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Autumn passed into winter, and Konoha was silently covered in white snow once again.

Hikaru sat inside a tavern, calmly watching the welcoming procession below.

Kumogakure’s people had arrived.

Just like in the original timeline, they had entered Konoha smoothly under the excuse of coming to sign a ceasefire agreement.

And now, they were still using that same excuse.

Naturally, this drew Hiruzen Sarutobi’s full attention.

Konoha and Kumogakure had never signed an official ceasefire agreement. That fact had always been like a thorn lodged in everyone’s throat, and Hiruzen had long wanted to pull it out.

Now that Kumo had taken the initiative to propose a treaty, how could Hiruzen not be tempted?

However, something that looked too good to be true would make anyone cautious. Hiruzen naturally had to be careful as well.

Kumogakure was too strong right now.

They had suffered little loss during the Third Shinobi World War, and there were very few forces in the ninja world capable of challenging them.

Even Konoha felt powerless when facing them. Considering Konoha’s current overall strength, the two sides truly were not on the same level.

Because of that, even though Hiruzen was deeply wary of Kumo, he still came with sincerity.

He truly hoped to avoid trouble if possible.

Hiruzen’s thinking was good.

Unfortunately, the person he was dealing with was ambitious and eager to push Kumogakure to the peak of the ninja world.

So his wishful thinking would be useless.

He was only inviting humiliation.

Of course, there were other reasons that pushed Hiruzen into making this choice.

The small-scale conflicts between Konoha and Kumo were constantly escalating.

If things continued like this, no one knew what those clashes would eventually become.

That was why Hiruzen urgently wanted to extinguish everything before it grew worse.

Otherwise, Konoha’s mission efficiency would be severely affected, and even Konoha’s overall reputation could take a blow.

If this had been the Konoha of the past, they truly would not have feared such a thing.

They might even have acted ruthlessly and sent elite ninja to lead talented young shinobi into the field to gain experience.

But after the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha’s foundation had nearly been emptied out.

That forced Konoha to shrink back across the board.

"Minister, everything has been arranged."

While Hikaru watched the scene below, Kakashi suddenly appeared behind him and spoke softly.

"Mm. I understand. Good work."

Hikaru nodded lightly.

How could ANBU remain still when something this important was happening?

Although, under Hikaru’s suggestion, the task of maintaining order had been handed to the Police Force, ANBU still needed to handle the secret protection and observation.

The Police Force’s reform had already reached its final step.

On the day when the Hokage Building had been surrounded by clan heads and jōnin, Uchiha Shin seized control of all three divisions.

After such a long period of restructuring and cleansing, the Police Force had basically achieved a balance between civilian ninja and Uchiha clan ninja.

With that balance, along with the regulations Hikaru had asked Saya to pass to the Police Force, the Police Force was developing in a better and better direction.

The Police Force’s original establishment was not small to begin with. After being expanded with civilian ninja, its full roster had been completely filled.

They even had a reserve force now.

One could imagine how powerful the Police Force had become.

Of course, the price was that Uchiha Shin’s relationship with Uchiha Fugaku had become increasingly rigid.

Anyone with sharp eyes could see how heavy the smell of gunpowder inside the Uchiha Clan had become.

Perhaps in the next moment, this terrifying powder keg would be ignited.

No one knew exactly how the situation would develop.

But Hikaru believed Uchiha Shin’s chances of winning were high.

Because he stood behind Uchiha Shin.

"Once the gathering disperses, assign teams to follow them."

Hikaru’s mind was thinking about the Uchiha, but his eyes remained fixed on the people below.

By now, the welcoming ceremony had basically ended.

Hiruzen personally led the Kumogakure group toward the Hokage Building.

Snow continued falling from the sky.

Under such conditions, keeping guests outdoors would be extremely rude, and Hiruzen would not do something like that.

"Yes, Minister."

Kakashi immediately nodded.

In fact, even without Hikaru’s order, he would have handled this properly.

After all, he knew very clearly what Kumogakure had done near the Land of Fire’s border in the Land of Hot Water.

And the earlier clashes between Konoha and Kumo mission teams did not look like they were going to stop no matter how one looked at it.

Now these people had come saying they wanted a ceasefire.

Especially after the Fourth Raikage had emphasized that he was working hard for peace in the ninja world.

That kind of wording made Kakashi, who had been beside Hikaru for several years, feel deeply suspicious.

"Minister..."

Kakashi thought for a moment before asking, "I still don’t understand. What exactly is Kumo’s goal?"

"Their goal?"

Hikaru raised his head and glanced at Kakashi behind him before smiling.

"Their goal is simple. They are naturally here to cause trouble for Konoha."

