Kakashi Hatake adjusted his mindset, trying to handle the situation as fairly as possible.
Only now did he realize that this was not something he could resolve.
Whether in strength or status, he was far inferior to Shinichi Hyuga.
"As you can see, I killed these people!"
Shinichi Hyuga admitted it without hesitation. His tone was calm and unruffled.
Kakashi Hatake and the Anbu Ninjas felt their hearts tighten, and sweat beaded on their foreheads.
They all wondered why.
Shinichi Hyuga now represented the prestigious Hyuga Clan, yet he had slaughtered fellow villagers without the slightest concern.
Was he planning to lead the Hyuga Clan in a defection from Konoha?
Everyone's body tensed. The terrifying thought had surfaced in their minds and refused to go away.
Kakashi Hatake reacted even faster. He stepped back several paces, took an Anbu signal flare from behind him, and pulled the cord.
Only people of Anbu Captain rank could carry such a flare. He was only able to use one because Minato Namikaze had appointed him acting Anbu Captain.
Once fired, it would place Konoha on emergency alert.
Whoosh~
A red flare shot into the sky.
At a height of two meters, it seemed to hit an invisible barrier, then fell back to the ground.
"Kakashi, don't panic. If I wanted to attack you, I wouldn't have let that idiot Meihuo Uchiha leave.
They're the ones who should answer for what happened.
The Sanada Clan and the Takeda Clan plotted to steal the Byakugan of our Hyuga Clan. That's the evidence."
The pale blue light in Shinichi Hyuga's eyes faded. He had just used the Tenseigan's gravitational force to change the flare's trajectory.
Kakashi was the Anbu Captain now, so it was time to make sure the Third felt some pressure, too.
As he spoke, he flung four photographs toward Kakashi Hatake. They embedded themselves in the ground in front of him.
After hearing Shinichi Hyuga's words, Kakashi Hatake relaxed his battle stance. The situation really was just as Shinichi had said: he and the others were no different from the people lying on the ground.
Perhaps they could all be taken out with a single kick?
His behavior just now seemed to have been influenced by his teacher and the Third.
They had described Shinichi Hyuga as a dangerous person and had even told him to keep an eye on Shinichi's movements.
Kakashi Hatake first apologized, then quickly composed himself.
Only then did he pick up the four photographs from the ground.
They showed several dried-out corpses whose eyes were Byakugan, but their uniforms belonged to Konoha's Anbu.
He recognized one of them, too: Yukimura Sanada, a jonin of the Sanada Clan who served in the Anbu.
"Is this a side effect of the Byakugan? But why would there be Konoha shinobi with transplanted Byakugan?"
Kakashi Hatake finally understood why Shinichi Hyuga was so confident. "What exactly is going on?"
Kakashi Hatake carefully examined the photographs, but still found it hard to believe.
After all, the Ninja World had many techniques that could deceive people, such as the Transformation Technique, transformation jutsu, and illusions.
Kakashi Hatake looked at Shinichi Hyuga uneasily.
As Anbu Captain, he searched his memory for information about the men and found many irregularities, including their sudden assignment to a secret mission and their disappearance.
Trying to protect Minato Namikaze, he said uncertainly, "Maybe someone framed them? I need to consult the Hokage."
In the end, all his words amounted to a feeble excuse.
"Kakashi, if I remember correctly, the Sanada Clan and the Takeda Clan are both vassal clans of the Sarutobi Clan.
I'm not like those fools in the Uchiha Clan, who give up pursuing justice over a few empty promises.
There are only two possibilities: is the Hyuga Clan a clan of rogue ninja, or are these two clans?"
Shinichi Hyuga's voice grew heavy. He was forcing Minato Namikaze to choose.
Back then, three people in Konoha had received transplants of the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan.
After killing them, he had noticed that they were all retainers of the Sarutobi Clan.
The Third had already begun targeting the Hyuga Clan at the time, so keeping those corpses as a contingency had been necessary.
Now it was time to put that trash to use again.
"I'll inform Lord Hokage at once!"
Only then did Kakashi realize that Shinichi Hyuga had shown no mercy and would show none.
