Uchiha's Taijutsu Supreme

Tenno Hyuga felt his lips twitch as the Third Hokage sternly reprimanded him. He suppressed the raging anger surging within his chest.

As the patriarch of the Hyuga clan, he had already discerned the Third Hokage's current stance and values.

"The Hyuga clan may have grievances, but given our current standing, it's insufficient for Konoha—or more accurately, for the Third Hokage—to go all out to protect us."

At this crucial moment of transitioning the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, the Third Hokage was striving for stability above all else.

He had even ceded ground in the ongoing conflict with the Uchiha clan, allowing Obito Uchiha to openly criticize the Will of Fire at the Ninja Academy.

And now, the Hyuga clan dared to bring the threat of war upon Konoha? This was something the Third Hokage could not tolerate.

If a war broke out, the power that the Uchiha clan might gain in the conflict, and whether Fuma would once again become Konoha's brightest war hero, were variables entirely beyond the Third's control.

While the Third knew war was inevitable, every moment of delay mattered. Time could bring change. For all he knew, a meteor might fall one day and rid him of Fuma altogether.

"Stall. Stall for as long as I can."

The Third Hokage cast a glance at the zealous Cloud ninja before him and spoke slowly:

"Could the compensation you're asking for be reduced? There must have been some misunderstanding here."

The Cloud jonin shook his head firmly, his voice cold:

"Magnet Release is an incredibly rare kekkei genkai, Hokage-sama. You must know it's the pride of the Kazekage in Sunagakure."

"To suffer such a devastating loss, all we are asking is for Konoha to hand over the perpetrator. Is that too unreasonable a demand?"

The Third Hokage fell silent, and the atmosphere grew tense.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Yen knelt on the ground, weeping softly as he awaited the judgment fate would soon bring upon him.

Fuma stood quietly, observing the scene with cold detachment. Every subtle expression of those present was etched into his mind.

To outsiders, the Third Hokage appeared weak and indecisive, but the truth was far more pragmatic.

If sacrificing one ninja could guarantee a year of peace, wouldn't any village make the same choice?

Taken to an extreme, if each of the Five Great Nations selected five ninja as offerings every year to maintain peace across the shinobi world, wouldn't the daimyos and their shadows eagerly comply?

In the shinobi world, ninja had no rights to speak of. They were tools, resources, and weapons—rarely seen as living, breathing individuals.

But beneath this façade of peace lay a question that haunted every ninja, "If this continues, will I be the next sacrifice? Will it be my loved ones? My clan?"

"And if it is me, how should I face it? If it's someone else, should I agree with the decision?"

A grain of sand in this era could crush a person under the weight of a mountain, destroying everything they held dear.

As the Third Hokage saw it, sacrificing a member of the Hyuga clan to avoid a war might mean countless Konoha ninja would be spared from dying in battle. Shouldn't they be grateful to him?

But for Yen, who was about to lose his life, could he truly accept this with a willing heart? Of course not.

This dilemma resembled the classic trolley problem—an unsolvable conundrum in an ordinary world.

Fuma sighed lightly and clenched his fist. A thought echoed within him:

"Fortunately, this is a world where extraordinary power exists. And I will gain that power. Only then, when that trolley comes for me, I'll be able to smash it to pieces with one punch, protecting myself and those I love."

"The Third's weakness stems from a lack of power. Only by obtaining overwhelming strength can these issues truly be resolved."

Tenno stepped forward, glaring at the Cloud jonin with a mix of fury and exhaustion.

He spoke slowly, "No more meaningless words. Even if you take Yen, it will be as a corpse. That is the Hyuga clan's bottom line."

"The Hyuga bloodline must remain in Konoha. It will never fall into the hands of another village!"

The Cloud jonin sneered and was about to retort when Homura cut him off:

"The Magnet Release kekkei genkai is unlike dojutsu bloodlines; it doesn't have a high inheritance rate. Even in Sunagakure, only two individuals have ever wielded it."

"If you think you can trade one jonin for a living Hyuga bloodline, then you're treating Konoha as a pushover."

"What's more, there's something strange about this entire incident. While we're willing to offer compensation for the sake of peace, we cannot tolerate such blatant extortion."

Standing beside the Hyuga clan, Homura appeared to speak up for them, but his words subtly hinted at the underlying reality.

Without Konoha's protection, even a noble clan like the Hyuga was vulnerable against the Five Great Nations.

From a strategic perspective, sacrificing one Byakugan to pull the Hyuga clan into the Hokage's camp while suppressing other restless clans was a fair trade. After all, external threats were the fastest way to unite a fractured village.

These remarks piqued Fuma's interest. The contradictory blend of defiance and weakness in Konoha's leadership was the perfect stage for him to showcase the strength of the Uchiha clan.

Fuma smirked and, in a flash, appeared beside the Cloud jonin, draping an arm over his shoulder as if they were old friends.

"Cloud friend, since the village intends to compensate you, how about the Uchiha clan adds a little gift?"

"Last time, I accidentally injured your Two-Tails jinchūriki. My sincerest apologies."

The Cloud jonin stiffened, his limbs frozen. His mind reeled, unable to comprehend how Fuma had approached him so quickly.

A trace of Fuma's blood energy invaded his body, subtly affecting his mind. His thoughts became chaotic, and under Fuma's covert control, he stammered out a response:

"N-No need, Fuma-san. Lord Raikage himself said that was a… a misunderstanding. We also… made mistakes…"

The room fell silent, the atmosphere turning bizarre. This sudden shift in tone was so stark it left everyone dumbfounded.

Fuma chuckled, patted the jonin's shoulder, and left with a parting remark,

"Thank you for your understanding, Cloud friend. Well then, the police force has to attend to tonight's disturbances, so I'll take my leave."

As Fuma withdrew his blood energy, the Cloud jonin regained his clarity and instantly realized his blunder. But the damage was done.

Through this encounter, Fuma had demonstrated the Uchiha clan's overwhelming power, subtly broadcasting a message to every ninja in Konoha:

"Only by aligning with the Uchiha can you fend off these wolves. The Third Hokage may not be able to protect you."

"And the Uchiha's allies are few. If you join now, you might secure a place as their most trusted supporter."

.........

After several days of negotiation, an agreement was reached between the Cloud and Konoha:

The Hyuga clan handed over Yen's Byakugan as compensation for Troy's death, sparing him from execution.

The Cloud signed another peace treaty with Konoha and formally apologized for entering Hyuga territory without prior notice to the Hokage.

In Konoha's retelling of events, the narrative shifted:

The Hyuga clan had killed a Cloud Magnet Release ninja, yet the price they paid was merely a Byakugan. Meanwhile, the Cloud was forced to continue the peace talks and even apologize.

The Cloud lost a ninja near the end of his natural life, but they gained a valuable tool for battlefield reconnaissance. If utilized properly, one Byakugan could be nearly as effective as ten.

Both sides left the table satisfied—except for the Hyuga clan, who quietly licked their wounds.

As for the other ninja clans in Konoha, this incident spurred them into action.

Some pledged allegiance to the Third Hokage, hoping to avoid a similar fate. Others found themselves at the gates of the Uchiha compound, seeking an audience with Fuma.

Among them was the Aburame clan.

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