Yes, the Hokage

"The new school will be completed soon, and I can't wait for my child to study there!"

"..."

Applause and cheers mingled, creating the first emotional peak.

Minato waited a moment before continuing his speech.

Just as things were getting better, Rizashi's gaze sharpened, and he hurriedly turned to Fenglan's ear and whispered, "Lord Fenglan, there's something strange about the crowd on the east side... Several people are carrying explosive tags, and quite a lot of them."

This was clearly a troublemaker. To ensure the smooth running of his speech today, Feng Lan specifically ordered all the guards not to bring any explosive tags.

He gave Zhishui a wink, and the latter understood, instantly disappearing behind Fenglan and arriving at the location designated by Richa within seconds.

With the help of his Sharingan, he immediately locked onto the three suspicious individuals. Although they were dressed in the clothes of ordinary villagers, their steps were steady and their eyes were alert, clearly indicating that they were trained ninjas.

Without issuing a warning, Shisui used the Body Flicker Technique to pass through the crowd. Before the three even realized it, the illusion technique had already taken control of them. The three, who had lost control of their bodies, fell to the ground but did not hit the ground—Shisui had already reached out and scooped them up in mid-air, moving them away from the crowd.

The whole process took less than three seconds, and the people around didn't even notice.

Feng Lan was on guard against anyone trying to cause trouble while Shisui was on the move, and his attention was especially focused on Kushina, but nothing happened. He didn't know if Shisui was too quick to give them a chance, or if Tsunade, who was standing on the other side, was too famous and intimidated those with ulterior motives.

Zhi Shui quickly returned to Feng Lan's side and whispered, "Lord Feng Lan, those three people are dead."

"What?" Feng Lan frowned slightly. "Didn't you use illusion magic to control them immediately?"

“It’s a cursed seal,” Shisui replied. “A trigger-type cursed seal. Once the holder loses consciousness, it will quickly erode the body and take their life. It seems that the people behind this are using this method to ensure that they don’t reveal who is behind it.”

“It’s Danzo.” This style is all too familiar. Feng Lan snorted lightly, “Only that old bastard would pull this kind of trick.”

"Should I immediately notify the clan leader to investigate the root organization?" Zhi Shui asked in a low voice.

“There’s no need. Since Danzo dared to send these people to their deaths, he must be confident that we won’t find anything amiss.” Feng Lan also gave a low reply. “These are mostly unregistered ninjas, children that old Bi Deng kidnapped from other places, brainwashed suicide soldiers.”

"That bastard..." Upon hearing this, Shisui couldn't help but clench his fist.

"Don't get distracted. Minato's speech is the most important thing right now. Everything else can wait." Feng Lan became even more vigilant as she said this. Even if Danzo's actions were terrible, he wouldn't send people to their deaths for nothing. He was definitely covering for some forces.

Minato's speech was coming to an end, and he was greeted with even more enthusiastic applause and cheers. Fenglan instructed Hizashi to focus all his attention on scanning the surroundings, and also arranged for Shisui to keep a close eye on Kushina. If anyone wanted to cause trouble, this was the perfect opportunity.

But nothing happened, and the situation smoothly moved on to the question-and-answer session.

As expected, the Sunagakure envoy began to press the issue: "Fourth Hokage, Konoha's massive reduction of its middle ranks, will this lead to a decline in your village's fighting strength? Furthermore, I've heard that the Uchiha and Aburame clans make up the vast majority of the standing army. Is the Fourth Hokage relying too heavily on these two clans?"

The question was very pointed, but Minato remained calm and answered, "Konoha's fighting strength does not lie in its numbers, but in the ability of each individual to maximize their value. Reducing redundancy is precisely to ensure that capable people are not overlooked."

"As for relying on clans? The Hokage trusts everyone who is willing to dedicate their strength to Konoha, regardless of clan. The Standing Army is not established based on clans. Anyone who wants to join does not need clan recommendation or high-level approval. The door to the Hokage's office is always open."

"Always open? I doubt it." The Iwagakure envoy scoffed, his tone sarcastic. "I heard that Danzo, a veteran of three reigns, was recently stripped of his power. Doesn't that feel a bit like discarding a used tool after it's done its work? Does the Fourth Hokage not show enough respect to his predecessors?"

Minato's expression remained unchanged: "Konoha will not forget Lord Danzo's contributions. But he must be punished for his mistakes; that's the rule, not something targeted at anyone. If Lord Onoki of Iwagakure made a mistake, would you let it go because of his age? Or are you unwilling or afraid to pursue it?"

