The Clan of Endurance

"I didn't expect you to master the Flying Thunder God so quickly."

Minato, having finished his battle first, walked over.

Biwa Juzo, after all, had not managed to survive this mission as he originally had.

Minato approached and looked at the Flying Thunder God mark on the corpse of Suikazan Fuguki, praising him:

"That was the Eight Inner Gates Formation just now, right? I heard from Kakashi that you and Guy were training under Dai, but I didn't expect you to be able to open the sixth gate."

"And to be able to combine the Flying Thunder God with taijutsu in such a short time... I'm afraid even I would find someone like you difficult to deal with."

"Lord Hokage, while I can feel that your praise is sincere, I don't consider myself your match."

Glancing at the distant corpse of Biwa Juzo, Hane shook his head.

He hadn't focused his full attention on Suikazan Fuguki just now; instead, he had deliberately kept a sliver of awareness on Minato's battlefield.

Facing Minato alone, even with the restrictions of the Hidden Mist Technique, Biwa Juzo hadn't lasted a minute.

Once Minato activated Sage Mode and his sensory abilities were enhanced, he had been killed in an instant.

Shifting his gaze to the eyeshadow gradually fading from around Minato's eyes, Hyuga Hane inwardly scoffed.

He remembered someone saying during the Fourth Great Ninja War that they weren't good at sage arts.

Yet, from the moment he entered the battlefield, he had detected natural energy within Minato's body merging with his chakra to transform into Sage Chakra.

With his rich combat experience, Minato had been prepared to deal with the Hidden Mist Technique the moment he stepped onto the field.

Hyuga Hane was certain that if he hadn't come, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen wouldn't have lasted long regardless.

As it stood, only Biwa Juzo had the privilege of experiencing the power of sage arts.

As for Minato's praise...

If they were to fight without using their respective trump cards, they would likely just be flying back and forth with the Flying Thunder God, and neither would win...

Minato himself was just being modest, with a hint of surprise at the power of the Eight Inner Gates; he didn't truly believe that the current Hane could surpass him.

The boy had such potential, but he was only fifteen, not yet at the peak of his ninja career.

As for Hyuga Hane hiding the Eight Inner Gates previously, he didn't want to get to the bottom of it.

There were many ninjas in Konoha who kept their true strength hidden; even a genin like Dai could make Minato feel a hint of pressure, so was he supposed to punish them for it?

It was only natural for a ninja to hide their trump cards, and the Hyuga Clan was known to reject taijutsu outside of the Gentle Fist; perhaps Hane hadn't used it before out of concern for the Main Branch.

That he could show it to him now was a sign of trust, and digging too deep into everything would only damage their relationship.

Just as they were talking, the effects of the Hidden Mist Technique dissipated.

Picking up Samehada from the ground, Hyuga Hane asked:

"Lord Hokage, how should these ninja swords be handled?"

"The ninja swords..."

His gaze swept around; without the thick fog covering the area, Minato's vision cleared, and he quickly noticed a severed arm and the Lightning Blade.

"Where is Raiga Kurosuki?"

"I severed one of his arms and carved a Flying Thunder God mark onto him; I can..."

He stopped mid-sentence.

Hyuga Hane frowned slightly, as if sensing something.

Seeing this, Minato felt a bit strange.

"What happened?"

Hyuga Hane's expression was grave. "I sense the location of the Flying Thunder God mark inside the village."

Minato was stunned, his pupils constricting.

Root base.

In the dim room, only a faint fire provided a source of light.

Aburame Tatsuma, the deputy leader of Root, confirmed the identity of the corpse on the ground and turned to Danzo, who sat at the head of the room. "Lord Danzo, this is Raiga Kurosuki of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

Danzo nodded slightly and looked at the Hyuga ninja kneeling beside the corpse, saying indifferently:

"Get up."

Hyuga Tokuma stood up nervously, keeping his head down, not daring to look at him.

"You did not do well. I am the leader of Root, the darkness of Konoha. As a member of Konoha, you should have supported the Hokage instead of coming to me. However..."

Danzo's tone shifted.

"I admire the abilities of the Hyuga Clan; your Byakugan has irreplaceable advantages in various situations."

"Root is also lacking ninjas from the Hyuga Clan. I can consider your proposal to take the Hyuga Branch Family into my service, but not now."

Having said this, Danzo turned and walked into the darkness.

"Do not come back for the time being. Take that corpse as your trophy and hand it over to the Hokage."

"Understood!" Hyuga Tokuma replied, bowing his head.

"Tatsuma, brand him with the Root Seal."

"Understood."

Aburame Tatsuma looked at Hyuga Tokuma and said coldly, "Follow me. The Root Seal is derived from the Caged Bird; it will not reveal any flaws to the Hyuga Clan."

"Hyuga Tokuma..."

In the Hokage's office, Namikaze Minato reviewed Hyuga Tokuma's file repeatedly before confirming with Hyuga Hane, "He is a guard for the Main Branch, isn't he? Why would he appear on the patrol roster?"

"To be precise, he is a future guard. He is being specially trained by the Main Branch to serve the next generation."

Taking the file from Minato's hand, Hyuga Hane explained, "He was a year ahead of me at the Ninja Academy. My impression of him was that of a calm and mature senior. The Main Branch has placed high hopes in him."

"Is that so?" Minato frowned.

The matter they were currently discussing concerned Raiga Kurosuki.

When Hyuga Hane sensed that the Flying Thunder God mark on Raiga Kurosuki was inside the village, Minato's first reaction was that a spy had assisted him.

However, after following the clues Raiga Kurosuki hadn't had time to clean up alongside Hyuga Hane, Hyuga Hane gave him an unbelievable answer.

It was a Hyuga ninja who had taken Raiga Kurosuki away.

This was the conclusion drawn from the combat traces left at the final clue.

That was why Minato had returned to his office to check the patrol roster for the day.

As for the two advisors, he had already arranged for them to be elsewhere under the pretext of dealing with the Seven Ninja Swords and the corpses of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.

"Is there a custom for the Branch Family to report to the Main Branch before reporting to the Hokage?" Minato thought for a moment before asking the question he had always avoided.

"There is..."

He paused, then Hyuga Hane explained:

"This is part of the autonomy rights of the ninja clans."

"Lord Hokage, as you do not come from a ninja clan, you might not be aware. After the First Hokage established that the Hokage has no right to interfere in the internal affairs of ninja clans, the Second Hokage delineated the rights of these clans regarding this matter."

"Regarding important, time-sensitive intelligence and individuals involving other nations, ninja clans have no right to handle them on their own and must report to the Hokage immediately. This is a basic obligation for any clan wishing to remain in Konoha. Otherwise, the Hokage may prosecute them."

"However, for matters involving only personal merit that lack urgency, they may be discussed within the clan before being reported to the Hokage. But..."

Hyuga Hane said in a deep voice, "That is during peacetime! In times of war, every clan must not drag their feet regarding any matter related to the war; all intelligence must be reported immediately!"

"If this was truly the work of the Hyuga Clan, you can confront them directly, and the other clans will have absolutely no complaints!"