The Hyuga Fire Formation is missing.
The two accompanying guards of the branch disappeared.
From the perspective of the Hyuga clan, this is definitely not something that can be brushed aside.
This incident finally made the elders of the Hyuga clan suspicious.
But unfortunately, no matter how they investigated and looked for witnesses who survived the cruise that day, they only got one answer -
Three ninjas suspected to be from the Hyuga clan were on a cruise ship from the Kingdom of Rainbow to the port of the Kingdom of Fire. They were attacked by ninjas using water escape on the way.
His current whereabouts are unknown and there is no news from him.
I don’t know whether I’m dead or alive.
That's the worst thing.
The death of the two branch guards was not a particularly important matter. Just like Hinata Shingo before, even if they disappeared, the enemy would not be able to obtain the Byakugan.
There is only one way to release the caged bird - death.
But after death, the caged bird will destroy the brain nerves and eyes of the ninja, leaving the enemy with nothing useful.
Their disappearance is a pity at best, and it doesn't feel like the situation has reached an irreversible point.
But the disappearance of the clan's ninja is no small matter.
The Hyuga Fire Array is a member of the clan, and the sealing technique set in his brain is not as safe as a caged bird and can be cracked.
Once Hinata's Byakugan is acquired by the enemy, it will not be good news for Hinata and the entire Konoha.
The role of Byakugan on the strategic level is really huge.
This matter was also informed by Konoha senior officials.
Within a few days, they had held more than ten meetings in a row to deal with this matter.
The Hyuga Fire Formation disappeared on the sea between the Land of Rainbow and the Land of Fire. Before disappearing, according to many witnesses, they fought with ninjas who used water escape.
"This matter may be Kirigakure's conspiracy, we have to guard against it."
As the leader of the Roots, Danzo also embodies the dark side of Konoha, so he naturally speculates on others with his greatest malice.
Because if you think about it from another person's perspective, if you were a high-level executive of Kirigakure Village, and you were lucky enough to stumble upon traces of a Hyuga clan ninja in the neighboring country of Rainbow, you would naturally capture this clan ninja at all costs and get the precious blood succession limit. Research here.
"Witnesses on the cruise ship said that the ninjas who used water escape were not wearing Kirigakure Village attire. Although the identity of the other party cannot be determined, the Kirigakure ninjas are most likely to be disguised."
This ninja village, which is basically isolated from other countries on the mainland, is the embodiment of the military power of the Water Kingdom, one of the five major countries.
Their strength should not be underestimated at any time.
Since the First Ninja World War, Kirigakure Village and Iwagakure of the Land of Earth fought, Kirigakure Village has been recuperating over the years. The previous Second Ninja World War was the same as Kumogakure Village of the Kingdom of Thunder. Any move.
They have been secretly accumulating strength and cultivating outstanding ninjas.
Like the rest of the ninja village, it is hostile to Konoha.
"As early as when the elders of the Hyuga clan came to see me, I had already sent ANBU to negotiate with Kirigakure's senior officials."
Hiruzen spoke then.
"How are Kirigakure going to explain?"
"They had no knowledge of this, and it also proves that there were no Kirigakure ninjas performing missions in the sea between Rainbow Country and Fire Country at that time. They expressed their silence for this incident."
"A cat cries and a mouse pretends to be compassionate. They are targeting the ninjas of the Hyuga clan, and they will pose a threat to the Fire Country and Konoha next time. Hiruzen, give Kirigakure a lesson."
The leader said loudly.
"In the last ninja war, Konoha lost a lot of men. It is not appropriate to start a big war now."
Although relying on the funds provided by the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, Konoha's strength is in the process of rapid recovery within a few years. Coupled with the endless emergence of the younger generation of geniuses, Konoha's current strength can be said to be even greater than the Second Ninja War. period.
However, the power of Kirigakure Village is still unknown. Since the first Ninja War, Kirigakure Village has not been on the stage of Ninja World War, but this does not mean that the strength of this Ninja Village will be weak.
"Hiruzhan is right. We have no absolute evidence. We can only rely on speculation. Even if we are morally unreasonable, it will easily trigger a war."
Konoha has always paid attention to its reputation. Because of this good reputation and the outstanding quality of ninjas, many big businessmen are willing to establish cooperative relationships with Konoha and hire Konoha ninjas to complete tasks.
If you have a conflict with Kirigakure Village for such unreasonable reasons, you will be beaten down by Kirigakure Village.
"The reasons can be considered later. I don't need to tell you the importance of the Byakugan. You must not let the Byakugan fall into the hands of the enemy. Otherwise, in the near future, the enemy will use the Byakugan to deal with us. We must prevent this from happening."
Danzo looked determined and thought about the future of the village.
"I'll think about it again."
Hiruzen frowned, Danzo's statement made sense, this kind of thing was likely to happen.
In previous wars, it was precisely because of Hinata's white eyes that the rest of the Ninja Village had a headache.
If the enemy uses the same method to deal with them, it will be them who have a headache.
