The heavy fog of Fusagakure slowly cleared away. The dark energy and scary secrets of that strange place vanished, and the sky began to change.
KONOHAGAKURE
Across the horizon, the cold night in Konoha was finally ending. The early morning sun brought a soft, golden light to the village. A gentle breeze blew through the quiet streets, carrying the fresh smell of flowers and trees.
The village was just waking up. The tops of the houses looked bright under the morning sky, and birds were starting to sing. No one in the village knew about the scary problems hidden deep underground.
Far away from the busy main roads, there was a huge, traditional house. It sat near a forest of old trees. High, clean white stone walls stood all around the property. Inside the gates, the beautiful wooden buildings and long
walkways looked very old and important.
The walkways went all around neat, pretty
gardens. The lanterns that burned all night were now turned off. The water in the garden ponds was completely still, looking like smooth glass.
Everything was clean, quiet, and perfectly organized. The whole place felt totally cut off from the rest of the world.
Deep in the back of this huge house, a female servant was starting her morning work. She walked quietly along the wooden porch, holding a neat pile of clean clothes and cleaning tools. The morning air was cool here.
She hummed a soft song to herself so the quiet area wouldn't feel so lonely. She looked idly at the clean gravel paths and the bushes as she walked toward the storage rooms.
She turned a quiet corner near a tall stone wall and stopped dead in her tracks.
The servant gasped loudly. The pile of clothes slipped right out of her hands and scattered all over the wooden floor.
Just a few feet away on the green grass, three bodies were lying down.
They were not moving at all. Their arms and legs were tangled together, and their clothes were torn. They looked badly hurt. But as the servant looked closer, she noticed something truly terrifying.
There was no blood.
There was not a single drop of blood on the grass or on their clothes. They did not have any cuts on their skin. It looked like a strange, silent, and powerful force had simply knocked them down and taken their life away.
The garden was totally quiet, and the sight of the bloodless bodies was deeply frightening. The servant stepped backward, shaking with fear. She covered her face with her hands and let out a loud scream.
"WAHAHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Her sharp, painful scream tore through the quiet morning. It echoed off the tall stone walls and completely ruined the peaceful morning.
The echo of the servant's scream did not last long. A dark shadow suddenly dropped down from the wooden porch.
It was a senior member of the house, moving with unbelievable speed. Before the woman could scream a second time, his hand snapped forward. He covered her mouth tightly to stop the noise.
His pale white eyes scanned the area instantly. He looked up at the roofs and into the dark corners, searching for any enemies.
"Be quiet!" he whispered in a sharp, angry voice. "Do you want to scare the whole house? Calm down."
The servant nodded quickly. Her chest was moving up and down fast, and tears of pure fear ran down her face. Slowly, the man let go of her mouth. He looked down at the green grass where the three still figures lay.
His face twisted into a deep frown. He focused his powerful white eyes entirely on the bodies. He stepped closer, making no sound at all as he knelt down beside them.
He held his fingers just above the chest of the closest body. He was checking for a heartbeat, for chakra, or for any sign of life.
It made absolutely no sense. The security of this house was famous.
Nothing, not even a stray cat, could get past the high white walls without the guards noticing. Yet, there were three badly hurt clan members, dropped right into the middle of their private garden.
And the fact that there was no blood felt incredibly dangerous. This did not look like a normal ninja fight. It felt magical and impossible, like an enemy had bypassed all their physical defenses.
The man stood back up. His face turned completely cold and serious. That was not just an enemy breaking in; it was a silent threat to their entire family line.
If anyone else in the village found out—or if the Hokage found out before they understood what happened—it would be a total disaster.
He turned back to the shaking servant. His voice was ice-cold and very strict.
"Go back inside right now. You saw nothing. You heard nothing. If you tell a single person about this garden, you will be punished severely. Do you understand?"
The woman bowed very low until her forehead almost touched the floor. "Y-yes, sir. I understand."
"GO!"
The servant ran away quickly, hiding her face in her long sleeves. The senior man closed his eyes for a second and focused his energy.
Suddenly, two elite guards dropped down from the roof behind him. They stood like shadows on the stone path, their white eyes waiting for his command.
