Konoha F4

"You're saying Hizashi Hyuga also supports Hyuga Ritsu? He may be from the Branch House, but he's also Hyuga Hiashi's younger brother!"

"Lord Hokage, I think you've got that backward. He may be Hyuga Hiashi's younger brother, but he's also from the Branch House."

Minato switched the order around.

And changing the order naturally changed the meaning.

Sarutobi Hiruzen fell silent. After a moment, he couldn't help sighing. "Has the conflict between the Hyuga Clan's Main House and Branch House really grown this intense?"

He'd thought it was one thing for a Branch House member like Hyuga Ritsu, who had a distant relationship with the Main House, to rebel. But Hizashi Hyuga was the clan head Hyuga Hiashi's younger brother. Even as a Branch House member, he must have been treated far better than the other Branch House members. There was no reason for him to rebel against his own brother.

But now that he thought about it,

he'd neglected to keep an eye on the Hyuga Clan in recent years. He hadn't realized the conflict between the Main House and Branch House had become so intense that even the clan head Hyuga Hiashi's younger brother had rebelled.

"There's one other thing I don't understand. How were Hyuga Masamune and the other Main House members killed? With the Caged Bird Seal, the Branch House members shouldn't have been capable of fighting back, should they?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen asked about the key point.

"Hyuga Ritsu has removed his own Caged Bird Seal. He didn't go into detail, but I'd venture that Hyuga Ritsu himself killed Hyuga Masamune and the other members of the Main House."

"How did he do that?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was shocked.

Back when he'd been full of ambition, he'd also studied the Caged Bird Seal. He'd run straight into a brick wall, wasted several months, and ultimately gained nothing!

Now that he'd heard Hyuga Ritsu had removed his own Caged Bird Seal, he was genuinely stunned.

But he recovered quickly. As soon as the question left his mouth, he realized he'd asked something foolish. "Minato, that was a foolish question. The method for removing the Caged Bird Seal must be an extremely closely guarded secret. There's no way Hyuga Ritsu would have told you!"

Minato said nothing, merely nodding silently.

He could understand how the Hokage had blurted out the question in his shock.

After all,

he himself had blurted out something similar in front of Hyuga Ritsu before he could stop himself.

"Come to think of it, without the Caged Bird Seal, doesn't that mean Hyuga Ritsu can control the other Branch House members just like the Main House does?"

"I guess he can."

"Doesn't that mean Hyuga Ritsu will be the new Main House from now on?"

Their conversation came to an abrupt end.

Someone had arrived.

"Hiruzen, what are you still doing here?"

A middle-aged man with a cold expression and an X-shaped scar on his chin shoved the door open and stormed in. His eyes were full of merciless, cold-blooded killing intent. He was Shimura Danzō, the Hokage's Assistant known in Konoha as the "Darkness of Shinobi," and the top leader of Root.

"The Hyuga Clan is about to rebel, and you're still sitting in your office instead of calling the Jonin together to put down the uprising?"

The moment he entered, Shimura Danzō loudly demanded an answer.

"Put down an uprising? When did the Hyuga Clan rebel?"

"The Main House members who stayed in the village have all been killed. If that's not a rebellion, what is? Are you going to wait until Hyuga Ritsu and the others storm the Hokage Building before you admit they've rebelled?"

"It hasn't come to that."

Sarutobi Hiruzen remained unmoved, holding Shimura Danzō's gaze without yielding.

"Hiruzen, Danzō, what are you two arguing about now? We could hear you bickering from outside!" The two elders, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, entered side by side.

"Hmph!"

Shimura Danzō snorted, but said nothing more.

The three took seats on the sofas in the reception area, and Minato sat down as well.

His youth stood out sharply among all these aged faces, but Shimura Danzō and the other two said nothing. Minato might have been young, but he'd already proven his abilities with an impressive record.

Besides,

as the village's leaders, they could all guess what Sarutobi had in mind. The next Fourth Hokage would most likely be chosen between Orochimaru and Minato.

In short, Minato wasn't an ordinary Jonin. He was certainly qualified to take part in the village's highest-level decisions.

"Hyuga Ritsu has rallied many Branch House members of the Hyuga Clan, killed Hyuga Masamune and the other Main House members who remained in the village, declared himself clan head, and recommended six new elders. Meanwhile, the rightful clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, is on the eastern front with part of the clan. Oh, and one more thing: Hyuga Ritsu used some unknown method to remove his own Caged Bird Seal.

"That's more or less the situation. Let's hear your opinions and what you think we should do."

Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't bother dwelling on Danzō's foolish remarks earlier. He went straight to the point.

"My opinion is that we kill them."

Shimura Danzō spoke first. His voice was low, his killing intent unmistakable. "If these Branch House traitors dared to kill the Main House members today, who's to say they won't turn their blades on us tomorrow? Kill everyone involved in the uprising!"

His words made Minato frown.

What was the Hokage's Assistant Danzō talking about?

"Danzō, you're being too extreme. The Hyuga aren't the Uchiha. You and I both know the deep-rooted problem in the Hyuga Clan's Main House and Branch House system was bound to erupt someday. It just happened to erupt on our watch."

Mitokado Homura paused, then continued, "I think our most urgent task is to recall Hyuga Hiashi and the others from the front lines and have Hyuga Hiashi deal with Hyuga Ritsu and the other rebels. The village can assist from the sidelines."

"Slaughtering them wholesale is certainly unwise. There's no need for me to explain how important the Byakugan is. If we kill too many, we'll weaken the village. But if we don't punish this act of insubordination, won't we encourage others who might be dissatisfied to rebel? I believe we absolutely must not let this crooked trend take root. The ringleaders must be executed! That will serve as a warning to anyone else harboring rebellious intentions!"

Although Utatane Koharu was a woman, she was even more bloodthirsty than Mitokado Homura.

The three of them held different opinions.

Shimura Danzō was the most extreme, insisting they quell the unrest through killing and eliminate the threat before it could grow. Utatane Koharu's bloodlust was more restrained: she didn't think they needed to kill too many, but the ringleaders had to die. Mitokado Homura took the mildest stance, advising against direct intervention by the village and hoping instead to have Hyuga Hiashi handle the Hyuga Clan's internal affairs.

After the three had finished speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen lit his pipe and began puffing away. He didn't judge their opinions, but turned to Minato and asked, "Minato, what do you think we should do?"

Minato furrowed his brow.

He thought it over for another seven or eight seconds before slowly replying, "I'm more inclined to agree with Advisor Mitokado's approach. The conflict between the Hyuga Clan's Main House and Branch House is too deep. Killing people alone won't solve the problem. A bloodbath should be the last resort, when there's no other choice."