Why Prove Oneself?

The expression on the face of the Third Hokage was the complete opposite of Orochimaru's, darkening for a fleeting moment.

The appearance of Shinichi Hyuga now indicated that he had emerged victorious from that clan meeting.

All of his schemes had fallen through, and he needed to reconsider how to deal with the Hyuga Clan.

Swish.

A Konoha Anbu wearing an animal mask appeared, standing directly behind the Third Hokage.

He handed a mission record scroll to the Third Hokage.

Shinichi Hyuga chuckled softly.

This figure was Shisui Uchiha, who had been tailing him and had by now become a lapdog for the Third Hokage.

It was not hard to imagine that the scroll contained a record of his own movements.

Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze furrowed his brows, having spent this period dealing with the trivialities of the village.

The transfer of power, the shifting of hearts, and the constraints imposed by the Third Hokage had left him physically and mentally exhausted.

Even those who had originally been close to him were now displaying ambiguous attitudes.

He still could not understand why these people could not transcend clan-centrism and serve the village wholeheartedly.

Being sharp, he sensed a change in Shinichi Hyuga; he had become an entirely different person.

Crack, crack, crack.

A sound of seals shattering rang out, and everyone's attention shifted from Shinichi Hyuga to the battlefield.

The battlefield was currently shrouded in dust and smoke.

The Konoha Anbu ninjas were already prepared with new seals, ready to activate them at any moment.

"Elder Shimura Danzō has won!"

As the dust settled, Shimura Danzō's eyes widened as he recovered from his daze.

He stood in place, breathing heavily, with sweat dripping incessantly from his forehead.

The Root ninjas who had originally assisted Shimura Danzō in his offensive had vanished, leaving behind only some unrecognizable severed limbs.

The original enemy was nowhere to be seen, leaving behind only a devastated battlefield.

Victory?

Even if it was a victory, it was a pyrrhic one.

They hadn't even seen the enemy.

The Third Hokage led the high-ranking officials of Konoha in a Body Flicker to Shimura Danzō's side.

At this moment, Shisui Uchiha activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, remaining vigilant against the enemy's reappearance.

"Who exactly was the enemy? Why did you activate the Four Violet Flames Formation?"

The Third Hokage supported Shimura Danzō's left arm, chakra appearing on his hand as he checked Shimura Danzō's body, finding it completely unharmed, and asked with concern.

A high-level sealing formation like the Four Violet Flames Formation was usually reserved for dealing with Kage-level powerhouses.

Shimura Danzō was still immersed in the recent battle, his heart still lingering in fear.

An invisible enemy, like a demon hiding in the shadows, had slaughtered the members of the Shimura Clan.

He had activated the Four Violet Flames Formation initially just to protect his clansmen, but later it served to restrict the enemy's movement.

Only within the sealing formation could he rely on his sensory abilities to engage the enemy.

If they had been outside the sealing formation, the enemy could have avoided him unscathed and continued to slaughter the ninjas of the Shimura Clan.

Even so, the enemy had been incredibly difficult to deal with.

In the end, he had resorted to a mutually destructive method, using a destructive Vacuum Great Sphere to kill the enemy.

The cost was that the Sharingan he had transplanted, which had belonged to Kagami, was now ruined!

He had used the forbidden technique of the Uchiha Clan: Izanagi!

The only consolation was that he still had one eye left to use.

This experience had allowed him to realize the true utility of the Sharingan, and his heart became even more determined to carry out the will of the Second Hokage.

A shake pulled him back from his memories, and hearing the Third Hokage's question, he replied.

"I don't know! It was like a Transparent Escape user; during the battle, I could only determine the opponent's position by sensing the flow of the wind. At the very least, they were an elite Jonin, and one proficient in assassination arts!"

Shimura Danzō remained silent for a long time before finally speaking, revealing the only scraps of intelligence he had gathered during the fight.

This enemy was too terrifying; he even had an intuition that the opponent might not have been killed, but had merely retreated temporarily.

However, Shimura Danzō was not certain.

After this battle, their Shimura Clan had suffered heavy casualties, with half of their ninjas killed.

It will take a long time to recover.

"Transparent Escape? That's impossible, it can't be the Gekko Clan!"

Third Hokage exclaimed in shock. That legendary Kekkei Genkai of the Gekko Clan had not appeared in the world for a very long time.

Furthermore, the Gekko Clan had secretly pledged their loyalty to him not long ago; it was impossible for them to do such a thing.

On second thought, this was actually a good thing.

Having experienced these upheavals, the rift between him and Shimura Danzō would be briefly overlooked. Based on his understanding of Shimura Danzō, he would hide in the shadows to lick his wounds and lean closer to him.

