Hyuga Soushu never held any regard for those so-called noble aristocrats, the Lightning Daimyo's courtiers, or prestigious families.
To him, these so-called elites couldn't even tie up a chicken. They relied solely on clumsy politics and fake dignity — no different than lambs waiting to be slaughtered. Worse still, they had hoarded enormous wealth. Taking one of them down was like slaughtering a particularly plump Christmas hog!
So, even though most within the Ninja Forces carried subconscious reverence toward noble families due to their ideological conditioning, Hyuga Soushu went against the current, issuing orders for the forces to march upon the Daimyo's court.
Of course, Konoha ninjas were reasonable by nature. After discussions, Jonin Koryo and the military staff formulated a reasonable justification: the Lightning Daimyo's court might be secretly harboring defeated ninja from Kumogakure and planning threats against Konoha ninjas dedicated to peaceful principles. Therefore, in order to preserve lasting peace between the two nations, the Konoha Ninja Forces officially requested permission to investigate within the Lightning Daimyo's territory based on reasonable suspicion.
At the same time, to prevent unnecessary conflict arising from misunderstandings between hidden villages, and effectively address issues regarding shortages of supplies and soaring market prices affecting civilians, the Konoha Ninja Forces proposed temporarily taking over the security responsibilities of the Lightning Daimyo's court during negotiations. During this period, not only would they fully investigate any Kumogakure ninja who might be hiding there, but also severely crack down on unscrupulous merchants taking advantage of the chaos to hoard goods and artificially inflate market prices—restoring normal market operations and supply-demand balance.
Although that very night the Konoha Ninja Forces indeed submitted an official document bearing the name of Hyuga Soushu—their commanding officer—in terms which appeared gentle such as "application" and "proposal," upon closer inspection, the actual content was written in a tone that left no room for negotiation. Thus, while outwardly termed an "application," it more closely resembled a pre-announced action rather than a genuine negotiation request.
Precisely because of this, the arrogant approach of Hyuga Soushu—the plenipotentiary envoy of the Ninja Forces—left even the Raikage, himself known for refusing reason whenever convenient, thoroughly astounded.
But ultimately, circumstances dictated actions.
With four thousand Konoha ninja stationed nearby, even if Kumogakure harbored intentions to intervene, they could neither sneak southward unnoticed by Konoha's vigilant forces nor protect the Lightning Daimyo and his courtiers during wartime. After careful consideration, the Lightning Daimyo quietly acquiesced to Hyuga Soushu's demands.
As for the Third Raikage, who remained alone at the Daimyo's court to handle negotiations, he felt deeply humiliated.
Previously, even during talks with Danzo, the Third Raikage had been able to maneuver skillfully, leveraging Danzo's eagerness for peace to push for favorable outcomes through reasoned argument.
Meanwhile, the Lightning Daimyo's courtiers primarily played the good cop role, delivering conciliatory remarks while playing off the slightly firmer stance of the Raikage—negotiating each condition meticulously and driving Danzo up the wall.
But Hyuga Soushu, who had just arrived, showed no intention of reasoning at all.
More importantly, his legitimate son and the Raikage heir A was still in Hyuga Soushu's grip.
So, although the Third Raikage wanted to act tough, he didn't have the strength to stand up to that younger Leaf ninja.
After a series of painful defeats, Kumo's headquarters currently faced urgent defensive needs against the Mist forces persistently pressuring the northwest coastal waters of the Land of Lightning, thus requiring appropriate deployments. To create an illusion of strong troop presence, they had already dispatched most of their fighting strength to conduct tight defenses in the northern coastal regions. As a result, the interior of the village became extremely vulnerable. Facing the advancing Konoha forces, unable to match their strength, the Kumo ninja could only reluctantly choose to temporarily avoid confrontation, just like quails hiding their heads and acting clueless about danger.
In fact, the reason why the Third Raikage risked personally appearing at the Daimyo's court was also an attempt to use the empty city tactic (a bluff where a weak force pretends to be strong).
However, unreasonable Hyuga Soushu simply refused to talk sense.
And all of this kept the Third Raikage tossing and turning through sleepless nights.
With the rising sun, the Konoha Ninja Forces that had spent the night preparing began to leave camp one after another.
The high-ranking nobles of the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure, including the Third Raikage, stood silently on top of the castle wall watching as the invaders openly displayed their military might.
Under the command of Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya, two thousand Konoha ninjas from the Hokage faction marched out fully armed from their camp, heading northward toward Shihun District near the Daimyo's court in battle-ready formations.
This move effectively broke an unwritten mutual understanding between Konoha and Kumo—that the battlefield should remain confined to areas near the Daimyo's court in the Kinki region.
