On February 2nd, Year 50 of Konoha, the "Yellow Flash," who had been executing consecutive missions abroad for several months, returned to the village to report on his duties.
To welcome the hero who had thwarted Iwagakure's conspiracy and turned the tide of the war, the Third Hokage ordered the representatives of the major ninja clans remaining in the village, as well as the high-ranking officials of various Konoha departments, to prepare a highly prestigious welcoming ceremony.
Just after noon, a large crowd of Konoha villagers and members of various ninja clans gathered at the entrance of the village. Holding banners, colored signs, and flags, with the surrounding area adorned with fresh pine branches and flowers, they waited anxiously at the village gates.
At 1:00 PM, far down the road leading to the village, a young man appeared. He had golden hair, handsome features, and wore a standard green Jonin vest over a blue bodysuit. Behind him followed Hamaki Mimura, the commander Konoha had deployed toward the Land of Grass, along with his remaining troops.
"Look! It's the Yellow Flash!"
"Lord Minato Namikaze!"
"Lord Minato, ahhhhhhh!"
Seeing this person, the villagers instantly erupted into loud cheers!
Meanwhile, the group consisting of representatives from various ninja clans at the front of the procession stepped forward quickly. Walking at the very front was the head of the Nara clan, Shikaku Nara, who represented the "Shika" of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and was currently the head of the Hokage's secretariat department. Following closely behind him were members of Konoha's elite noble families, the Hyuga clan and the Uchiha clan. Unlike the Uchiha clan, who had only sent Yashiro Uchiha—Fugaku Uchiha's right-hand man—as their representative, the Hyuga clan had actually sent the head of the main house of the clan himself, Hiashi Hyuga.
Behind them were various representatives of large and small ninja clans, led by the Sarutobi clan.
Such as Shinnosuke Sarutobi, Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi, Shibi Aburame, Tsume Inuzuka, Shinku Yuhi...
Finally, there was a large number of Jonin squad members who supported Minato Namikaze, along with the respective teams they led.
This massive turnout left the newly returned Minato Namikaze momentarily stunned, unsure of what was happening. It wasn't until Hamaki Mimura prompted him from the side that he realized these people were all here to welcome him.
Minato Namikaze felt that something was amiss in his heart, but he still maintained a smile, walking toward the quickly approaching Shikaku Nara and greeting him, "Shikaku, long time no see."
He rubbed his nose in slight embarrassment. "Why did you guys... suddenly put together such a massive grand display?"
At this moment, the approaching Shikaku Nara did not have a relaxed expression on his face. His brows were tightly furrowed as he walked forward quickly. Before the approaching Uchiha and Hyuga clan representatives behind him could get close, he whispered a warning to Minato Namikaze: "For certain reasons, the Hokage needs to publicly display the core faction supporting you right now."
Minato Namikaze's gaze swept over the crowd of ninjas who had come to welcome him, and a clear picture gradually formed in his mind. He nodded, but soon, as his eyes passed over Hiashi Hyuga in the crowd, his gaze subtly paused for an imperceptible moment.
Following this, Shikaku Nara added solemnly, "Also, you need to watch out for the Hyuga clan. At a time like this, it's best not to get involved with them."
Minato's gaze sharpened. "Why?"
"The specific reasons are quite complicated, but to put it simply, it can be traced back to a single person—"
Shikaku Nara glanced sideways, taking a deep look at Hiashi Hyuga, who was walking up quickly behind them with an approachable smile. Shikaku said in a low voice, "Tianren."
"Tianren?" Minato's eyes flickered, falling into deep thought.
He had heard a few rumors regarding the collapse of Kirigakure. The one who had executed that major mission was precisely "Tianren," a subordinate under Elder Danzo Shimura. Minato Namikaze was quite curious about this colleague who had suddenly risen to prominence within Konoha. However, because he had been deployed on the frontlines for a long time, his information was lagging, and he didn't know much about this person.
Now, hearing Shikaku Nara's reminder, Minato raised his head and astutely realized, "Tianren is a member of the Hyuga clan?"
"It's the 'sacrificed' hero of Konoha, Hyuga Yu."
