"Hokage-sama! It hurts so much!"
"Hokage-sama! Save us!"
"Hokage-sama! Danzo-sama!"
"Save us!"
The Branch Family members clutched their heads with both hands. In their extreme pain, all they could think of was to beg the Hokage and the Assistant Hokage for help.
The people in the center of the dojo watched the Branch Family members suffering from the pain of the Caged Bird, clenching their fists and involuntarily glancing at Hyuga Mio.
It was Hyuga Mio who had brought the method to undo the Caged Bird Curse Mark and the improved Caged Bird Curse Mark.
They knew very well who had undone and improved the Caged Bird Curse Mark, but they couldn't demand that she reveal it.
Hyuga Mio closed her eyes and lowered her head. No matter what, she wouldn't expose Orochimaru.
She didn't believe that Hyuga Hatsume would kill all the Branch Family members with the Caged Bird Curse Mark in front of the Konoha Higher-Ups.
Hyuga Hatsume merely wanted them to buckle under pressure and confess voluntarily!
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family members rolling on the ground, wailing in pain, and his expression turned very grim. How could he not understand Hyuga Hatsume's meaning? Was he forcing those people to reveal how they made the Caged Bird Curse Mark uncontrollable?
Hyuga Hatsume was clearly forcing him to make a choice: whether or not to help the Hyuga Clan find the person who tampered with the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
"Hyuga Hatsume! What are you doing? Are you trying to intimidate us?"
Danzo Shimura's face was grim as he looked coldly at Hyuga Hatsume, his Chakra bursting forth like a sweeping gale.
"Or are you simply trying to display your authority as the Hyuga Family Head in front of us?"
Numerous dark shadows flashed by, and Root Ninja surrounded the entire dojo.
In Danzo Shimura's eyes, Hyuga Hatsume's actions were a provocation, trampling their dignity underfoot. If he were Hokage, he would set aside the Caged Bird Curse Mark matter and first address the crimes Hyuga Hatsume had committed!
The Hyuga Clan was not his, Hyuga Hatsume's clan; it was Konoha's Hyuga Clan!
Activating the Caged Bird Curse Mark in front of them, making them witness the suffering of the Branch Family members, what was his true intention?
"Danzo!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped Danzo Shimura, then looked at Hyuga Hatsume and said gravely, "Hatsume, I don't care what happened within your Hyuga Clan, but they are not only members of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family, but also members of Konoha!"
Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado stood beside Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura respectively, indicating their stance. If Hyuga Hatsume insisted on punishing the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family members in front of them, then he shouldn't blame them for interfering in the Hyuga Clan's family matters.
"Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama, the Caged Bird Curse Mark concerns the foundation of the Hyuga Clan. I need to know who tampered with their Caged Bird Curse Mark, which is why I resorted to this last resort."
Hyuga Hatsume's goal had been achieved. Doing what he did just now was to get them to intervene. Rather than inviting the Yamanaka Clan, it was better to let the Hokage and other Konoha Higher-Ups handle this matter.
This would both preserve the Hyuga Clan's dignity and help find out who tampered with the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
As it concerned the Hyuga Clan's heritage, he believed the Hokage would understand how important the Caged Bird Curse Mark was to the Hyuga Clan.
Hyuga Mio and her group of ten were all taken away by ANBU Ninja. Before leaving, Hiruzen Sarutobi said that he would investigate the matter. As for the results of the investigation, that would depend on who tampered with the Caged Bird Curse Mark.
Hokage Building, conference room.
"What are your thoughts on the Hyuga Clan's situation?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze swept across the faces of Danzo Shimura, Utatane Koharu, and Homura Mitokado.
"The Hyuga Clan's Main Family controls the Branch Family through the Caged Bird Curse Mark, claiming it's for family heritage. In reality, they don't want the Branch Family to escape their control. Otherwise, why would they display such an ugly spectacle when the Caged Bird Curse Mark couldn't control the Branch Family members? Activating the Caged Bird Curse Mark was merely for our benefit! It was to drag us in to help the Hyuga Clan's Main Family!"
Utatane Koharu's black eyes narrowed slightly, gripping the armrest of her chair, veins bulging on the back of her hand, indicating how furious she was at that moment.