"Cover them up!" the man whispered without turning around. "Move them to the deepest room under the main building. Keep it completely dark. No one is allowed to look at their faces."
The guards bowed together. They moved like ghosts to pick up the broken bodies. The senior man turned his eyes toward the large main house, where the morning sun was hitting the doors. He felt a heavy weight burning in his chest.
"Send our quietest messengers to the elders.." he muttered to the cool air, tightening his jaw.
"Tell them to meet in the main hall immediately. Lock the front gates. No one comes in, and no one goes out."
SARUTOBI CLAN DISTRICT — AFTER A WHILE
The golden morning sunlight grew warmer, slowly spreading across the southern side of the village.
The light broke through the thick green leaves of the trees and hit the wooden walls of the Sarutobi estate. Everything was quiet and peaceful. The morning breeze was gentle, and the birds were singing soft songs in the branches.
On a quiet wooden porch facing a beautiful, sunlit garden, two men were sitting together. Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, was leaning back against a wooden post.
He was half-asleep, his body completely exhausted from the intense night he had just spent using his chakra to protect his family.
His eyes were closed, and the warm morning sunlight reflected softly off his pale, tired face.
Next to him sat Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage. Hiruzen was also dozing off, his head nodding slightly in the quiet morning air. After a night of sudden panic and high-alert warnings, the two strongest leaders of the village were finally getting a moment of rest.
Shhh!
The sudden, soft sound of a ninja landing broke the morning silence.
An ANBU guard dropped out of the sky, landing perfectly on the grass just in front of the porch. He was wearing the elite gray tactical vest over black clothes, with a porcelain animal mask hiding his face and a sword strapped across his back.
The very second the guard's sandals touched the grass, Minato's eyes snapped wide open.
Those beautiful, bright blue eyes were instantly sharp and clear, completely awake and filled with authority despite his deep tiredness.
The ANBU guard immediately dropped to one knee, bowing his head low. "Forgive me, Hokage-sama! I am deeply sorry for disturbing you during your rest."
Hearing the guard's voice, Hiruzen jumped up instantly. His eyes flew open in shock, and he quickly straightened his robes. He cleared his throat loudly, his cheeks turning a little red.
It was incredibly embarrassing for a legendary former Hokage to be caught napping in front of a junior ANBU soldier!
Hiruzen shook his head, trying to look completely serious. "What—what happened? What is the meaning of this?"
The ANBU guard turned slightly, bowing deeply to Hiruzen as well. "I apologize once again, Sandaime Hokage-sama. My business is with Minato-sama. I initially went directly to the Hokage's house to deliver an urgent message. However, because of his absence there, I had to track his chakra signature here. I am forced to come here without any prior notice."
Minato stood up gracefully, the white fabric of his Hokage haori fluttering slightly in the morning breeze. The red flame patterns at the bottom of the haori caught the sunlight as he straightened his shoulders. The gentle look on his face vanished, replaced by a cold, serious expression. "What is the matter? Speak."
The ANBU guard kept his head bowed low, his voice tense under his mask. "Hyuga Kozuki-sama, the former head of the Hyuga Clan, has just requested an emergency clan meeting. They demand your immediate presence."
Minato's jaw tightened. He let out a sharp, annoyed sound.
"Tchh."
He knew the Hyuga clan only called emergency meetings when something highly secretive and dangerous had happened within their walls. With everything else fracturing in the village, that was the last thing he needed.
Beside him, Hiruzen closed his eyes and slowly rubbed his temples with his fingers, letting out a heavy, tired sigh. A major clan emergency right at dawn was already giving him a massive headache.
Standing proudly at the base of the massive Hokage Rock, the Hokage Monument was the true heart of Konohagakure. It was a grand, circular structure painted in a bright, iconic red color, with the kanji character for 'Fire' stamped boldly on the front.
Roofed balconies wrapped around the upper levels, offering a clear view of the entire village below. The building looked powerful and timeless, completely surrounded by towering green trees that rustled gently in the morning breeze.
Deep inside the upper levels of that grand circular building, away from the regular offices, lay the special council wing. To reach the meeting room, one had to walk down a long, quiet hallway lined with smooth wooden floors that echoed with every footstep.
The walls of the corridor were decorated with framed pictures of past heroes and official village symbols, making the walk feel important and heavy with history.
