Reactions from All Sides

The cleanup on the sealed-off street was still underway. This wasn't considered a major incident in Konoha, so not many people had come to watch. The important figures in Konoha only needed to hear a report about something like this; there was no way they would come in person to take a look.

The main reason Tsunade and the others had come was that they had nothing better to do.

"Damn it! You deadbeat! Damn it!" Mikoto Uchiha was about ready to explode. Clenching both fists, she paced back and forth along the street.

The Uchiha shinobi around her all wore grim expressions.

To have managed to anger gentle, kind, and virtuous Mikoto this badly, that ghost really was asking to die.

Whoosh!

Fugaku Uchiha maintained his Hand Seals, appearing beside Mikoto Uchiha in a cloud of smoke.

"Young master!"

"How did it go?"

"That bastard..." Mikoto Uchiha was so furious at the mention of Li Tong that she could barely speak. Seeing how emotional she was, Fugaku Uchiha didn't let her continue. Instead, he turned to the elite jonin standing nearby. "You!"

"Yes, young clan leader. Just now..."

The elite jonin briefly explained what had happened. No innocent people had died, and the fugitive had been killed by Li Tong. Li Tong had also offered a large sum of money in compensation. He had done well by stopping the fugitive and killing him. As for the damage to the street and the injuries some people had suffered, those were problems money could solve.

So there was nothing wrong with letting Li Tong go straight home.

But if the Konoha Military Police Force insisted on taking Li Tong in for questioning, that would be reasonable too.

Either choice was defensible.

After hearing the elite jonin's report, Fugaku Uchiha saw Li Tong come running down a wall from the fifth floor of a nearby building. Li Tong noticed Fugaku Uchiha but ignored him. Instead, he gave Mikoto Uchiha an inscrutable look, then left.

Mikoto Uchiha stomped her foot in anger.

Fugaku Uchiha watched Li Tong's retreating figure for a moment, then waved his hand. "Take him in!"

Several Uchiha jonin around him sprang into action at once, appearing in front of and behind Li Tong and to either side. They drew their swords halfway and surrounded him.

Li Tong stopped, shook his head, and turned to look at Fugaku Uchiha. "What's this about?"

"We have doubts about certain details surrounding your killing of the fugitive, and about whether you had some other motive when you used ninjutsu in the street. Please come with us and assist with the investigation!" Fugaku Uchiha said formally. It was a perfectly respectable pretext.

"Hmm... I'll cooperate." Li Tong curled his lips.

"Ghost, you're dead! You're finished!" Mikoto Uchiha immediately marched over to Li Tong, waving a pair of handcuffs as she prepared to lock him up.

"Mikoto, don't make a scene," Fugaku Uchiha scolded.

Mikoto Uchiha reluctantly stopped, still clearly dissatisfied. When she reached Li Tong, she shoved his shoulder hard and said imperiously, "Get moving. Stop dawdling."

Li Tong cursed every woman in Mikoto Uchiha's family in his heart, kept smiling, and left under the "escort" of a large group of Military Police shinobi.

The Hokage Building, the Hokage's office.

"Lord Hokage, I can confirm it! Li Tong really did use the Mystical Palm Technique to save the life of a critically injured patient. There's just one strange thing: his use of the Mystical Palm Technique was incredibly steady, and he could keep it going for several minutes. It looks like he didn't merely learn the Mystical Palm Technique—he's mastered it to a high level!"

Chen He stood respectfully in front of the desk, giving a detailed report on what had happened with Li Tong that day. Stopping the fugitive and killing him didn't matter. The damage to lives and property caused by using ninjutsu in the street didn't matter either. Compared to learning the Mystical Palm Technique in a single day, those things were insignificant!

Chen He was visibly unsettled. The whole thing was too hard to understand.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, however, was perfectly calm. His expressionless eyes showed no trace of surprise beneath the shadow of his hat. His composure was beyond what Chen He had expected.

