I Am The Hokage

I have to say, Hyuga Ritsu's actions were quite infuriating.

It made Sarutobi Hiruzen extremely uncomfortable.

Looking at the Hyuga Branch House members who had crowded around to "protect" him, he found himself momentarily at a loss. He couldn't possibly intervene and kill Hyuga Takashi and the others in front of the Jonin and Special Jonin of the Hyuga Clan who were already arriving one after another. If he did such a thing, wouldn't it draw the ire of the entire Hyuga Clan onto them?

Most importantly, these arriving Jonin and Special Jonin, without exception, were all glaring coldly at Hyuga Hiashi and the Main House members. Their gazes weren't looking at their own clansmen, but at enemies!

This made him realize that the Hyuga Clan could probably never return to its former glory. Killing Hyuga Ritsu wouldn't bring peace back to the clan; on the contrary, it might stir up an even greater storm.

Therefore, After hesitating for a moment, he watched Hyuga Ritsu pounce towards Hyuga Hisho and Hyuga Daisho, and shouted loudly, "Hyuga Ritsu, stop!"

However, Hyuga Ritsu turned a deaf ear. In an instant, he was in front of Hyuga Hisho and Hyuga Daisho, the father and son.

"Minato, go stop Hyuga Ritsu and prevent him from killing anyone else!"

Seeing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately gave the order.

Upon hearing this, Elder Hyuga Karin, who was responsible for "protecting" Namikaze Minato, tensed her muscles. She spread her arms as wide as possible, disregarding any issues of propriety between men and women, and was about to pull Namikaze Minato into her embrace.

"Whoosh!"

Minato hooked his finger, and a tri-pronged kunai flew out from under Hyuga Karin's arm. Hyuga Karin embraced empty air, stumbled, and almost fell. Meanwhile, Namikaze Minato's figure had already appeared behind Hyuga Ritsu.

The tri-pronged kunai was pressed against Hyuga Ritsu's back.

"Stop it, Ritsu-kun."

Minato said softly.

Hyuga Ritsu completely ignored Namikaze Minato pressing against his back. He resolutely swung his palms towards the father and son in front of him. Cornered, Hyuga Hisho and Hyuga Daisho could only swing their palms to meet the attack.

"Clang!"

Without any hesitation, Namikaze Minato thrust the kunai towards Hyuga Ritsu's back.

But the problem was, it didn't pierce through. A suddenly protruding section of bone-white ribs repelled the kunai.

At the same time, Hyuga Hisho and Hyuga Daisho let out a scream. Blood-soaked holes appeared in the palms of their hands where they had clashed with Hyuga Ritsu.

As the saying goes, strike while the iron is hot.

Taking advantage of the father and son's injured and disoriented state, Hyuga Ritsu closed in, his attack stance clearly that of Gentle Fist - Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.

This was the core of the Gentle Fist.

Techniques like Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, Eight Trigrams Palm - Revolving Heaven, Gentle Fist - Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist, and so on, all had Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms as their foundation. Furthermore, this was actually a secret technique of the Main House; the Branch House inherited Gentle Fist - Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.

However, Hyuga Ritsu, relying on his superpower of "Body Regeneration," was unafraid of damage to his internal chakra pathways and had figured out Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms on his own.

At this moment, he didn't need to unleash all sixty-four palms to deal with these two watered-down Jonin from the Main House. To be precise, Hyuga Ritsu only used four palms. The first two palms created two more bloody holes in the hands of the two men, and the last two palms directly struck their chests. The sharp bones protruding from his palms pierced directly through their hearts, ending their lives.

Shikotsumyaku and Gentle Fist feel quite compatible!

At the same moment, Namikaze Minato held a swirling azure orb, formed from highly dense chakra, in his right palm and decisively smashed it towards Hyuga Ritsu's back. But in an instant, three white bones tore through his back clothing and collided with the descending "orb."

"Boom--!"

The bones shattered into pieces, and Hyuga Ritsu's back became a bloody mess.

He was sent flying forward four or five meters.

Then, He steadied himself, stood up as if nothing had happened, and turned around to face Namikaze Minato.

Namikaze Minato's brow furrowed slightly. He remained standing in place, making no further moves. Hyuga Hisho and Hyuga Daisho, the father and son, were dead. The mission had failed, and there was no reason to continue.

"Clan Head!"

"Clan Head, are you alright?"

Hyuga Takuma and Hyuga Arima rushed over in a panic. The other Jonin followed closely, surrounding Hyuga Ritsu. Looking at Hyuga Ritsu's mangled back, Hyuga Arima angrily yelled, "Hokage-sama, what is the village trying to do? Are you trying to help these beasts of the Main House continue to enslave us Branch House members? You people..."

"Arima, shut up!"

Hyuga Ritsu stopped Hyuga Arima's outburst.

As if he couldn't feel the pain in his back, he pushed away the Jonin surrounding him and walked step by step towards Sarutobi Hiruzen. He said respectfully, "Hokage-sama, Arima is young and has a hot temper; his words are reckless. I beg for your magnanimity and ask that you spare him this once!"

"Hyuga Ritsu, what exactly do you want to do? You're slaughtering your own clansmen in front of us with impunity. Do you think we can't do anything to you?" Shimura Danzō, acting as Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouthpiece, angrily demanded.

"Hokage Assistant Shimura, this is an internal matter of our Hyuga Clan."

Hyuga Ritsu straightened his back, fearlessly meeting Shimura Danzō's murderous gaze, and stated firmly, "Please don't forget the rules set by Lord First Hokage. The village will not interfere in the internal affairs of any clan."

"But that's under the premise that it doesn't affect the safety of the village."

Shimura Danzō retorted, "Do you think the internal strife of your Hyuga Clan is just your own business? Your perspective is truly narrow and shallow. Your infighting has already affected the village."

"Affected what?"

"What losses has the village suffered?"

"Please explain. If it is truly the fault of my Hyuga Clan, then I, as the Clan Head, am naturally without excuse. I will bear the responsibility."

Hyuga Ritsu did not back down an inch, confronting him.

Shimura Danzo was furious. How long had it been since someone dared to speak to him like this? Even that Sarutobi fellow wouldn't retort to him like this. Killing intent surged within him, and he sneered, "You want to know how much the village has lost? Then I'll tell you..."

"Danzō, that's enough!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke up then.

"Sarutobi?"

"I said, that's enough."

"Can't you see? This brat is a menace. For the future of the village, he must be eliminated early!"

Shimura Danzo said sternly.

"Enough, Danzō. I am the Hokage!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen also grew angry, shouting loudly.

"You will regret this, Sarutobi!"

Shimura Danzo left with such a curse, flicking his sleeve and storming off. Many Hyuga Clan members around him glared at him, looking as if they were ready to risk their lives to kill the old man Shimura Danzo who dared to clamor about eliminating the Clan Head!

"Everyone, clear the way. Don't block the path of Hokage Shimura's assistant!"

Hyuga Ritsu said coldly.

The clan members silently cleared a path, watching Shimura Danzo's figure disappear from view.