Hyūga Shin, as the Clan Elder of the Hyūga and a survivor of both the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars, had a deep trust in the Second Hokage and his disciples would not be easily altered by Shinichi's few words.
In Shinichi's view, Danzō was naturally the kind of person who would commit any evil necessary for power.
However, in the eyes of the vast majority of Konoha ninjas, Danzō was a member of the Council, a disciple of the Second Hokage, the Third Hokage's most trusted comrade, an excellent ninja who bore the darkness of Konoha, and an important partner willing to sacrifice everything for Konoha.
Hyūga Shin would sooner believe that the Mist ninja who attacked Hyūga Shinichi was an elite spy who successfully bypassed Konoha's layers of defense to infiltrate the Hyūga compound than believe the attacker was sent by Danzō.
This huge information gap led to vastly different understandings and judgments between Shinichi and Hyūga Shin regarding the same event.
Sensing Hyūga Shin's look of disbelief, Shinichi knew he probably wouldn't be able to convince his Great-Grandpa. People are often constrained by their experienced judgment; even Hyūga Shin couldn't break free from his ingrained perceptions.
"Great-Grandpa, I'm tired. I'll go back to rest now."
"Please keep this matter a secret from me. The attacker was killed by our Hyūga Branch Family elites, not by me."
Shinichi had no intention of lingering. Since he already had the answer in his heart, he would naturally remain vigilant in the future.
Honestly, if the enemy truly was Danzō, it would be quite a headache for the Hyūga Clan. The current Danzō and Orochimaru were in the honeymoon phase of their cooperation. Dealing with Danzō meant dealing with Orochimaru. They were, at minimum, two Kage-level powerhouses. With the current strength of the Hyūga Clan, they would likely be overwhelmed...
However, he could rest assured that neither Danzō nor Orochimaru would act personally at this stage. They might try to pressure the Hyūga, but they wouldn't dare cause complete chaos right under the noses of the Third and Fourth Hokage. Today's "assassination" was, at most, a small test and nothing more.
The probing by the Root ninjas, who were drawn by the explosion, was what gave Shinichi more pause. Shinichi was relieved that the Hyūga elites were strong enough to prevent the Root ninjas from successfully forcing their way in. In this way, the Hyūga Clan had indirectly displayed their strength, and Danzō would have to reconsider any future actions.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Shinichi should be able to enjoy a period of peace. Shinichi had already formed a hypothesis about the present situation and the future. For him, the most crucial thing now was not to worry but to train diligently and increase his strength.
As he aged, Hyūga Shinichi found his control over chakra growing stronger. After years of effort, his proficiency in both Chakra Nature Transformation and Chakra Shape Transformation had reached a certain level.
The chakra sphere he used to attack the enemy earlier was one of the results of his recent efforts. It was one of the ultimate expressions of Chakra Shape Transformation, which Shinichi referred to as the Mini Tailed Beast Ball.
The extreme compression of the chakra allowed it to unleash a destructive power even greater than thousands of explosive tags bound together. Moreover, the chakra required to release such a Mini Tailed Beast Ball was similar to the chakra needed to perform a regular Great Fireball Technique. It was genuinely "cheap and effective." Shinichi developed this long-range strike technique purely to complement the Hyūga Clan's Byakugan.
Hyūga Shin, seeing Shinichi's deliberately exhausted appearance, nodded quietly. As for Shinichi's request to conceal the facts of the battle, Hyūga Shin understood.
Shinichi knew the principle of "the nail that sticks out gets hammered," and how could he not? Although he didn't know if the enemy was indeed sent by the Mist Village, now that he knew someone wished ill upon the Hyūga Main Family, concealing Shinichi's strength and related Ninjutsu information became extremely necessary.
The contest between ninjas was ultimately a contest of intelligence. The side that had a better understanding of the enemy's information always held the advantage. Otherwise, "Jiraiya the Intelligence Gatherer" would not be considered one of the phantom gods by many Naruto fans.
Hiding Hyūga Shinichi's strength could allow him to deliver a heavy blow to the enemy at a crucial moment. Even without Shinichi's suggestion, Hyūga Shin had already considered this, which was why he instructed the Branch Family ninjas to intercept and bar Konoha ninjas from entering.
Hyūga Shin was one of the elders Shinichi truly trusted. Seeing Hyūga Shin nod, Shinichi left and returned to his bedroom to rest.
Although Shinichi, the person involved, could sleep peacefully, the Hyūga Branch Family ninjas were kept busy throughout the night.
Namikaze Minato also arrived at the Hyūga compound shortly after the explosion, but the Branch Family ninjas, following the Main Family's orders, still had to reluctantly intercept Minato. Although they reported to Hyūga Shin immediately after Minato's arrival, Minato still had to wait outside the compound like the other ninjas.
Despite his gentle nature, Minato couldn't help but feel a touch of frustration at the Hyūga's hardline stance. At the same time, Minato gained a deeper understanding of the extent to which bloodline clans like the Hyūga were cautious about protecting their bloodline limit.
After being allowed inside to meet with Hyūga Shin, Minato received a whitewashed "truth" from the Clan Elder.
The intruder was a Mist ninja who was killed by the Branch Family ninjas using explosive tags upon getting too close to the compound. His remains, along with his personal belongings, were vaporized in the explosion. The matter had reached a point where further in-depth investigation was impossible.
Minato knew Hyūga Shin was lying, but didn't expose him. Instead, he took the false intelligence and dismissed the Konoha ninjas who had arrived to provide aid but were intercepted. With Minato's intelligence, he could probably guess the Hyūga Clan's true intentions. However, worried about Shinichi's safety, Minato decided to have the Anbu thoroughly search the Village to see if they could uncover any clues.
...
The next day, news of the Hyūga Clan being attacked by a Mist ninja widely spread throughout the Village. Konoha villagers, while furious at the Mist ninjas' despicable actions, also marveled at the Hyūga Clan's power, managing to easily resolve the enemy's attack. Only a few people who understood the Hyūga realized that the matter was far less simple than the public believed.
At the same time, Minato, who had just started his day's work in the Hokage's office, welcomed his first visitor.
Shimura Danzō knocked on the Hokage's office door. Leaning on his cane, the grim-faced Danzō's first demand upon entering was to request Minato assign more guards to the Hyūga Clan...
"Fourth Hokage, I heard that the Hyūga Clan suffered an attack from a Mist ninja last night!"
"We absolutely cannot stand idly by on this matter!"
"Hiashi just left the Village with his elites, and something like this happened—it is our dereliction of duty!"
"I propose dispatching Anbu to the Hyūga Clan to guard their safety!"
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