"I see. Do you want to use the power of Byakugan?"
In the reception room, Hizu looked thoughtful after hearing Akimichi Dingzao's request.
"Yes, the situation is critical right now. We need to borrow the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan to investigate some things."
Ding Zao and several ninjas from the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans behind him made a request to Hizu.
It also shows that the three tribes attach great importance to this matter.
Hizu's face was emotionless. Under the gaze of Ding Zao and others, he sighed slowly and said, "If that's the case, then so be it. Yukima."
As soon as Rizu finished speaking, a figure descended and appeared next to Ding Zao and others.
Ding Zuo narrowed his eyes slightly and recognized that this was a jounin from the branch of the Hyuga clan. Although he was not well-known in Konoha, he was extremely powerful. He was also one of the few jounin from the branch of the Hyuga clan who was close to the clan. There were rumors that He is ruthless. As long as the wishes of the clan are violated, even if they are members of the same branch, they will kill without hesitation.
He is a very dangerous person.
"Lord Hizu, what are your orders?"
Although Ding Zao considers him a dangerous person of the Hyuga clan, Yukima has a gentle smile on his face, giving people the impression of warmth and sunshine, although this warmth and sunshine bring people cruelty and cold-bloodedness.
"It's up to you, Byakugan, to assist Ding Zaonin and investigate some things."
Hizu ordered.
"Yes, Lord Hizu."
Xue Jian lowered his head, his attitude was extremely respectful.
Immediately, he turned his head to look at Ding Zao and said, "There will be trouble later, Ding Zao Jōnin."
"No, no, it's our side that's in trouble."
Ding Zao thanked Hinata and quickly led the three clans of ninjas behind him, as well as Yukima, to leave the Hyuga clan and rush back to the Hokage building.
Time was running out, and he couldn't be allowed to waste time here asking for help.
Time passed and Dingza and others arrived at the Hokage Building.
This place has been surrounded by heavy troops, with a large number of jounin and chuunin scattered in every corner. There are both members of the martial arts faction, as well as members of the conservative faction, the three clans of pigs, deers and butterflies. The roots...the forces are complicated, but under the orders of the Hokage Below, a very delicate balance is maintained.
"Haiyi."
Entering the Hokage Building, not far from the Hokage's office, Ding Zao found Haiichi.
"How's it going? Is there any progress?"
Hai Yi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Ding Zuo returning safely.
He was afraid that Danzo would ambush him halfway and cause a bloody conflict.
Fortunately, such a bad thing didn't happen, and the Shinobu Yami didn't lose his mind.
"This is Hinata Yukima Jounin. I explained the situation to him on the way."
Ding Zuo introduced Haiyi.
Hai looked at Xue Jian who took a step forward, nodded slightly and said hello.
Obviously, he also knew Yukima, a branch of the Hyuga clan.
The ninja clan moves around each other, and although I can't say that I know everyone, most of them know each other well.
"Excuse me, let's observe the Hokage's chakra next. We suspect that he is controlled by some kind of genjutsu."
Haiyi said.
At the same time, he pointed to the location of the Hokage's office and pointed out the direction of the Hokage Hiruzen.
For the Hyuga clan with Byakugan, there is no need to stand in the office and investigate Hiruzen face to face.
Byakugan has the ability to penetrate and see from a distance. As long as it is within range, the distance does not matter.
"Isn't it possible for the Sensing Ninjutsu of Haiichi Jonin to sense it?"
Yukima asked.
Haiyi shook his head and said: "Maybe the level of the technique is too high. My sensory ninjutsu didn't notice anything unusual."
"I know, I'll check it carefully with my white eyes."
People controlled by illusions will have abnormal chakra flow.
Even the most sophisticated illusions cannot escape this theorem.
What's more, being controlled by someone using genjutsu means that someone else's chakra remains in the person's body.
However, if it is a top-level illusion, it can indeed be so subtle that no one can notice any abnormality.
However, this could only blind the sensing ninja, but it could not conceal Byakugan's insight.
It is precisely for this reason that they thought of asking the Hyuga clan ninjas to use their Byakugan to check whether they were under illusion.
"Roll your eyes!"
Without hesitation, Yukima quickly opened his Byakugan and injected chakra into the boy's hole. In an instant, he penetrated the barriers of the walls and locked onto Hiruzen's meridian system in the office.
Yukima kept staring, and about ten seconds passed before Ding Zao asked: "How is the situation? Is Hokage-sama under some kind of illusion?"
