Hiruzen Sarutobi's first reaction was disbelief.
On Hiashi Hyuga's side, he had already talked him through it, and Hiashi had cooperated very well. In public, he had admitted that the Hizashi incident had nothing to do with him, the Hokage, and pushed all responsibility onto the Hyuga main family.
The conflict between the Hyuga main family and branch family should have grown even worse.
How could they still act together in unity?
Moreover, he had even sent Danzo personally to the Hyuga clan to apologize.
What else could the Hyuga clan be dissatisfied with?
"Wait…"
"Could it be that Danzo even messed up something as tiny as an apology? Not only did he fail to make the Hyuga clan lower their guard against the village higher-ups, he instead made the Hyuga clan unite?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression darkened.
"What is the situation now?"
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, the Hyuga clan left in secret. They happened to seize the opportunity when the village was dispatching a ninja army to reinforce the front lines. This was clearly planned long ago."
"The Hyuga clan members in the village and on the battlefield moved at the same time."
"The direction they are heading is east."
"They had even prepared sea vessels in advance."
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately guessed the Hyuga clan's intentions.
"The Hyuga clan wants to imitate the Uchiha clan?"
"Create a maritime corps and cooperate with the Land of Water?"
"How naive. Do they think a maritime corps is something just anyone can control?"
"The attraction of the Byakugan to those people is much stronger than the Sharingan."
"All these years, they survived entirely because of Konoha's protection. Otherwise, they would have been carved up by other ninja villages long ago. They are seeking their own deaths!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had absolutely no confidence in the Hyuga clan's future.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi also had no choice but to admit that the Hyuga clan defecting at this time had unquestionably dealt an extremely heavy blow to Konoha.
It worsened Konoha's already terrible situation.
"Damn it!"
"At a time like this, of all times!"
"They did not attack the village directly, but the harm they have caused the village is no less than the Uchiha clan's."
"I have treated the Hyuga clan well."
"I will absolutely not forgive this betrayal!"
Two figures quickly arrived.
"Hiruzen, have you heard about the Hyuga clan's situation?"
Koharu Utatane asked urgently.
Homura Mitokado spoke in a heavy voice.
"Hiruzen, give me eight hundred shinobi. I will lead the team to pursue them right now and absolutely capture them."
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked toward Homura Mitokado.
"Eight hundred shinobi? Where am I supposed to get eight hundred shinobi for you right now? The situation on the front lines is already extremely tense. We do not have enough manpower as it is. If we forcibly draw out personnel now, wouldn't that be handing Sunagakure and Kumogakure an opportunity?"
Homura Mitokado was displeased.
"Then are we supposed to just let it go?"
"This is betrayal!"
"Such vile conduct must be punished!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes were red.
"How could I not know that? But the key problem is that the Hyuga clan deliberately chose this opportunity. Right now, we simply cannot spare the time or strength to deal with them."
"The urgent priority is to stabilize the situation on the front lines first."
"Homura, the newspaper office is already operating normally. Even without you there, there will be no issue."
Hearing this, Homura Mitokado's heart skipped.
Then he heard Hiruzen Sarutobi continue.
"Homura, Koharu, the Kumogakure army's front line will have to depend on the two of you. Set out for the front line immediately and stabilize the situation there. The village has already reached its worst moment."
Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane exchanged a glance.
They were both old now. To be honest, neither of them wanted to go to the front lines.
The front lines should be a place for young people to contribute.
"I truly have no other choice."
"The current situation in the shinobi world is too complicated. Even Sunagakure's Chiyo had no choice but to go to the front lines. All of this is for the village."
With Hiruzen Sarutobi saying it to this extent, the two had no reason to refuse.
"Hiruzen, leave it to us."
"That's right. We will stop Kumogakure's army."
Very soon, the news of the Hyuga clan's defection spread through the entire shinobi world like an explosive bomb, at an astonishing speed.
It was even greater than when the Uchiha clan defected years ago.
This was not because the Hyuga clan's fame surpassed the Uchiha clan's.
Rather, it was because many people felt that the Uchiha clan had a radical temperament and had accumulated resentment with Konoha for a long time. Their defection was reasonable.
But the Hyuga clan had always been too weak in the face of Konoha.
They retreated.
And retreated again.
For Konoha's sake, they had even severed ties with their family friends, the Kaguya clan.
Such a ninja clan, loyal and devoted to Konoha, had suddenly defected without much warning?
"Is this fake? How could the Hyuga clan possibly defect?"
"They were that weak, yet they actually had the courage to defect?"
"Could this be false information released by Konoha to mislead its enemies?"
When Hyuga clan shinobi heard such discussions, they could not help clenching their fists.
But that only made them more resolute in choosing defection.
"Clan Head-sama's choice was correct."
"Konoha was too harsh toward our Hyuga clan."
"A village like that is not worthy of our loyalty at all."
"We Hyuga must live for ourselves."
Only after news came out from within Konoha did everyone finally realize that it was true.
The Hyuga clan had truly defected.
That Hyuga clan, which had been weak for a lifetime, bowed its head for a lifetime, and acted cowardly for a lifetime, had finally straightened its spine this time.
"The Hyuga clan did well."
"That is exactly how it should be!"
"If you suffer unfair treatment, then you should resist."
Sunagakure and Kumogakure were both overjoyed.
Even if the Hyuga clan's individual combat strength was not particularly strong—
Even if Sunagakure and Kumogakure currently held the advantage against Konoha—
The two ninja villages still had to admit that the Hyuga clan had caused them tremendous trouble.
Now that the Hyuga clan was gone, Konoha would fall into an even greater disadvantage.
Sunagakure and Kumogakure could use many strategies that had previously been ineffective.
Traps.
Ambushes…
"Without the Hyuga clan, Konoha's strength has dropped sharply!"
"It is time to launch an even fiercer assault!"
"Kill!"
Under Pakura's leadership, Sunagakure's army launched a fierce attack against Konoha's forces.
Pakura held Hiramekarei in her hands and charged at the very front.
Beside her were two figures.
One was the Split Dog.
One was the Sandstorm Hippopotamus.
There was also another figure hidden in the shadows—the Chameleon.
With three great summoned beasts guarding her, Orochimaru had thought of many methods, but none had been able to threaten Pakura.
Pakura's attacks, however, could threaten Konoha's shinobi every single time.
Hiramekarei and Scorch Release were an almost perfect match.
On the other side, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane were completely no match for Killer B and Yugito Nii.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze flickered uncertainly.
"Release information on the Hyuga clan's whereabouts. I refuse to believe they have no interest in the Byakugan."
"Use the Hyuga clan to draw fire away from Konoha!"
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