As several ANBU ninja departed, Hyuga Hiashi stood silently in his place.
"Hyuga Clan Head, how did you discover this?"
Tsunade stared at Hyuga Hiashi, who was standing in the room, a look of doubt flashing in her eyes.
"When I realized Neji hadn't returned, I sent someone to look for him. We searched more than half of Konoha, but there was no sign of Neji."
Hyuga Hiashi's eyes flickered as he spoke softly.
"Is one of these two people Neji?"
Jiraiya frowned, a serious expression appearing on his face.
If a member of the Hyuga clan was truly missing, the situation had become somewhat serious.
"I personally believe it is best to prepare for the worst-case scenario," Hyuga Hiashi said after a moment of silence, speaking again.
The worst-case scenario?
Tsunade paused, not understanding what Hyuga Hiashi meant by the worst-case scenario.
"Defection." Hyuga Hiashi slowly uttered these two words.
Jiraiya and Tsunade stood up simultaneously, widening their eyes as they looked at Hyuga Hiashi, disbelief written in both their gazes.
Leaving aside how low the possibility of a Genin defecting was, a member of the Hyuga clan was simply incapable of defecting.
After all, the Caged Bird seal was famous throughout the entire ninja world.
Hyuga Hiashi did not speak again, for he knew that the Caged Bird seal on Neji had likely been broken.
What Hyuga Hiashi was truly concerned about now was not Neji himself, but where Neji intended to go, and exactly who had broken their Caged Bird seal?
The existence of this person had already impacted the very foundation of the clan!
The entire Hokage's office fell into silence once more.
Fortunately, the efficiency of the ninja was high. It did not take long before figures began to walk into the Hokage's office in succession.
"It's so late, is nobody going to sleep?"
Naruto yawned, walking into the Hokage's office in low spirits.
However, when he saw the numerous figures in the Hokage's office, all wearing serious expressions, a trace of curiosity flashed in Naruto's eyes.
Just as Naruto opened his mouth, intending to ask what was happening, a hand suddenly reached out from the side, dragged Naruto over, and simultaneously covered his mouth.
Naruto widened his eyes, looking at Shikamaru, who was covering his mouth, with dissatisfaction on his face.
Shikamaru signaled for Naruto to close his mouth, then gently released his hand.
"What on earth is going on?"
Naruto lowered his voice, still asking quietly with some curiosity.
"I don't know, but I just have a feeling it's troublesome," Shikamaru shrugged, wearing an expression of utter lethargy.
Soon after all the Genin had arrived, Kakashi, Might Guy, Kurenai, and Asuma walked in.
The moment the four entered the Hokage's office and saw the room almost full of people, they all wore puzzled expressions; clearly, they hadn't grasped what had happened yet.
At this moment, an ANBU ninja stepped forward from the side and said respectfully to Tsunade and Jiraiya:
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, with the exception of Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Neji, Haruno Sakura, and Tenten, everyone is present."
Four people missing?
Tsunade's expression turned grave; this was clearly no ordinary matter.
Naruto, standing below, twisted his head around. Sure enough, he didn't see Sasuke or Sakura, and a suspicious look appeared on his face as he muttered under his breath:
"That bastard Sasuke, he wouldn't have secretly gone on a date with Sakura, would he?"
Although Naruto didn't speak loudly, the Hokage's office was quiet enough that almost everyone heard his whispered words.
Jiraiya, standing to the side, revealed a look of helplessness and gently massaged his forehead.
"Lady Tsunade, Lord Jiraiya, shall I go look for them?" Kakashi stepped forward at this moment and asked softly.
Might Guy on the other side also nodded; after all, those four were their respective students.
Just as Tsunade was about to voice her agreement, hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
Immediately following, two ANBU ninja walked in, carrying the unconscious Sakura and Tenten in their arms.
"Sakura!"
"Tenten!"
Naruto and Rock Lee showed tense expressions and hurried over.
Kakashi and Might Guy's expressions also shifted as they flashed forward, appearing instantly in front of the two.
Guy reached out and touched the necks of Sakura and Tenten respectively, then breathed a sigh of relief:
"They've only fainted."
Hearing Guy's words, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief as well.
At this point, everyone knew that something big was likely to happen tonight.
Tsunade walked over with a somewhat heavy look. Green chakra emanated from her hands as she placed them on the foreheads of Sakura and Tenten.
Not long after, Sakura and Tenten slowly opened their eyes. The moment they woke up, they hurriedly sat up and shouted as if by reflex:
"Neji!"
"Sasuke!"
With the voices of Tenten and Sakura ringing out, the atmosphere of the entire Hokage's office became oppressive for a moment.
"What exactly is going on with Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke?"
Tsunade wore a serious expression as she looked at Tenten and Sakura, whose faces were now pale with panic for the first time.
Feeling the gaze of everyone, Sakura and Tenten couldn't help but swallow.
Jiraiya's eyes flickered as he looked up at Kurenai and Asuma:
"Kurenai, Asuma, please take your students back. There is nothing else for you here."
Kurenai and Asuma exchanged a glance, then nodded, leading Team 10 and Team 8 out in succession.
At the same time, the numerous ANBU ninja present also flashed away, disappearing without a trace.
At this moment, Tsunade softened her expression slightly and asked Sakura and Tenten again.
Under the gaze of the remaining people, Sakura recounted what had happened in general.
As for Tenten, she claimed she had simply bumped into Neji by chance.
Everyone present was a ninja who had long since made a name for themselves. It was obvious that Tenten was concealing something, but this wasn't important; what mattered was the result.
After hearing the two of them speak, Tsunade let out a soft breath, stood up again, turned to walk toward Jiraiya, and said:
"You explain this matter."
Jiraiya nodded and, after a moment of silence, spoke solemnly:
"I hereby announce a matter: Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke have defected!"
"Team 3 and Team 7 are to immediately pursue them and bring Sasuke and Neji back! They haven't been gone long, so they shouldn't have been able to travel far on their stamina."
Defection?!
Naruto and Rock Lee widened their eyes simultaneously, wearing expressions of disbelief.
"How could Sasuke possibly defect? Pervy Sage, did you get something wrong?" Naruto shook his head and spoke loudly, clearly unwilling to accept this.
Kakashi and Might Guy, the respective Jounin instructors of Sasuke and Neji, wore grave expressions, and their eyes also flickered with disbelief.
"These are their forehead protectors."
Jiraiya fell silent for a moment, then took out two forehead protectors from behind him and tossed them over.
"Kakashi-san, Guy-san, our Hyuga clan will deploy our full strength to assist you two. Please be sure to bring Neji back."
Hyuga Hiashi, who had remained silent until now, suddenly spoke with solemnity.
Kakashi and Might Guy nodded heavily, then turned and walked out of the Hokage's office.
Naruto and Rock Lee were just about to follow when they were stopped by Jiraiya.
"The Genin will not participate in this matter," Jiraiya said gravely.
He sensed the shadow of the Hidden Mist Village and Uchiha Madara in the defection of Neji and Sasuke. There would definitely be combat during the pursuit.
And once combat broke out, Kakashi and Might Guy might not necessarily be able to look after Lee and Naruto.
The moment they walked out of the Hokage's office, Kakashi and Might Guy saw that a large number of Hyuga clan ninja had already gathered outside.
Clearly, Hyuga Hiashi had made preparations in advance!
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