The envoy from Iwagakure changed his expression but couldn't speak. Minato had the right to say that he would punish a Kage-level shinobi. He was too strong, strong enough to defeat or even subdue and capture other Kage-level shinobi. And which other village would dare to punish their own village's Kage-level shinobi at will? That would be like cutting off their own arm.

The questions continued, and Minato responded to each one with skill. Although some of his answers weren't perfect, they were much better than they were three months ago.

Below the stage, Shikaku nodded slightly and whispered to Choza Inoichi, "The Fourth Hokage has grown a lot."

Even though everything was going in the right direction, Feng Lan's expression didn't show much joy. It was going too smoothly, to an abnormal degree. If the envoys from the major countries were just here to talk big, why did Danzo specifically send several of his subordinates to their deaths?

[Wait, why is the Cloud Village envoy, who usually loves to cause trouble, the most obedient and quiet during the entire questioning session? Could it be...?]

He suddenly realized something was wrong, but it was too late. Just as Minato's speech was about to come to a perfect end, several Cloud Village ninjas carried a corpse over and, before the security team could stop them, they were already shouting from afar:

"Murder! The Hyuga clan has committed murder!"

Chapter 50 You Don't Deserve It!

Upon seeing the corpse, the entire speech square erupted into chaos. Feng Lan was filled with regret—he had clearly fallen into a trap. Danzo had sent these assassins to deliberately make him think that someone was up to no good, so that he would not dare to leave the speech square and pay attention to other parts of the village.

Why is it called an open conspiracy? Because even though Feng Lan vaguely sensed that something was wrong, he didn't dare to leave the side of the water gate. This speech was too important, and he didn't dare to gamble on whether anyone would continue to cause trouble. He had to stay here and keep watch!

That old bastard Danzo...

There was no time to regret it anymore. Feng Lan immediately ordered the four little ones to take Kushina away. At this time, the enemy might have a feint attack, taking advantage of his attention being focused on the murder to sneak around and attack Kushina.

Although Kushina was worried about her husband, she knew that staying would only cause trouble. So she took a deep look at Minato a few times and then left decisively with the children's escort.

While giving instructions here, he whispered a few words to Shisui. Although Shisui was a little worried about this side, he immediately accepted the order and left.

At this moment, the Cloud Village envoy, who had been holding back, suddenly slapped his thigh and launched an attack: "Fourth Hokage, what's going on?! We just signed a peace treaty, and Konoha has already begun to ruthlessly kill our allies?!"

Feng Lan quickly walked behind Shui Men and whispered, "Find out what happened first, don't rush to express your opinion."

Minato nodded slightly, raised his hand to signal silence from below the stage, and said in a deep voice, "Envoy from Kumogakure, please explain the matter clearly. Konoha has always abided by peace agreements and will not harm people without cause. If there is any misunderstanding, we can investigate together."

"A misunderstanding?" The Cloud Shadow Envoy sneered, waving his hand behind him. "Bring them up!"

Two Cloud Village ninjas escorted a Konoha ninja towards them. The man was dressed in Hyuga clan attire, with a headband wrapped around his forehead and his body covered in blood, clearly having just finished a fierce battle. His hands were tied behind his back, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes remained defiant.

"This man trespassed on the territory of our Cloud Village delegation and attempted to assassinate a member of the delegation!" the Cloud Village envoy shouted righteously. "He was caught red-handed by our guards after killing one person. What else is there to say? Fourth Hokage, if you do not give us an explanation, Cloud Village will never let this go!"

An uproar immediately erupted in the audience, with many civilians showing signs of unease, and the ninjas also harboring their own thoughts.

Feng Lan's gaze sharpened. He recognized the young man from the Hyuga clan. He was the one who had been tortured by the Elder with the Caged Bird when he had tried to step forward to speak while rescuing Hizashi. His name should be Hyuga Hiroshi.

"Hiroshi, what exactly happened?" he called out. "Tell me your story truthfully, and the Fourth Hokage will stand up for you."

Hiroshi Hyuga, already severely injured and almost powerless, suddenly let out his last words upon hearing this, shouting at the top of his lungs, "I didn't break into the camp! It was them! They infiltrated the Hyuga clan and kidnapped the main family's child! When Lord Hiashi discovered this, he immediately led us in pursuit, and we all worked together to kill this person, but I was captured by them too..."

"As long as the clan chief brings his men here, he will be able to clear my name quickly!"

"That seems to be what Hiroshi said." Fenglan coldly stared at the Cloud Village envoy below the stage.

