Master, Please Become a Hokage

They advanced relentlessly, directly breaching Konoha's defenses and penetrating deep into Fire Country's key locations... Mount Katsuragi.

Konoha, besieged on all sides, was on the verge of collapse.

An unprecedented shadow loomed over Konoha...

...

Swish...

Heavy rain poured from the sky.

It was after the New Year, yet snowflakes weren't falling.

Inside the Hyuga clan's estate, Hiashi Hyuga's expression was grim.

The battle reports constantly arriving from the front lines stirred everyone's hearts.

Their fates were intertwined; they either prospered or suffered together.

If Konoha were to fail, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Hiashi-sama... something terrible has happened..."

Just then, a member of the branch family rushed in.

His face was panicked, almost on the verge of tears.

"What is it?" Hiashi Hyuga immediately stood up and asked.

"The main family... that esteemed member of the main family has died in battle!"

"What?!"

Hiashi Hyuga's eyes widened suddenly.

The branch family members sent to the Mist front lines had almost all perished, and even that relative from the main family hadn't survived.

"What about the Byakugan?!"

Hiashi Hyuga immediately asked.

His biggest concern at this moment was the Byakugan falling into enemy hands.

The branch family member's trembling reply struck Hiashi Hyuga's chest like a heavy hammer.

"It is said... it is said that the Mist has obtained one of the esteemed member's Byakugan..."

"!"

Hiashi Hyuga suddenly felt a wave of dizziness.

The Hyuga clan's destiny to protect the Byakugan had suffered a setback in this generation.

In the end, one Byakugan was lost...

Swish...

The rain continued to fall.

Hiashi Hyuga couldn't hear anything anymore.

His mind was filled with countless thoughts.

The fury of Konoha's higher-ups, the Hyuga clan's own sense of crisis...

...

The Jonin meeting was convened once again.

Hiashi Hyuga, his face pale, sat in his place.

Konoha's higher-ups were furious, reprimanding the Hyuga clan for their incompetence.

However, everyone knew that the Hyuga clan had already done their duty.

So, were the enemies too strong? Or were Konoha's higher-ups... too...

Dismissing any unwelcome thoughts, everyone continued to listen to the upper echelons' pronouncements with somber expressions.

Konoha's ninjas were gradually dwindling, and large numbers of children were being sent to the battlefield.

The flames of war raged within Fire Country, and countless ordinary people were displaced.

Now, the Hyuga clan had also lost a Byakugan.

History... had been altered.

Onoki focused his attention on Konoha and Suna.

And it was clear that Wind Country was a barren wasteland, useless even if occupied.

So Onoki's target was naturally the closest, Konoha.

As for Suna...

After purging the parasites and uncovering vast amounts of money and resources, Suna's reserves directly jumped to a new level.

The money and resources were invested where they were needed.

The Third Kazekage, Chiyo, Ebizo... were established Kage-level experts.

Yakura and Rasa, with the tempering of war, had improved their strength and also entered the Kage level.

So, Suna currently possessed five Kage-level experts.

While flourishing, the new generation had unlimited potential.

And Konoha, hailed as the strongest, had now fallen to such a state.

...

After the meeting...

Hiashi Hyuga and the main family elders held secret talks all night.

They ultimately concluded that Fire Country... was facing a national crisis.

Konoha naturally couldn't remain aloof.

The final outcome might not be different from the fate of the Uzumaki clan.

"Our Hyuga clan's destiny is to protect the Byakugan..."

In the dark night, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled outside.

Hiashi Hyuga looked up, gazing at the elder's solemn face.

"Hiashi, we must make a choice..."

"Elder, do you mean...?"

Hiashi Hyuga vaguely guessed what he was getting at.

And when the main family elder spoke the decision, Hiashi's eyes widened suddenly.

Sure enough... they were going to take this step.

Leaving... Konoha...

Chapter 63: Traitorous Hyuga Natsu

It was a gloomy, rainy afternoon.

The wind howled inwards, and the window kept banging.

Sarutobi Ryo sat calmly in the living room, practicing his chakra control techniques.

In front of him on the table was a cup of water.

Inside the cup, ice flowers visibly formed one after another.

This was a new technique that Sarutobi Ryo had developed in recent days, or rather... an improvement in his chakra control.

Ordinary ninjas could only release chakra from their palms or soles of their feet.

Sarutobi Ryo had begun to try radiating chakra outwards from various acupoints on his body.

This was a slow and steady process, not to be rushed.

"Ryo-sama, that's roughly the situation..."

Across the low table, a branch family maid sat kneeling, her expression gloomy.

Since the last incident, she had been forced to become Sarutobi Ryo's spy, passing on information from the main family to Sarutobi Ryo.

Apart from the Caged Bird Seal on her forehead...

Another brand had appeared on her abdomen.

This made her realize that her life was also in the hands of the man before her.

The activation of the cursed seal would inflict great torment on the afflicted.

And when the afflicted died, they usually wouldn't leave any trace of the cursed seal.

That is... there would be no proof of death.

For her own life, Hyuga Natsu could only listen to the arrangements of the man before her.

After all, only by living could she have everything.

Sarutobi Ryo was even clearer about the reason why Hyuga Natsu had quickly become compliant.

When she got used to being a slave, she would naturally get used to being controlled by others.

Compared to the brooding Hyuga Hizashi and Hyuga Ruri, who had a rebellious spirit...

Hyuga Natsu was the type of slave who was willing to let things be.

The branding of the cursed seal made Hyuga Natsu subconsciously accept Sarutobi Ryo's position as a superior.

Her current servility was clearly filled with the meaning of a slave.

Of course, Sarutobi Ryo hadn't tortured Hyuga Natsu, he had only asked her to pass on information.

The Hyuga clan's recent movements could be said to be very worrying.

A large number of branch family members had died in battle.

And they had also lost one of the main family's Byakugan.

This was a major blow to the Hyuga clan.

And considering the changing situation in the ninja world, Konoha was in imminent danger.

The Hyuga clan had developed the idea of protecting their destiny.

No... rather, they had always been like this.

The Hyuga clan's joining Konoha was only in accordance with history and the general trend.

In reality, they were still primarily focused on protecting the Byakugan.

"Understood."

Sarutobi Ryo nodded, indicating that he had received the information.

Interesting...

The Hyuga clan was actually going to run away.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.

For them, the Byakugan was above everything else.