He slowly picked up the black scroll.
A smug, cold smile appeared on Takeo's face.
The Branch House is the Branch House.
As long as the name of the Main Family is brought up, even the toughest bones have to soften... Rip.
Aokawa didn't open the scroll to read it; instead, he directly tore off the Seal.
But he didn't look at the contents inside; instead, his gaze fell upon the stamp at the end of the scroll.
No Fire Seal from the Hokage.
No Clan Chief Seal from Hyuga Hiashi.
Only a bright red, glaring Private Seal—Hyuga Ieyasu.
"Heh."
Aokawa gave a light chuckle and casually tossed the scroll back onto the table, as if he were throwing away a foot-wiping rag.
"What are you laughing at?" Takeo's brow furrowed.
"I'm laughing because some people have grown old, and their brains no longer work properly."
Aokawa turned and walked out of the tent.
His voice suddenly rose, and his clear, loud voice instantly spread through half the camp.
"Fellow comrades!"
Aokawa pointed at the three people in the tent and said loudly, "Right now, the Kumogakure Army is pressing upon us, and the Front Lines are in a critical state. Every bit of combat power concerns the survival of Konoha!"
The Ninjas who were patrolling or resting all gathered around.
Among them were Ninjas from the Uchiha, Nara, and Akimichi clans.
"But these three!"
Aokawa pointed a finger at Hyuga Takeo: "Holding a piece of scrap paper without the Hokage's approval or the Clan Chief's signature, they want to forcibly take away combat personnel from the Front Lines!"
"I would like to ask everyone!"
Aokawa's gaze swept around before finally staring intently at Takeo, whose face had turned ashen.
"Is the safety of Konoha more important, or is the private desire of a certain Elder more important?"
"Are Hokage-sama's military orders as immovable as a mountain, or do the family laws of your Hyuga Main Family override the heavens?"
Every word was heart-piercing!
The surrounding crowd instantly erupted into a commotion.
"What? No Hokage's written order?"
"Privately transferring Front Line Ninjas? That's a major taboo."
"Is the Hyuga family that arrogant? They don't even respect Hokage-sama?"
The faint whispers swarmed into Hyuga Takeo's ears like mosquitoes.
His face turned the color of pig liver.
In the grand manor of the Hyuga Clan, the Main Family's orders were like imperial edicts; why would they need any Hokage's approval?
For thousands of years, hasn't the Branch House always lived like this?
But this was a Front Line military camp.
It was right under the noses of the Konoha Shinobi Allied Forces.
With these few sentences, Aokawa had directly escalated a "family matter" to the level of a "state matter."
Who could withstand such a heavy accusation being thrown at them?
"Nonsense!"
Hyuga Takeo was exasperated, the veins on his forehead throbbing violently: "Aokawa! Stop spreading your bewitching lies here! This is a family matter!"
"Family matter?"
Aokawa sneered, approaching step by step.
"Once you enter the Shinobi Army, you are a soldier of Konoha."
"Right now, I am carrying out an S-rank secret mission personally assigned by Minato-sama. And with one mention of a 'family matter,' you want me to abandon my mission and go with you?"
He stood before Takeo; although he was slightly shorter, his Aura was like a sword unsheathed.
"If the opportunity for victory is delayed, leading to the collapse of the defense line, this responsibility..."
Aokawa pointed at Takeo's chest, then at the black scroll.
"Can you bear it?"
"Or can that Hyuga Ieyasu, who is shrinking back in the rear enjoying himself, bear it?"
Boom!
This sentence completely ignited the powder keg.
Publicly insulting a Main Family Elder!
This was an unprecedented act of malice in the thousands of years of the Hyuga Clan's history!
Hyuga Takeo's reason snapped completely.
His Byakugan eyes widened suddenly, the veins around his eyes bulging like earthworms...
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