The Family Above the Village

Konoha was a ninja village founded on the foundations of the Senju and Uchiha clans.

Later, numerous other clans such as the Sarutobi, Shimura, Hyuga, Ino-Shika-Cho, and Aburame joined one after another, gradually forming the scale it has today.

From the First Hokage to the reign of the Third Hokage, Konoha continued to grow in strength.

By the time Naruto graduated, the number of registered ninjas in the village had reached over 12,607.

This did not even include those who had already died in battle or retired.

In fact, the major clans had always maintained the tradition of not sending all their members to the Ninja Academy, choosing instead to train a portion of their ninjas internally.

This practice had existed since the village was founded, and even when Senju Tobirama set an example by dissolving the Senju clan, he could not completely change this trend.

Every major clan secretly cultivated forces directly under their control, and these powers were usually only deployed in the most critical moments.

Of course, the Shimura clan had them too.

However, basically anyone who met the strength requirements was absorbed into Root by Danzō.

And now...

The Hyuga Clan had actually sent out their hidden family ninjas?

Shimura Danzō's brows furrowed tighter and tighter.

Some time ago, the Hyuga Clan held a festival, lost a Byakugan, and Sarutobi Hiruzen even pinned the blame on him; given the current situation, he had managed to endure it.

He had let it slide.

But now, what were they plotting in the shadows again?

Was the current situation not chaotic enough for them?

"How is their strength?"

"Reporting to Lord Danzō, it is a four-man squad. Based on observation, there are two jonin and two chunin among them."

Two jonin?!

Danzō's single eye, which was always kept closed, suddenly snapped open. A flash of shock crossed his gaze, immediately followed by intense suspicion and anger.

One had to realize that a single jonin was enough to hold an important position in the village, and in small ninja villages, they could even serve as the leader.

And jonin like Orochimaru or Namikaze Minato were capable of swaying the outcome of an entire war.

With the front lines currently embroiled in fierce combat, it was one thing for the Hyuga Clan not to send their family ninjas to the battlefield, but to secretly dispatch jonin to the Iwagakure war zone?

What exactly were they intending to do?

Could it be... that they were preparing to defect?!

"Does Hiruzen know about this?"

"The Hokage is unaware."

Terai replied quickly with an expressionless face: "If it weren't for the secret lines Lord Danzō had laid out in the village beforehand, I fear no one would have noticed this action by the Hyuga Clan."

"No one would have noticed, huh..."

Danzō repeated these words in a low voice, clouds of suspicion churning in his heart.

Could it be that because the Byakugan was lost and the culprit was never caught, the Hyuga Clan had become dissatisfied with the village?

No...

A terrifying speculation formed in Danzō's mind.

The Hyuga Clan would not be that foolish.

Unless...

Unless they were convinced that the village would surely lose this war...

Only then would they lay out an escape route in advance, sending family jonin to secretly contact Ōnoki with the intention of defecting.

"A clan that places itself above the village..."

Danzō slowly spat out these words, his tone cold and bone-chilling.

This was only intelligence that his Root had intercepted by chance.

If the Hyuga Clan was doing this, then what about the other clans?

Did they harbor similar thoughts as well?

"Closely monitor all the major clans in the village. Do not let a single unusual movement slip by."

"Especially the Hyuga Clan!"

"Yes!"

Terai bowed to accept the order, then his figure flashed and vanished from the office.

Danzō slowly stood up and walked to the window.

The streets were much more desolate than usual. His gaze swept over the sparse pedestrians and landed on the children playing "ninja games" in the distant clearing, his expression drifting for a brief moment.

Once upon a time, he and Sarutobi Hiruzen had also run and played just like that, rivals and companions alike...

"Hiruzen, you are the Konoha bathed in sunlight, while I am the Root buried deep in the darkness..."

"If anyone attempts to subvert the village..."

"Then let them try."

Just as his thoughts surged, a steady knocking sound came from outside the door.

Knock, knock...

"Enter."

"Lord Hokage, the Qinglan squad has returned from our mission to report."

"This is..."

