Naruto: I, who fooled the ninja world, was hailed as a savior.

Chapter 282 The Knife's Handle and the Swordholder

The ground was deathly silent.

All the Konoha ninja who witnessed this scene stood rooted to the spot, their faces filled with indescribable shock.

That's Hyuga Kumokawa?
What's going on with this aura?

Before they could figure out what was going on, the thick smoke and dust behind Hinata Kumokawa slowly dissipated, as if a hand was lifting the heavy curtain little by little.

Then, figures appeared one after another.

One, two, ten, a hundred...

A dense mass of figures began to emerge, staggering, from the dissipating smoke and dust!

Most of them were covered in dust and dirt, many were injured, and they supported each other, their faces showing lingering fear and bewilderment, but they were still alive.

They really survived that devastating attack!
"Out! Someone's coming out!"

"My God! They're alive! They're alive!"

"My child, my child is still inside!"

The ecstasy of surviving the ordeal, the unbelievable excitement, and the urgency of finding loved ones erupted from the crowd, with shouts, cries, and joyful screams filling the air.

Many people rushed frantically towards the emerging crowd, searching for their loved ones and checking on their safety.

Tears mingled with the soot on his face, yet his face radiated immense joy at having regained what he had lost.

Behind the gradually dispersing crowd, Uchiha Sasuke clutched his chest, staggering with every step, as he and Haruno Sakura, who was the least injured, supported the pale-faced Yamanaka Ino.

Suddenly, Sasuke stopped abruptly, his gaze fixed on the person beside him.

"This is……"

Half-buried in the rubble, a magnificent white longbow was stuck in the rock face—the weapon of the invader.

A strange look flashed across Sasuke's face. He reached out the hand that was covering his chest, gripped the cold bow tightly, and exerted force!

laugh!
The longbow was forcibly pulled from the solid rock wall, and a faint chakra fluctuation came from the palm of his hand, as if responding to Sasuke.

"This feeling... is it like the Seven Deadly Sins, a ninja tool with a 'soul'?"

Sasuke looked down at the weapon, his eyes flashing with an unfathomable light, lost in thought.

"Ino!"

Just then, a very anxious voice came.

Suddenly, Yamanaka Inoichi rushed into the crowd and dashed to his daughter's side.

Looking at his daughter's pale but unharmed face, the usually composed clan chief of the mountain tribe could not hide his excitement and hugged Ino tightly.

"Dad! I... I thought I would never see you again!" Yamanaka Ino's tense emotions completely collapsed in her father's arms, her voice trembling with sobs.

"It's alright, it's alright! It's good that you're alive, it's good that you're alive!" Yamanaka Inoichi held his daughter, his voice choked with emotion, and kept patting her back to comfort her.

"Ino." After his daughter calmed down a bit, he asked instinctively, "How did you manage to attack someone of that level just now...?"

Ino raised her tear-filled face and pointed to the floating figure in the air.

"Yes! It was Lord Yun Chuan who saved us!"

"Without Lord Yun Chuan standing in front, we would have already..."

The other survivors around, whether children or civilians, also spoke up excitedly to explain, and everyone's eager eyes were turned to Hyuga Kumokawa in the air.

On the other side of the clamor and jubilation, Hiruzen Sarutobi, supported by Tsunade, suddenly tensed his previously deathly pale face, his eyes frantically searching through the staggering crowd.

The image freezes on the unconscious figure in Iruka Umino's arms.

It's Naruto!
The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is still alive!

"call……"

A long, drawn-out sigh, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, was exhaled with difficulty from deep within Hiruzen Sarutobi's chest.

The nerves that had been stretched to the point of almost breaking finally relaxed a little, and a bit of color returned to his pale face.

As long as the Nine-Tails is still alive, and as long as these thousands of people haven't all died, it's already a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

If Konoha were to lose both the Nine-Tails and thousands of villagers at the same time, he couldn't imagine how he would face the resentment of the ninjas and the people.

However, this sense of relief lasted only a moment.

Hearing the survivors' words, his gaze involuntarily rose to look at Hyuga Kumokawa, who was suspended in the air and had accomplished all of this. Looking at those strange eyes that shimmered with a magnificent light, distinctly different from the Byakugan, Hiruzen Sarutobi's brows furrowed unconsciously.