Yukima exited the eye-rolling state and said to Choza and Haiichi: "Maybe it's because I'm young and inexperienced, and I failed to notice the abnormality in Hokage-sama."
"What's the meaning?"
Ding Zuo didn't understand what Xue Jian meant.
Haiyi frowned and began to think deeply.
Yukima thought about the words for a while and said: "How should I put it, the situation is a bit strange. Hokage-sama may or may not have been affected by an illusion. In short, I can't tell with my ability."
"?"
What kind of answer is this?
Isn’t saying it the same as not saying it?
Dingzuo's eyes showed dissatisfaction.
"With your Byakugan, how could you not see it? Besides, you are a Jonin!"
Ding Zuo tried his best to suppress his anger.
"Maybe my Byakugan is not strong enough. If the master of the Zong family comes over, maybe he can see something?"
Yukima's question made Ding Zuo even more angry.
Facing Ding Zuo's angry gaze, Xue Jian seemed to feel guilty and glanced away, with a look of 'I am of low ability, I don't know anything, I can't see anything'.
"Sorry, let the Zong family handle this kind of thing."
After saying that, Xue Jian left quickly, as if there was something terrifying here that he didn't dare to stay for a moment.
This is indeed a dangerous place, and explosions are normal at any time.
Xue Jian didn't want to sit on a powder keg, waiting for it to explode and make her butt explode.
Anyway, just express the attitude of the Hyuga clan.
"Damn it, do you really want to..."
Just as Dingzuo was about to say something, Haiyi sighed and said: "Forget it, Dingzuo, the clan must have been instructing him to do this. Even if the clan's ninjas are brought here, they are just playing football with each other here. There will basically be no difference in the answer. It seems that there is indeed a problem on Hokage-sama's side."
The attitude of the Hyuga clan was within Haiichi's expectations.
The ancient style of work will not change in a short while.
Moreover, the Hyuga clan, which was far away from the political center of the village, really had no reason to get involved in such a fight.
No matter who wins in the end, the Hyuga clan's status in Konoha cannot be shaken.
However, the Hyuga clan's approach still made Haiyi smile bitterly.
It's not that easy to muddy the waters here.
There were things that they could take into consideration that that Shinobi no An could not fail to take into consideration.
I'm afraid they are looking for ninjas from the Hyuga clan to come and check. This kind of thing is also expected by others.
The reason why they didn't send anyone to intercept was probably to make them give up completely.
"But what kind of technique can I use to control Hokage-sama?"
This kind of knowing that the Hokage was controlled by someone and that there was a problem with the management, but they were powerless and could only watch the situation move towards the worst outcome step by step, made Ding Zao feel extremely humiliated.
"Who knows. It might not be some kind of technique, but maybe the Hokage-sama has been caught. In short, there will be trouble next and nothing can be done."
Haiyi took a deep breath.
The search for ninjas from the Hyuga clan has reached its limit.
The rest of the moves were better, but they required the Hokage's authorization.
And now the Hokage is obviously on the root's side, which means that no matter what they do, they have lost their righteousness.
Name...is a very important thing.
He represents the will of the village.
Even Danzo needs to rely on this kind of thing to become Hokage.
If you don't get these votes, even if you become Hokage, your reputation will be unjust, and you won't be able to sit in the Hokage position for too long.
"Are things this bad?"
"If Danzo had used force to launch a coup and come into direct confrontation, he would have had a chance to resolve it. But now that he is avoiding a bigger conflict, he has obviously thought of a perfect strategy. The way the village is now is all within his control."
Although he was very reluctant, Haiyi understood that this political struggle that had lasted for many years was about to come to an end.
Naruto lost.
Danzo won.
"Then at least find Shikaku first..."
"No chance. Until the dust settles, Danzo will not give us a chance to contact Shikaku. Moreover, even Kakashi, the ANBU chief, is missing. If we force ourselves to do it, we will be defeated immediately."
However, in this current situation, even if it is not forced, there is no way to save it.
Ding Zuo still felt unwilling.
"The family side..."
"Wait for the notification from above. Although the days ahead may be a little more difficult, Danzo will not kill us yet. We have already been integrated with everything in this village and cannot break away."
Haiyi's meaningful words made Ding Zuo fall silent.
◎
"The truth about the genocide of the Uchiha clan? What are you talking about? This kind of thing has been concluded for a long time. Itachi did it."