Hearing this, Minato reacted instantly, roughly guessing in his heart why Hiashi Hyuga had appeared here.
At this time, the welcoming delegation stepped forward one by one. Hiashi Hyuga took the lead, warmly shaking Minato Namikaze's hand, and smiled, "You must be the Yellow Flash. As expected, you are a remarkably talented young man. We haven't had the chance to meet before, but the Hyuga clan is deeply grateful for your assistance in the Land of Rice Fields. Please allow us to properly express our gratitude to you in the future."
What Hiashi Hyuga referred to was an incident a year ago when Minato Namikaze fought against the Hidden Cloud's A-B Combo in the Land of Rice Fields, which was also one of the few times Minato had cooperated with members of the Hyuga clan. However, mentioning this past matter at this moment seemed a bit too forced and deliberately sycophantic to Minato.
"Lord Hiashi is far too polite. That was merely my duty."
Having received the hint from Shikaku Nara, Minato immediately flashed a gentle smile and patted the other man's hand. Showing neither excessive warmth nor cold aloofness, he quickly moved past him toward the next person.
After meeting with each member of the delegation one by one, Minato didn't stop. Still smiling, he waved his hands as he walked through the welcoming ranks of villagers lining both sides of the road. Passing through the crowd, although Minato was very happy that everyone in the village recognized him like this, he still wanted to quickly wrap up the matters here. After reporting his mission to the Third Hokage, he wanted to find Kushina Uzumaki to share this joy. However, right at that moment—
Just as Minato passed through the crowd amidst the cheers of the people and walked toward the Hokage Building, the crowd on the right side of the plaza in front of the building suddenly parted like the Red Sea.
A group of about twenty people marched out in silence. These people were dressed in mourning attire, wearing pure black funeral kimonos paired with pure white under-robes and tabi socks. Every single one of them possessed a pair of pure white eyes.
Their Byakugan were clearly visible under the shining sunlight. Every step they took toward Minato Namikaze was heavy and precise, resembling a funeral procession.
The cheers on the plaza ground to an abrupt halt the moment this group appeared.
The young girl walking at the very front—Hyuga Natsu—slowly raised her head. She lifted her pale, pitiful little face, her pair of pure white eyes resembling two pools of freezing spring water in the depths of winter. A cold, bitter resentment continuously emanated from her frail body.
She led the group and stopped right in front of Minato Namikaze. She neither spoke nor advanced further, merely standing before him in dead silence.
Behind Minato, Hiashi Hyuga, who was among the delegation, saw this scene. His expression instantly changed dramatically. He stepped out quickly, glaring at Hyuga Natsu at the front of the line. Suppressing the fury in his heart, he barked coldly, "Hyuga Natsu... what do you think you are doing?!"
Hyuga Natsu slowly raised her head, looking past Minato Namikaze at Hiashi Hyuga behind him. Her voice was as cold and sharp as a blade. "Lord Hiashi, I should be the one asking you that question. At a time like this, why are you standing in that position?"
"Why are you leading the clan to support the main culprit who secretly harmed Hyuga Yu?!"
"Does the emergence of a Tianren terrify you this much?"
"This is absolute... nonsense!" Hiashi Hyuga furrowed his brows and took a step forward, his hands forming a seal. He glared at Hyuga Natsu, his gaze turning completely cold. "Even if you are acting on Hizashi's orders, you are taking things way too far this time!"
Saying this, Hiashi Hyuga prepared to activate the Caged Bird Curse Seal to put an end to this farce!
However, at that moment, a hand suddenly pressed down on Hiashi's arm, stopping him from activating the Caged Bird.
It was Minato Namikaze.
His eyes shifted slightly. Although he felt a faint sense of unease about what was unfolding before him, he still maintained a gentle smile. He looked at the young girl in front of him, quickly pulling information about her from his memory—as someone aiming to become the Hokage, Minato Namikaze could remember the names of all the ninjas in Konoha.
"You are... Hyuga Natsu?"
"As far as I know, you are the fiancée of that 'Tianren,' Hyuga Yu?"