At this point, Hikaru paused.

He lightly tapped the table, signaling Kakashi to sit down, then continued with a smile.

"Actually, your question is simple. From the beginning, Kumogakure has been dissatisfied with Konoha’s position, especially with the fact that Konoha still occupies the most resources in the ninja world after the Third War."

"This is a problem of uneven resource distribution. After all, no one willingly gives up their own interests."

"Second, Kumo’s losses in the Third War were very low. They have the strength to do this."

"Before this, Konoha and Kumo clashed constantly during missions, didn’t they? Yet the Raikage suddenly claimed he wanted to sign an agreement for the sake of peace."

"Let me ask you a question. Suppose you lower your posture so much, but the people you send to express peace end up in serious trouble."

"For example, they die for certain reasons. What would you do?"

Hikaru spoke slowly.

Kakashi listened very seriously.

By the time Hikaru finished, his expression had completely changed.

"Minister, are you saying..."

Kakashi immediately stood up, but before he could finish, Hikaru interrupted him.

"War needs an excuse. And this is a very good excuse."

Hikaru sighed softly.

"Can this kind of war be stopped?" Kakashi hesitated before asking. "Or should we remind the Third?"

"Whether we remind the Third or not makes little difference. Now that they have already entered, there is no helping it."

Hikaru chuckled, then tapped the table lightly.

"As for stopping it, I can only say we will do our best."

"I really hope this can be resolved peacefully. War is disgusting. It would be better if everyone could sit down and talk properly."

"Jiraiya’s idea? It is great, but also foolish. Sitting down and talking peacefully is impossible, at least when the interests of countries and villages are involved."

Jiraiya’s hopes and dreams, along with Naruto’s future efforts, were essentially about eliminating hatred and allowing people to understand one another.

There was no doubt that this was an extremely great dream.

But it was still only a dream.

Hikaru had said long ago that if people wanted to understand one another, there had to be a foundation.

And that foundation was equality.

Without equality, it was difficult to create any real empathy.

Especially when a matter rose to the level of ninja villages and countries, there was even less room for understanding.

Take the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind as an example.

The Land of Wind had a harsh climate, little greenery, and farming was almost a luxury.

Its transportation was poor as well, and its economy developed slowly.

Because of that, its village and country were at the bottom even among the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

By contrast, Konoha had a pleasant climate and excellent environment. It was suitable for growing all kinds of crops, had convenient transportation, and its economy developed well.

Could these two villages truly empathize with each other?

It was difficult to say.

If one followed the idea of mutual understanding between people, then should Konoha give Sunagakure some territory so they could develop better?

If this question were given to any person with a brain who was not some saintly fool, they would answer without hesitation.

Bullshit.

Such matters could not be viewed only from the level of individuals.

Perhaps individuals could try to understand one another.

But in Hikaru’s previous life, there had been a saying: science has no borders, but scientists have nationalities.

The same applied to this world.

The profession of ninja had no borders, but every ninja belonged to a village.

Perhaps Kakashi understood what Hikaru meant.

Or perhaps he needed time to think it through properly.

But no matter how much he thought about it, Kakashi would not forget his mission.

The Kumo delegation had all become ANBU’s key surveillance targets.

And these members of the Kumo delegation seemed to prove Hikaru’s suspicions.

They were indeed plotting something.

The ceasefire agreement had already been signed. After all, Hiruzen had been impatient to complete it.

But after signing the peace agreement, the Kumo delegation did not immediately leave Konoha and return to Kumogakure.

Instead, they temporarily stayed in the village.

Hiruzen had doubts about this, but since the agreement had already been signed, he did not pay too much attention to them.

So during this period, the members of the Kumo delegation acted like ordinary tourists.

They walked through Konoha’s streets and alleys, recording a great many things. Aside from military restricted areas, they basically explored the whole village.

Many Konoha ninja were displeased by their behavior.

But considering their identities, no Konoha ninja stopped them.

Hikaru, however, knew very clearly that these people had their own purpose.

If nothing unexpected happened, they were probably still planning to attack the Hyūga Clan.

But Hikaru still had to observe exactly how they would act.

After all, he needed to guard against the butterfly effect.

The butterfly effects Hikaru had caused were not numerous, but they were not few either.

Excluding the things he had actively done, such as keeping Minato Namikaze alive, preventing Orochimaru from joining Akatsuki, making Uchiha Fugaku lose an eye, and killing Danzo early, Hikaru clearly remembered the unexpected things that had happened without his direct involvement.

For example, during the Nine-Tails incident, Obito had suddenly returned to cause trouble.

Hikaru remembered that very clearly.