The Hyuga Clan's Main Family controlling the Branch Family with the Caged Bird Curse Mark was equivalent to the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family members not being Konoha Ninja, but rather the Main Family's Ninja. What kind of arrangement was that?
Utatane Koharu had long been displeased with the Hyuga Clan's Main Family and Branch Family system, but due to her position and the First Hokage and Second Hokage having no objections to the Hyuga Clan's system, she had remained silent.
Now that she had this opportunity, she was going to voice her thoughts.
"The Caged Bird Curse Mark of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family should all be replaced with Caged Bird Curse Marks like those of Hyuga Kojin, Hyuga Kai, and Hyuga Mio, which are not controlled by the Main Family. This way, even if the Hyuga Clan's Main Family and Branch Family system still exists, the Main Family will no longer be able to control the Branch Family through the Caged Bird Curse Mark! Now, the Hyuga Clan has become a problem for Konoha! All because of the Caged Bird Curse Mark causing such a commotion!"
Utatane Koharu had remained silent at the Hyuga Clan's Main Family residence because matters were typically handled by Hiruzen Sarutobi, as Hokage, and Danzo Shimura, as Assistant Hokage.
As an Advisor offering strategies, it wasn't appropriate for her to speak in that setting. But returning to the Hokage Building was different; the conference room was her domain, where she could unleash her full offensive without restraint.
And so, the ones bearing the brunt of her attack were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo Shimura, and Homura Mitokado.
(Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado are still very young at this time. Utatane Koharu was a very beautiful woman in her youth. Hiruzen Sarutobi's father and Asuma Sarutobi haven't been born yet. Asuma Sarutobi was probably born when Orochimaru was 21-22 years old.
By the way, in the manga, it was Utatane Koharu who suggested eliminating the Uchiha. How to put it, this woman is a ruthless one.)
"The Hyuga Clan's Main Family, Hyuga Hatsume, will not agree. Otherwise, such a big commotion wouldn't have been made."
Homura Mitokado shook his head slightly, saying he didn't believe Utatane Koharu's idea could be realized. From the Main Family's attitude, it was clear they wouldn't give up control of the Branch Family.
"Isn't this a rare good opportunity right now! An opportunity for the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family to break free from the Main Family's control! What are you hesitating for?!"
Utatane Koharu stood up and spoke loudly. She didn't understand why, when it was something good for the Village, they were hesitating. Were they truly men?
No wonder they needed to drink herbal tea; it turned out they were all spineless!
"The Second Hokage, Tobirama-sama, never considered changing the Hyuga Clan's system. Is it really right for us to arbitrarily interfere with the Hyuga Clan's system? Konoha is a Village with multiple Ninja clans, and each clan has their own clan rules, which existed before they joined Konoha."
Hiruzen Sarutobi also understood very well that this was an opportunity to free the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family from the Main Family's control, but as Hokage, if he intervened in the Hyuga Clan's Main Family and Branch Family affairs in this manner, what would the other Ninja clans think?
Considering the overall situation, interfering in the Hyuga Clan's Main Family and Branch Family affairs didn't seem like a good idea at all, and might even affect Konoha's foundation.
If you, the Hokage, can interfere in the internal affairs of the Hyuga Clan today, will you be able to interfere in my clan's affairs tomorrow?
Hiruzen Sarutobi needed to consider whether other Ninja clans would have such thoughts.
Being Hokage is truly no good job... Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed, thinking that if he weren't Hokage now, he would be the Sarutobi Clan Head. Then he could put pressure on the person who was Hokage, instead of others putting pressure on him.
"Is never thinking of change necessarily correct? You, Hiruzen Sarutobi, are the Hokage now! You are Konoha's Hokage!"
Utatane Koharu accused, how could the Hokage always bring up the First and Second Hokage for everything?
Danzo Shimura looked at Utatane Koharu, who was going all out. The words he had originally intended to use against Hiruzen Sarutobi were now somewhat difficult to utter. Thinking about how he, if he became Hokage later, would have to face endless reports and documents, endure all sorts of pressure, and also deal with Utatane Koharu's Make things difficult (deliberate obstruction/harassment).
He suddenly wasn't so fixated on the Hokage position anymore.