Following the outbreak of war, fifteen districts in southern and central parts of the Land of Lightning had either been destroyed by conflict or directly occupied and looted by Konoha ninjas, thereby effectively wiping out nearly sixty percent of the Land of Lightning's tax base, leaving only the cold, barren northern territories as the final hope for survival.
Yet now with the Konoha forces advancing northward once again, even the slightest bit of remaining hope held by the Lightning Daimyo and his courtiers was ruthlessly crushed.
"Raikage-sama, shall we continue negotiations?"
The Minister of State of the Land of Lightning—standing beneath the Raikage, above all citizens—spoke pale-faced, drenched in cold sweat, trembling as he continued: "At this point, perhaps it would be better if we accepted some losses."
Although holding great power and authority, known throughout the land for being well-versed in military affairs, decisive, and aggressive by nature, theoretical knowledge of warfare was entirely different from confronting overwhelming enemy forces in person. Therefore, although only a training unit of the Konoha army had exited the camp, the fierce, bloodthirsty manner in which they approached made the man lose every shred of courage he had.
"Konoha may not dare defy the entire world and let those crude, unrefined ninja soil the sacred grounds of the Daimyo's residence."
The Ministry of War officer responsible for commanding the Lightning Daimyo's samurai stammered out an unbelievable nonsense statement even he himself couldn't believe.
At that very moment, the Fire Country noble envoy who had been appointed as negotiator hastily departed from the daimyo's court in his carriage with attendants, heading toward the Konoha Ninja Forces headquarters.
The Third Raikage and the court nobles instantly felt their hearts leap to their throats!
"What is he doing?"
The Third Raikage asked rhetorically.
"His Highness received twelve million yen's worth of gold kan," the Minister of State muttered under his breath.
Upon hearing this, other noble officials couldn't help but feel a faint hope they knew was probably futile.
If this Fire Country envoy could truly stop Konoha Ninja Force's unilateral action, not only fifteen million yen — even ten times that amount, everyone would be willing to pay. After all, these compensations were coming from the daimyo's treasury, nothing to do with them!
However, their hopes soon turned into disappointment.
Before the Fire Country noble envoy's carriage had even reached halfway, it was intercepted by a ninja from the Uchiha Clan clearly identifiable by his black hair and eyes. Then, along with the coachman and horses, they obediently turned around and pulled over to the side of the road like they were being shelved away.
"It's the Sharingan's Genjutsu," recognized the powerful technique employed by the Uchiha Jonin, the Third Raikage said.
The nobles watching from atop the city wall couldn't help but sigh in disappointment.
"Your Excellency Raikage, what do you think we should do?" The Minister of State spoke up once again, voice tinged with desperation.
"The affairs of state are solely within the nobility's jurisdiction; we ninja shouldn't interfere in secular matters."
After a moment of silence, the Third Raikage finally squeezed those words through his teeth.
Though it seemingly merely clarified responsibilities between parties, anyone with even basic understanding of the Third Raikage's personality would know it actually meant abandoning negotiations and completely accepting their fate.
However, as a Hidden Village leader who advocated martial faction ideology, even when yielding, the Third Raikage couldn't say it outright directly. He had to use circuitous language that everyone could understand metaphorically, then let the noblemen read between the lines themselves.
"I see," the Minister replied with a bitter smile, shaking his head while constantly sighing.
Although suggesting giving up was originally his own proposal, still, as a high-ranking important minister of a great nation, no matter how unlearned he might be, he certainly wasn't someone without self-esteem.
Moreover, most importantly, after the Third Raikage backed down and retreated, besides himself, there was no one else suitable in the entire Land of Lightning who could proactively approach the daimyo to discuss surrendering — because none of their shoulders could take the fall for such a huge decision.
While the Minister was drowning in self-pity during this time of melancholy contemplation, yet another major commotion occurred at the Konoha Ninja Forces headquarters.
Company after company of Konoha ninja spread out in squad units towards both sides of the daimyo's court, advancing forward in skirmish line formation.
Meanwhile, Soushu stepped out of the camp facing toward the daimyo's court direction, slowly raising his hand amidst cheers and support from the ninjas.
Immediately, the entire Ninja Force fell silent.
Such terrifying control not only made Danzo feel suffocated but also instantly darkened the face of the Third Raikage standing on top of the city wall.
[March on the Imperial Court!]
As chakra spread outward, Hyuga Soushu's voice thundered through the sky.
[Victory Ten Thousand Times!]
The Konoha ninja erupted into roaring cheers without delay.