In the woods, Zuosuke's eyes showed confusion when he heard Minazuki Yuzuki's words.
The Konoha ninja in front of him, who claimed to be the jounin whom Itachi once taught, had no idea what his purpose was.
"Do you really think so?"
Minazuki Yuzuki was not bothered by Sasuke's objection, but continued to speak with a smile.
"What's the meaning?"
"I believe that you have begun to notice something is wrong. No matter how strong Itachi is, he cannot be the opponent of all the ninjas of the Uchiha clan, otherwise it will not be a wealthy clan. Moreover, on the second day of the genocide, It’s strange that the ANBU arrived so late…”
Before Minazuki Yuzuki could finish speaking, his eyes were dazzled.
Zuosuke had already rushed in front of him, pushed him to the ground, and strangled his neck with his palms.
Sasuke's eyes turned into Sharingan state at some point.
After being treated so roughly, Minazuki Yuzuki still kept smiling and didn't get angry at all.
"Are you anxious?"
"What on earth do you know? Do you want to say that it was the Hokage who took action to eliminate the Uchiha? Don't be kidding, Uchiha is the glory card of Konoha. If you want to sow discord here, I will kill you!"
Sasuke's Sharingan eyes were filled with cold murderous intent, piercing Minazuki Yuzuki's body like a blade.
"No, the Uchiha of Konoha have long been turned into a pile of loess, and the real Uchiha have long become the pillars of other countries. In the village of Konoha, you are the only one left."
"That has nothing to do with outsiders like you!"
"Hmph, you are really just as stubborn as Itachi. Both of them have talents that make people jealous."
"Don't change the subject. What do you know? Tell me now!"
Zuosuke tightened his grip on Sui Wuyue's neck with increasing force, his expression cold and ferocious.
"I just want to ask, do you really hope you know the real truth? Maybe that is very cruel to you."
laugh!
Electricity flashed in the palm of the left assistant's hand, and he attacked Minazuki Yuzuki's body with thunder and lightning, causing him to twitch on the ground, his face twisted in pain.
"I told you, don't change the subject! If you don't want to suffer, just tell the truth!"
boom!
As soon as Zuosuke finished speaking, the middle-aged man beneath him suddenly turned into a ball of white smoke and disappeared.
Oops, it’s a shadow clone! Zuosuke turned around quickly.
A palm quickly pressed down on the back of his head, leaning his entire body toward the ground, firmly attached to the ground.
Minazuki Yuzuki put his knee on Zuosuke's back, making him lie on the ground, unable to move.
"Does it make you so proud to find traces of my shadow clone?"
"You bastard!"
"After all, I am also a Jonin. Don't compare me to the opponents you encountered during the Chunin Exam. A brat like you can be dealt with in a few or two strokes."
The corner of Minazuki Yuzuki's mouth curled up slightly, sarcastically speaking to Zuosuke.
Zuosuke was about to struggle when he suddenly felt his back loosen up. Minazuki Yuzuki stood up and let go of him, allowing his body to return to freedom.
"Why?"
Zuosuke stood up and looked at him with a frown.
"I have no grudges with you. I want to teach you a lesson. It's just because your tone is not very good and you lack respect for your elders. Your tone is much better now."
After Minazuki Yuzuki finished speaking, he took out a scroll from his arms and threw it to Sasuke.
Zuosuke caught it, and the confusion in his eyes seemed to deepen.
"Someone asked me to give this to you."
"Please?"
"I won't say who it is. The scroll contains the time and a detailed map. It will tell you when to act and how to go. When the time comes, you can just act according to the situation. That's all I can say. ”
Forming a seal with both hands, Shui Wuyue Teak turned into a ball of light smoke and disappeared.
"The truth...is..."
Zuosuke looked at the scroll in his hand, his eyes flickering.
Is there anything else hidden behind the Uchiha genocide?
◎
"Public meeting?"
After that, a few days passed, and when the rumors in the village were reaching their peak, the Jonin gathered in a huge staircase conference room heard this announcement and looked at each other.
"What's going on? Why is there suddenly a public meeting?"
Although it was in a large conference room dedicated to Jonin meetings, the high-level Hokage and others did not arrive.
A Jonin came out and questioned the ANBU who issued the notice.
"This is an official notice from Lord Hokage. The public meeting will be held at two o'clock in the afternoon. At that time, all senior officials, as well as the ninjas who need to be stationed at the border, will participate, and the people in the village will also be held. public."