Hyuga Qinglan pushed the door open and instinctively bowed to report to the figure standing with his back to the door, but he froze the moment the person turned around.

"What? Are you surprised to see me?"

Shimura Danzō turned around, his tone indifferent.

Yet, Hyuga Qinglan still caught a faint, lingering trace of hostility in it.

What was going on?

"No, Lord Danzō."

Hyuga Qinglan was puzzled, but he did not let it show on his face. He gently placed the two people he was carrying on the floor and bowed.

"These are the Cloud Village ninjas my squad captured while escorting the Son of the Daimyo. The specific details have already been reported to the Hokage in advance."

"Is that so?"

Shimura Danzō glanced toward the shadows of the office, and the shadows shifted ever so slightly.

He slowly sat back in the Hokage's office chair, his gaze fixed on Hyuga Qinglan: "Then report the detailed process once more."

Seeing Hyuga Qinglan's hesitant expression, Shimura Danzō added: "I am the acting Hokage now; there is no need to hesitate."

"Yes... the situation is as follows..."

Hyuga Qinglan replied in a low voice, fluently recounting the mission from beginning to end while his mind raced to analyze the situation.

Danzō seems to have developed hostility toward me...

To be precise, is that hostility aimed at the Hyuga Clan?

What could be the reason for this?

If it were Hyuga Hiashi harboring hostility toward Shimura Danzō due to the death of Hyuga Tianyun, that would be understandable.

After all, Hyuga Tianyun was killed by Orochimaru using Wind Style: Vacuum Wave, and that jutsu was Shimura Danzō's signature technique.

Although it was unclear if Orochimaru had done it intentionally, in terms of the result, Hyuga Hiashi likely assumed that Shimura Danzō was the one behind it.

But for Shimura Danzō to turn around and be hostile toward the Hyuga Clan was baffling.

Could it be that while Hyuga Hiashi dared not strike at Shimura Danzō openly, he had taken some action in secret, thus provoking Shimura Danzō's current attitude?

Hyuga Qinglan observed Shimura Danzō's expression calmly while keeping an eye on the presence in the shadows with his peripheral vision.

If that were truly the case, it would make sense.

However, this was also fine; with both sides keeping each other in check, it would be easier for him to fish in troubled waters.

"That is how it happened, Lord Danzō."

After finishing his report, Hyuga Qinglan stood quietly and waited.

"Not bad..."

Shimura Danzō looked Hyuga Qinglan up and down for a moment, took the mission scroll he handed over, stamped it, and put it away.

"You've worked hard on this mission. Go back and rest."

"Yes!"

Hyuga Qinglan glanced at the unconscious Shaziyi and the stiff-faced Dekai on the floor, bowed, and turned to leave.

"Ryoma, what do you think?"

Not until Hyuga Qinglan's figure had completely disappeared did Shimura Danzō speak slowly: "Was he lying in his account?"

"Lord Danzō, my bugs tell me that Hyuga Qinglan's emotions were very stable. He was only surprised for a brief moment at the start, and there were no other fluctuations."

"It does not seem like he was lying."

Aburame Ryoma emerged quietly from the shadows and answered calmly.

"Is that so..."

Shimura Danzō tapped his fingers on the desk, recalling every detail of Qinglan's report.

To be able to lead a squad to encounter a Cloud Village team and successfully capture two of them, Hyuga Qinglan clearly possessed impressive strength and decisiveness as a captain.

He had the strength, and he was from the Branch Family... it was just a question of whether he had been persecuted by the Main Branch of the Hyuga Clan.

If that is the case... perhaps he could become a pawn to monitor the internal affairs of the Hyuga Clan.

"Escort these two Cloud Village captives to the Torture and Interrogation Force, and make sure to extract every piece of intelligence."

"Additionally, pull all the files on Hyuga Qinglan and bring them to me."

"Yes."

Aburame Ryoma bowed to accept the order, his figure once again fading into the shadows.

Danzo sat alone in his chair, his gaze deep as he looked out the window toward the direction of the Hyuga Clan compound.

He remained motionless for a long time.