Chapter 26 — I Am the Hokage (Don't flood the comments... please!)
Hyūga Ritsu's play was downright nasty.
Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his stomach twist.
With all these Branch House shinobi crowding around him under the pretense of "protecting" the Hokage, he suddenly discovered… he couldn't do anything.
He couldn't strike them down—not with more and more Hyūga jōnin and tokubetsu-jōnin arriving, all staring at Hyūga Nisshiki and the other Main House members not with familial warmth, but with the eyes one reserves for an enemy.
It hit him hard:
Hyūga Clan could never return to what it once was.
If he killed Ritsu now, instead of restoring peace,
it might spark a far greater rebellion.
So—
Hiruzen hesitated for only a heartbeat.
Then, seeing Ritsu launch himself toward Hyūga Hishō and Hyūga Taisho, he shouted:
"Hyūga Ritsu—STOP!"
Ritsu didn't even twitch.
In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of the father and son.
"Minato! Stop him—don't let him keep killing!"
Hiruzen barked the order instantly.
Hearing this, Elder Hyūga Karin—assigned to "protect" Minato—tensed up like a panicked cat.
She threw her arms wide, completely ignoring propriety between men and women, clearly intending to hug Minato into staying put.
Whoosh—!
Minato flicked a finger.
A Flying Raijin kunai shot out from under Karin's arm like a streak of gold.
Karin lunged forward but only grabbed air, stumbling so hard she nearly fell.
Minato's form vanished—
—and reappeared behind Hyūga Ritsu.
His trident-shaped kunai pressed against Ritsu's back.
"Stop, Ritsu-kun."
Minato spoke softly.
But Ritsu didn't acknowledge him at all.
He simply brought both palms forward and struck.
Forced to defend themselves, Hishō and Taisho had no choice but to meet him palm-for-palm.
CRACK—!
Minato didn't hesitate.
He thrust his kunai straight toward Ritsu's spine.
But—
It didn't pierce.
A branch of bone burst from Ritsu's back, knocking the kunai away with a metallic clang.
At that exact moment, Hishō and Taisho screamed.
The centers of their palms were punched clean through—
perfect round holes of blood and flesh.
Ritsu didn't pause.
Because as the saying goes—
"When your enemy is wounded—finish them."
Seizing the moment while Hishō and Taisho writhed in pain and confusion, Ritsu closed the distance in a blur.
His palms swept forward—
Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
This was the very core of the Hyūga Gentle Fist.
Techniques such as Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, Rotation, Twin Lion Fists—
all of them were built upon the foundation of the Sixty-Four Palms,
a secret reserved exclusively for the Main House.
The Branch House was only ever taught the Thirty-Two Palms.
But thanks to the regenerative power of his mutant body, Ritsu had long since mastered the complete Sixty-Four Palms on his own—
without fear of damaging his chakra pathways.
And now, against these two watered-down Main House jōnin, he didn't even need sixty-four palms.
Four were enough.
The first two pierced clean holes through their remaining palms.
The last two crashed into their chests—bursting white bone spears shooting from Ritsu's palms, stabbing straight through their hearts.
They died instantly.
The Shikotsumyaku and Gentle Fist really were made for each other.
At that same moment—
Minato Namikaze struck from behind.
A pale-blue sphere of high-density chakra spun in his hand.
He slammed the Rasengan toward Ritsu's back without hesitation.
But—
Three razor-sharp bones tore out from Ritsu's spine and collided with the Rasengan.
BOOM!!
Shards of shattered bone sprayed outward.
Ritsu's back was left raw and bloody, yet—
He only staggered forward four or five meters, then straightened as if nothing happened.
He turned calmly and locked eyes with Minato.
Minato frowned slightly.
He didn't advance.
Hishō and Taisho were already dead.
The mission—to stop Ritsu without harming the Branch House—had failed.
There was no justification for further action.
"Clan Head!"
"Clan Head, are you alright?!"
Hyūga Takuma, Hyūga Arima, and several jōnin rushed over in a panic.
Seeing Ritsu's bloody back, Arima exploded with fury:
"Hokage–sama, what is the village trying to do?!
Continuing to help these Main House beasts enslave us Branch House shinobi?!
You—!"
"Arima. Enough."
Ritsu stopped him with a low command.
He moved forward, ignoring the blood trickling down his back, and stood before Hiruzen.
He bowed respectfully and said:
"Hokage-sama, Arima is young and hot-blooded.
If he spoke out of turn, I beg you to forgive him."
Shimura Danzō immediately stepped forward like Hiruzen's shadow:
"Hyūga Ritsu, what are you trying to do?
Slaughtering your clansmen openly before us—do you think we can't touch you?"
Ritsu straightened his posture, eyes steady.
"Advisor Shimura, this is an internal matter of the Hyūga Clan."
His voice remained calm, but unyielding.
"Please do not forget the rule laid down by the First Hokage himself:
the village does not interfere in internal clan affairs."
Danzō sneered.
"That rule applies only when clan disputes do not endanger the village.
Do you truly think your clan's infighting affects only yourselves?
How narrow-minded."
Ritsu stepped forward.
"Then tell me—
what exactly has the village suffered?
If the Hyūga truly caused harm to the village,
as clan head, I will take full responsibility."
He did not retreat an inch.
Danzō's face twisted in rage.
No one—no one—spoke to him like this.
Not even Hiruzen dared speak so directly.
His killing intent surged.
"You want to know the cost to the village? Fine—I'll tell yo—"
"Danzō.
Enough."
Hiruzen finally intervened.
Danzō snapped around.
"Hiruzen?"
"I said—enough."
"Don't you see? This boy is a threat.
He must be eliminated now, while we still—"
"Danzō. THAT'S ENOUGH."
Hiruzen's voice thundered across the courtyard.
"I am the Hokage."
Silence.
A vein pulsed at Danzō's temple.
"You will regret this, Hiruzen."
He spat the words like a curse, then flung his cloak and stormed away.
Around him, dozens of Hyūga jōnin stared daggers into his back—
and by their eyes alone, it was clear:
If they weren't restraining themselves,
they might have torn Danzō to pieces on the spot.
"Everyone—move!
Do not block the Hokage Advisor's path!"
Ritsu's cold voice cut through the tension.
The Hyūga stepped aside in silence and watched Danzō disappear from sight.
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