Chapter 69: Third Hokage: Hiashi, You Must Consider the Big Picture

Yamanaka Inoichi let out a long sigh of relief: "No need to worry about Chujiu."

"That kid said before going to the battlefield: as long as the war is won, he and Orochimaru will be in an invincible position."

"The more violent the attacks against them, the faster the Third Hokage's collapse will be."

"Our Ino-Shika-Cho clans should not take any initiative; we just need to follow the Third Hokage's rhythm."

"Someone will jump out and fight the Third Hokage until the sky turns dark."

Nara Shikaku muttered to himself: "So that's it. I thought too much and too deeply, and as a result, I couldn't strike at the core like Chujiu did..."

"I am not as good as Yamanaka Chujiu; I fall short by too much."

Akimichi Choza chuckled: "It's fine, Chujiu is a child of our three clans, and that is enough."

"I'll add a reminder."

Aburame Shibi said weakly: "It should be the Ino-Shika-Cho plus Bug four clans; I also agree with Yamanaka Chujiu's judgment and proposal."

Yamanaka Inoichi: "..."

Nara Shikaku: "..."

Akimichi Choza: "..."

Aburame Shibi: "Um, I'm still here..."

"Ah! Sorry!" x3

"It's okay, it's really okay..."

"I'm already used to it..."

If the changes within Konohagakure could be called an undercurrent, then what the Kumogakure peace envoys did was, to the Third Hokage, a heaven-collapsing disaster.

Inside the Konohagakure embassy, the leading Cloud Ninja produced a secret order from the Fourth Raikage.

"The failure of this war lies in the fact that the battlefield intelligence was completely mastered by the Konohagakure army. This is not something spies could achieve; it must be that Konohagakure has developed a new reconnaissance secret art, or a new Bloodline Limit."

"We need to use the status of peace envoys to investigate Konohagakure's battlefield intelligence capabilities within the village and attempt to acquire this ability."

A visibly older Cloud Ninja asked: "Just like the kidnapping attempt against Uzumaki Kushina fifteen years ago?"

The leading ninja nodded decisively: "Exactly!"

The elderly Cloud Ninja asked: "Captain, do you have a specific target?"

The Cloud Ninja captain replied: "I do."

"Advisor Tutai told me before we set off that Konohagakure's reconnaissance specialties are limited to four: the Aburame Clan's bugs, the Inuzuka Clan's noses, and the eyes of the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan."

"The Kikaichu have already been ruled out, and the sense of smell is better suited for tracking rather than large-scale reconnaissance; only the Byakugan and the Sharingan are the Bloodline Limits most likely to have developed special reconnaissance secret arts."

"The Uchiha Clan holds an awkward position and is not trusted by the Konohagakure high command; they could never be in charge of directing the Konohagakure army in battle."

The elderly Cloud Ninja closed his eyes and said: "So our target is the Hyuga Clan."

"But the fifteen of us are under strict surveillance; at most, one or two people could sneak out, but it would be impossible to complete a kidnapping and retreat safely."

"So..."

The old ninja opened his eyes, his gaze firm as he said: "This is not a kidnapping, but using our lives to confirm whether the Hyuga Clan possesses the secret art, and to create a rift within Konohagakure."

The Cloud Ninja captain nodded: "Yes."

"Are you willing to die for this?"

The old Cloud Ninja grinned: "Of course I am!"

"Under the leadership of the Third and Fourth Raikage, the village has properly taken care of the families and children of every ninja who sacrificed themselves voluntarily. I am already old and will soon be unable to fight; of course I am willing to offer my life for the village."

The Cloud Ninja captain bowed solemnly to the old ninja: "The Fourth Raikage has asked me to thank you for your sacrifice on his behalf."

The other thirteen Cloud Ninjas bowed their heads in unison: "Thank you for your sacrifice, senior."

The old ninja smiled, an incredibly smug smile: "I'm just taking the first step!"

That night, the Hyuga Clan estate was invaded.

The intruders possessed the most detailed intelligence, charging purposefully into the home of the clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, and invading the bedroom of the clan head's eldest daughter, Hinata.

They brutally murdered the wet nurse and nanny caring for the child and kidnapped the infant Hyuga Hinata.

An enraged Hyuga Hiashi erupted with astonishing decisiveness and power, killing the intruder with the Gentle Fist Art: One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms and reclaiming his daughter.

But he immediately discovered that the dead intruder was one of the Kumogakure peace envoys.

At the same time, the Cloud Ninjas under house arrest in the embassy also began to stir, claiming that their lead negotiator had gone missing.

They clamored: "Konohagakure ninjas kidnapped him! If Konohagakure doesn't return him, then prepare to endure the Raikage's fury!"

The Third Hokage received both reports almost simultaneously and immediately felt a massive headache.

He ignored the Cloud Ninjas and went straight to the Hyuga compound.

Hyuga Hiashi reported everything honestly and requested that the newly restored Third Hokage uphold justice for the Hyuga Clan.

Sarutobi Hiruzen lit his pipe with a troubled expression: "Hiashi, you are also a clan head; you should know what it feels like to be caught between a rock and a hard place."

Hyuga Hiashi nodded: "Yes, Lord Third Hokage."

Sarutobi Hiruzen said: "It's good that you know. I hope the Hyuga Clan can, for the sake of Konohagakure, blah blah blah..."

"Can stand from the perspective of Konohagakure, blah blah blah..."

"Consider the big picture, blah blah blah..."

"I know the Hyuga Clan has been wronged, but Hiashi, you are the clan head; you have a sense of the big picture and cannot only think about the interests of your own Hyuga Clan, blah blah blah..."

Hyuga Hiashi's eyes widened; these, these were his own words!

These were the things he usually said to his brother Hyuga Hizashi and the branch family ninjas!

He never expected them to be thrown back at him by the Third Hokage; the feeling was unexpectedly stifling and aggrieved.

After the Third Hokage finished speaking, seeing Hyuga Hiashi lower his head in silence, he decisively concluded that he would accept his suggestion.

Even if Hyuga Hiashi could not accept it for a moment, Shimura Danzo would tell him what rationality truly was.

Thinking of this, Hiruzen did not wait for Hyuga Hiashi to come to his senses; he stood up and said, "Hiashi, think about it carefully yourself, do not be ungrate... sigh, forget it, I will wait for your answer in the Hokage Office."

Having said that, he left in a hurry.

The Third Hokage had to go appease the troublemaking Cloud Ninja; he absolutely could not let them have any more incidents, and absolutely could not give the Fourth Raikage any more excuses to start a war.

Hyuga Hiashi, his face full of grievance, summoned the Elders of the Hyuga Main House and the branch family, and told them the Third Hokage's words, word for word.

The meeting room of the Hyuga clan was deathly silent.

Until the sun rose and the bloodstains in the courtyard were cleaned up by the ninja, the suppressed grievances and anger of the Hyuga Elders could not be dispelled.

Hyuga Hiashi held Hinata, watching his daughter fall asleep from crying, her face still bearing traces of terror; anger and helpless pain tore at his heart incessantly.

Someone had invaded his home, killed the maid and the wet nurse, and kidnapped his daughter who had been born not long ago.

For him to kill the intruder to protect his daughter was only right and proper, and he was fully justified!

How could he be pushed out by the Third Hokage on behalf of the village to become a sacrifice to quell the war just because the intruder was an envoy for peace talks from the Cloud?