"I didn't expect you to master the Flying Thunder God so quickly."
Minato, who had finished his fight first, walked over.
Biwa Juzo had ultimately failed to survive this mission as he had in the original timeline.
Minato approached and looked at the Flying Thunder God Mark on Suikazan Fuguki's corpse. "That was the Eight Gates Released Formation, wasn't it? I heard from Kakashi that you and Guy trained under Dai, but I didn't expect you to open the sixth gate."
"And you managed to combine the Flying Thunder God with Taijutsu in such a short time... I'm afraid even I would have a hard time dealing with you."
"Lord Hokage, I can tell you're praising me sincerely, but I don't think I'm your match."
Hane glanced at Biwa Juzo's corpse in the distance and shook his head.
He hadn't focused all his attention on Suikazan Fuguki just now. He had deliberately kept some of it on Minato's battlefield.
Even with the restrictions imposed by the Hidden Mist Technique, Biwa Juzo hadn't lasted a minute against Minato alone.
Once Minato entered Sage Mode and his sensory abilities improved, he had been killed instantly.
Hane looked at the shadow around Minato's eyes as it gradually faded and silently grumbled to himself.
He remembered someone saying during the Fourth Shinobi World War that he wasn't good at Senjutsu.
But from the moment Hane entered the battlefield, he had noticed Natural Energy in Minato's body merging with his Chakra and transforming into Senjutsu Chakra.
With his extensive combat experience, Minato had prepared to counter the Hidden Mist Technique as soon as he entered the battlefield.
Hane was certain that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen wouldn't have lasted long even if he hadn't come.
As things stood, only Biwa Juzo had experienced the might of Senjutsu.
As for Minato's praise...
If they fought without using their trump cards, they would probably just keep teleporting around with the Flying Thunder God, and neither would be able to win...
Minato was only being modest, and he was also a little surprised by the power of the Eight Inner Gates. He didn't truly believe that Hane could surpass him right now.
Hane had that potential, but at fifteen, he hadn't yet reached the peak of his career as a shinobi.
As for Hane having kept the Eight Inner Gates hidden until now, Minato didn't want to pry.
There were plenty of shinobi in Konoha who hid their true abilities. Even a Genin like Dai could make Minato feel a hint of pressure. Was he supposed to punish them for it?
Shinobi keeping their trump cards hidden was only natural. The Hyuga Clan also rejected Taijutsu other than the Gentle Fist, so perhaps Hane had avoided using it before because he was wary of the Main Branch.
The fact that he could show it to Minato now meant he trusted him. Digging into everything would only damage their relationship.
While they were talking, the effect of the Hidden Mist Technique had already faded.
Hane picked Samehada up off the ground and asked, "Lord Hokage, what should we do with these Ninja Blades?"
"The Ninja Blades..."
Minato looked around. Without the thick fog, his field of vision had opened up again, and he soon spotted a severed arm and the Lightning Blade.
"What happened to Raiga Kurosuki?"
"I cut off one of his arms and left a Flying Thunder God Mark on him. I can track him anytime—"
He stopped halfway through his sentence.
Hane furrowed his brow slightly, as though sensing something.
Minato looked at him, puzzled. "What happened?"
Hane's expression grew grave. "I sensed that the Flying Thunder God Mark is inside the village."
Minato froze, his pupils contracting.
Root Base.
In the dim room, only a faint fire provided light.
Root's deputy leader, Aburame Tatsuma, confirmed the identity of the corpse on the ground, then turned to Danzo, who sat at the head of the room. "Lord Danzo, this is Raiga Kurosuki, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Danzo gave a slight nod, then looked at the Hyuga shinobi kneeling beside the corpse and said coolly, "You may rise."
Hyuga Tokuma stood up tensely, his head lowered as he dared not look at Danzo.
"You did a poor job. I'm the leader of Root, the shadow of Konoha. As a member of Konoha, you should have supported the Hokage, not come to me. However..."
Danzo changed tack.
"I admire the abilities of the Hyuga Clan. Your Byakugan has irreplaceable advantages in all kinds of situations."
"Root is also sorely lacking in Hyuga shinobi. I can consider your proposal and bring the Hyuga Branch Family under my control, but not right now."
With that, Danzo turned and walked into the darkness.
"Don't come back for now. Take that corpse as your spoils and hand it over to the Hokage."
"Yes!" Hyuga Tokuma bowed his head in acknowledgment.
"Tatsuma, place a Root Seal on him."
"Understood."
Aburame Tatsuma looked at Hyuga Tokuma and said coolly, "Come with me. The Root Seal was derived from the Caged Bird. It won't leave any sign that could expose you to the Hyuga Clan."
"Hyuga Tokuma..."
In the Hokage's office, Namikaze Minato looked over Hyuga Tokuma's file repeatedly, then asked Hane to confirm, "He's a guard for the Main Branch, isn't he? Why was he on the patrol roster?"
"To be precise, he's a future guard. The Main Branch specifically trained him as a personal guard for the next generation."
Hane took the file from Minato and explained, "He was a year ahead of me at the Ninja Academy. I remember him as a calm, mature senior. The Main Branch had high hopes for him."
"Is that so?" Minato frowned.
They were discussing Raiga Kurosuki.
After Hane sensed that the Flying Thunder God Mark on Raiga Kurosuki was inside the village, Minato's first thought was that a spy had helped him.
But after following the trail with Hane, looking for clues Raiga Kurosuki hadn't had time to erase, Hane gave him an answer that was hard to believe.
A Hyuga shinobi had taken Raiga Kurosuki away.
That conclusion was based on the traces of a struggle left at the final site.
That was why Minato had returned to his office to check the list of shinobi assigned to patrol that day.
As for the two advisors, he had temporarily sent them elsewhere under the pretext of dealing with the Ninja Blades and the corpses of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
"Is it customary for the Branch Family to report to the Main Branch before reporting to the Hokage?" Minato thought for a moment, then finally asked the question he had always avoided.
"Yes..."
Hane paused, then explained:
"That's part of a shinobi clan's right to govern its own affairs."
"Since you didn't come from a shinobi clan, Lord Hokage, you may not know this. After the First established that the Hokage had no right to interfere in a clan's internal affairs, the Second Hokage later defined the clans' authority in this matter."
"When it comes to important, time-sensitive information or people involving other countries, clans have no right to handle it on their own. They must report it to the Hokage immediately. That's a basic obligation for any clan that wants to remain in Konoha. Otherwise, the Hokage can punish them."
"Matters that concern only individuals, or have no pressing urgency, can be discussed within the clan before being reported to the Hokage. However..."
Hane's voice turned grave. "That's in peacetime! During a war, no clan can drag its feet on anything related to the war. All intelligence must be reported immediately!"
"If the Hyuga Clan really did this, you can confront them directly. The other clans won't complain!"
Before you continue