Crushing and Conspiracy

Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation!

Hyuga Hoshishaku unleashed Rotation to block the surging flames.

As the firelight faded, he abruptly ceased his movement and accelerated toward Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Since you've resorted to lethal moves, I won't hold back either!

With this thought, and amidst the shock on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face, he activated the strongest taijutsu he had mastered thus far.

Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!

In less than a single breath.

The first strike Hyuga Hoshishaku landed on Sarutobi Hiruzen severed the chakra circulation within his body.

This rendered him unable to use any escape ninjutsu.

"Two palms!"

Another lightning-fast strike landed directly on his chest, throwing his blood flow into chaos and preventing him from effectively using taijutsu to block the subsequent attacks.

"Four palms!"

"Eight palms!"

"Sixteen palms!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen was like a living target, beaten back repeatedly by Hoshishaku, who stood only half his height and left him with no room to counterattack.

Hoshishaku, on the other hand, struck with increasing ferocity, his arms lashing out like lightning toward his opponent.

"Thirty-two palms!"

Hyuga Hoshishaku's palms were now moving so fast that they left no afterimages.

"Sixty-four palms!"

Just as he shouted this and the final palm was about to strike Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Suddenly, a figure appeared out of thin air beside Sarutobi Hiruzen and reached out to grab Hoshishaku's incoming palm!

"Teacher!"

A cry of surprise rang out.

Everyone else snapped back to reality as if waking from a dream.

Hyuga Hoshishaku looked at the newcomer with vigilance.

The man had short white hair, red markings on his face, and wore Warring States period armor; he appeared to be in his twenties or thirties.

And he was being addressed as "Teacher" by the Konoha F4.

There was no need to guess; the person who had arrived was Senju Tobirama!

Even so, Hoshishaku cast a System Inspection on him.

[Name: Senju Tobirama]
[Vitality: 300]
[Mental Energy: 200]
[Chakra: 155,000]
[Jutsu: Flying Thunder God series, Water Release series, Sealing Technique series, Super Strength series...]
[Special Abilities: Five-element chakra mastery, Yin Release mastery, Yang Release mastery.]

After reading the panel, Hoshishaku's mouth twitched instinctively.

A chakra volume as high as 150,000, an uncountable number of ninjutsu, and terrifying mastery over all chakra elements.

At this moment, the man spoke.

"If that palm had landed true, I fear my student's meridians would have been shattered, and he would never be able to serve as a ninja again."

Senju Tobirama released Hoshishaku's wrist, grabbed the unconscious Sarutobi Hiruzen, and explained earnestly.

He then looked at the other students gathering around and said in a deep voice, "Take Sarutobi to the hospital."

"Yes!"

The three of them grabbed Sarutobi Hiruzen with practiced coordination and ran toward the hospital.

The scene cooled down immediately.

Senju Tobirama began to size up Hyuga Hoshishaku.

The older Hyuga Yunfei clearly recognized the man's identity.

He quickly moved in front of Hoshishaku, blocking the man's scrutinizing gaze.

Hoshishaku helplessly grabbed his cousin's shoulder and gently pushed him aside.

Then, locking eyes with Senju Tobirama, he said with a hint of wariness, "It was that brat Sarutobi Hiruzen who started it."

Senju Tobirama let out an intrigued "Oh."

He then asked, "How did he cause trouble?"

Xingzhuo thought for a moment, feeling it was somewhat difficult to answer.

He couldn't exactly say that the boy had deliberately provoked the others just to complete a duel mission, could he?

Besides, there was no guarantee that this guy in front of him hadn't been here the whole time.

Watching the truth unfold with his own eyes.

But in this situation, it seemed he could use the opportunity to his advantage?

So, neither humble nor arrogant, he replied, "Who told him to be a busybody?"

Senju Tobirama narrowed his eyes, his tone turning heavy: "Is protecting the villagers of Konoha considered being a busybody?"

Xingzhuo scoffed: "It was just a squabble between children, and it should have been left for the children to resolve themselves."

"It wasn't a big deal to begin with, but he had to insist on interfering. This forces me to suspect whether someone is using dirty tactics behind the scenes, deliberately spreading propaganda among the villagers that the Byakugan is a monster, further vilifying our Hyuga Clan, and using this incident to slander the next heir of the Hyuga Clan."

Senju Tobirama was taken aback upon hearing this, seemingly not expecting the matter to develop in this direction.

In truth, Xingzhuo wasn't just making this up out of thin air.