Now that Konoha had an ANBU Minister like him, he could not be sure whether Kumo would still target the Hyūga Clan’s eldest daughter, Hinata Hyūga, as they did in the original timeline.

"Maybe they’ll go after the Uchiha instead. After all, these guys have spent quite a while in Konoha and gathered plenty of information."

Hikaru could determine that these people wandering around Konoha were gathering intelligence.

Not only that, they were probably also planning to exchange information with some spy hidden inside Konoha.

Every village had some enemy ANBU hidden within it to varying degrees.

That was never strange.

If such spies were not found, it was either because their hiding skills were excellent, or because they had been deliberately left alone to transmit false intelligence back.

However, after roaming around for several days, these people suddenly became strangely obedient.

They stayed quietly inside their residence for an entire day and did not come out.

"What is the situation?"

At sunset, as night deepened, Hikaru’s figure appeared without warning in a corner outside the Kumo delegation’s residence.

He looked calmly at Kakashi before him and asked.

"There has not been much movement for now."

Kakashi shook his head lightly, then spoke in a serious voice.

"But I arranged four squads to watch them. Even Lone Wolf came over."

The name Lone Wolf made Hikaru pause for a moment.

He had not forgotten the Hyūga branch-family member who had once competed with him for the position of captain.

Ever since Hikaru had become captain, he really had not seen that man again.

It was normal that he had continued to remain in ANBU without being purged.

After all, he was from the Hyūga branch family and was not the kind of person who would completely take a side.

Still, Kakashi had done well to bring him here. After all, even as a branch-family member, Lone Wolf had the Byakugan.

"Lone Wolf, huh? With his Byakugan here, it seems there is no need to worry too much."

Hikaru nodded lightly. He was quite satisfied with Kakashi’s arrangement.

"Their behavior is too strange, and they are very alert."

Kakashi sighed and shook his head helplessly.

"When we followed them, we were almost discovered several times. And today, they have not appeared at all. We have to be careful no matter what."

"Being careful is good."

Hikaru smiled.

Suddenly, he saw a figure quickly rushing toward them, making him frown slightly.

"Minister, Captain."

The person who arrived was Lone Wolf.

When he saw Hikaru, his whole body paused for a moment.

But he quickly recovered, then bowed slightly to Hikaru and Kakashi.

"No need for that. Tell me what happened."

Hikaru nodded lightly and asked directly, "Did those people make a move?"

"Yes, Minister."

Lone Wolf immediately nodded.

"They have moved."

They moved?

Hearing this, both Hikaru and Kakashi secretly let out a breath.

For Kakashi, this might not be good news, but at least once they moved, his side had the right to react.

As for Hikaru, he was very satisfied.

He was afraid these people would not move.

If that happened, it would give him a headache.

If they moved, that was good.

Once they moved, he had a reason to act.

As someone who had to make Konoha and Kumo go to war, Hikaru had made many preparations.

Whether through newspapers subtly stirring Konoha’s public sentiment, or by preparing analytical materials from Iwagakure’s perspective once Konoha and Kumo went to war, he had been preparing for this conflict.

Now, everything was almost ready.

If he continued using the newspapers to promote this further, Hiruzen might notice something strange.

Hikaru did not want Hiruzen to notice that.

That would bring no benefit to his plan.

Fortunately, these people had come, and they had finally acted.

How could Hikaru not be satisfied?

"However..."

At this moment, Lone Wolf frowned and continued.

"They used many clones to leave in different directions. Judging by appearance, it should be the Shadow Clone Technique."

"They used shadow clones to leave separately?"

Kakashi’s expression changed slightly.

This was definitely not good news.

The characteristic of shadow clones was that they were difficult to see through.

Although the technique was difficult to learn and had certain side effects, its nature truly made it difficult to guard against.

These people using shadow clones to leave meant they were definitely planning something.

And whatever they were planning would definitely be serious.

"Damn it. They can all use shadow clones."

Kakashi gritted his teeth and spoke slowly.

He had no interest in what these people were trying to do.

His only thought was to quickly send all of them out of Konoha.

"Capture them."

Hikaru thought for a moment before speaking.

"Be as careful as possible when fighting them. They may try to kill themselves. Of course..."

At this point, Hikaru paused slightly, then spoke very seriously.

"If they threaten the safety of Konoha’s residents, kill them without hesitation."

"Yes!"

Lone Wolf answered without hesitation.

"This..."

Kakashi hesitated.

He understood what Hikaru’s earlier words meant.

Once they killed these people, the enemy’s objective would also be achieved.

But Kakashi also understood that they could not allow these people to cause trouble for Konoha.