"Yes, Lord Minato," Hyuga Natsu replied with a cold nod. Then, she lowered her head again, biting her lip slightly to suppress the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes at any moment, looking incredibly aggrieved.
"What happened?" Minato sighed, finally understanding why Shikaku had warned him not to get too deeply involved with the Hyuga clan. In the current Hyuga clan, there were two "Tianren." The first was Hizashi Hyuga, who wanted to overthrow the rule of the main house and restore the glory of the ancient Tianren.
The second was the hero of Konoha who had suddenly skyrocketed to fame by executing the Kirigakure collapse plan—the "Tianren" of Root, Hyuga Yu.
The emergence of a Tianren would overthrow the existing system of the Hyuga clan, so the conflict between both of them and the main house was irreconcilable. Under such circumstances, it wasn't surprising that Hiashi Hyuga would approach him, attempting to use his influence to suppress the "Tianren" emerging from the branch house. And in a time like this when the Hyuga clan had begun its internal strife, whatever bizarre occurrences took place wouldn't seem so out of the blue.
Just like now, Minato questioned Hyuga Natsu, but she merely kept her head lowered silently, putting on a pitiful expression as if she were on the verge of tears. She seemed to want to say something to Minato Namikaze, but didn't dare to speak out in front of Hiashi Hyuga.
Minato Namikaze looked at the girl in front of him with a smile, comforting her, "If there's anything wrong, you can just speak freely. We are comrades of the same village, aren't we?"
"Also, I heard you say—"
"Lord Hiashi's support for me is supporting the main culprit who secretly harmed Hyuga Yu?"
Minato Namikaze looked at her, asking with a slight, amused smile, "I have been out executing missions before this and was completely unaware of these matters. I am also quite curious, why have I suddenly become the main culprit who secretly harmed Hyuga Yu in your words?"
At this moment, hearing Minato Namikaze's reassurance, Hyuga Natsu finally seemed to have found a pillar of support, completely releasing her emotions. Tears rolled down her cheeks from her eyes as she said stumblingly, "I... I also don't believe Lord Minato would secretly harm Yu-kun. But, but... they told me that Hyuga Yu was attacked by bounty hunters in the Land of Hot Water, and his current whereabouts are unknown, with absolutely no news of him!"
"Someone placed a bounty of one hundred million Ryo in the underground black market to take Hyuga Yu's life."
"And they said the person who commissioned this mission was, was your student—"
"Rin Nohara!"
"Rin?" Minato was stunned, not understanding why this matter had suddenly involved Rin Nohara. He immediately thought to himself that the child didn't seem like someone who would do such a thing.
He turned slightly solemn, looking at Hyuga Natsu, and asked seriously, "Why would anyone say it was Rin?"
"Because... the intelligence that Hyuga Yu would pass through the Land of Hot Water to execute a mission could only be known by the Konoha higher-ups and you, as the future Fourth Hokage."
"And your disciple, Rin Nohara, just happened to appear in the Land of Hot Water on the day something happened to Hyuga Yu. Regarding her transfer order, after we investigated, we discovered that it was neither dispatched by Root where Yu belongs, nor mobilized by the Hokage's office. The original transfer order from the Medical Department was for Rin to return to the village, and the higher-ups beneath them couldn't possibly have ordered Rin to do this. But—"
"Coincidentally, Rin Nohara just happened to appear in the Land of Hot Water."
"And not long after she appeared in the Land of Hot Water, something happened to Hyuga Yu."
Minato Namikaze reacted almost instantly. Since it wasn't Root, nor the Hokage's office, and even more impossible to be the Medical Department or other Konoha higher-ups, then the only one left with the ability to mobilize Rin Nohara at this time was him, Minato Namikaze.
But Minato was absolutely certain that he had not done this at all, let alone intentionally pried into intelligence regarding Hyuga Yu's movements through his information channels.
Minato looked at Hyuga Natsu, realizing the bizarre nature of this situation, his expression becoming solemn. "Are you implying that I mobilized Rin Nohara?"
Hyuga Natsu did not speak, merely lowering her head silently.