It was because, in the original story, Hyuga Hinata had indeed experienced similar treatment.

He couldn't be bothered to think about why Hinata, a member of the Main House, had no Branch House guards by her side.

Or why she was bullied by village children and called a Byakugan monster.

But if such things had appeared at the very beginning of the village's founding and persisted for decades, then he had to think deeply about it.

These thoughts flashed by quickly, and Xingzhuo continued:

"And as their teacher, not only did you not think to resolve the dispute, but you stood here and tried to seize the moral high ground, pinning the label of harming villagers on me. Tsk, could it be that the Senju cannot tolerate us Hyuga?"

With this label pinned on him, Senju Tobirama's expression immediately turned ugly.

It wasn't ugly because he had been talked back to by a brat, but because he truly felt that what the other party said made sense.

There might really be something fishy going on here.

"I will investigate this matter. If someone is truly pulling strings behind the scenes, I will bring the truth to Clan Leader Hyuga Tianren."

Having said that, he vanished from the spot in an instant.

Is that the Flying Thunder God? Xingzhuo thought, turning around to see Yun Fei standing there, dumbfounded.

He reached out and tugged at the other's clothes.

"Let's go, why are you still standing there?"

As he spoke, he retrieved his coat, put it on, and walked forward on his own.

Yun Fei snapped out of it and hurriedly followed.

"Young Master, is there really someone planning to harm our Hyuga Clan?"

Xingzhuo rubbed his chin and replied: "The probability is not low."

"Ah?"

"Ah what? The ninja world is so vast, filled with all sorts of strange ocular techniques, secret arts, and unique appearances. Why would those children call the Byakugan a monster the moment they see it? Not to mention that during the Warring States period, we Hyuga were nobles of the Land of Fire; those children must have been instigated by someone behind the scenes to say such things."

Yun Fei nodded in agreement, frowning: "That's true. Even in Konoha, there is the Yūhi Clan with their red pupils, the Uchiha Clan with their Sharingan—oh, and Lord Senju Tobirama from just now also has red eyes. I also know some ninjas with yellow or green eyes. Looking at it this way, there really are many people with all kinds of appearances in Konoha."

Xingzhuo clapped his hands and said: "Exactly, so there must be some conspiracy. For example, someone doesn't want to see a Hyuga become the next Hokage, or they are deliberately suppressing and persecuting the Hyuga Clan."

As he spoke, he glanced at the building beside him with his still-active Byakugan.

Yun Fei was still somewhat puzzled: "Ah? Why does Young Master think that?"

"Heh, it's not just those with great strength who can become Hokage; one must be like Lord Senju Hashirama, gaining the recognition of everyone, to become Hokage."

"But the civilians in Konoha far outnumber the ninjas. If civilians who don't understand bloodlines believe the Hyuga's Byakugan are monsters, then no matter how hard ninjas from the Hyuga Clan work, they will never gain the recognition of everyone."

After finishing, he looked at the furious Yun Fei beside him and continued:

"Because prejudice is the original sin. When a prejudice is planted in childhood, it will take root and sprout like a plant, growing strong and spreading to the next generation, and the one after that."

This statement had a double meaning; it seemed to be talking about the current incident, yet it also seemed to allude to the system between the Main House and the Branch House.

It was unclear if Yun Fei understood, but his face was flushed red with anger.

Xingzhuo stood on his tiptoes and patted the back of his head.

"Alright, it's not too late now that we've discovered it. Once I go back, I'll tell Father. If this matter cannot be resolved, then there is no place for the Hyuga in Konoha."

"At worst, we'll just move back to the capital of the Land of Fire and go back to being those prestigious, renowned nobles of the Land of Fire."

After the two figures, one large and one small, had walked far away, a sturdy man with flowing hair and Senju Tobirama suddenly appeared atop the nearby building.

The sturdy man looked distressed, his mood heavy as he spoke:

"Tobirama, is what that Hyuga child said true? The village has only been established for six years, and something like this has already appeared?"

Senju Tobirama looked at his elder brother's expression and sighed helplessly: "Brother, while we cannot rule out the possibility that the brat was making a mountain out of a molehill, we also cannot rule out that someone is indeed pulling strings behind the scenes. However, I have already sent people to investigate, and I believe there will be results soon."

"Then I will leave this matter to you. If you find any results, notify me immediately."

With that, Senju Hashirama used the Body Flicker technique and left.

Leaving Senju Tobirama alone on the spot.

"Sigh, sometimes I really don't know who the Hokage is."