uchiha Clan was being targeted, many civilians had considered the Hyuga Clan to be the foremost clan.

Now.

Many ninja clans had come to attend the funeral, and civilians had gathered to watch as well.

"My condolences."

The Uchiha Clan had come too. Uchiha Fugaku led a group over.

After arriving, Uchiha Miya did not socialize with anyone. He merely gazed calmly at the nameless tombstone, his thoughts and unspoken words all contained within his eyes.

A moment later, he placed a bouquet of flowers before the tombstone.

At that moment, someone else approached.

Namikaze Minato...

He too silently placed a bouquet before Hyuga Shin's nameless tombstone.

Some of the Hyuga Family's ninja grew agitated.

But the other Hyuga Clansmen stopped them.

"Lord Hyuga Shin said it himself! There is no vengeance to seek, nor can vengeance be sought!"

"We need to change! We need to grow stronger! We can no longer follow the middle path. Otherwise, Namikaze Minato alone could wipe out the Hyuga Clan. It is the Hyuga Clan that needs Namikaze Minato, not Namikaze Minato who needs the Hyuga Clan! Calm down!"

"Whether you acknowledge Namikaze Minato or not, that is the truth!"

"If you acknowledge Hyuga Shin, then listen to him and follow Lord Namikaze Minato."

"If you do not acknowledge Hyuga Shin but acknowledge Hyuga Clan Head Hizashi Hyuga, then Lord Hizashi Hyuga has not said anything either, has he!"

Therefore, although Namikaze Minato had killed Hyuga Shin, the Hyuga Family as a whole still maintained its respect for Namikaze Minato.

During the funeral banquet.

Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Fugaku, Hizashi Hyuga, and Uchiha Miya sat at the same table.

The four of them ate silently, each occupied by their own thoughts.

Namikaze Minato, meanwhile, was thinking about how, the previous night, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi and Jiraiya had swallowed their pride and asked him to conceal Root's research on the Senju Clan.

That was the Senju Clan!

Their status in Konoha was extraordinary... Moreover, Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage, had been the God of Shinobi and had ended the age of war...

Konoha's darkness... Konoha's weakness...

Thinking of how Danzo had ultimately received no more than suspension and house arrest.

All of it made Namikaze Minato clench his fists.

Third Hokage.

In your eyes, was your childhood friend Danzo really that important? Of all the things he had done, how many had been carried out with your tacit approval??

Namikaze Minato was very intelligent.

And that intelligence allowed him to glimpse the truth. His desire to become the Fourth Hokage and change all of this grew ever stronger...

At that moment, Namikaze Minato felt someone's gaze.

He turned to look.

He discovered it was a young man. The ninja was a jonin, and upon realizing he had been noticed, he raised his cup and toasted Namikaze Minato from afar.

Namikaze Minato paused briefly, then smiled as well.

That was Ogawa Gō, now a teacher... Of the three disciples around him, one wore the clothing of the Uchiha Clan, while the other two appeared to be civilians.

But he had another identity as well: one of Danzo's Wood Style experiment subjects.

In other words, Senju Clan blood flowed through his veins.

Namikaze Minato had saved him the previous night.

That very night, Hiruzen Sarutobi restored Ogawa Gō's original identity and granted him a substantial amount of compensation.

Inside the conference room.

"Knock, knock."

There came a knock at the door.

Namikaze Minato walked in.

"You're here."

"Yes, Sensei."

Jiraiya looked at Namikaze Minato with a somewhat complicated expression.

There had been many matters last night—messy, complicated, and weighty.

Especially the fact that, after the Senju Clan had integrated into Konoha, Root had secretly taken people away for research... once that came to light, Konoha would likely be thrown into great turmoil.

Fortunately, Namikaze Minato understood the importance of the bigger picture and had kept the matter hidden.

And now he had immediately come over for another meeting.

His disciple truly was outstanding.

"It's good that you're here..." Orochimaru spoke in a sinister tone, though he did not look at Namikaze Minato. Instead, he was staring at the map.

"Iwagakure has officially declared war."

"According to the map, this place..."

Orochimaru's finger landed on the Land of Grass.

"At present, the ninjas stationed at the border have sent word confirming that over a thousand Iwagakure ninjas have rapidly entered the Land of Fire, and their numbers are still increasing."

"And according to information brought back by some of my little snakes..."

"This time, Iwagakure's Ōnoki has likely mobilized more than ten thousand ninjas."

"Such a massive number of combat personnel also means immense logistical pressure, so they can only pass through the Land of Grass."

"After all, the Land of Grass is the shortest straight route, and it contains many plains."

"There are also two inferior alternatives: the Land of Rain and the Land of Falls."

"The neighboring Land of Rain has rainfall year-round, while the Land of Falls has complex terrain, with many mountains, valleys, and rivers. It is known as the Land of Waterfalls."

Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato also moved closer to join the discussion.

But Namikaze Minato did most of the talking.

Jiraiya could barely get a word in.

In the end, it became a discussion between Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru.

Namikaze Minato said, "Kannabi Bridge. If we destroy this place, Iwagakure's logistics will be cut off."

Orochimaru's pupils revealed his appreciation for Namikaze Minato.

"Exactly. That was my thought as well... but Iwagakure will certainly guard Kannabi Bridge with a heavy force."

Namikaze Minato pondered. "I can go there and use the Rasengan to blow up the bridge."

"That is a discussion of 'tactics'..." Orochimaru's tone was sinister, as though he meant something more. "What we are discussing now is 'strategy'... Of course, we are not the people in power in the village, so we cannot discuss strategy at the highest level. The strategy we are discussing... is the strategy for winning this campaign."

In the end, Namikaze Minato and Orochimaru went back and forth, determining three stages for dealing with Iwagakure.

First stage: meet them head-on, at the very least maintain a stalemate and avoid collapse, thereby drawing in the majority of Iwagakure's forces.

Second stage: cut off their supply lines, deprive the invading Iwagakure forces of logistical support, then wipe out every one of these Iwagakure invaders who had entered the Land of Fire and deal them a crushing blow.

Third stage: take the initiative and launch an attack, with the battleground located in the Land of Grass. Exhaust Iwagakure's forces on a large scale and force Iwagakure to agree to end the war.

The strategic discussion came to an end.

Namikaze Minato, however, silently stared at the map, his finger resting on the Land of Rain, where the Land of Wind, the Land of Fire, and the Land of Earth all met.

"What is it... Namikaze Minato..." Orochimaru asked.

"No, it's nothing..."

"The Land of Rain, hm?" Orochimaru let out a sinister chuckle.

"I hope Konoha performs well. In my personal judgment, Kumogakure has been crushed, and while Kumogakure and Iwagakure have now allied, that alone is not enough to tempt Sunagakure..."

"But if... Konoha keeps weakening, then suffers defeats on the battlefield, or if other ninja villages join in attacking Konoha, perhaps even the badly weakened Sunagakure would be willing to charge into Konoha as well... Hehehe..."

Orochimaru's laughter made both Jiraiya and Namikaze Minato furrow their brows.

If Sunagakure of the Land of Wind also invaded Konoha—

Then the battlefield would shift to the Land of Rain.

That would create a situation where Sunagakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha fought a three-way war in the Land of Rain.

"The Land of Rain... It really brings back memories." Jiraiya sighed.

"That Demi-God... I miss him somewhat too." Orochimaru sneered.

Namikaze Minato said nothing. His gaze merely remained fixed on the Land of Rain.

Here, the rain fell ceaselessly, and wars had raged year after year...

Who knew how many people had died there.

In the end, all that remained was a sigh.