However, the sudden conflict with the Kirigakure Village... Konoha may end up in an embarrassing situation of being isolated and helpless.
Hearing Hiruzen say this, Danzo and the two advisors knew that this matter would be fooled by him like mud.
However, this is also a more appropriate way to deal with it.
I can't find any evidence, and I don't know who did it. What if this is a trap set by someone else to deliberately make Konoha and Kirigakure at odds...
This situation should also be taken into account.
Compared to Danzo's suggestion, the two advisors preferred Hiruzen's method of disposal.
The village used such a huge manpower for the Hyuga clan to find the missing ninja of the clan, but due to the doubts about the evidence and the identity of the enemy, if there is no key evidence, it can only stop here.
Even the elders and head of the Hyuga clan had nothing to say.
It's not that they don't want to stand up for the Hyuga clan. The premise is that there must be sufficient evidence and the identity of the enemy who kidnapped the Hyuga Fire Formation can be confirmed before they can stand up for the Hyuga clan.
◎
"Has the Hokage-sama given up?"
In the meeting room of the Hyuga clan, the contemporary clan leader and all the elders gathered here.
They knew very well what the disappearance of the Hyuga Fire Formation meant to the Hyuga clan.
The loss of Byakugan is a very heavy blow.
"The ANBU can't find any information. Just like the results obtained by the branch personnel we sent out to investigate, the identity of the enemy is a doubt and there is no effective evidence. We can only stop here."
An elder said more rationally.
"Hyuuga Shingo also disappeared suddenly last time. This time the fire formation, as well as the two branch families accompanying him... I always feel a little suspicious."
Another elder crossed his hands and looked thoughtful.
"Is there any connection between the two missing cases?"
"The time difference is less than a few days, so it seems suspicious no matter how you look at it, right?"
"That's true, but we can't even determine the identity of the enemy, so we can only stop here."
Although the elders hated the enemies who attacked the Hyuga clan, they could not find any clues of doing these two things, and they didn't know who to vent their anger to.
This kind of thing cannot be blamed on the Hokage and other senior officials.
"I heard that Elder Danzo wants to stand up for our Hyuga clan..."
Hiashi's father, the contemporary head of the Hyuga clan, heard an elder say such words, his face immediately darkened and he asked:
"Who did you hear that from?"
"That's what people say outside."
The elder lowered his head and said.
"In the future, we will have less to do with people at the root. Moreover, let them handle high-level matters by themselves. We, the Hyuga clan, do not need to get involved in such matters."
The Hyuga clan leader glanced at the elders and spoke solemnly.
That old guy Danzo actually spread such rumors.
Is it for the position of the next Hokage?
The Third Hokage is almost fifty years old, and it is indeed almost time to elect the next Hokage candidate.
It is not easy for the Hyuga clan to get to where they are today. They do not need to participate in any political struggles, they can just stay aloof from the world.
Because no matter which generation of Hokage he is, he will never give up the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan.
As long as there are still ninjas and a war market, the Hyuga clan will be firmly protected by Konoha.
The premise is not to involve anything sensitive.
Especially the Hokage fight.
"If anyone is involved in the game between high-level officials, don't blame me for being ruthless. Don't get the bad habits of the Uchiha clan."
"yes!"
Two or three elders bowed their heads with guilt, while the other elders shouted in response.
"Continue to investigate the matter of the fire formation. No matter what, you must give an explanation to the tribe. Rizu, I will leave this matter to you. As before, I will not interfere and handle it according to your ideas. "
The head of the Hyuga clan looked at the eldest son Hyuga Hizashi next to him, the future heir of the Hyuga clan, and said in a gentle tone.
Over the years, he has not interfered too much with the affairs of his eldest son, Hinata. What he wants is a qualified Hyuga clan leader, not a puppet in his hands.
He will eventually grow old, and Hinata's future will depend on these young people.
No matter what, a qualified clan leader must have his own judgment of the situation, rather than just talk on paper.
Seeing this, the elders also understood that the day was not far away when Hizu would take over as the head of the Hyuga clan.
"Yes, Father, I will take care of it."
Rizu nodded solemnly, knowing that prolonging this matter would be detrimental to the family, and it must be resolved as soon as possible.
◎
After looking at the information passed by Ayane in his hand, Shiraishi was doing research on senjutsu.
"It seems that we don't plan to investigate the disappearance of the Hyuga Fire Formation. That's good, it saves me a lot of effort."
Even if the investigation continues, the time and manpower spent will be a relatively huge number.
Moreover, no evidence was left at the scene.
Those ninjas who use water escape are just the right places to replace Shiraishi and become the object of suspicion for Konoha and Hinata.
Although he was curious about the identities of those water escape ninjas, Shiraishi did not intend to delve deeper.
There is no need to pay attention to such a trivial matter. All he wants is to unlock the caged bird. Their identities are of no use to Shiraishi.
Whether they are from Kirigakure or from other ninja villages, there is no need to take it to heart.
Burning this information on an alcohol lamp, Shiraishi began to concentrate on studying senjutsu.