Around them, within the crowd, discussions quickly broke out among the villagers upon hearing this: "At a time like this, indeed only Lord Minato would have this kind of authority."
"Are you saying that Lord Minato Namikaze instructed Rin Nohara to secretly frame Tianren?"
"But Lord Minato couldn't possibly be that kind of person, right?"
"Tsk, of course I believe in Lord Minato's character. But look at those large noble clans supporting him to become the Fourth Hokage. Who can guarantee that they didn't secretly use Lord Minato's power to serve their own selfish interests—"
"While Lord Minato is facing hardships on the front lines, some people might just be living it up in the rear!"
"Are you saying...?"
The speaking villager immediately turned his head, looking behind Minato Namikaze at Hiashi Hyuga, whose face had turned incredibly pale, and hissed, "Shh, quiet!"
At this moment, almost everyone present looked at Hiashi Hyuga behind Minato Namikaze.
Hiashi Hyuga was no fool either. He immediately realized something was wrong and subconsciously took two steps back, snapping sternly, "It wasn't me! I didn't do it! As the proud head of the Hyuga main house, how could I possibly commit such a shameless and despicable act?!"
"Hah..."
"..."
Clearly, the credibility of the main house had become a joke after the incident where the Grand Elder of the Hyuga main house was dispatched to attack Hyuga Yu on the battlefield.
Combined with Hiashi Hyuga's action of trying to use the Caged Bird on Hyuga Natsu without a second word upon meeting her, as well as the rumors circulating in the village about the discord between "Tianren" and the main house.
The gazes everyone directed toward Hiashi Hyuga underwent a subtle shift, and even the gazes directed toward Minato Namikaze carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
In their eyes, with such a "bad apple" appearing among his supporters, no matter what, Minato Namikaze was at least suspected of failing to properly manage his subordinates.
At this moment, Minato Namikaze had already furrowed his brows deeply, his expression becoming extremely serious.
He had figured it out. Obviously, this was a political smear campaign. On the surface, the target was himself, but in reality, it was aimed at Hiashi Hyuga, who supported him. The Hyuga Natsu before him was merely a pawn, and behind the scenes, there were others orchestrating this affair.
However, Minato Namikaze was entirely unaware of Hiashi Hyuga's support for his Hokage candidacy. In other words, this was something that occurred during the interim when he was out executing missions, and the person calling the shots in this matter should be the Third Hokage.
Before he had established a stable political relationship with Hiashi Hyuga, Hiashi didn't have the capacity to utilize Minato Namikaze's political resources to pull this off.
In other words, this matter was actually not done by Hiashi Hyuga.
Then, there were only two remaining possibilities:
First, this was entirely self-directed and self-acted by Root. Rin Nohara must have been mobilized by them specifically to seize this window of opportunity, exploiting the conflict between Hiashi Hyuga and Tianren to launch an attack and tarnish his own reputation.
If they did this, then other political schemes would surely follow in succession, continuing to perpetrate political persecution against Minato Namikaze.
Second, that is to say—
The mobilization of Rin Nohara truly bypassed Root, the Hokage's office, the Medical Department, Minato Namikaze himself, the other higher-ups, and even Hiashi Hyuga, who was suspected of trying to harm Tianren.
No one had mobilized Rin, yet Rin had inexplicably headed toward the Land of Hot Water. Hyuga Yu, who accidentally crossed paths with Rin Nohara, was subsequently implicated because of this matter. He might have realized something, so he used this method to send a "signal" to Minato before his disappearance.
Without a doubt, this was an even more terrifying and shocking possibility than the former!
This meant that no matter which case it was, Minato Namikaze had to deal with this matter with absolute focus and vigilance!
At this moment, in front of the Hokage Building's plaza, Minato Namikaze took a deep breath, looked at Hyuga Natsu, and spoke in a deep voice, "Hyuga Natsu,"
"I promise you, as well as all the villagers present, that I absolutely did not do this!"
Minato Namikaze's expression was grave as he gave his word, "I will thoroughly investigate this matter!"
"And I will give justice to you, and to everyone involved in this affair!"
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