After all, ANBU’s mission was to protect Konoha’s safety.

"Yes!"

After thinking this through, Kakashi also answered decisively.

Then he immediately left with Lone Wolf to track and intercept them.

Hikaru stood where he was without moving.

Only after Kakashi and Lone Wolf disappeared completely did he slowly activate his Jōgan.

Brilliant blue light flickered in Hikaru’s eyes.

In an instant, he had already locked onto several Kumo ninja who had not yet escaped his field of vision.

Most importantly, he had also found the true body of the Kumo delegation’s leader.

He did not particularly mind others knowing he had these eyes.

But by coincidence, every time he used them, very few people actually saw them.

Through a series of chances, Hikaru’s eyes could still be considered unexposed.

Even if someone had seen them, they absolutely did not know what these eyes could do.

Naturally, Hikaru would not explain such things.

Probably no ninja would voluntarily explain what their own power was.

"Unless they are facing the dead."

Hikaru’s figure moved slightly.

In an instant, he arrived in a corner beside the Kumo delegation leader.

He did not attack immediately.

He simply watched quietly.

He watched the man use the night and the commotion caused by other Kumo ninja to lure away the guards, then silently rush toward the Hyūga Clan compound.

"So it is still the Hyūga Clan."

Hikaru thought silently.

With the help of his Jōgan, he clearly saw the man nimbly avoid layer after layer of patrols, then skillfully head toward the residence of the Hyūga Clan head.

It was obvious this man had obtained plenty of information during this period.

After all, the layout inside the Hyūga Clan compound was not something just anyone could know.

To be honest, if Danzo had not already died, Hikaru might really have suspected him.

But now, it seemed Konoha had some capable spies hidden inside.

"Such people need attention. Otherwise, who knows what will happen if they continue hiding in Konoha without being exposed?"

Hikaru thought silently.

At that moment, the Kumo leader finally acted.

The Hyūga Clan was far too comfortable.

As one of the village’s two top dōjutsu clans and one of Konoha’s strongest clans, they really did not believe anyone in Konoha would be foolish enough to attack them.

They did have family patrols.

After all, people still vaguely remembered how Kumo had once abducted Kushina Uzumaki.

But the patrol strength was truly average.

And these Kumo ninja had also caused disturbances elsewhere, diverting the Hyūga patrols’ attention.

Unfortunately, this was also exactly when they should have increased patrols to control and stabilize the clan compound.

In Hikaru’s Jōgan vision, the Kumo leader did not spend much effort before successfully capturing the sleeping Hinata.

"Well done."

Hikaru silently praised him.

He could see that if this man wanted to quietly withdraw right now, it would not be a problem.

After all, Hinata was still asleep, and he had not attracted anyone’s attention.

But this man deliberately made some noise, alarming Hyūga Hiashi, who was sleeping in the next room.

Very quickly, Hyūga Hiashi charged out with killing intent.

At this moment, Hikaru also chose to act.

After all, the Hyūga Clan’s attitude this time was key.

Hikaru would not miss this chance.

And as ANBU Minister, there were some matters he had to appear for.

"I caught you!"

"Don’t be impulsive, Clan Head Hyūga."

Just as Hyūga Hiashi caught up and attacked, Hikaru’s figure suddenly appeared between him and the Kumo ninja.

With almost casual ease, he blocked Hiashi’s furious strike.

Of course, Hiashi had not used his full strength either, since he had to avoid hitting his own daughter.

Hikaru’s appearance made Hiashi frown.

He had already recognized the young man before him.

This was ANBU Minister Senju Hikaru.

Hyūga Hiashi had not had much contact with Hikaru.

Even though he knew Senju Hikaru represented the Fourth Hokage, and that his side was clashing fiercely with the interest group represented by Hiruzen and the Third Hokage, he had no intention of participating.

Because the Hyūga Clan could proudly support only the victor.

They would not take sides before victory had been decided.

"Minister Senju?"

Hyūga Hiashi stopped.

The Kumo ninja also stopped.

The only Konoha organization with a Senju serving as Minister was ANBU.

And this ANBU Minister’s power made him understand that running was meaningless.

After all, his two legs could not outrun Senju Hikaru, who controlled space-time ninjutsu.

"Don’t be impulsive. He is a member of the Kumo delegation."

Hikaru spoke calmly, then turned his gaze toward the Kumo ninja.

Hearing this, Hyūga Hiashi’s expression turned stern, and the sharp killing intent around him disappeared.

As the clan head of Konoha’s prestigious Hyūga Clan, Hiashi naturally knew how sensitive the identity of the Kumo delegation leader was.