In the next instant, Hyuga Soushu was the first to activate his Body Flicker technique, and the Konoha Ninja Forces surged forward in pursuit!
Though nearly a thousand shinobi had been sent to flank both sides of the Daimyo's court in an encirclement maneuver, roughly a thousand Konoha ninja still followed directly behind Hyuga Soushu. Though not an overwhelming number, this force represented a terrifying power capable of tearing the heavens apart—especially when compared to the Daimyo's court, whose defenses were almost non-existent and which only secretly sheltered a few dozen defeated Kumo ninja. Even though the Third Raikage was confident enough in his own strength to move freely within a thousand-man ninja force, he decided against making any rash moves now.
Because ultimately, he was just one man.
Kumo could be defeated, but the Daimyo must not be killed.
This deep bond with the country's noble families was also one of the key reasons why the Hidden Cloud Village—and the Raikage bloodline—had risen so quickly to prominence.
"Learn from your shame and rise stronger,"
the Third Raikage sighed helplessly as he watched Hyuga Soushu land atop a watchtower on the nearby city wall.
Meanwhile, the court nobles did their best to keep their composure. Although visibly trembling, they orderly descended from the city walls under the leadership of the Minister of State.
The Konoha Ninja Forces advanced without encountering the slightest resistance.
Although the military staff had spent the previous night anticipating numerous possible emergencies and preparing countless contingency plans, all those efforts turned out to be meaningless once the offensive began.
Even the silent response from the Daimyo's court and the Third Raikage left the Konoha ninja somewhat confused.
They believed that with their overwhelming presence, even if the Raikage resisted, they could easily drive him off or subdue him. Compared to moderate resistance, the current situation—where the Third Raikage stood face-to-face with Hyuga Soushu—felt unusually strange.
Thus, squad after squad of Konoha ninja dropped down behind the Third Raikage, falling into battle-ready formations at their Jonin leaders' orders.
Yet even while completely surrounded, the Third Raikage remained calm, maintaining direct eye contact with Hyuga Soushu.
"Too young," crossed his mind.
Though his legitimate son A was about the same age as Hyuga Soushu, yet again: Comparison is the thief of joy.
Moreover, A's prestigious background and superior education stemmed entirely from the profound heritage of the Raikage family—something far beyond what someone like Hyuga Soushu, a Branch House member once treated as expendable, could ever match.
Why was Konoha always favored by the Sage of Six Paths? And why did such extraordinary talents always seem to elude Kumogakure?
The more the Third Raikage pondered, the less sense it made, and the more unbalanced he felt inside.
"Raikage-sama, have you made your decision yet?"
Hyuga Soushu lifted the torch pole and pointed it directly at the Third Raikage, whose expression shifted with inner conflict.
"Kumo has no intention of reigniting war."
The Third Raikage replied slowly, "Konoha seems to be pressing too hard."
"I have come here with sincerity to negotiate,"
Hyuga Soushu responded.
"Sincerity? Yours?"
"I can't see anything!"
The Third Raikage was starting to lose his composure.
Such shameless audacity—no wonder he'd risen so fast at such a young age!
"The four thousand Konoha forces stationed in Kinki are proof of my goodwill,"
Hyuga Soushu said, "Eliminating four thousand Kumo troops with only two thousand ninja was also part of that demonstration."
"Choosing not to march on the Lightning Daimyo's court in bloodshed—this too was part of my gesture."
"So,"
Hyuga Soushu paused, giving the increasingly darkening Third Raikage some time to process his words.
"Raikage-dono, may I ask whether you intend to accept my goodwill or insist on making a futile resistance?"
"Shameless!"
The Third Raikage's expression turned even uglier.
His pair of palms, powerful enough to crush gold and split stone, repeatedly clenched and relaxed. Each movement came with heavy breathing like grinding stones, echoing the deep humiliation and surging rage within his heart—intense and unrelenting.
He was the Shadow of Kumogakure! One of the top five ninja in the world, stably ranked among the top three! And now he was actually receiving this kind of face-to-face humiliation from Hyuga Soushu, a descendant from such humble origins!
If my uncle could tolerate it, my aunt definitely couldn't!
"How could such a venerable noble House as the Hyuga produce someone like you—an utter disgrace!"
But after careful consideration, the Third Raikage finally suppressed his anger, speaking instead in a voice laced with quiet mockery.
"Then call me a barbarian if you must!"
Hyuga Soushu replied even more calmly.
Then he waved both hands left and right. The Konoha Ninja Forces immediately dispersed in all directions, seizing control of every key institution in the Lightning Daimyo's court!
Now, it was like a sheep walking straight into the tiger's den!
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