The ANBU ninja took out a notice and answered the question to the jounin.
"It's really unreasonable! This kind of thing happened too suddenly, and there was no preparation at all in advance. Also, Hokage-sama has not been on the road for many days. I suspect that you ANBU have plotted to kidnap Hokage-sama!"
"That's right! It would be better for Hokage-sama to intervene in this kind of matter!"
"The village is in chaos now. If we don't control it, there will be a lot of trouble!"
Many jounin were excited and wanted this ANBU ninja to give a reasonable explanation and let the Hokage himself come over to solve the problem in person.
"Don't worry, our Anbu are the most loyal troops to Lord Hokage and will not do the following random things. Moreover, at two o'clock in the afternoon, all jonins will know the truth of the matter... There should be no need to rush now, right?"
The ANBU ninja said.
Facing so many jounin, even as an ANBU, it is inevitable that you will feel overwhelmed.
Although not all jounin are here, there are still many jounin stationed at the border and patrolling the border, but even so, the number of jounin here is at least hundreds.
It can be said that the most elite forces in Konoha are gathered here.
"Just follow what the ANBU said. Anyway, by two o'clock in the afternoon, you will know what is going on."
Haiyi and Ding Zuo came out and calmed everyone's emotions.
As long-established jounin, although the influence of the two is not as good as Shikaku, they do play a comforting role.
"Trouble."
The ANBU ninja bowed to Haiichi and Choza.
"You're welcome. Since Hokage-sama can't show up, the Jonin must calm down and not mess up and cause chaos."
Haiyi waved his hand.
Although he vaguely guessed what the afternoon public meeting would be about, the matter was now a foregone conclusion and this could only go on like this.
Can't make things worse.
"Then, I'll leave first. The ninjas and people outside need to be notified."
The ANBU ninja nodded and disappeared from the conference room.
"Mr. Haiyi, is this really okay?"
A jounin asked.
"There is nothing we can do about it. You should have some idea of the current situation in the village. Since the higher-ups are going to give an explanation, we can only listen to it first."
Haiyi shook his head. It was too late to say anything now.
At that time, Naruto should be prevented from going to the root headquarters for negotiations.
At that time, they were too impatient and misjudged Danzo's plan, so now they were passive in every aspect.
◎
Public meeting.
As soon as this news spread, it immediately caused an uproar in Konoha Village.
However, many ninjas and villagers thought about it carefully and found that this was reasonable.
After all, those rumors spread so widely that the Hokage had to step in to settle them.
In any case, whether the rumors inside are true or not requires a reasonable explanation from the Hokage.
Therefore, when this notice was issued, almost all the jounin, chunin, and genin who stayed in the village, a total of nearly tens of thousands of ninjas, mobilized to prepare for the next public meeting.
Not only that, a larger base of villagers are also mobilized.
Although they are not ninjas, their husbands or wives, parents and children may all be ninjas. They are also an important part of the village and cannot be absent.
As a result, the location of the Hokage Building was already crowded and noisy before the public meeting began. Ninjas and villagers were mixed together, and the atmosphere was extremely intense.
"Is it a public meeting? I didn't expect it to get to this point... I always felt that there were some important issues that were not exposed."
Located on the rooftop of a high-rise apartment building near the Hokage Building, Zuosuke was sitting on the water tank on the rooftop, looking at the rooftop of the Hokage Building opposite.
There, you can vaguely see a dozen figures standing there.
The leaders were four old men.
The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen is one of them.
Beside him, there were two old men and one woman. Zuosuke knew two of them. They were high-level advisers of Konoha. During the period after Itachi's clan was exterminated, these two people also visited him.
As for the fourth person, a gloomy man with a bandage around his right eye and a cane in his hand, he had no impression in his mind. This was the first time he saw him.
However, to be able to stand side by side with the advisor and the Hokage, he must also be a senior elder and an important decision-maker in Konoha.
Surrounding the four people were ninjas wearing ANBU costumes, each of them exuding a fierce and astonishing aura, acting as guards for the senior officials.
Even in ANBU where there are many elites, those dispatched at this moment must be the elite of the elite.
"The fourth old man is called Shimura Danzo."
The voice came from behind.
Zuosuke turned his head and saw a figure standing behind him.
It was Shikamaru whom he hadn't seen for a long time.
"Shimura Danzo?"