What kind of throne was this?
Only a fool like Hiruzen would be willing to be Hokage, right?
Watching Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was so worried he was going bald, Danzo Shimura thought with schadenfreude.
Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed Danzo Shimura's schadenfreude-filled gaze and thought to himself, as Assistant Hokage, if he wasn't offering strategies on such matters, could he really just be idle?
"Danzo, what are your thoughts?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi wanted to divert Utatane Koharu's firepower onto Danzo Shimura.
The main idea was, if I'm not having a good time, you shouldn't be enjoying yourself either.
"First, we need to find out who tampered with the Caged Bird Curse Mark, and then decide on other matters."
Danzo Shimura thought for a moment and said. He wasn't trying to frame Orochimaru, but after the meeting, the first person they would look for would indeed be Orochimaru, the one who tampered with the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Curse Mark.
He had no particular opinion on the Hyuga Clan's Main Family and Branch Family system.
To be honest, he really didn't care for the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. As for the Uchiha's Sharingan, with the Uchiha Clan gradually integrating into Konoha, he no longer had any particular thoughts about it either.
Using the Sharingan in his right eye in the future wasn't impossible, it was just that the Sharingan couldn't be deactivated, which was a bit troublesome as it would constantly consume his Chakra. He had tried many methods but couldn't deactivate it, as if it was incompatible with his body.
It seemed that only the Uchiha could perfectly use the Sharingan.
"Indeed, for now, we can only find the person who tampered with the Caged Bird Curse Mark."
Hiruzen Sarutobi strongly agreed with Danzo Shimura's words, holding his pipe and wanting to light the tobacco inside.
"So, we need to investigate who interacted most frequently with those Branch Family members, and who has the ability to tamper with the Caged Bird Curse Mark..."
As Homura Mitokado spoke, he thought of someone: young in age, yet possessing terrifying talent and ability, and having close contact with Hyuga Mio of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family.
If anyone was most likely to have tampered with the Caged Bird Curse Mark, it would be none other than her.
"Orochimaru, huh..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew who Homura Mitokado was thinking of.
"Could it be Orochimaru?"
Utatane Koharu believed that given enough time, Orochimaru would be capable of tampering with the Caged Bird Curse Mark. From Orochimaru's research achievements, it was clear that her range of interests was terrifyingly wide, from medicine to biology.
The Chimera Bugs were directly kept by the Aburame Clan in their clan territory, and Aburame Shisuke even gave them the right to choose who could summon them, practically worshipping them as ancestors.
Every day, the Aburame Clan members would try various ways to please the Chimera Bugs, just to be able to sign a summoning contract with one of them.
You know, Chimera Bugs are monogamous. If you win over the husband or wife of one bug, won't you get the rest of them too?
There are many summoning animals that can fly in the Ninja World, but for the Aburame Clan, the most impressive are summoning animals like the Chimera Bug.
"Cough!"
Danzo Shimura lightly coughed, and in the manner of an outsider, reminded them, "I have to remind you, Orochimaru is currently residing at the Senju Residence. You'd best think carefully about how to question her about this, and you also need to make a decision. The Main Family of the Hyuga Clan will not let this go easily."
How could the three of them not see Danzo Shimura's attitude? It was, "Don't touch me, whatever you do has nothing to do with me!"
Clearly, Danzo Shimura didn't want to get involved.
He had only just managed to gain Orochimaru's good favor, and he would need Orochimaru's help in many areas in the future. He certainly didn't want to do anything that would make Orochimaru dislike him. Given Orochimaru's age, her future was limitless.
Being Assistant Hokage could be forgone, but Orochimaru's goodwill absolutely could not be lost.
Danzo Shimura was already making a fortune just from the money earned by shimura herbal tea in Konoha and the share from White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company.
(White Snake Pharmaceutical Technology Company publicly claimed that shimura herbal tea was Danzo Shimura's family secret recipe, and thus needed to give Danzo Shimura a share. It must be said, Danzo Shimura's burden was not for naught; he wasn't losing out at all.)
With money, what can't be done?
Why be constrained by that little bit of power in hand?
Hokage?
Isn't he still scrambling for funds?
Once certain obsessions are let go, one will realize how narrow their previous perspective was.
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