Naruto: Starting as the Third Hokage with Tears in His Eyes

Chapter 453 Hyuga Daisuke's Shocking Information

The Land of Lightning, Konoha's temporary headquarters.

The campfire in the camp gradually died down, leaving only orange-red embers burning quietly, emitting occasional crackling sounds.

After the commotion came a deep silence, and most of the ninjas had entered a light sleep to ensure their strength was restored.

However, this tranquility was broken by two figures approaching silently.

They blended into the night like shadows, without disturbing a single leaf, until they approached the perception barrier surrounding the camp, which alerted Yamanaka Inoichi.

"Minato-sensei!"

Inoichi's voice, transmitted directly into Minato's mind via a secret technique, was concise and urgent: "Someone's back. It's a signal from the Hyuga clan!"

Almost at the same time that Haiyi sounded the alarm, Kakashi, who was pretending to sleep in the tree, suddenly opened his eyes, while Obito, who was still sweating profusely in the open space, stopped what he was doing and looked warily toward the entrance of the camp.

Minato Namikaze appeared instantly at the tent entrance. The gentleness on his face had faded, replaced by the sharpness and calmness of a commander-in-chief.

Two white figures emerged from the sparse trees and came into view.

This refers to the difference between Hyuga Hyuga's feet and Hyuga Hyuga's differences.

The two brothers still carried the chill of the night dew and the dust of their long journey, but their figures remained as upright as pine trees, and apart from a few mud spots on their robes, they showed no signs of dishevelment.

Behind them followed dozens of equally silent and capable Hyuga clan members, each moving with such precision that it seemed as if they had been calculated, landing silently and with their auras concealed.

The return of this team was like a sharp blade that had been drawn and then quietly returned to its sheath, carrying an invisible aura of killing intent that made the temperature in the entire camp seem to drop a few degrees.

"Thank you for your hard work, Hiashi and Hisashi."

Minato went to meet him, and his words broke the silence.

Hiashi Hyuga nodded slightly, his face, almost identical to his younger brother's, showing no extra emotion. "I have fulfilled my mission."

His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable weight.

"How is the situation?"

Shuimen didn't mince words and went straight to the point.

"Four supply squads and two communications relay squads were eliminated. The squads then continued their westward infiltration, taking down three outposts. This is a list of the seized supplies and intelligence reports..."

Hiashi reported the results succinctly, as if stating something perfectly ordinary: "All targets were eliminated immediately."

The ninjas around who heard this were all secretly alarmed.

Behind these seemingly casual words lie the deaths of several ninjas, a series of textbook-perfect assassinations. This is the true fangs revealed by Konoha's oldest and most prestigious clan after breaking free from the caged bird trap.

Minato nodded, not surprised by the result.

He was well aware of the Hyuga clan's strength, and even more so of the terrifying potential that had been unleashed under the Third Hokage's reforms.

"but,"

Hijikata then changed the subject, pausing as if organizing his thoughts, "After completing a raid, we encountered an unexpected enemy."

The atmosphere inside the tent froze instantly.

The person who could make Hyuga Hiashi use the words "encounter" and "enemy" is no ordinary person.

"Who?"

Watergate's question was concise and powerful.

Hyuga Hizashi took over the conversation. His voice was slightly lower than his brother's, but it carried a hint of hardness that even he himself was unaware of.

"Hanzo the Salamander, leader of Amegakure."

Upon hearing the name, a few gasps of surprise rippled through the tent.

Even Kakashi, who had been acting as if it were none of his business, quietly jumped down from the tree and stood at the back of the crowd.

Sansho fish, half-cooked.

In the ninja world, this name itself represents a legend.

"The leader of Amegakure?"

For the first time, Minato's brows furrowed truly.

"Yes."

Riji gave an affirmative answer, and for the first time, a complex expression of fear and confusion appeared on his face: "He has discovered us."

He began to recount the scene in detail.

"At the time, we had just dealt with the Sand Village's transport team and were cleaning up the traces. As usual, I used my Byakugan to scout the surroundings."

"Then, I saw him."

Rizu's voice was calm, but everyone in the tent could hear the breathtaking tension beneath that calm.

"In that instant, we immediately executed the highest level of stealth orders, and everyone blended into the environment. But... there had just been a fight in the open area, and Hanzo has extremely rich combat experience; he definitely deduced our identities."

The tent was deathly silent, and everyone seemed to be able to feel the suffocating oppression through the Hiashi brothers' description.

"His aura... was filled with the corrosive power of a deadly poison. Just getting close to him caused our bodies to stiffen instinctively. It wasn't killing intent, but a purer form of suppression."

Hiashi calmly stated, "We are prepared to fight to the death."

Everyone's heart was in their throat.

They couldn't imagine what it would be like for the Hyuga clan, renowned for their Gentle Fist, to clash head-on with a legendary demigod.

"and then?"

Obito couldn't help but press for more information, having completely forgotten his previous exhaustion and becoming completely absorbed in the thrilling story.

"Then,"

A deeper look of confusion crossed Hiashi's face. "He stopped less than fifty meters from us. He just glanced at me, and then... he left with his men."

"You left?"

This turn of events stunned everyone.

"Yes,"

Hiashi confirmed, "He didn't seem interested in us. He just said contemptuously that Sunagakure was trash and couldn't even clean up the battlefield properly. Then, he quickly disappeared into the rainy night, saying he didn't want to get involved in this boring farce."

A sense of relief at surviving the ordeal, mixed with immense doubt, spread through everyone's hearts.

"perhaps……"

Nara Shikaku, the perpetually sleepy-eyed young strategist, slowly spoke, "He didn't let it go, he just didn't want to. To completely offend the powerful Konoha just to eliminate a small Konoha team, that's not a worthwhile deal for an opportunist like him."

Lu Jiu's analysis made a lot of sense and relieved many people.

However, Hiashi Hyuga shook his head.

"No, it's not just that."

He took out a scroll from his pocket and carefully unfolded it. It wasn't intelligence, but a drawing meticulously sketched in charcoal.

The pattern is complex, composed of several ancient characters twisted and combined, resembling some kind of rune.

"What is this?" Minato asked.

"I discovered this after he left, when I used my white eye to scout again."

Hiashi pointed to the drawing, "When he left, he leaned against a tree with one hand. This symbol was carved by him with his finger, which contained his own chakra, on the side of the tree's bark."