"Danzo!" Hyuga Ieyasu suppressed his anger. "You break into the Hyuga Clan Estate late at night and injure my guards just to humiliate this old man?"
"If that's the case, even if you are the Hokage Assistant, I will go to the Hokage for an explanation! I'll ask him if his assistant, by coming to humiliate the Hyuga Clan in the middle of the night, has any respect for the Hyuga Clan at all!"
"The Hyuga Clan?" Danzo remained unmoved and gave a faint smile, tapping his cane on the ground with a crisp thud.
"Under your leadership, the Hyuga Clan is truly... 'thriving.' If this continues, I won't even need to humiliate you; Konoha's premier noble Family will fall by your hands."
"Danzo Shimura!"
"This is the Hyuga Clan! Not your Root! There's no need for you to tell me what to do."
Hyuga Ieyasu trembled with rage.
Having someone break into his bedroom and humiliate him to his Face felt like a massive stomp on his pride.
"Elder Ieyasu, calm down. I'm just giving you a reminder!" Danzo Shimura said sarcastically.
"A reminder?" Hyuga Ieyasu laughed in anger. "Hmph! Back then, you were just a brat who bowed and scraped, begging me to suggest to the old Clan Chief to support your faction's rise to power. Now that you've gained influence, you dare to lecture me."
Hyuga Ieyasu pointed at Danzo's nose, spit flying.
Back then, the Second Hokage had just died.
Konoha was leaderless.
To secure their positions, which of these young punks didn't humble themselves to the dust?
Now that their wings have grown, they dare to ride over his head and shit on him!
Facing Hyuga Ieyasu's roar, Danzo Shimura's expression remained unchanged.
Only a cold glint flashed in his single eye.
"That was then, this is now." Danzo found a chair and sat down on his own, his single eye eerie.
"Speaking of which, I should be thankful. Back then, Elder Ieyasu was like a hungry stray dog; a bit of money and a woman were enough to buy you off..."
"If the other families back then had all been as greedy and short-sighted as you, the transfer of power in Konoha would have been much easier."
"You—!"
Hyuga Ieyasu's Face instantly turned the color of pig liver.
It was like being stripped naked in public, having that ignoble history of his rise to power laid bare for all to see.
Back then, for a pittance of profit, he urged the old Clan Chief to take a side. He lobbied hard at the Family meeting, bringing about the Hyuga Clan's support for Hiruzen Sarutobi.
This matter had always been a thorn in his side, his greatest weakness.
Now that Danzo had exposed it so bluntly, in his shame and anger, he wished he could strike then and there.
But he didn't dare.
The man before him was no longer the youth who had to cater to the whims of noble families.
He was the "the darkness of shinobi," the one who controlled Konoha's dark side and killed without shedding blood.
Hyuga Ieyasu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart.
"Danzo Shimura!" He stood up abruptly and pointed at Danzo's nose. "If you broke in the middle of the night just to humiliate me, then you can get out!"
Prostrate on the ground, Hyuga Ran grew more alarmed the more he heard, cold sweat pouring down.
Was this something he should be hearing?
Why did it have to be his shift tonight, running into this mess?
He stood up trembling, his lips quivering. "Elder Ieyasu, I'll go stand guard outside!"
After saying that, without waiting for Hyuga Ieyasu's response, he bolted out.
He already had one foot in the grave, but if he kept listening, he'd truly be tired of living.
The woman hiding behind the screen, no longer caring about propriety, wrapped herself tightly in a quilt and ran out barefoot.
Danzo completely ignored the two nobodies struggling on the edge of life and death, looking at the furious Ieyasu expressionlessly as if watching a barking old dog.
"Calm down, Elder Ieyasu!"
Danzo spoke calmly, "I've come this time because I truly have important business!"
Hyuga Ieyasu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart.
"This isn't the place to talk." He adjusted his collar with a cold Face.
"To the front hall."
...The front hall of the Hyuga Clan.
It was brightly lit, but the light couldn't dispel the oppressive atmosphere in the air.
Hyuga Ieyasu sat in the main seat, holding a teacup but not taking a single sip.
Danzo Shimura sat in the guest seat, his cane standing before him, his single eye staring at the other like a hawk.
"Speak. What is it that brings you breaking into the Hyuga Clan late at night?"
Hyuga Ieyasu's tone was stiff. "If it's to reminisce about the past, then you can get out."
Danzo ignored his attitude and spoke directly: "I've come this time specifically to solve a problem for Elder Ieyasu."
"A problem?"
Hyuga Ieyasu sneered. "I lead the Hyuga Clan with boundless glory. What problem could I have?"
"Please leave."
Danzo was unconcerned. He tapped the handle of his cane lightly and slowly uttered a name.
"Aokawa."
As soon as those four words were spoken.
Hyuga Ieyasu's hand holding the tea paused slightly.
The tea lid tapped against the rim of the cup, producing a crisp "ding."
Though faint, it was exceptionally clear in the silent hall.
Danzo keenly caught this detail, his internal sneer deepening.
"It seems Elder Ieyasu is not unfamiliar with him."
Danzo leaned forward slightly, and his cold aura instantly enveloped the room.
"As far as I know, this brat from the Branch Family has awakened a special long-range attack method on the Battlefield."
"More importantly..."
Danzo paused, his voice becoming meaningful. "A few days ago, it seems Elder Ieyasu issued several urgent orders and dispatched three Jonin, intending to recall him to the clan grounds."
"And the result?"
"Not only did he not return, but there hasn't been a peep."
"For the Hyuga Clan, which treats 'the inviolable majesty of the Head Family' as an absolute rule, this is something that has never happened before."
Danzo Shimura spoke persuasively. He knew Aokawa hadn't returned because he was stopped by Minato Namikaze.
But so what? He understood the psychology of mediocre people like Hyuga Ieyasu who suddenly held great power.
That was, they could not tolerate even the slightest disobedience.
Hyuga Ieyasu's Face instantly turned livid, and the teacup in his hand creaked under his grip.
He knew Danzo was provoking him, but this was indeed his sore spot.
Even if it was because that damned Minato Namikaze had openly blocked it!
But as a member of the Branch Family, could Aokawa ignore the Head Family's Recall Order just because he was blocked?
Not putting the Hyuga Clan first—that's blatant betrayal! It's rebellion!
But these words, he could not say in front of Danzo.
This was Family laundry.
"That's because the fighting on the Front Lines is intense. As a Konoha Ninja, Aokawa naturally must prioritize the overall situation."
Hyuga Ieyasu maintained his Face, speaking in official platitudes. "Once the war is over, he will naturally return to beg for my forgiveness."
"Furthermore, this is a private matter of the Hyuga Clan. It's not for outsiders to interfere."
"Elder Ieyasu is truly magnanimous!" Danzo sneered. "But when the Head Family issues a summons and it's thrown back in their Face, and even those sent couldn't bring the person back, how are you going to manage the Family in the future?"
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