Genye Flips the Table

"Pfft, flatten Konoha?!"

Genye sat on the sofa, and upon hearing Minato relay this statement from Kumogakure, he nearly laughed himself numb.

Are they kidding?

Unless the "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" nukes were involved, no one was flattening Konoha—not even the legendary "Brother Chao" could pull that off!

Kumogakure really knew how to blow hot air!

"Genye, stop laughing. This is a very serious matter," Minato said, rubbing his temples with a look of helplessness.

He hadn't taken his younger brother's words to heart earlier, but now that a real crisis had emerged, it had become a major diplomatic incident.

Minato hadn't slept a wink last night; he had come to find Genye with dark circles under his eyes, hoping to hear if he had any good insights.

"If you ask me, just stand your ground!" Genye flexed his fist and said carelessly.

"Kumogakure just crawled out of the quagmire of war themselves. I don't believe they're in any better shape than Konoha. They're definitely just bluffing!"

Hearing Genye's words, Minato appeared hesitant. "But..."

"But the Third Hokage wants to agree to Kumogakure's demands, right?" Genye rolled his eyes and said irritably. "Then just listen to him. Why come over here and ask me?"

Minato gave a bitter smile. "Genye, like you, my words carry little weight. The Third has already set the tone for this matter; there isn't much I can decide."

"I came to you just to ask if you have any good way to save the life of Hyuga Hiashi."

Sacrificing one of their own to compromise would surely chill the hearts of others, and Minato wanted to do his utmost to prevent that from happening.

"Hmm..."

Genye rubbed his chin, a vast array of sealing knowledge flashing through his mind as he wore a thoughtful expression.

After a long while, he looked at Minato and said, "I actually did think of a way, but I don't really like Hyuga Hiashi. Why should I save him?"

Upon hearing that Genye had a solution, Minato immediately pressed his palms together in delight. "Please, Genye, just do it as a favor to your senior brother, alright?"

Genye shrugged. "Fine. Since my senior brother has asked, I'll do my best."

The Hyuga Main Family estate.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was discussing something with Hyuga Yuansheng when he saw Minato walk in with Genye, and he immediately felt a headache coming on.

"Minato, why did you bring this child along too?"

Minato hurriedly explained, "Lord Third, Genye might have a way to save Hiashi's life, so I brought him here."

"Hmph." Hyuga Yuansheng cast a sidelong glance at Genye, ignoring Minato entirely, and said coldly, "My son's life does not need him to save it. The Third Hokage and I have already devised a countermeasure."

"Heh, what kind of countermeasure could that brain of yours come up with?" Genye sneered. "Let me guess—is it pushing your other son out to take the fall?"

As soon as these words left Genye's mouth, the expressions of both Hyuga Yuansheng and Sarutobi Hiruzen shifted.

"What, did I hit the mark? Can't keep your old face straight anymore?" Genye continued to taunt.

Hizashi Hyuga had always been good to Genye, and now that Hyuga Yuansheng wanted to sacrifice him, Genye's words were naturally laced with barbs.

Hyuga Yuansheng flew into a rage, slamming his hand on the table as he stood up. "Is my family business any of your concern, you outsider? Get out!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen also stared at Genye with displeasure.

He had gone to great lengths to convince Hyuga Yuansheng to sacrifice one son in exchange for decades of peace for Konoha, only for this brat to show up and contradict him!

"Namikaze, take Genye and leave first."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was grim, and his tone toward Minato had turned cold, even addressing him by his surname.

He was racking his brains for the sake of peace, yet Minato had brought this brat over to stir up trouble. He really didn't know how to be considerate!

"Third, I..." Minato opened his mouth, but didn't know what else to say.

"What are you still standing there for? Didn't you hear the Third Hokage? Hurry up and take that eyesore out of my house!"

Hyuga Yuansheng urged impatiently.

Under normal circumstances, he would have kept up appearances, but he was currently extremely agitated and had no mood to give this puppet Hokage a pleasant look.

"You old geezer, who are you calling an eyesore?!" Genye pointed at Hyuga Yuansheng's nose and cursed.

"Whoever answers is who I'm talking about," Hyuga Yuansheng sneered. "Get out now, don't let me see you again, you're dirtying my eyes!"

"Minato, hurry and take Genye away, stop adding fuel to the fire!" Sarutobi Hiruzen also said angrily.

"Enough, all of you shut up!"

The condescending tone of the two made Genye extremely annoyed. He stomped his foot heavily on the ground, and with a loud boom, the entire room split in two, with his footprint as the dividing line.

Gulp.

Hyuga Yuansheng swallowed the insults that had been on the tip of his tongue, and Sarutobi Hiruzen also calmed down instantly, his gaze toward Genye becoming a bit more amiable.

Genye's eyes were cold. He had genuinely thought of a way to preserve Hyuga Hiashi's life.

However, Hyuga Yuansheng's biased and cold-hearted attitude made Genye very unhappy, so now, he decided to use much tougher methods to resolve the matter!

"Senior Brother Minato, look over there!" Genye suddenly pointed out the window, saying with great surprise.

"What?" Minato looked in the direction Xuanye was pointing, but he saw nothing at all.

When Minato turned back, he discovered that Xuanye had already appeared in front of Hyuga Yuansheng, his two fingers pressed against the man's forehead.

"You... what have you done to me?!"

Hyuga Yuansheng stumbled back two steps, clutching his forehead, his face twisted in horror as he asked.

He could feel a subtle force burrowing into his brain, clinging to his neural pathways like maggots on bone, intertwining with his very nerves!

Sarutobi Hiruzen was dumbfounded, and Minato was equally stunned as he asked, "Xuanye, you—what did you just do?"

"Sigh." Xuanye let out a breath and spread his hands helplessly. "You have both already guessed it, haven't you? Why must you still ask me?"

On Hyuga Yuansheng's forehead, a cyan mark was rapidly taking shape; it was the Caged Bird Seal that Xuanye had planted within him!

"Ugh, aaaaaaaah!"

A wave of intense agony surged over him, and Hyuga Yuansheng instantly lost his senses, collapsing to his knees as he let out a pained howl.

The Caged Bird Seal was typically implanted when members of the branch family were young and their nervous systems had not yet fully matured.

But Hyuga Yuansheng's nerves were already fully developed; forcing the Caged Bird Seal upon him now was no different from the torture of having one's tendons pulled and bones extracted.

"This is impossible!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing to the side, finally snapped out of his shock. Recalling the records regarding the Hyuga Clan, he questioned loudly.

"The Caged Bird Seal is a curse mark used by those of pure bloodline within the Hyuga Clan to control those with diluted blood. How could you possibly go against the natural order and plant it on Hyuga Yuansheng?!"

Xuanye spread his arms and said with a calm expression, "Even now, do you still not understand?"

"That is because my bloodline is ten, a hundred times purer than the so-called Main Family bloodline!"

"I, Hyuga Genya, am the only one worthy of being the Hyuga Main Family!"

As he spoke, Xuanye stepped past the agonizing Hyuga Yuansheng, sat down in the seat the man had previously occupied, and looked at Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"I apologize, Hokage, but from now on, the Hyuga Clan will be under my command."

"Now then, you may sit down and have a chat with this new clan head about how we shall handle the affairs of my Hyuga clansmen."