Zuosuke frowned.
"It is said that he is a member of the main war faction among the high-level officials. He controls part of the ANBU's power and has done a lot of dirty things for the village behind the scenes. It was also during this period that I learned some about it through my family connections. He and Lord Hokage came from the same sect, and they are both direct disciples of Lord Nidaime."
Shikamaru explained.
"Really? This is the first time I've heard of such a thing."
Zuosuke nodded, indicating that he understood.
Then he saw that there was no one around Shikamaru but himself, so Sasuke asked: "Aren't Choji and Ino with you?"
"They are down there. I don't want to be crowded with people down there. It's too much trouble. And..."
"Are you worried about Naruto's condition?"
Zuosuke interrupted and asked.
"I've been given a restraint order these days and can't leave the house. But from the looks of you, things on Naruto's side are basically settled."
Shikamaru made this judgment without seeing the worried look on Sasuke's face.
"Your judgment is still as strong as ever. Don't worry, I have asked Mr. Nongmei to protect Naruto secretly. After all, he is Kakashi's friend, so he will still help."
Assistant Zuo weighed the stones he picked up from the side and showed a confident smile.
"Kai-sensei? That's really reassuring. My dad said that Kai-sensei might be the strongest Jonin in Konoha, even stronger than Kakashi-sensei."
Shikamaru smiled as he sat next to Sasuke.
Snapped.
Zuosuke held the stone tightly and tilted his head to look at Shikamaru in surprise, as if he was considering the authenticity of his words.
"Don't look at me like that. I also heard about it from my dad. However, I think it has something to do with the Eight Gate Dun Armor technique. The last practitioner of Eight Gate Dun Armor in Konoha was Teacher Kai's father. Unfortunately, he died in the war in the Kingdom of Wind years ago. And the person who defeated him was your fellow clan member - Uchiha Ruri."
"...War in the Kingdom of Wind? It seems that you have investigated a lot of things recently."
Zuosuke said in surprise.
"If you check the information carefully, you will find many interesting things. Although it is not very good for Konoha. However, the most important thing is what is in front of you."
Shikamaru stared at the rooftop of the Hokage Building.
There, he didn't find his father Shikaku.
It stands to reason that as the Jonin class leader, his father cannot be absent in this situation and will accompany the Hokage.
"Not only your father, but even Kakashi was nowhere to be seen."
Zuosuke's eyes became serious. He had reason to believe that something unexpected happened on Kakashi's side.
Thinking back to the scroll that Sunsui Muzuki Yuzuki gave him that day, Zuosuke had a headache for a moment.
There are too many strange things happening in Konoha recently.
If I had known at that time, I should have taken the initiative to learn something from Kakashi, instead of not knowing anything like now.
Just as he was communicating with Shikamaru, there was some movement on the rooftop of the Hokage Building.
"Are you really going to do this, Hiruzen? Anyway, it's very random of you to do this."
Xiaochun went to bed and asked.
"The incidents have accumulated to this point, and there is nothing I can do about it. I can only come forward to clarify it personally."
Hiruzen sighed and stepped forward.
"But--"
"Shut up! This is Hiruzen's decision, shouldn't you respect it?"
As if he felt that Koharu's behavior in sleeping in was a bit out of line, Danzo began to reprimand him sternly.
"I just feel..."
"Danzo, Koharu is also worried about Hiruzen's situation. Moreover, I'm afraid you have a share of the credit for Hiruzen's actions."
After Mito Menyan stopped Koharu from sleeping, he turned to Danzo and said.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"You know what it is. I just hope you can treat this village well. It's best not to rely too much on Uchiha Shisui's power, otherwise, even you will be affected by that darkness..."
"Have you become so dim that you speak indiscriminately?"
Danzo sneered.
Seeing Danzo firmly denying it again, Mito Kadenden pursed his lips and remained silent.
Over there, Hiruzen had already walked to the stage.
As Hiruzen came to the stage, looking down at the large mass of black heads below, the atmosphere that was originally filled with lively discussions suddenly turned into a tense and silent atmosphere.
After all, Hiruzen had been operating in the village for a long time and had a very high prestige. Just standing there, it was as if he was ordering people not to speak casually at such a time. The silence was amazing.
Hiruzen looked around at the crowd below, and familiar faces came into view. Then, he took a deep breath and began the next speech:
"Everyone, before the public meeting, I must first admit the many mistakes I have made in my governing career——"
