This puppeteer is a bit... well...

Chapter 89 The Curtain Falls

Silence! Silence! Silence!

The entire venue was completely silent, with only the echoing of Long Er's arrogant voice still reverberating in the sky.

The Sand Village ninjas stared at Ryuji in shock.

The ninjas of Konoha felt extremely humiliated.

They stared at Ryuji with hostility, their fists clenched tightly, their breathing becoming heavy and labored, yet they desperately suppressed the urge surging within them, and not one of them dared to stand up and challenge him.

Although Uchiha Setsuna was not the strongest in Konoha, he was still one of the top shinobi.

Although everyone present was either a clan leader or an elite bodyguard, no one dared to claim that they were stronger than Uchiha Setsuna.

Even someone as powerful as Uchiha Setsuna died before he could even force the opponent's puppet to reveal its true form. They weren't confident of victory either.

That's precisely why they felt humiliated.

Aside from the ninjas who went to the front lines, almost all of Konoha's elite combat force was gathered here. But they could only watch helplessly as an outsider from another village defecated in their faces—a truly humiliating disgrace.

Minato closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled. He opened his eyes, his gaze filled with fighting spirit.

Sensing the opponent's fighting spirit, Ryuji slowly turned around and looked at him.

"I……"

"Announce the results!"

Sarutobi suddenly spoke up.

Minato was stunned and looked at Sarutobi in confusion, seeing a cold glint in Sarutobi's eyes, but a smile on his face.

"……I see."

He clenched his fist, then relaxed it. Minato responded to the Third Hokage with a hint of resentment, before turning to face the audience, "The victor of this duel is Ryuji Ayaki from Sunagakure."

"Ooh ooh ooh!!!"

The Sand Village ninja in the audience erupted in cheers.

Whether it was a 3-0 score or Ryuji's final confrontation with the assembled elite forces of Konoha, where he blatantly challenged them and they could only remain silent, both were extremely impressive and dignified events.

How could they not be excited?

In contrast, the people of Konoha lowered their heads, trying their best to hide their resentment, anger, and even sadness. Some of the younger ones shed tears of resentment.

Sarutobi, suppressing his anger, took a deep breath, stood up, and loudly announced, "This matter ends here. Regardless of who was right or wrong before, no one shall seek revenge against the other party in the future."

"That's natural," Long Er said in a deep voice. "I won't offend others unless they offend me, but if they do, I will show no mercy."

Sarutobi's expression softened slightly. He nodded, then turned and left, with the rest of Konoha following behind, departing in turn.

The cheers from Sunagakure grew even louder.

Looking at the excited crowd, Long Er nodded in satisfaction.

A strong nation ensures the well-being of its people.

Only when the country is strong can its people live in peace and have the confidence to stand tall in foreign lands.

Ninja villages are not countries, but the principles are the same.

Konoha was the strongest ninja in the world, while Sunagakure was a subordinate village that lost to Konoha in the Second Shinobi World War and was forced to sign a peace treaty.

Despite being one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the people of Sunagakure were always resentful and held a grudge. However, when facing Konoha, they still felt somewhat insecure.

The reason Ryuji provoked them at the end was not only to deter the villains and prevent the Konoha kids from causing trouble for the Sunagakure delegation, but also to let them experience the benefits of the village's strength and make them no longer afraid of Konoha.

Only in this way can they be fearless, courageous and diligent, and strive for excellence.

"Let's go back and have a victory celebration!"

"Ooh ooh ooh!!!"

The group cheered as they returned to their lodgings and began preparing a victory celebration.

Meanwhile, Konoha remained completely silent.

……

In the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi had a stern face when handling official business. He was usually mild-mannered, but today he repeatedly berated the ninjas who made mistakes.

Neither Men Yan nor Xiao Chun dared to try to dissuade them.

……

Minato gathered his team, arranged their tasks a week in advance, and then went to Training Ground 40 for training.

The training involves the transformation of chakra nature.

After witnessing Naruto and Ryuji use Rasengans with different nature transformations in Loulan, his ideas for the future development of the Rasengan suddenly became clear.

He needs to complete his further training and master even more powerful ninjutsu.

Only in this way can we break through Ryuji's armor and not be helpless in similar situations.

……

in the hospital.

Tsunade had just rescued Kuro when she heard about the next two duels from the others.

She fell silent for a moment, then gave a cold laugh, and went about her work as if nothing had happened.

……

The residence of the Hyuga main family.

The old clan chief looked at the stubborn-looking young Hyuga Mukai and nodded slightly: "Although you are not a member of the Hyuga clan, according to the rules, if a descendant of a Hyuga woman who marries out of the clan has awakened his eyes, he must also be placed in a caged bird."

"Those are your and your great-grandmother's rules, they have nothing to do with me." Kohinata Mukai said frankly, "I will not allow you to set up the seal, whether it's through persuasion or force, it's the same."

I won't force you.

Looking at the astonished Hyuga, the old clan head chuckled softly, "The Caged Bird Seal is a measure to protect the branch family and prevent the Byakugan from being lost. Currently, only the Hiashi and Hizashi brothers can rival you in the Hyuga clan, so naturally, the Caged Bird Seal is unnecessary."

Upon hearing this, Kohinata fell silent. After a moment, she looked up and asked, "...If it's not about the Caged Bird Seal, then why did you contact me?"

"We want you to return to the Hyuga clan," the old clan head said. "Although you are not a member of the Hyuga clan, you have Hyuga blood in your veins and possess the Byakugan. We must ensure that the Byakugan does not fall into the hands of others."

"With my strength, it's impossible..."

"What about your descendants?"

The old clan chief interrupted Kohinata, continuing, "You certainly don't need to worry, but who can guarantee that your descendants won't awaken the Byakugan?"

Upon hearing this, Kohinata fell silent once again.

He knew the other party's concerns.

Since I inherited the Byakugan from a generation past, it means that I have a strong Hyuga bloodline, and the chances of my next generation inheriting the Byakugan are very high.

He is strong enough that he doesn't have to worry about his eyes being taken away, but he can't guarantee that his children will be as strong as he is.

When that time comes, without caged birds, those who would glare at us with disdain will probably come knocking on our door like they've been injected with adrenaline.

but……

"I don't want my children to be separated from the family."

After a moment of contemplation, Kohinata still declined the suggestion from the Hyuga clan elder.

Those from the Hyuga clan's branch families are placed under a seal called "Caged Bird Seal" when they are four or five years old, and their lives are in the hands of the main family, making them practically slaves.

As if he had expected this, the old Hyuga clan patriarch offered another benefit as soon as the young Hyuga refused: "Of course, your child will not become a member of the branch family; you will return to the main Hyuga clan."

Many Naruto fans believe that the Hyuga clan's main family only has a clan head and an heir, while the rest are branch families.

this is not right.

In the original work, besides Hiashi, Hinata, and Hanabi's family, there was another young man in the main Hyuga family. I forgot his name, but it is recorded in the official guidebook. He was also a genius who became a Jonin at a very young age.

Furthermore, the two elders did not have the Caged Bird on their foreheads, which indicates that the main family is not just the patriarch's family. As for how exactly it is divided, no Naruto fan has yet figured out the correct pattern.

Finally, recently many idiots who haven't even read the books have come to the book review section to deliberately spew nonsense, so I've set a requirement of 1 fan value to allow comments.

If you want to post a chapter review, you can tip 1 coin for each paragraph of the chapter, which is only one cent.

If you don't have any coins, you can watch GG for 15 seconds and you'll get some.

(End of this chapter)