I am the new Hokage of Konoha.

Then, upon seeing Gao Shan's face as well, he felt a chill run down his spine.

When the Cloud Ninja peace delegation arrived in Konoha, many of Konoha's high-ranking officials went to greet them, and he was among them.

At that moment, he naturally recognized Gao Shan's identity.

Hiashi Hyuga never imagined that the leader of the Cloud Village peace delegation would personally commit such an act as kidnapping.

He originally thought that those who dared to kidnap people from the Hyuga clan were nothing more than assassins from some external forces.

If he's executed, so be it; no one will say anything.

But how could it be a high mountain?

If he had known the other person's identity, he would never have killed him out of hatred.

But what's done is done.

Let's not discuss who's right and who's wrong.

The Cloud Ninja peace delegation ultimately died at their own hands, especially now at this crucial moment in the peace talks between Konoha and the Cloud Ninja. Hyuga Hiashi knew that this time they were probably in deep trouble.

He sighed deeply and, under the worried gaze of his younger brother Hizashi, said in a deep voice, "The trouble has gone too far; it's beyond what my Hyuga clan can handle. Hizashi, go and tell the Hokage everything about this now."

"Yes, Chieftain." Knowing the seriousness of the matter, Hijiri quickly left.

Only Hiashi, holding the still unconscious Hinata, remained standing quietly in the cold, desolate night, motionless for a long time.

......

In the territory of the Thousand Hands Clan, at the home of Yun Ting.

Listening to the report from Hyuga Hizashi, who was brought in by Yamanaka Ritsuko, Yun Ting remained calm.

Because the whole thing was already part of his plan.

Takayama was able to meet Hinata by chance in the vast sea of ​​people, which was already due to his help.

If the other party doesn't have the guts to kidnap Hinata, then he will create an opportunity for them.

Fortunately, everything is progressing according to plan.

The sudden, stern shout that startled Hyuga was the work of his subordinates.

All of this was a trap deliberately set by Yun Ting for Yun Ren.

To quell internal strife, it is necessary to secure external stability.

Although Yun Ting wanted to conquer the Yunren and give them a good beating, he also needed to consider the impact on public opinion.

Just as a certain great power in the past always needed a reason to wage war, a full-scale war with the Cloud Ninja also required a reason that would arouse righteous indignation among the people.

The current Cloud Ninja delegation is undoubtedly the best starting point.

Whether Takayama lives or dies is not important, since the other party has already kidnapped the Hyuga main family.

However, the inertia of history is ultimately powerful, and the opponent still died at the hands of Hyuga Hiashi.

fair enough.

At least it will allow everyone to see the true colors of the Yunren more clearly later.

Yun Ting began to ponder how to respond.

However, his deep thought only made Hizashi on the other side even more uneasy, fearing that his brother would become a political sacrifice between Konoha and Kumogakure.

After all, Konoha has a history of such incidents.

Finally, Hizashi couldn't help but say, "Lord Hokage, the clan head was just being overly protective of his daughter, and given that the other party had concealed their face at the time, killing the leader of the Cloud Ninja delegation was definitely unintentional!"

Yun Ting snapped out of his daze, looked at the anxious-looking Richi, and nodded to comfort him, "Don't worry, I already know everything that happened. With me here, Chief Rizu can rest assured."

Yun Ting is not the Third Hokage.

Putting aside the fact that he never intended for peace between the two sides in the first place, he should also take full responsibility for secretly using Hyuga as a tool.

Even if he hoped for peace, he would never sacrifice the dignified head of the Hyuga clan to achieve it, like the latter did.

It's utterly ridiculous that someone who is clearly at fault and whose own strength is far superior insists on taking responsibility and making amends.

Yun Ting didn't know what the Konoha leadership, led by the Third Hokage, was thinking in the original story.

But now that he's in power, that kind of thing will absolutely not happen!

Finally, having received Yun Ting's assurance, Ri Cha breathed a sigh of relief and quickly returned to report to his elder brother.

Meanwhile, Yun Ting began preparing for the upcoming general mobilization.

As for the news of the death of the leader of the Cloud Ninja peace negotiation delegation, it naturally spread throughout the entire Hidden Leaf Village the next day.

As expected, after receiving Takayama's body, the other members of the Cloud Ninja delegation disregarded the fact that he had trespassed on Hyuga clan territory and kidnapped members of the Hyuga main family. They were all furious and shouted that the murderer must pay with his life, otherwise the peace talks would fall apart.

Such actions infuriated the villagers of Konoha who knew the truth, made the Hyuga clan, who had received assurances from Yunting, both indignant and still somewhat uneasy, and also made the Yunting faction, who were prepared, sneer repeatedly. Furthermore, it caused great concern among some of the deeply entrenched appeasement and compromise factions in Konoha.

This cast a deep shadow over the path of peace talks between Konoha and Kumogakure.

Chapter 103 The Crouching Dragon, the Phoenix Chick, and Hyuga

"Apologize! Hand over the murderer! Compensate!"

"We came here with the intention of peace, but now the leader of our delegation has been killed in Konoha. You must take full responsibility!"

"What? Lord Takayama kidnapped the Hyuga main family members first? Who knows if this is just your side of the story from Konoha! Now that they're dead, you can say whatever you want."