If he died inside the Hyūga compound, no matter what this man had done, the Hyūga Clan would probably be the unlucky party.

The consequences would be unimaginable.

Only now did Hikaru look toward the Kumo leader.

His voice became unusually indifferent.

"Do you understand that your actions are destroying the hard-won peace between our two countries?"

"Peace?"

The Kumo leader grinned, then quickly drew a kunai.

The kunai was pressed directly against Hinata’s throat.

Hinata, who had long since fainted, knew nothing of it.

But when the sharp kunai pressed against her fair neck, a trace of pain unconsciously appeared on her young face.

Seeing this, Hyūga Hiashi immediately roared, "Stop!"

But Hiashi’s roar had no effect on the Kumo leader.

His expression remained calm, and that made Hiashi deeply uneasy.

What puzzled him most was how this man had silently infiltrated the Hyūga main family’s residence.

Also, why did he understand the layout of the main family residence?

Why had he found Hinata so easily?

One could explain his infiltration by saying that the Hyūga patrols and guards had problems.

After all, the Hyūga Clan had lived too comfortably these past years.

But the layout of the house was not something many people could know.

"Clan Head Hyūga, don’t worry. With me here, he can’t do anything."

Hikaru glanced at Hyūga Hiashi, then turned his gaze back to the Kumo ninja.

"Besides, this man is already dead. He took poison."

When Hikaru had been outside, he had already sensed that this man’s life force was strange.

It seemed to be rapidly draining away with time.

Now that he was so close, Hikaru could sense the man’s terrible condition even more clearly.

The combination of his sensory ability and Jōgan truly allowed Hikaru to see through far too many things with ease.

For example, the true state of the man before him.

Sure enough, after Hikaru said this, the Kumo leader’s expression changed slightly.

He truly had not expected his condition to be discovered.

"You..."

Hyūga Hiashi’s expression instantly became even uglier.

This man had gone this far to seek death.

This was clearly meant to drag the Hyūga Clan into a trap.

"I didn’t expect you to see through that. As expected of the ANBU Minister."

The Kumo leader gritted his teeth.

"But do you really think you can save this brat from my hands?"

"Whether I can save her or not is decided by me, not you."

Hikaru chuckled softly, then slowly spoke.

"Your Raikage really put in a lot of effort."

"First, he repeatedly created mission conflicts to pressure Konoha."

"Then he took the initiative to show weakness and acted as if he was willing to make concessions for peace in the ninja world by signing a treaty."

"But the treaty is fake. The real goal was to send a group of dead men into Konoha, so they could carry out more plans after entering the village."

Hikaru paused slightly, then looked at the Kumo leader’s shifting expression with a playful look.

"When you die, the Raikage will step forward to blame Konoha. And since you died in the Hyūga Clan, the Raikage will give Konoha two choices."

"The first is to hand over the murderer. I imagine he will insist on Hyūga Hiashi. That way, you can obtain a Byakugan."

"The second is war. Through war, Kumogakure can make weakened Konoha suffer major losses and profit from it."

"Of course, no matter what Hiruzen Sarutobi chooses, Konoha’s prestige will fall sharply. And you will smoothly step on Konoha and become the number one village in the ninja world."

At this point, everything had become extremely clear.

Hyūga Hiashi’s expression was very ugly.

Because he realized that without knowing it, he had become a chess piece in a political game.

And he had no room to resist.

He could only watch both sides make their moves, and then wait for Hiruzen Sarutobi’s final decision.

The Kumo leader’s expression completely changed.

Although he did not know many details of this mission, he was smart enough to guess some of them.

After all, he had been chosen for this mission not only because his relationship with the Raikage was poor and he had become a necessary target to be cleaned up.

It was also because he was loyal enough to Kumogakure and intelligent enough to handle all kinds of sudden situations.

Clearly, what he had guessed was basically the same as what this ANBU Minister had said.

No wonder this man could sit in the ANBU Minister’s position at such a young age.

His intelligence was also terrifying.

"All right. I’ve said what needs to be said. Now it is time to do something practical."

Hikaru looked at the silent Kumo leader and spoke softly.

"I’ll give you two choices. Release the girl, or I’ll do it myself."

"You’re that confident you can save her with the Flying Thunder God?"

The Kumo leader instantly snapped back to his senses.

The kunai in his hand pressed deeper into Hinata’s neck, and even a few threads of blood appeared.

Seeing this, Hikaru gently shook his head.

"Looks like you chose the second option..."

As his words fell, Hikaru’s eyes instantly erupted with brilliant blue light.

At that moment, his figure vanished like a ghost.

"Then I’ll do it myself."

A cold voice suddenly sounded behind the Kumo leader.

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