Naruto: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Otsutsuki.

That night, time seemed to drag on endlessly in Konoha Village.

Panic spread like locusts through the core ranks, but under Hiruzen Sarutobi's iron-fisted suppression, the news was firmly locked within the ruins of the Hyuga clan's territory.

Although the leaders of the various clans were terrified, they understood that stability was more important than anything else at the moment, and they gave a unified statement to the outside world.

"The extremely dangerous external intruder attack has been defeated by the Hokage and the advisory group."

If it were an ordinary person, they might believe it.

After all, the actual number of casualties was not high; most of the dead were members of the Anbu, Root, and Hyuga clan.

But there will always be someone who understands that an enemy capable of causing such destruction...

It's that troublesome.

For example, Tsunade, who was just rushed back from the casino on the other side.

She stood in the middle of the corridor of Konoha Hospital, with stretchers being carried over her feet.

The stench of blood was overwhelming, and Tsunade's body trembled uncontrollably due to her hemophobia.

In those once spirited eyes, fear and reason were constantly battling.

But as the granddaughter of the First Hokage, and as one of Konoha's top medical ninjas.

Despite her forehead being covered in cold sweat, she suppressed the urge to vomit and flee, and gave instructions in a deep voice.

"Divert the seriously wounded! Hold the lightly wounded in place for now and await reinforcements..."

Tsunade's voice trembled, yet it still carried the resolute air of someone in control.

By the time everything was arranged, it was already dawn.

The breeze carrying the scent of yesterday's battle wafted over her, which slightly lifted Tsunade's spirits.

She wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, filled with doubt, and rushed to the Hokage's office, wanting an answer.

As soon as I arrived at the top floor of the Hokage Building, before I even pushed open the door, I heard a fierce argument erupting from inside the office.

"That guy named 'Ao' has already come knocking on our door! The Hyuga clan obtained something crucial at the Iwagakure battlefield, which is why that guy is acting like this!"

"You actually want me to let this go?! Instead of questioning Hiashi Hyuga, you want to restrict Root's investigation?!"

"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

"..."

"boom!"

The door was pushed open roughly and then slammed shut.

Danzo Shimura, looking disheveled and with a livid face, strode out.

He paused for a moment when he saw Tsunade arrive at the door, a flash of violence and impatience in his single eye, but he still turned and left.

Tsunade frowned.

The fact that Danzo was so angry suggests that the situation is far more serious than she imagined.

"Old man, what on earth is going on?!"

She pushed open the slightly ajar door and strode inside. "Who is Qing? And what is his relationship with the Hyuga clan?"

"It's Tsunade..." Hiruzen Sarutobi rubbed his temples, looking tired, behind his desk.

Orochimaru, you're here too?

Tsunade looked out the window and saw her classmate gazing at the Hyuga clan's territory, lost in thought.

"yes..."

Orochimaru turned around, his tone carrying a hint of meaning.

"After all, the Hyuga clan... is hiding a shocking secret."

The Sage's Eye, known as the Tenseigan.

A mysterious man named "Qing" traveled thousands of miles to retrieve the scroll.

Orochimaru felt the ancient scroll in his sleeve, lowered his eyelids, and quietly watched his teacher and companions explain everything.

Could it be that this scroll holds a secret that neither Qinglan-jun nor I have discovered...?

Is that so?

Tsunade frowned, pondering the words.

Sarutobi-sensei's statement just now seemed to be full of absurdity in every word.

A mysterious man named "Ao" suddenly stormed into Konoha, swiftly and decisively killing three members of the Hyuga main family and breaking the legs of seven or eight branch family guards without batting an eye.

And the reason he gave was...

'The Hyuga clan stole his things.'

"What on earth is all this nonsense?"

Tsunade suddenly looked up, her gaze a mixture of confusion and anger as she stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi. "You dare to break into Konoha and cause chaos just to retrieve your own things?"

"Furthermore, would the Hyuga clan really steal things?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head and chuckled, then reached into his pipe and pressed the tobacco down a little more.

"This is the official statement given by Hiashi Hyuga."

"It sounds absurd, but if you consider 'Qing's' strength, it seems to make some sense."

"but......."

He suddenly changed the subject, his tone gradually becoming somber.

"If we look at the clues Danzo has gathered, the course of events... is probably a darker version."

"The Hyuga clan has found something very important."

"So they concealed their discovery, brought it back to the village, and... that thing was so important to the Hyuga clan that they were willing to break with tradition and hold a festival during this time."

"They put this 'thing' into a secret vault and arranged for several clan elders to guard it in shifts. As a result, it attracted the owner of the 'thing,' namely Qing, who came to collect his debt."

"He stormed the secret vault, retrieved what was rightfully his, and took a pair of 'white eyes' from the branch family as interest."

Hiruzen Sarutobi paused, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

"But the Hyuga clan doesn't seem to have given up, or rather... they've tasted the sweetness of 'things' for the Hyuga clan."

"For this reason, we risked it again and sent people to the Iwagakure battlefield to take the 'thing' after 'Qing' left."

"And so, the golden light that pierced through the Forest of Death last night came about."

The office fell into a deathly silence.

"Pfft..."

Orochimaru, who had remained silent the whole time, finally couldn't help but let out a low, hoarse chuckle.

Their gazes turned to him almost simultaneously.

What are you laughing at?

Chapter 29 Treated Me Like His Own Child (Please Read On)

"Hehehe..."

Orochimaru smiled, a hint of mockery on his pale face.

If he wasn't the one who killed Hyuga Tenun and stole the scroll, he would almost have believed this airtight deduction.

What a brilliant "Hyuga's greed led to disaster" theory!

Danzo was willing to use any kind of dirty trick to suppress the Hyuga clan.

However, this saved him a lot of trouble.

“Sarutobi-sensei… the key right now is not to argue about who stole whose things.”

Orochimaru walked to the gate, turned his head, and said, "The Hyuga clan has suffered such a calamity and is severely weakened. They will probably behave themselves a lot from now on."

"The battle lines on the Iwagakure side are at a stalemate, and we need to ensure that there are no further problems within the village."

“Teacher, I understand what you are doing now, and since the other party has already ‘retrieved’ the item, they shouldn’t be appearing again in the short term.”

"What we should be concerned about now is the situation on the front lines..."

After saying that, Orochimaru bowed slightly, opened the door, and walked out.

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Orochimaru's disappearing figure, his feelings extremely complicated.

In the past, Orochimaru was only interested in power and experiments, and would never have said something with political considerations and full of "Hokage thinking".

In the past, they might have even made some inappropriate sarcastic remarks.

now...