"Hand over the murderer! I heard it was the Hyuga clan leader; let him commit suicide to atone for his sins! Otherwise, there's no point in negotiating peace! Let's continue the war! For the honor of the Cloud Ninja, we will never back down!"

"Oh, right! It's not enough for the Hyuga clan leader to commit suicide. As compensation, Konoha must hand over this person's body to us."

"Furthermore, if we agree, then we must add some more conditions to the peace talks!"

"You should know that if the head of a dignified delegation were to die in your Konoha, other major powers would have already turned their backs and left. It is only because we, the people of Yunren, are kind-hearted and have suppressed our anger to stay for the sake of peace between our two countries that we have stayed. Making such a small request of you is already more than enough!"

"If you don't want war to break out, then you must agree to these compensation terms!"

"..."

After receiving news of Takayama's death, the leaderless Cloud Ninja delegation, led by Amu Yin, quickly reached a consensus and strongly demanded that Konoha pay for the blood debt, otherwise the peace talks should not continue.

As for Konoha's explanation, although they verbally disagreed, they already believed it in their hearts.

After all, this is quite in line with the style of the Cloud Ninja. They have long coveted the Byakugan, so it is only natural that Lord Takayama would do this if given the opportunity.

But so what?

Their Yunren's consistent style is that it's an honor for you to rob you.

This is true throughout the entire ninja world, so why would they back down just because it's Konoha?

Therefore, not only did Amu and the others not acknowledge this fact, they also wanted to fulfill Lord Takayama's last wish.

Since we can't bring back a living member of the Hyuga main family, let's bring back a dead one instead.

As for whether Konoha will agree?

Based on the other party's previous attitude and their strong desire for peace, Amu Yin and the others did not believe that they would not compromise.

Of course, in order to maintain pressure, the threatening tone in their words became increasingly pronounced.

If the Cloud Ninja are like this, then what is the Leaf Village doing?

As the current Fourth Hokage of Konoha, Yun Ting simply watched all of this coldly and gestured to the negotiators to let the Cloud Ninja shout as they pleased.

The situation has not been allowed to develop for more than a day.

It's better to wait a few more days until the people of Konoha are deeply impressed by the Cloud Ninja's arrogance and shamelessness, and public opinion is at its peak, before taking action.

When that moment arrives, the more arrogant the Cloud Ninjas were before, the more desperate they will feel!

However, the emperor was not worried, but the eunuch was.

Just as Yun Ting was proceeding with his plan step by step, the two elders of Konoha's advisory group couldn't sit still any longer.

Unaware of the former's plan, or even if they knew, they would vehemently refute it, they became extremely anxious upon learning that Hyuga Hiashi had killed the leader of the Cloud Ninja delegation.

As representatives of the Konoha appeasement faction, their consistent stance, like that of the previous three generations, is to strive for peace.

In their view, Konoha had suffered heavy losses in the three wars, having fought against the four great nations in turn. Even with the easing of tensions in recent years, it was still far from enough.

We're finally on the verge of peace, so we absolutely can't let anything else go wrong.

"I just inquired, and the Fourth Hokage's attitude is very tough. They are unwilling to back down on the matter of the death of the Cloud Ninja delegation leader. Now, those Cloud Ninja are clamoring to leave!"

At home, Mitokado Homura, looking worried, was talking to his old comrade-in-arms who had come to visit.

Koharu Utatane frowned upon hearing this and said, "We've known about the Fourth Hokage's attitude all these years, so it's normal for him to make such a statement. It's just that young people are too impetuous and don't know how to be both firm and gentle. Konoha has finally recovered from the war and should continue to recuperate. We really shouldn't start another war. Since he can't bring himself to do it, then let us old folks do it."

"That's true, but this matter ultimately involves the head of the Hyuga clan, which is really difficult to handle!" Mitokado Homura said with difficulty.

If it were an ordinary Konoha ninja who offended the Cloud Ninja, they would hand them over without hesitation for the sake of Konoha.

However, Hiashi Hyuga was no ordinary person. As the head of the Hyuga clan and a member of the main branch, his importance to Konoha was self-evident.

"Those shameless bandits from the Cloud Ninja!" Thinking of this, Mitokado Homura couldn't help but curse.

Koharu Utatane remained calm upon hearing this and said, "Criticism aside, the matter still needs to be handled. For the sake of Konoha and for peace, I think it's best if you and I inform the Hyuga clan and let them make their own final decision for the sake of the bigger picture. After all, if the village were to handle it, it would be too damaging to Konoha's reputation."

"Then let's do it this way," Mitokado Homura sighed. "We'll play the villains. We just hope the Hyuga clan can understand. It's all for Konoha!"

After that, the two advisors from Konoha went to the Hyuga clan together.

We won't go into the specifics of what was said.

At almost the same time, Yun Ting also received this intelligence.

At this critical juncture, the two Konoha advisors went to the Hyuga clan's territory, and he knew without guessing why.

Yun Ting shook his head with a sigh.

Without him, things might have really turned out that way in an unbelievable way.

It really is...

Yun Ting didn't know what else to say.

If we say that Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu had no ulterior motives in their actions, then that would be true.

After all, their starting point was indeed for the sake of Konoha, and they themselves would bear the consequences of offending others.