Even If Only a Trace

Hyuga Hiashi instinctively activated his Byakugan.

In his vision, the chakra reaction within Hyuga Qinglan was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, having already plummeted to rock bottom.

"Qinglan?! What happened to you!"

Hyuga Hiashi lunged forward, grabbing the boy's shoulders, his heart churning with turmoil.

He never expected that Qinglan's condition would be this dire.

He had assumed that the boy was able to return from Konoha Hospital so quickly because of his youth and strong recovery, but now it seemed...

This child had been hanging on by a thread, forcing himself to return!

"Cough, cough..."

Hyuga Qinglan's voice was hoarse and weak, tinged with shock: "Hiashi-sama...? Why, why did you come yourself..."

"Don't speak for now!!"

Hyuga Hiashi's mood at this moment was incredibly complex.

All the probing and questioning he had prepared along the way seemed so base and ridiculous in the face of this pool of blood.

"Since you were so severely injured, why did you insist on forcing yourself to leave the hospital? Do you not want your life anymore!"

His tone even carried a hint of anxiety and reproach that he hadn't even noticed himself.

At this moment, several Branch Family guards waiting in the distance heard the commotion and rushed in, terrified.

"Cough, cough... Clan Head, I just thought... there were still many details about last night that I hadn't reported to you... that attacker..."

Hyuga Qinglan spoke intermittently, his tone filled with sincerity.

Hyuga Hiashi's heart trembled violently, and endless guilt washed over him like a tidal wave.

After walking the edge of life and death, the first thing he did upon waking was to disregard his broken body to return to the clan and report the enemy situation to him, the Clan Head.

What immense loyalty!

"No need to say more, say nothing more!"

Hyuga Hiashi pressed his hand onto Qinglan's, his voice low: "I have already learned about last night from the other guards. Qinglan, you did well... what you have done for the clan is already more than enough."

He turned his head abruptly and barked at the stunned Branch Family guards: "What are you standing there for! Take him back to the hospital! Get the best medical ninja in the village! Move!"

"Yes! Clan Head!"

The guards snapped out of their daze, scrambling to hoist the semi-conscious Hyuga Qinglan onto their backs and sprinting toward Konoha Hospital.

The noisy courtyard returned to a deathly silence.

Hyuga Hiashi stood alone in the empty room, staring at his blood-stained hands, remaining silent for a long time.

At this moment, the interests of the Main Branch, the threat of Danzo, and the appearance of Qing seemed to have become distant.

"Qinglan..."

He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, his voice sounding incredibly lonely in the evening breeze.

"It is I... who have failed you."

Hokage Office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen held a pipe that had long since gone out, the battle reports on his desk piling up like a mountain, each one reeking of gunpowder and death.

"The front lines are retreating steadily... is Cloud Village stirring again?"

His gaze lingered on the urgent report sent by Jiraiya, his mood sinking to the bottom.

The situation on the Iwagakure front was extremely bizarre.

Despite Konoha pouring in massive amounts of supplies, they had not only failed to stabilize the defensive line but were instead being pushed into a corner.

The frequency of intelligence leaks was alarmingly high; every time a mission squad set out, it seemed to fall right into the pockets of the Iwa Ninja.

If not for Namikaze Minato repeatedly turning the tide on the front lines with his Flying Thunder God, Konoha's logistics troops would have likely been wiped out long ago.

"Intelligence being stolen... is there a spy on the front lines, or..."

He did not finish his sentence.

The second half of that thought was too heavy, so heavy that even he, the Hokage, was unwilling to voice it easily.

If the source of the intelligence leak was not on the front lines, but within Konoha...

That meant there was a traitor among those he trusted.

Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his brow wearily and looked toward the direction of Sunagakure on the map.

Sunagakure had remained motionless so far, and this abnormal stillness made him more uneasy than an open declaration of war.

If Sunagakure were to join forces with Iwagakure to launch a surprise attack now, tearing through Konoha's defenses from the west...

Then Konoha would face the greatest crisis of annihilation since the village was founded.

"Teacher..."

Orochimaru, who had been standing silently in the shadows nearby, spoke softly.

He stepped forward, his slender fingers tracing the battle report before he extended his long, thin tongue to lick his lips with a hint of excitement.

"Although that old man Ōnoki managed to get his hands on frontline intelligence from somewhere, causing that fool Jiraiya quite a bit of trouble."

"However, the Land of Earth ultimately lacks the foundation; compared to the Land of Fire, they cannot afford to drag this out."

Orochimaru sneered in a low voice, "Even if they organized some mercenaries and ninjas from smaller nations to join forces with their own local ninjas in an attempt to strike at the village in one fell swoop... it is all in vain."

"After all, the ninjas left behind to guard the village are not to be trifled with..."

"The Feudal Lord has already pledged full support, and Konoha will eventually be victorious, but..."

He paused here, his gaze sweeping over the aged face of Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"But it will take time, and it will require a price."

"And that price will ultimately be paid by the village's young ninjas."

"I believe you, Teacher, are very eager to preserve the village's combat strength as soon as possible, aren't you?"

"After all, that 'Ao' who popped out of nowhere is, in the end, a hidden danger."

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not speak; the swirling smoke obscured his expression as he waited for Orochimaru to offer his solution.

"Since Salamander Hanzo has already agreed to an alliance, we might as well invite another ally."

"Cloud Village is consumed by greed and cannot be relied upon, and Kirigakure is too busy with its own affairs... only Sunagakure, which suddenly went silent after inciting the war, is best suited to be the turning point."

Orochimaru stared fixedly at Sarutobi Hiruzen: "As long as you, Teacher, personally oversee the front lines and use the reputation of the 'Professor of Ninjutsu' to suppress the edge of Ōnoki. As for the rest..."

"Leave it to me, your student, to share your burden."

A trace of longing lurked in Orochimaru's eyes.

He knew, of course, that in his teacher's heart, the sun-bright Namikaze Minato was the best candidate for Fourth Hokage.

But he still wanted to try.

He wanted to see if, in his teacher's heart, for the student who had accompanied him for decades...

How much personal bias and warmth still remained.

Even if it were only a sliver.

"..."

The air remained frozen for a long time.

It lasted so long that the clouds outside the window obscured the moon, and the light in the office grew even dimmer.

Sarutobi Hiruzen continued to stare at the map, as if calculating the gains and losses of every defensive line, without once looking up at Orochimaru.

"Then you may go."

Sarutobi Hiruzen finally spoke, his tone calm and without a ripple of emotion.

"First, make contact with the border guards of Sunagakure and sound them out. If the Kazekage is interested in peace talks, then we can consider the next step."

He was entirely focused on how to deploy Namikaze Minato for reinforcements.

He did not notice at all that the last glimmer of expectation in the depths of Orochimaru's eyes.

Was extinguishing bit by bit along with those words.

"I understand... Teacher."