He fell silent for a long while.

"I understand. Go report this to White Fang, then ask him to come see me," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, looking up.

"Yes!" Chen He replied respectfully, then hurried away.

After Chen He left the office and closed the door, the air in the corner to the right of the desk suddenly rippled. Danzo, wearing a mask, appeared and walked slowly toward the desk.

"You heard everything," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, tapping the desktop.

"It's impossible for him to have learned the Mystical Palm Technique in a single day. There's no such genius!" Danzo said hoarsely. A dangerous glint shone in his eyes behind the openings in his mask. "Even the First didn't have that kind of talent!"

"But it's also impossible that he already knew the Mystical Palm Technique," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, narrowing his eyes. "If he'd had the talent to master it at twelve, Hanzo would certainly have valued him, and he couldn't have been an ordinary shinobi from Amegakure."

"There are two possibilities." Danzo walked to the window and looked outside, his back to Hiruzen Sarutobi. "First, this is part of Hanzo's plan, and that ghost is an important pawn. That would explain all his unusual behavior. Second, he's a test subject. The Mystical Palm Technique he can use... might not have come from training!"

"Hmm..." Hiruzen Sarutobi fell silent again.

"But whatever the case—whether it's one of those two possibilities or a third or fourth one we haven't considered—he's clearly suspicious. I don't believe he's really that monstrously talented!" Danzo paused, then continued. "But it doesn't matter. I've already sent people to test him. We'll have an answer soon!"

Whoosh!

A figure suddenly appeared before the desk. The mysterious shinobi dropped to one knee and reported hurriedly, "Lord Hokage, Li Tong has been taken in by the Military Police on the pretext of assisting with an investigation!"

The Hyuga Clan residential district, deep inside the main estate.

In a vast, empty indoor training hall, a young figure darted across the polished floor. Every movement, every pause held a subtle grace. His fists cracked like thunder, and the wind from his kicks cut like blades.

"Big brother!" A respectful voice sounded from outside.

The young shinobi who had been training stopped abruptly. He took the towel a servant offered and wiped away his sweat before saying with authority, "Come in!"

Creak!

The shinobi who entered was also young. The two had the same height, the same build, and the same face. The only difference was that the young shinobi who had been training wore no Forehead Protector, while the one who had just come in did.

These two were the Hyuga Clan's Main Family's young clan leader, Hyuga Hiashi, and the Branch Family's young clan leader, Hizashi Hyuga!

They were twin brothers! Yet, simply because Hyuga Hiashi had been born a few seconds earlier, he became the young clan leader of the Main Family, while Hizashi Hyuga belonged to the Branch Family. Though they were blood brothers, Hizashi Hyuga had to show Hyuga Hiashi respect at all times—even to the point of being servile.

"What is it? Why did you come to find me in person?" Hyuga Hiashi asked sternly.

"Big brother!" Hizashi Hyuga hurried over, his expression troubled. "Just now, on the street, over in the middle district, that Li Tong..." Hizashi Hyuga quickly explained what had happened. He briefly mentioned how Li Tong had killed the fugitive and the other events, focusing on the Mystical Palm Technique!

Everyone in Konoha knew about Li Tong's bet with Tsunade.

Learning the Mystical Palm Technique in a single day—that was the stuff of legends!

The incident itself had nothing to do with the Hyuga Clan. But Li Tong was a thorn in the Hyuga Clan's side, and many eyes were watching them. Their old enemies, the Uchiha Clan, for example, were waiting to see when the Hyuga Clan would kill Li Tong. If Li Tong kept living, it would damage the Hyuga Clan's prestige.

And now Li Tong had actually learned the Mystical Palm Technique in a single day!

This would have a huge impact. Most importantly, it would affect how the Konoha High Command viewed Li Tong!

Once the High Command started taking Li Tong seriously, it would become very difficult for the Hyuga Clan to deal with him.