At the very end of that quiet hallway stood a set of large, heavy double doors made of dark oak wood, which kept the secrets of the village safe from the outside world.
When those heavy doors pushed open, they revealed a large, serious strategy room designed for high-level meetings. The air inside was cool and still. In the very center of the room sat a massive, beautifully polished rectangular conference table made of dark wood, surrounded by rows of high-backed chairs.
The morning sunlight filtered in softly through a row of high, narrow windows, casting long panels of pale light across the floor. Large, rolled-up geographical maps and tactical scrolls hung neatly on the walls, displaying the borders of Hi no Kuni.
The room was completely silent, waiting for the tense meeting to begin.
Inside the strategy room, the silence was heavy and thick. The pale morning sunlight cutting through the narrow windows did not bring any warmth to the room. Instead, it only highlighted the cold, tense mood that filled the air.
Nobody was speaking.
The only sound was the faint ticking of a clock somewhere down the hallway. The room felt like a volcano right before an eruption—quiet, but full of hidden pressure.
Every single person sitting at the massive dark wood table was completely frozen, wrapped in their own serious thoughts.
At the very head of the rectangular table sat Namikaze Minato. His white Hokage haori hung neatly over his chair, and his bright blue eyes were calm but sharp as he looked down the long table.
He was the center of authority, keeping his face completely neutral despite the heavy stress of the morning.
Sitting along the right side of the table, the leaders watched the room with careful eyes.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat closest to Minato, his pipe unlit in his hand as he looked deeply thoughtful and tired.
Next to him was Utatane Koharu, her face stern and wrinkled, her arms crossed tightly inside her traditional robes.
Beside her sat Uchiha Fugaku, his arms crossed over his chest, his black eyes fixed on the tabletop in a silent, calculating stare.
Nara Shikaku leaned back slightly, his sharp mind already analyzing the situation, though his relaxed posture hid his deep worry.
Next was Yamanaka Inoichi, sitting perfectly straight and using his calm, focused expression to keep his emotions hidden.
At the end of the right row sat Kurama Murakumo, his expression serious and tense as he waited for the discussion to break out.
Directly across from them, occupying the left side of the long table, sat the rest of the council.
Shimura Danzo sat directly opposite Hiruzen, his walking cane resting against his chair, his visible eye cold and completely unreadable.
Beside him was Mitokado Homura, adjusting his glasses with a strict, impatient frown on his face.
Next sat Hyuga Kozuki, the former clan head, his jaw locked tight and his pale white eyes burning with a furious, hidden panic.
Right beside him sat Hyuga Hiashi, the current clan head, his face a perfect mask of ice-cold discipline, though the slight tightness in his shoulders showed his deep alarm.
Akimichi Choza sat beside him, his large frame quiet and his usual gentle expression replaced by a heavy, somber look.
Next was Inuzuka Tsume, her sharp teeth bared slightly in a silent scowl, her fierce eyes scanning the room like a predator ready to fight.
At the end of the left row sat Fuma Arata, his face dark and silent, keeping his eyes downcast as the tension in the room continued to grow
The heavy silence inside the room stretched on, growing thicker and more suffocating with every passing second.
Minato took a deep, steady breath, resting his hands flat on the smooth, polished surface of the dark wood table. He opened his mouth, preparing to officially start the emergency council meeting.
—[1]
"If I may, Yondaime Hokage-sama..."
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⚡ NEXT CHAPTER ⚡
The Hyuga clan demands answers.
The council demands proof.
And the Hokage demands the truth.
What begins as a routine emergency audience quickly spirals into accusations, old rivalries, and a question that leaves the entire room speechless.
An intruder lurks within Konoha.
A noble clan stands on the brink of humiliation.
And one elder's words threaten to shake the very foundation of Hyuga pride.
When the strongest eyes in the village fail to see what stands before them...
Who is truly blind?
👉Chapter 28:The Burden Of The Former Head— The Audience Begins
"In a room full of answers, the most dangerous thing may be a single lie."
SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
"....Perhaps they believe their internal matters outweigh the structure of this entire council."
"....And he is badly injured. Hanging on by a thread."
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—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
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[1] Note: This sign represents that Minato has opened his mouth to speak but has not spoken yet