What kind of eyes are those?

Furthermore, that attack just now was comparable to a Tailed Beast Ball from a perfect Jinchuriki, yet Hyuga Kumokawa was able to block it. When exactly did he acquire such power?

At this moment, at this very moment, those mocking and hateful words he heard when he encountered Orochimaru in the Land of Demons echoed clearly in his mind once again:

"So many years have passed, and you're still being kept in the dark by that cunning brat! How pathetic!"

Thinking of this, amidst a complex mix of lingering fear and relief, a trace of doubt uncontrollably welled up in my heart, growing and coiling rapidly like a cold vine.

"Could it be that Hyuga Kumokawa is truly not as loyal and gentle as Orochimaru said?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but wonder, "Could there be some hidden story behind Orochimaru's defection that I don't know about?"

However, although Hiruzen Sarutobi had doubts in his heart at this moment, he did not feel any strong fear or hostility.

After all, Hyuga Kumokawa was ultimately a branch family member of the Hyuga clan, a "caged bird" with the "Caged Bird" curse mark inscribed on him, his life and death in the hands of the main family.

If the Hyuga main family is the hilt of the sword Hyuga Kumokawa, then I, as the Hokage, am the hand that holds the hilt and decides the direction of the blade.

No matter how sharp a knife is, as long as it has a handle, and as long as the hand holding the handle is firm enough, the blade will never be able to harm the wielder; it will only become the most reliable weapon...

and many more!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly realized a crucial point that he had subconsciously overlooked!

His pupils suddenly contracted, his body jolted as if electrocuted, and a chilling coldness shot from his spine to the top of his head. He abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of the Hyuga clan's territory.

Because of the sudden attack by the Sky Ninja, and because of his trust and reliance on Hyuga Kumokawa's abilities, after returning to the village, he focused all his energy on the crisis on the front lines.

I haven't had a chance to ask Tsunade in detail about the specific situation inside the Hyuga clan's territory.
All he knew was that Tsunade had already sent people to investigate and provide support.

but……

Hyuga Kumokawa has already appeared here, so where are the people who were sent to investigate the Hyuga clan's territory? Why hasn't any news come back yet?
It's important to know that among the people Tsunade sent was Might Guy, the one who mastered 'Gluttony'.

Given Kai's speed and efficiency, there should have been a response by now.

What exactly happened within the Hyuga clan?
What happened to the Hyuga main family, Hyuga Hiashi and the others?

Hinata Kumokawa is indeed still under control.

but if……

What if something unexpected happens to the Hyuga main family, who are the "hilt" of the sword?

This extremely terrifying thought popped into his mind, instantly sending chills down Hiruzen Sarutobi's spine. He subconsciously looked up at Hyuga Kumokawa in the sky.

boom! boom! !

Two deafening explosions rang out almost simultaneously, instantly shattering the brief and fragile peace of Konoha and violently interrupting everyone's brief moment of relaxation after surviving the ordeal!

Everyone looked up in horror, only to see Hyuga Yunchuan's figure, which was suspended in the air, suddenly blur and disappear into a blur.

He transformed into a streak of light tearing through the sky, hurtling straight toward the intruder dressed in a black robe with red clouds at a terrifying speed that surpassed the limits of visual perception.

Meanwhile, in another direction, deep within the Hyuga clan's territory.

A large amount of smoke and dust shot into the sky with the explosion. Immediately afterwards, a figure flew backward from the smoke and dust of the explosion and into the air!
The iconic green bodysuit is clearly Might Guy!
However, Might Guy looked quite disheveled at this moment, with his green bodysuit torn in many places and covered in a lot of dust.

"Third generation sir."

Noticing Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others in the distance, Might Guy shouted urgently from mid-air, "It's Neji Hyuga! It's the 'Espada'! The Hyuga main family..."

At this point, his voice stopped abruptly.

Because a white figure suddenly appeared in front of him!

That is……

"Ten blades?"

Looking at the familiar pale bone face and humanoid outline, and at the completely unfamiliar figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi's hoarse voice was full of surprise and doubt.

How did the 'Espada' end up here?

How could it be a 'Espada' that we've never seen before?
　and also

　　
　
(End of this chapter)