"Ha!" However, he seemed very confident. "You're spouting nonsense! Our Cloud Village delegation came here openly and honestly, how could we do such a despicable thing? It's clearly your Konoha that wants to destroy peace!"

Soon, the Hyuga clan arrived, but they were all from the main branch, led by the eldest elder, with Hyuga Hiashi following behind, and then the other main branch elders.

Feng Lan's heart sank, but Minato had already asked, "Hyuga clan leader, Hiroshi said that the Cloud Village's envoy group tried to kidnap the main family's children, and that you discovered it and a battle ensued, resulting in the deaths. Is that true?"

"Yes……"

Hiashi hesitated, but the elder stepped forward and said righteously, "Fourth Hokage, this is absolutely not true! The Hyuga clan has been staying at their camp all day, and nothing has happened."

He pointed at Hiroshi: "On the contrary, this kid disappeared early this morning. It turns out he broke into the Cloud Village Envoy's residence and tried to destroy the peaceful relations between the two villages by assassinating him. His intentions deserve to be punished!"

Upon hearing this, Hiroshi Hyuga felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. Having witnessed the true colors of the main family before, he immediately understood what had happened. He, who had fought with all his might to save the main family's children... had been betrayed!

At that very moment, the envoy from Yunyin grinned and asked, "Elder, are you serious?"

The Grand Elder hurriedly smiled apologetically, "Every word is true, there is not a single lie. I am truly sorry for the offense caused to Your Excellency..."

Seeing this, Hiroshi Hyuga couldn't help but laugh. How could the Hyuga main family, who were usually so arrogant in front of the branch family, be so careful and humble in front of the people of Kumogakure?

It's just like an old dog that's lost all its teeth!

With his blood surging, he struggled to his feet, veins bulging around his Byakugan eyes: "Hyuga Fumiyo! (Elder's real name) Are you worthy to lead the Hyuga clan? Are you worthy to lead the Hyuga clan? Are you worthy to lead the Hyuga clan?!"

His voice rose higher and higher with each sentence, and finally he spat out a mouthful of blood: "You don't deserve it!"

The blood was accompanied by a fierce roar that said, "You are not worthy!" He spat it out, splashing it all over the elder's shoe. His old face twisted violently, while Hiroshi Hyuga burst into wild laughter, a laugh so desolate, filled with despair.

Just when he thought he was doomed, a golden flash suddenly appeared!

The two Cloud Village ninjas escorting Hyuga Hiroshi only saw a blur before their hands went empty. Before anyone could react, Minato had already thrown a kunai and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to save Hiroshi. He stood on the high platform, his eyes filled with unconcealed grief and anger.

"Lady Tsunade, please treat this child."

"Yes."

Tsunade, unusually, didn't argue and obediently stepped forward to perform medical ninjutsu. At least for this moment, she genuinely respected Minato as Hokage.

The Cloud Village envoy was startled. This was the speed of the Golden Flash. If Minato had just wanted to kill someone, they would have been killed before they could even react.

The envoys from various countries who had just been watching the show with amusement were now sweating profusely.

Chapter 51: When referring to someone's job title or position!

Composing himself, the Cloud Village envoy regained his composure: "Fourth Hokage, what do you mean by this?"

"The ninjas of Konoha will not be handed over to anyone to deal with." Minato's voice was calm, but Fenglan knew he was already angry. "Especially the heroes who have been wronged."

The Cloud Village envoy stared in disbelief, only recovering after a long while: "You...you Konoha want to protect the murderer? What kind of hero is he? Listen to what the Hyuga Elder has to say!"

"I'm sorry, but in Konoha, we judge things not based on one side's story, but on evidence," Feng Lan said calmly. "Hizashi, examine that corpse."

"Yes."

Upon hearing Feng Lan's words, the Cloud Village members instinctively tried to cover the corpse, but with Hizashi's Byakugan activated, any attempt to conceal it was futile.

"Daykeeper!" The First Elder frowned and glared. "I advise you to carefully consider what you should say!"

Rishima didn't even bother to look at him, and went straight to Fenglan's side to say a few words.

A cold glint flashed in Feng Lan's eyes, and then he raised his voice to the Cloud Village envoy, "Envoy, you said that this young man from Hyuga broke into your camp alone and killed your people?"

“That’s right!” The Cloud Envoy raised his head.

"Then please explain," Feng Lan pointed at the corpse, her voice not loud, but clear enough for everyone to hear, "why are there soft fist marks on this corpse? One palm strike to the chest, two palm strikes to the back, and the force and angle of each of the three strikes are different?"

