Hyuga Satoru's words were resolute and unyielding. By saying he didn't even trust the ANBU, he was, in effect, casting doubt on the Third Hokage himself — Sarutobi Hiruzen.
For a moment, every gaze in the courtyard locked onto Satoru. No one had expected such a direct and defiant answer from him.
Hiruzen's expression darkened slightly. Even with his years of self-restraint, hearing a Hyuga heir say such a thing in public made it difficult to maintain his calm. He said nothing at first, only studying Satoru's eyes, as if trying to see what — or who — was behind those words.
At that moment, Shimura Danzo stepped forward, his voice harsh and booming.
"Outrageous!
Do you even know who you're talking to, boy? Don't think that just because you're from the Hyuga Main Family you can show such disrespect!
If you can't even trust the ANBU — directly under the Hokage — then who in this village can you trust?!
Is this how the Hyuga Clan raised you?!"
He spoke like an elder scolding a junior — but even as he barked, his one visible eye flicked toward Hiruzen.
Danzo had already guessed why Hiruzen was so intent on taking the body. Hiruzen wanted to see whether the corpse held anything that could tie Danzo down.
If incriminating evidence was found, Root's freedom to act would be crushed. At that point, the "shadow" of Konoha would become nothing more than the Hokage's tool.
But now… it seemed Hiruzen's plan was not going to go smoothly.
Because even though Satoru was young, he was clearly speaking on behalf of the Hyuga — that was a weight neither Hiruzen nor Danzo could ignore.
Faced with Danzo's scolding, Satoru did not even look at him. He simply gestured to the Hyuga guards.
"Take Kurama Unkai's body," he said.
That order, directly contradicting the Hokage's will, made the Hyuga clansmen hesitate for a heartbeat. Their eyes moved from Hiruzen… to Satoru… and after that brief struggle, they obeyed Satoru.
Seeing the Hyuga follow the boy instead of the Hokage, both Hiruzen and Danzo exchanged dark, unreadable looks.
Hiruzen let out a quiet sigh. He clearly didn't want this to become an outright clash with the Hyuga.
He was just about to speak and take a step back when Danzo's cold voice rang out again:
"Go! Follow the Hokage's order!
That body will be investigated by ANBU!
Anyone who resists — kill them!"
Danzo feared no one in the village. He had long walked in darkness — reputation meant nothing to him.
Root did not survive on prestige. It survived on cursed seals and fear.
And right now, he was acting under the Hokage's name.
Before the echo of his words had faded, two Root shinobi flashed forward, darting toward Kurama Unkai's corpse.
Their sudden move made Hyuga Hiashi frown. Without a clear command from the clan head — and with the Hokage present — he hesitated. He didn't want to turn this into full-blown war with the Hokage and Danzo. After a moment's pause… he stepped aside.
The two Root operatives reached the corpse unimpeded.
Seeing them act, several ANBU also drew their weapons and formed a line to block the surrounding Hyuga.
The tension spiked.
The Hyuga turned toward Satoru, waiting. Words were one thing — actually fighting the Hokage's forces was another. Even someone as steady as Hyuga Hiashi or Hyuga Shin would have thought twice.
But Satoru's cold voice cut through their hesitation.
"Hmph! They've already come to our doorstep — what room do we have to retreat?
The assassin is dead. If we can't even uncover who was behind it, how will the Hyuga stand tall in the shinobi world?
The more they try to stop us… the more certain it is that we must dig to the bottom!
We — the Hyuga — fear no one!"
Before anyone could react, Satoru raised his hand — and a flurry of kunai shot toward the ANBU.
He no longer cared about "saving face." Hiruzen and Danzo's actions were far too suspicious. Whoever had ordered his assassination was almost certainly one of the two.
If they already wanted him dead, then the only answer… was to strike first.
Zzzzt—!
The kunai crackled with lightning chakra, the air hissing as arcs of blue-white light followed their path. The sudden kill-intent made every ANBU tense.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
An ANBU dropped down in front and slammed his hands to the ground — but they had underestimated Satoru's speed.
The lightning-charged kunai were too fast.
Before the earth wall could even rise, the kunai were already there.
"Scatter!"
The ANBU broke formation in a blur. It was hurried and ugly — but they avoided being skewered.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The kunai sank into Kurama Unkai's corpse.
The ANBU spun back — and their faces froze.
At some point, Satoru had already appeared beside the body. Before anyone could stop him, he grabbed the corpse by the neck —
— and in the next instant, both of them vanished.
"!!!"
"The Flying Thunder God Technique!"
Even among ANBU, few had seen it with their own eyes. Seeing it now, they were stunned.
Ever since Namikaze Minato became famous as the Fourth Hokage, Flying Thunder God had become synonymous with invincibility.
And now… Hyuga Satoru had used it.
Even if his mastery wasn't on Minato's level yet, that clean, instantaneous transition was unmistakable — this was a shinobi who had already stepped onto the path of space-time ninjutsu.
More importantly — the target corpse had now been teleported away.
If they wanted to recover it, they would have to attack the Hyuga heir directly.
But just as the Hyuga had hesitated to strike the Hokage's men… the ANBU now hesitated to strike the Hyuga Main Family head-on.
They all looked to Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo.
"Interfering with ANBU operations is an act of treason against the village," Danzo said coldly. "Seize that boy."
He didn't even glance at Hiruzen.
If the Hyuga examined the corpse and found anything pointing to him, he'd be implicated anyway. Better to act first, force Hiruzen to stand with him, and crush Satoru before the situation spiraled.
Hiruzen stayed silent. Since Danzo said "capture," not "kill," he let it happen. If Satoru openly defied the Hokage here, it would damage the Hokage's authority — and the ANBU's — in front of two great clans.
He and Danzo understood each other.
Light and shadow.
Two halves of the same village.
As Danzo's order rang out, Root shinobi drew their blades and rushed Satoru. The ANBU looked to Hiruzen — he gave a single, silent nod — and they, too, joined the assault.
"Protect Satoru-sama!" Hyuga Hiashi roared.
The Hyuga moved as one, clashing with the ANBU in a storm of strikes and flowing Gentle Fist.
But Satoru's figure flickered.
When he reappeared, he was standing safely beside Uchiha Fugaku.
Before acting, he had already left a marked kunai near Fugaku.
He had secured the corpse in a safe Hyuga location — and then jumped to his fallback point.
"Capture them all," Satoru said coldly, eyes gleaming.
Danzo's head snapped toward the voice. Seeing Satoru uninjured, he narrowed his eye and started walking forward, cane tapping.
The real confrontation… had only just begun.
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