What Minato Namikaze had done was even worse than what Kushina Uzumaki had done. These brutal methods were an expression of Shinichi's dissatisfaction with Minato.
In theory, the Anbu answered directly to the Hokage. They had plotted to seize another clan's Kekkei Genkai.
Either the Hokage would take the blame, or the two clans would.
Anyone familiar with the details knew that the Anbu was now led by Shinnosuke Sarutobi. Given the identities of the people involved, everyone knew who was behind it, but no one could say so aloud.
Minato Namikaze would never let the Sarutobi Clan and the Hyuga Clan clash head-on.
In the end, only the Sanada Clan and the Takeda Clan could be sacrificed. That was the price the Sarutobi Clan had to pay.
Kakashi Hatake thought it over briefly and understood the cause and effect, but he couldn't make the decision for Minato Namikaze.
Chakra surged beneath his feet. He was about to rush to the Hokage Office. His teacher was still there, preparing the list for tomorrow's inspection.
He would probably be working all night.
Whoosh~
Kakashi Hatake leaped across Konoha's rooftops toward the Hokage Office.
The Anbu members who had followed him were left at a loss.
Was he leaving them behind to watch Shinichi Hyuga?
Everyone began to sweat involuntarily.
Just Shinichi Hyuga's terrifying aura was enough to leave them unable to fight back.
"Relax."
Shinichi Hyuga noticed how tense they were and spoke up to reassure them.
Kakashi Hatake's squad belonged to Minato Namikaze, not the Anbu left behind by the Third. Shinichi Hyuga wasn't nearly as hostile toward them.
But the Anbu members didn't heed his words. They kept their guard up.
Shinichi Hyuga didn't care about their attitude. Instead, he looked in the direction Kakashi had gone.
He wondered whether he should give Kakashi Hatake a present later.
A few minutes later.
Shinichi Hyuga keenly sensed the space around him begin to ripple.
It was the effect of his Tenseigan working in combination with his Observation Haki.
Azure light welled in his eyes, and Shinichi Hyuga's gaze settled on the Anbu Ninjas.
"Genma Shiranui? Namiashi Raidō? Iwashi Tatami?"
Only through the Anbu masks could he now see their true faces.
Weren't these the members of the future Flying Thunder God Squad?
No wonder they had held their ground against him. They were elite shinobi handpicked by Minato Namikaze. Perhaps Minato valued their loyalty most of all.
Whoosh~
Two figures appeared out of nowhere behind Genma Shiranui.
Shinichi Hyuga looked toward the spot where the space had rippled just moments earlier.
Minato Namikaze and Kakashi Hatake had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to come straight to the battlefield.
Only then did the Anbu members finally relax.
"Shinichi, I'll grant your request.
"But I hope you won't take part in the inspection over the next few days. You've caused too much of a stir this time.
"Konoha needs stability."
Minato Namikaze wore a complicated expression. His face was full of helplessness and heaviness, along with a jumble of other emotions. At last, his voice took on a rare note of warning.
He had become Hokage because he wanted to lead Konoha into a period of peaceful development.
But Shinichi Hyuga's actions over the past few days had broken Konoha's established rules. The situation needed to be set right.
Minato had the same idea, but he wanted to take things slowly. Shinichi Hyuga's methods were too radical.
"Minato, I don't care what you say. I want to see what you do. Tomorrow, I want to see wanted notices for these two clans.
"And inspections like this are just a formality. You and I both know they can't uncover any major problems.
"I just want people to recognize the problem: a monster that grew fat by sucking Konoha dry. Are you going to let it live?"
Shinichi Hyuga shook his head. He really disliked the Minato Namikaze standing before him.
He was too self-righteous, and too full of contradictions.
In Shinichi Hyuga's eyes, if he had to pick the unfit Hokage from among all those who had held the position, he would choose Minato Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki.
People with their personalities weren't suited to being Hokage.
They imagined the world was far too beautiful and let evildoers off too easily. Then all those who had lived honestly, only to be swallowed by evil, would have died for nothing!
That was the greatest injustice of all!
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