Naruto: From Capturing the Main Clan to Becoming the Mastermind

Chapter 48 An Examination of Three Generations (Part 1)

"Lord Yagura, there is no trace of Jonin Terumi Mei nearby. She is suspected to have been captured and taken away by Konoha."

A few minutes later, two ninjas appeared in front of Yagura and knelt down on one knee to report to him.

"Let's go back."

Yagura stared at the spot where Hyuga Hakage's clone had disappeared, remained silent for a moment, and then hurried toward the camp.

The two ninjas exchanged a glance, assuming that Yagura was in a bad mood because of the loss of Mei Terumi, a Jonin with outstanding potential, and did not pay any attention to it. They got up and followed him.

……

At night, in the camp, Uchiha Yakumaru took two grilled fish and walked towards Hyuga Yu, handed him one, and sat down next to him.

"What are you thinking? Are you still bothered by what that Kirigakure said? With your current strength and status, the Hyuga main family's attempts to control you are just a joke."

"The main family has nothing to do with me; I'm thinking about other things."

Hinata Yu took a bite of the grilled fish, frowning slightly. "What did you put in it? Why is it so sweet?"

"It tastes better with some sugar."

Uchiha Yakumaru casually took out a seasoning box, sprinkled a lot of sugar on his fish, took a bite, and said in a muffled voice, "Don't you like sweet things?"

"That's too much." Saying this, Hinata Yu finished the fish without wasting any, and then asked, "You said before that you wanted peace, so what do you think about children going to the battlefield?"

As he spoke, his gaze drifted to the distant forest, where Fugaku Uchiha was training a child.

"The clan leader's child? His name is Itachi, isn't it?"

Uchiha Yakumaru turned his gaze in that direction and said in surprise, "He's only four or five years old, and the clan leader brought him to the battlefield?"

Hinata Yu: "I heard it's been going on for a while now."

"...It's a bit early. Coming to the battlefield at this age is a test of his mental resilience."

Uchiha Yakumaru said matter-of-factly, "But it can be considered a continuation of the tradition from the Warring States period. Compared to kunai and explosive tags, a child born into a ninja clan is more terrifying. No one will let them go just because of their age."

"Many ninja clans have perished throughout history. If an enemy has the ability, they will not spare anyone, not even a child. Only by getting used to the cruelty of the battlefield in advance can one grow faster."

"Isn't that how it is for students at the Ninja Academy? They learn killing techniques from a young age, and after graduating and experiencing a few ordinary missions, they start to take on missions that require killing and fighting."

Uchiha Yakumaru's eyes were somewhat unfocused as he watched Itachi's tireless training. "The ninjas in charge of the training initially only accepted missions unrelated to combat and killing, also to determine whether newly graduated genin possessed the cold-blooded nature expected of a ninja."

"If you're not interested in fighting and killing, not being a ninja is an option. But once you've chosen the path of the ninja, you should never think of backing down. Since he's started learning ninjutsu and identifying himself as a ninja, it's only natural."

"So, it was inevitable."

Hyuga Yu's sudden remark snapped Uchiha Yakumaru out of his daze, and he asked in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"What ninjas leave to their descendants is the means of killing, so a ninja's way of thinking about and solving problems will naturally be based on killing."

"If they want resources or food, they use force! If they want revenge, they kill! When faced with intractable problems, they've become so accustomed to prioritizing combat."

Uchiha Yakumaru froze, looking at Hyuga Yu's Byakugan. He felt as if something had come to mind, but he couldn't quite grasp the feeling.

Hyuga Yu had already gotten up and was walking towards the core of the Konoha camp. "The Hokage asked me to go there at eight o'clock. We can talk again when I have time."

Uchiha Yakumaru watched him leave, then turned his gaze towards Itachi, his brow furrowed in worry.

What ninjas leave behind for future generations is slaughter...

……

Upon entering the command room, instead of the expected Fourth Hokage, it was the Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He has already reached the front lines.

Hinata Yu's expression remained unchanged as he bowed, saying, "Third Hokage."

"You're here, please have a seat."

Hiruzen Sarutobi gestured to the seat in front of him, and after watching Hyuga Yu sit down, he revealed his purpose: "Minato wants to use this war to give you enough prestige to hand over a position to you. He thinks highly of you, and I want to understand your abilities."

After saying that, he took out a document and placed it on the table.

"Take a look at what's inside and share your thoughts."

Hinata Yu picked it up and slowly looked at these things he already knew. For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the flipping through documents and the Third Hokage smoking.

Seeing him put down the documents, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "How was it?"

"Sarutobi Masaaki is one of your men."

Hiruzen Sarutobi twitched the hand holding the pipe slightly, looked up at Hyuga Yu's calm face, and smiled slightly: "Not bad."

This "not bad" seems to mean more than just confirmation. Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed and said, "He was placed by Koharu and the others when I first took office. Because I was appointed in a time of crisis, the ninja clans did not recognize me, so I needed the support of the ninja clans behind them."

"But at that time, the ninja clan behind them was still very weak and didn't have much say in Konoha, so I had Masaaki assist them in growing."

"But later, my two old friends eventually sided with the ninja clan, and Masaaki followed suit."

He didn't tell a single lie, because he knew that since the boy in front of him could see that Zhengming was one of his men, there was no point in lying.

"But they didn't expect that Zhengming had always been one of my men. How did you figure that out?"

"Behavior."

"Behavior?"

Hyuga Yu said calmly, "He forced Tsunade out of the village."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly realized, and shook his head helplessly, "Masaaki was too hasty."

Tsunade holds a special political significance in Konoha. Even now, with her ambition to oust the Fourth Hokage and become Hokage herself, many ninja clans that betrayed her one moment are now shamelessly courting her and helping her into that position, completely disregarding their own reputation.

At worst, they can find a leader to take the blame, and the family can still follow Tsunade's lead.

Moreover, Daimyo would wholeheartedly agree, after all, the two are technically relatives...

Such a person should not be allowed to leave Konoha. Otherwise, if she supports the Fourth Hokage, Danzo's attempt to depose him will encounter even more resistance.

An old man who has been involved in political struggles for decades cannot possibly be insensitive to such matters.

Hiruzen understood that keeping Tsunade there would only cause trouble, and Konoha might even experience internal strife, so it was better to let Tsunade leave.

"That's not all. If you want to remotely control the situation in Konoha, infiltrating from within is better than engaging in hostile tactics. This intelligence was also given to you by Elder Zhengming, wasn't it?"

Hinata Yu put down the document. "It's too detailed. It's as if the person who delivered the information personally experienced most of the events. Unless you're in the inner circle, there are some things that the person delivering the information shouldn't know."

"Is this one of the reasons for the exposure?"

"With this information, anyone could draw the same conclusion."

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head with amusement. "If Minato knew what you said, he would probably be very upset."

(End of this chapter)