Seemingly remembering something, he cast an inquiring gaze toward Shimura Danzō.

Could this incident be related to Shinichi Hyuga?

At this moment, Shimura Danzō should have been at the Hyuga compound, suppressing Shinichi Hyuga.

The clumsy acting of the two fell into the eyes of Shinichi Hyuga.

These two guys still wouldn't give up; they had to be taught a lesson.

Sure enough, Shimura Danzō launched an attack on Shinichi Hyuga.

"Shinichi Hyuga, it was you! It was you who colluded with outsiders to slaughter the ninjas of my Shimura Clan."

Shimura Danzō seemed to have found an outlet for his frustration. Recalling Shinichi Hyuga's previous performance, he had his answer in his heart and was even more furious.

Wind gathered at his feet as he broke free from the Third Hokage's feigned support, forming hand seals with one hand.

Wind Style: Vacuum Sphere!

He unleashed his most familiar ninjutsu, a black sphere of wind.

Bang~

Bang~

Two explosions rang out.

A brilliant blue light bloomed.

Shinichi Hyuga leaped high into the air, his body tracing a graceful arc. He kicked out, creating a shockwave that shattered the Vacuum Sphere.

The momentum of the shockwave remained undiminished, continuing to rush toward Shimura Danzō.

A Rasengan appeared in the hand of Minato Namikaze, who blocked the path in front of Shimura Danzō.

Only then was Shinichi Hyuga's attack neutralized.

"We are all pillars of the village; I hope we can talk about this calmly."

At this moment, Minato Namikaze's face was filled with solemnity, and his right hand, which had been spinning the orb, trembled continuously.

There was a majesty of someone in a high position that made everyone fall silent.

Only in this state did he look like a true Hokage.

The exchange just now had been witnessed by everyone.

Their hearts were deeply shaken.

Shinichi Hyuga's strength exceeded their imagination, even if the Fourth Hokage had blocked it in a rush.

Yet, he had ultimately been pushed to a disadvantage.

This also forced the Third Hokage to re-evaluate Shinichi Hyuga.

The Third Hokage approached Shimura Danzō, pretending to hold him back, and hypocritically consoled him.

"Minato, Danzō is only acting this way because he is too angry, but he must have his reasons for doing so. I just took a look; the Shimura Clan has suffered heavy casualties, and among the dead are women and children."

While explaining for Shimura Danzō, he added credibility to what would happen next.

He even seized upon Minato Namikaze's soft-hearted nature, pointing out the cruelty of the enemy, and in one stroke, covered up the fault of Shimura Danzō attacking a fellow ninja of the village.

Shimura Danzō steadied his emotions; decades of tacit understanding allowed him to hear the subtext in the Third Hokage's words.

"Shinichi Hyuga threatened me when I was at the Hyuga compound. He predicted the enemy's actions before they even occurred. I suspect he is a conspirator! Otherwise, how could the enemy bypass Konoha's layers of protection to target our Shimura Clan?"

Shimura Danzō calmed down, knowing he was no match for Shinichi Hyuga and needing to find more allies.

He began to make excuses for his actions, constantly casting aspersions on Shinichi Hyuga.

Minato Namikaze looked back at Shinichi Hyuga with suspicion.

If what Shimura Danzō said was true, then even if it wasn't village betrayal, he could still be charged with the crime of allowing the enemy to act.

"Shinichi Hyuga, do you have any explanation? Is what Elder Danzō said true?"

Minato Namikaze asked with extreme seriousness.

At this moment, he was no longer just Minato Namikaze; he was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha.

As Hokage, anyone who harms the village is his enemy.

At this moment, he was truly going to get serious.

In the past, Minato Namikaze had always addressed him as Shinichi.

"Lord Hokage, why should I have to explain myself? Shouldn't it be Elder Shimura Danzō who produces evidence? Are you just going to let him frame me with empty words?"

Shinichi Hyuga no longer addressed him as Minato Namikaze; it was true that one's position determines one's perspective.

He had no intention of proving his innocence. The trap of self-justification was an unsolvable dilemma in any world.

Besides, it was indeed his Black Ghost, Conan, who had made the move.

"This..."

Minato Namikaze was momentarily speechless; he had indeed been viewing Shinichi Hyuga from the perspective of a rogue ninja just a moment ago.

"Shinichi Hyuga, the matters Shimura Danzō spoke of are all corroborated by the Anbu. They carry a certain degree of credibility, and you did indeed foresee the enemy's attack. Furthermore, you spoke disrespectfully to Shimura Danzō at the Hyuga clan meeting."

The Third Hokage stepped forward, his pipe trembling in his hand as he signaled for an Anbu ninja behind him to step out.