Just cut them all down!

At the edge of the Hyuga Clan compound.

Several black-clad Kumogakure ninja sped through the woods. One carried an unconscious child from the Hyuga Main Family under his arm.

"Captain, we got them! I never thought it would be this easy!" one of the Kumogakure ninja whispered, unable to hide his wild delight.

"Konoha really is full of useless trash! After the Nine-Tails' Rampage, they were already hollowed out from within... Once we take this brat back to Kumogakure, we can unravel the secrets of the Byakugan. Lord Raikage will reward us handsomely!"

The Kumogakure captain spoke with excitement all over his face as well.

But just as the Kumogakure ninja were excitedly retreating, a cold snort suddenly came from a branch ahead.

"It's the middle of the night. Instead of resting in your quarters, you came to our village's Hyuga Clan compound to steal? You really don't think much of us Uchiha, do you?"

As the voice fell silent, Uchiha Inabi and dozens of fully armed Konoha Military Police Force ninja blocked the route the Kumogakure ninja had to take to retreat.

"Oh no! Konoha ninja spotted us!" one of the Kumogakure ninja cried out.

"Damn it! Attack them head-on and force our way through!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the Kumogakure captain drew the ninja blade from his back and was the first to attack the Uchiha Clan's ninja.

The other Kumogakure ninja did not hesitate either. They drew their weapons and attacked the Uchiha Clan's ninja as well.

"You have a death wish."

"Take them down!"

Seeing the Kumogakure ninja charging toward him, Uchiha Inabi sneered and led the Uchiha Clan's ninja forward.

The two sides collided in an instant, the sharp clash of weapons ringing through the night sky.

With the Sharingan's powerful perception, the Uchiha ninja easily saw through the trajectories of the Kumogakure ninja's attacks.

In the very first exchange, two Kumogakure ninja had their shoulders pierced by the Uchiha's kunai and were sent flying backward with screams.

The battle was extremely loud. The flashes of Lightning Release and explosions of Fire Release soon drew the Hyuga Clan's attention.

"Over there! Enemy intruders!"

Amid a rush of hurried footsteps, Hyuga Hiashi charged over with a large group of elite Hyuga Clan ninja, their Byakugan activated and their faces full of fury.

When he saw the unconscious Main Family child in the Kumogakure ninja's grasp, Hiashi's expression instantly darkened to the extreme.

Overwhelmingly suppressed by the Konoha Military Police Force and surrounded by the Hyuga Clan, the Kumogakure ninja did not even have a chance to escape.

In less than three minutes, all the Kumogakure ninja had been disarmed and pinned firmly to the ground by the Uchiha ninja.

The Hokage Building.

Inside the brightly lit Hokage's office, Gengetsu sat upright in the Hokage's chair, gazing coldly down at those below.

Everyone in the Kumogakure delegation had been forcibly pressed to their knees by Uchiha ninja.

Hyuga Hiashi had accompanied them, his face full of anger.

Clearly, as clan leader, he was also furious that the Kumogakure ninja had abducted a member of their Hyuga Main Family.

Although they had been caught red-handed, the Kumogakure ninja showed no fear whatsoever. They even wore a measure of brazen arrogance, confident they had nothing to fear.

"Let go of me! You Konoha bastards!"

The Kumogakure captain struggled desperately and began shouting loudly.

"You'd better release us right now! We're Kumogakure's delegation! We represent Lord Raikage and all of Kumogakure!"

"If you dare touch a hair on our heads, Lord Raikage will never let you get away with it! Once Kumogakure's army reaches your borders, Konoha can just wait to be wiped out completely!"

In these Kumogakure ninja's view, Konoha had only just suffered the Nine-Tails' Rampage and was now extremely weak. It would never dare go to war with Kumogakure at a time like this.

Their status as a delegation was their shield. No matter how bold Konoha might be, it would never dare kill them.

Faced with the Kumogakure ninja's frenzied shouting and threats, Gengetsu simply ignored them. Instead, he looked at Uchiha Inabi, who stood to one side, and asked calmly, "Have you confirmed what happened?"

Uchiha Inabi immediately stepped forward and reported, "Lord Fifth Hokage, our Police Force witnessed it firsthand!"

"Kumogakure's delegation infiltrated the Hyuga Clan compound under cover of night and abducted a child from the Hyuga Main Family..."

"They were caught red-handed with the abducted child. The evidence is conclusive!"

Hearing Uchiha Inabi's report, Gengetsu's gaze instantly turned cold. Looking at the Kumogakure ninja before him, he spoke without hesitation.

"Since it's confirmed... kill them."

"Yes... Lord Fifth Hokage!"

At those words, Uchiha Inabi did not hesitate in the slightest. He abruptly rose, drew the ninja blade at his waist, and walked straight toward the Kumogakure delegation kneeling on the floor.

Only then did the expressions of the Kumogakure delegation finally change.

They had never imagined that, faced with Kumogakure's threat of war, this young Fifth Hokage would not waste a single word or even leave any room for negotiation, but would simply order their deaths!

This completely shattered their understanding of Konoha as consistently weak and compromising.

Just as Uchiha Inabi was about to raise his ninja blade high and cut them down-

"Stop!!!"

At that very moment, the office door was shoved open, and an anxious, furious shout rang out.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura hurried into the office.

"What are you three old fools doing here?"

"You're no longer part of Konoha High Command. This is the Hokage's office. You have no right to interfere in these matters."

"I can't be bothered with you right now. Get out if you know what's good for you."

Gengetsu looked at them coldly and spoke with utter disdain.

If killing these three old fools outright would not have caused enormous upheaval within the village and had far-reaching consequences, Gengetsu would have long since wanted to slaughter these three cancers.

Seeing Gengetsu's attitude toward them, and hearing him even call them "old fools" and tell them to "get out" in public, Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other two trembled with anger, their faces livid.

Utatane Koharu gritted her teeth, forcibly suppressing her fury as she retorted loudly, "Uchiha Gengetsu! Although we're no longer part of Konoha High Command, we're still the heads of major clans in Konoha!"

"The matter of the Kumogakure delegation concerns Konoha's very survival and affects its future! As members of Konoha, we have the right to take part as well!" Mitokado Homura echoed, assuming a righteous air of acting for the village's sake.

Looking at these three shameless old fools, Gengetsu curled his lips into a mocking sneer.

He wanted to see what other crap these three old fools could spout.

"Fine," Gengetsu said, then asked, "What do you have to say?"