An Anbu Ninja wearing a porcupine mask stepped forward and said,
"Elder Danzo is telling the truth. Shinichi Hyuga foresaw the enemy's attack."
After confirming Shimura Danzō's words, the Anbu Ninja returned to the Anbu ranks.
Only then did Shinichi Hyuga remember who he was: he must have been the personal guard who had accompanied Shimura Danzō to the Hyuga Clan compound.
He had left with Shimura Danzō afterward. Shinichi hadn't expected him to be a spy planted by the Third.
"Shinichi Hyuga, are you still going to deny it?"
The Third had first felt a chill at the Third's methods.
To plant a spy among his most trusted guards was truly terrifying.
But now, revenge mattered most. He wanted Shinichi Hyuga to pay, so he immediately pressed him for an answer.
Deep down, he became even more wary of the Third.
At that moment, the Third also looked toward Minato Namikaze, hoping he would step forward.
The other clans' leaders and elders were still full of doubts.
Yet they didn't want to get involved in this conflict.
They were even more dismissive of the Anbu's testimony.
Anbu?
They were the Hokage's personal guard.
But at this moment, the Anbu captain was still the Third's son, Shinnosuke Sarutobi. The transfer of power hadn't been completed.
Could they be trusted?
Their specialty was doing the dirty, hard work. It wasn't impossible that they'd frame someone.
In the end, only a few people thought this way—or rather, those who didn't trust the character of the Third and Shimura Danzō.
Most people, like Minato Namikaze, trusted "their own" Anbu without question!
"Shinichi Hyuga, you'll have to explain yourself now!"
Minato Namikaze's eyes sharpened. He had already decided that Shinichi Hyuga's earlier words were just an excuse.
Approval shone in the Third's eyes. He had made the right choice after all. Someone like Minato Namikaze was much easier to control.
"Is that so?
"Why didn't the Anbu give the full story?
"Wasn't Shisui Uchiha watching me this whole time? Why not bring out the mission report and see whether I had the time or motive?"
The barrage of questions left Minato Namikaze feeling somewhat ashamed.
A look of contempt flashed through Shinichi Hyuga's eyes. The Third really wouldn't give up!
He had no evidence at all, yet insisted on pinning this "scapegoat" on him.
"Watching you? That can't be right, can it? Is the Uchiha Clan planning to do something to the Hyuga Clan?" Orochimaru asked, feigning ignorance.
He drew everyone's attention, but in truth, he was helping Shinichi Hyuga out of a tight spot.
Everyone knew Shisui Uchiha was a staunch lackey of the Third and couldn't speak for the Uchiha Clan.
By sending him, the Third had openly interfered in the clan's internal affairs. This made every clan uneasy.
They felt threatened by Konoha's murky politics.
The Third seemed to be making a grand play. Though he had already stepped down, his influence still reached every corner of Konoha.
The candidates to lead each clan now all had countless ties to him.
The Third looked at his student, still unable to understand why Orochimaru was so supportive of Shinichi Hyuga.
Even if it meant standing against his own teacher.
"Shisui? What's going on?" Minato Namikaze's face darkened. Only now did he realize how much had been kept from him.
"I was indeed watching the Hyuga Clan, but I was only carrying out a routine patrol. I wasn't specifically keeping an eye on Shinichi Hyuga."
Shisui Uchiha's thoughts raced. After receiving a hint, he came up with an excuse no one would believe.
"Now can you prove my innocence? I came here with Shisui Uchiha, didn't I?
"And what you said about me foreseeing the enemy's attack is even more absurd.
"Don't forget! I'm a member of the Hyuga Clan. I was the one who saw them."
Xinyi Hyuga challenged him.
The people assigned to watch him had been arranged in advance, yet now they were the ones proving his innocence.
The Third felt as if he'd been left at a loss.
"Here's some good news for everyone. The Hyuga Clan's meeting has concluded successfully, and I've become its clan leader. From now on, I'll lead the Hyuga Clan."
Shinichi Hyuga walked up to the Third, stood before him, and looked down at him as he spoke calmly.
His words landed in everyone's ears like a bomb.
The Third Shinobi World War had ended, and the upper ranks of every clan were being reshuffled.
The clearest example was the Fourth Hokage's succession.
The clan leaders were being reshuffled too.
But never before had the leader of a Kekkei Genkai clan been removed while still in office.
Especially not in a clan as strictly hierarchical as the Hyuga Clan.
Shinichi Hyuga had set a precedent. At that moment, they all wondered whether he had used some kind of trick.
He couldn't have forced them into submission with overwhelming strength. The Hyuga Clan had the Caged Bird, after all.
In their eyes, Shinichi Hyuga had become even more inscrutable.
"Shinichi Hyuga, you're only a member of the Hyuga Branch Family. What happened to Hyuga Hiashi? What did you do to him?"
The Third could no longer sit still. Hyuga Hiashi was an important piece in his plans, someone who would support his son in the future. Had all of that been ruined now?
Hyuga Hiashi really was useless.
"Former Hokage, Hyuga Hiashi deeply regretted his own incompetence and how he'd been misled by outsiders. He voluntarily stepped down as clan leader. From now on, the system dividing the Hyuga Clan into the Main Branch and Branch Family has been abolished!"
Shinichi Hyuga's words were full of mockery.
Every word made it clear that the Third's deeds had been exposed, and that Shinichi was setting things right.
The other clans' leaders felt admiration for Shinichi Hyuga.
Whatever methods he'd used, he had completed the transfer of power.
Now all that remained was to see how the village and the clan members reacted. They were even more determined not to take part in the conflict between Shinichi Hyuga and Shimura Danzō.
"Shinichi Hyuga, you're not qualified to lead the Hyuga Clan," the Third said, his face dark and his tone serious.
"Haha. You don't get to decide whether I'm qualified.
"Even the Hokage has no right to interfere in a clan's affairs, let alone you, a former Hokage."
Shinichi Hyuga's laughter grew louder, until it sounded like mockery.
Hearing those words, everyone finally realized:
It seemed Shinichi Hyuga had come here today to declare war on the Third.
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