The Third Hokage Strikes Back, the Branch Family's Fate

"Release the Fourth Mizukage!" Mist Ninja shouted from all around.

A group of ninja clad in Kirigakure Anbu uniforms swarmed Uchiha Kyu.

"You want him? Then have him back."

Uchiha Kyu snorted coldly, slapped several Explosive Tags onto Karatachi Yagura, and kicked him toward the approaching ninja.

BOOM!!!

A blinding light erupted from Karatachi Yagura's body as the Explosive Tags detonated instantly.

The Mist Ninja trying to catch Karatachi Yagura were immediately injured by the blast, while several who stood too close died on the spot.

Do not assume Explosive Tags could not kill people.

Unless your body was as tough as the Raikage's, you would still die if you were caught in an explosion.

However, as a Jinchūriki, Karatachi Yagura barely survived with the chakra released in time by the Three-Tails.

After all, if the Jinchūriki died, the Three-Tails would die as well, and it would take a long time to revive.

Uchiha Kyu merely wanted to teach Uchiha Obito a lesson by planting his ocular power in Karatachi Yagura's mind.

At a crucial moment, he only needed to seize control from Uchiha Obito and make Karatachi Yagura serve his own purposes.

If Karatachi Yagura were killed at this stage, the most likely outcome would be Kirigakure's defeat and retreat back to the village, which did not suit Uchiha Kyu's plans.

His objective had yet to be achieved, so this war could not end.

When it ended would be up to him.

The recapture of the Egawa Coastal Front did not involve charging in on the first day. Instead, they advanced gradually, placing immense pressure on the Mist Ninja.

After escaping, Uchiha Obito discovered that Uchiha Kyu had not seized control of Karatachi Yagura, and he could not help feeling pleased.

It seemed Uchiha Kyu was not as terrifying as he had imagined. He could not even take away control.

Thus, Uchiha Obito began arranging follow-up reinforcements for the Mist Ninja. No matter which side suffered losses, it would benefit his plan.

Ideally, Uchiha Kyu would be tied down on the battlefield. Uchiha Obito did not believe Konoha would refrain from acting against the Uchiha Clan.

To Uchiha Obito, the clan was far less important than Rin.

It would be best if Konoha and the Uchiha Clan fought each other to mutual ruin. That would make it easier to capture the Nine-Tails and revive the Ten-Tails.

War was fought with logistics, and ninja were no exception. Chakra consumption drained a great deal of the body's cells, requiring vast amounts of meat to replenish them.

Destroying the enemy's logistics was even more closely tied to victory or defeat on the front lines.

Had the Land of Fire not possessed the most fertile lands in the Shinobi World, Konoha likely would have collapsed long ago.

The reason the other ninja villages had repeatedly failed was that their logistics gradually could not keep up. Unable to outlast Konoha, they could only admit defeat in the end.

Konoha, Hokage Office.

Minato Namikaze rested his crossed hands beneath his chin, his gaze somewhat hesitant. "Third Hokage-sama, do we really have to act?"

"Would this alert Uchiha Kyu and make him directly let the enemies on the front lines in? Isn't that too risky?"

He had rushed back to Konoha as soon as he stabilized the front lines, only to deal with his own people. It left him feeling rather uncomfortable.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gave a cold, calculating smile. "Rest assured."

"We only need to cut off the Uchiha Clan's younger generation. We are not exterminating the Uchiha Clan. The Uchiha Clan will still have hope of recovering."

"That way, Uchiha Kyu will not fight us to the bitter end. Once we bring the Uchiha Clan down to the same starting line as us, everything will return to how it was."

Whenever Hiruzen Sarutobi closed his eyes, the sight of blood staining the entire compound that night appeared before him, tormenting him endlessly like a nightmare.

"What do you need me to do?" For Konoha's stability, Minato Namikaze could only agree.

Of course, whether Minato Namikaze agreed or not had no effect on this operation.

The Hokage's authority remained firmly in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hands. Every time, he brushed Minato Namikaze aside with the excuse that he was still young.

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke with hatred in his voice.

"This matter must bypass Hyuga Hiashi. If the village's strength were not so depleted right now, I would not even spare the Hyuga Clan."

"You do not need to act. You only need to hold back the Hyuga Clan. With you present, Hyuga Hiashi will not dare make a move."

As the Hokage who had governed Konoha for decades, Hiruzen Sarutobi's hidden cards went far beyond this.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had concealed it from everyone and secretly trained a force of deathsworn loyal only to himself.

This deathsworn force numbered a full five hundred men. The weakest were Chunin, while the strongest included a Shadow Level deathsworn.

Unless it was the final moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi would never have brought them out.

The fruits of over twenty years of cultivation—Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to deploy all of them tonight to ensure the operation went off without a hitch.

"I understand." Minato Namikaze nodded with resolute eyes.

Kushina Uzumaki pushed the door open carelessly. Before she even entered, her shouting had already reached them.

"Minato, I brought your meal! Old Third, you're here too? I didn't bring lunch for you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Minato Namikaze with pity and shook his head. "There is no need. This old man is not hungry."

"Mmm, so good." Minato Namikaze took a sip of soup, and his face seemed to turn green.

If anyone wanted to restrain Minato Namikaze, the best method would be to have Kushina Uzumaki poison him and kill him outright.

Because Minato Namikaze would definitely eat whatever Kushina Uzumaki cooked.

Hyuga Compound.

Hyuga Hiashi paced back and forth through his courtyard with an anxious expression, his heart lodged in his throat and unable to settle.

Konoha's atmosphere was becoming increasingly strange. Was the thing Uchiha Kyu had spoken of about to happen?

What he could not determine now was when Hiruzen Sarutobi would act, and in what form.

Ever since he became the Hokage's advisor, those elders had leaned even more toward the Hokage.

Did they not know that once they sided with the Hokage, if the Uchiha Clan fell, could the Hyuga Clan still retain its current status?

What a pack of utterly foolish old fools.

Hyuga Hiashi could not help recalling something Uchiha Kyu had once said in casual conversation.

Old relics who could not keep up with the times should be swept into history's trash heap.

"No. When the time comes to cut ties, I must cut them cleanly. I cannot let the Hyuga Clan be buried alongside those old fools."

Hyuga Hiashi immediately summoned his younger brother, Hizashi Hyuga, and explained his thoughts to him.

"Big brother, will this work?" Hizashi Hyuga swallowed reflexively in shock, sweat already beginning to bead on his forehead.

Hyuga Hiashi wore an expression of success or death, his tone utterly resolute. "It has to work even if it does not. Go. I'll wait for you at home."

Hizashi Hyuga had already thought of a way out. "If anything changes, big brother, just pretend you know nothing. Leave everything to me."

"I'm the older brother." Hyuga Hiashi smiled and patted his younger brother's shoulder.

Hyuga Hiashi also regretted it. Had he known he would face such a choice today, he should have cooperated with Uchiha Kyu to clear out the old fools in the clan before Uchiha Kyu left Konoha.

Now, no matter what decision he made, those clan elders would argue against him regardless of right or wrong, just to flaunt their authority.

Hizashi Hyuga turned and left cleanly, leaving behind only one sentence.

"The branch family exists to protect the main family. Big brother, that is the meaning of my existence as a branch family member and as your younger brother."