The Cloud Envoy's expression changed drastically.

"How could a Hyuga ninja unleash three Gentle Fist strikes at different angles?" Feng Lan pressed on relentlessly. "Even if he knows Shadow Clone Jutsu, the palm sizes of these three strikes are completely different! Or did he go on a rampage all by himself in your Kumogakure base, attacking the front and then the back?"

Upon hearing this, the audience immediately began to murmur amongst themselves.

Hizashi added at the opportune moment, "Based on the depth of the Gentle Fist's palm prints and the residual chakra, I can determine that these three palms came from different chakra sources. In other words, at least three Hyuga clan members participated in the battle."

The Cloud Envoy opened his mouth, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

"The only explanation is..." Feng Lan's voice suddenly rose, "You people from Kumogakure infiltrated the Hyuga clan's territory! There, they encountered a counterattack from the Hyuga clan members and were surrounded and attacked by multiple people, which is why they left behind the marks of different Gentle Fist techniques. And to cover it up, you turned around and accused the victims of being the murderers!"

The entire arena fell silent, then erupted in angry roars:

"mean!"

"Yunyin is shameless!"

"Get out of Konoha!"

"..."

Once the will of dominance of the Konoha scoundrels is activated, no matter which country's envoy you are, their insults become increasingly vulgar, seemingly threatening to confiscate the household register of Kumogakure. Seeing this, Feng Lan nodded in satisfaction; indeed, even a pair of underwear and a piece of toilet paper have their uses.

That's easy to scold!

The Cloud Hidden Envoy trembled all over, pointing at Feng Lan: "You...you're spouting nonsense!"

"Slanderous accusations?" Feng Lan sneered. "The body is right there, the wounds are right there, and Hyuga's Byakugan is the evidence. Should we invite envoys from other villages to come and examine it?"

The envoys from Sunagakure and Iwagakure below the stage looked at each other, then took a few steps back to distance themselves from the envoys from Kumogakure, none of them wanting to get involved in this mess.

"We will report this matter truthfully to Lord Raikage!" The Cloud Village envoy revealed his final trump card. "That lord has a bad temper. We finally achieved peace, are you trying to start another war?"

"You provoked us first," Feng Lan said calmly. "You tried to steal a glance, got caught, someone died, and now you're turning around and blaming us? Can you really use that kind of trick as a pretext for declaring war?"

"you……"

"However, your Cloud Village has always been shameless. You were just as shameless when you tried to kidnap our Fourth Hokage's wife. So I'll answer you with four words..." Feng Lan coldly interrupted him, "If you want to fight, then come!"

"Minato, Fenglan, don't be impulsive!" The Third Hokage finally arrived late, or rather... he was only now finally willing to make his appearance. "Now is not the time to start a war. Everyone, calm down and discuss this properly."

He approached the Cloud Envoy with a fawning smile and said, "Envoy, there is indeed a misunderstanding. How about this, let us conduct an internal investigation and we will definitely give you an explanation."

Upon seeing him like this, the Cloud Village envoy straightened up again, snorted coldly, and pointed at Hyuga Hiroshi: "Confess? Then hand this person over to us for disposal first, and we'll talk about the rest later."

The three men's expressions froze. They looked at Minato and whispered, "Minato, agree to their demands for now. Don't escalate the situation. The Will of Fire teaches us that the village's interests come first..."

“Third Hokage.” But the reply he received was Minato’s unprecedentedly cold voice, “When you’re at work, please address me by my job title.”

The third generation's expression immediately turned extremely ugly!

Minato didn't look at him, but instead addressed everyone loudly: "This Hyuga ninja fought to protect Konoha's secret Byakugan and to protect his clan. He is not only innocent, but also a hero. Konoha will not hand over a hero, nor will it bow to any despicable means."

He looked down at the Cloud Village envoy: "Konoha does not initiate war, but it is absolutely not afraid of war. If Cloud Village believes that this matter is Konoha's fault, it can submit the evidence to the Five Kage Summit for a joint judgment by all nations. But to think that you can force Konoha to bow down here with a corpse... is impossible!"

The Cloud Envoy's face turned ashen, and he trembled with rage.

"Fourth Hokage..." The Third Hokage wanted to persuade him again.

"Third Hokage," Minato said coldly without turning around, "The Will of Fire you taught me is to protect everyone in the village, not to sacrifice the weak to appease the enemy. If I hand this person over today, what meaning does the Will of Fire have? What meaning does the Hokage have?!"

The third generation opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

"Well said!"