Name: Hyuga Raita.
Identity: Clan Head of the Hyuga Branch Family in the Hidden Leaf Village, Assistant Chief of the Konoha Intelligence Division.
Reputation: 26,899 points.
Relationship: Hostile.
The moment Haruto Saito saw Hyuga Raita, his expression shifted slightly. The sudden arrival of the Hyuga Branch Clan Head on such an important mission made it difficult for Haruto to think of a positive reason. He glanced at Tsunade, who also looked back at him. Their eyes met, both showing a trace of unease.
Hyuga Raita shot a brief glance at Haruto but said nothing. Instead, he reached into his robe and pulled out a scroll, presenting it to Hiruzen Sarutobi with both hands. "Lord Hokage, please take a look."
"Oh? What is this?" Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at Hyuga Raita before accepting the scroll.
"This is a recently compiled record regarding some unresolved matters between our Hyuga Clan and the Meiji Clan from four hundred years ago," Hyuga Raita stated quickly. His gaze instinctively flickered toward Haruto.
Haruto's eyebrows twitched. As expected, it was about this!
Tsunade's expression darkened. The reason for Hyuga Raita's presence was now clear. If it were merely historical disputes, there would be no need for such a report, let alone informing Hiruzen Sarutobi directly. Unless—this was about something critical to the Hyuga Clan.
Haruto still carried the animal-skin bundle on his back. Tsunade glanced at it before looking at Haruto's profile again, a hint of worry flashing through her eyes.
Under normal circumstances, there shouldn't be much to worry about. If the Hyuga Clan wanted to reclaim what originally belonged to them, they could just return it, and everyone would be happy. However, Haruto and the Hyuga Clan had deep-seated hatred! Given Haruto's personality, there was no way he would obediently hand it over.
And if he refused, a conflict was inevitable.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi might not protect him this time.
Meanwhile, Mitokado Homura continued directing others to transport boxes, while Danzo stood beside a coffin, flipping through ancient texts. Noticing the commotion near Hiruzen, he tossed the book back into the coffin and slowly walked over.
Hiruzen quickly scanned through the contents of the scroll before raising his voice, "Has anyone found a scroll containing the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist techniques?"
Mitokado Homura glanced at Hiruzen and then at the other ninjas who had been responsible for cataloging items. They exchanged looks before shaking their heads one by one.
"No."
"Lord Hokage, we haven't found anything."
"Has everything inside that coffin been accounted for?" Hiruzen asked again.
"Yes. Some of the texts are highly valuable, but most are historical records about the Meiji Clan, along with classified documents. We did not find any scrolls containing jutsu," reported a ninja who had checked the contents.
Hiruzen frowned slightly before looking back at the scroll in his hands.
"Lord Hokage, what is that? Can I see?" Haruto leaned in and tilted his head curiously.
Hiruzen gave him a brief look before hesitating, then handed over the scroll.
Haruto quickly skimmed through it.
Approximately 410 years ago, the war between the Hyuga Clan and the Meiji Clan reached its peak. The Meiji Clan formed a special squad of death soldiers who infiltrated the Hyuga territory to steal classified information. Their mission was a success. Not only did they acquire the intelligence they sought, but they also managed to steal several powerful Hyuga Taijutsu techniques.
In the same month, the Meiji Clan ruthlessly eliminated Hyuga ninjas who had mastered these techniques, preventing the clan from re-recording them in time. As a result, these powerful Hyuga techniques were lost.
The Hyuga Clan attempted to negotiate with the Meiji Clan, offering high-value prisoners and a ransom in exchange for the lost scrolls. However, the negotiations failed as their demands were not met.
During subsequent battles, the Hyuga Clan made several attempts to reclaim the scrolls but never succeeded. Even after completely defeating the Meiji Clan and conducting large-scale searches, the scrolls were never found.
The so-called search for the "Meiji Treasure" wasn't actually about wealth—it was a secondary objective. The real purpose was recovering the lost techniques. Despite scouring all lands once ruled by the Meiji Clan, the Hyuga never retrieved their secrets.
Haruto's eyes scanned over the text. The scroll appeared newly written, meaning Hyuga Raita had likely compiled the information from historical records before presenting it to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"Haruto, let me ask you," Hiruzen spoke up, "Did you come across any of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist scrolls?"
"Oh, yeah!" Haruto answered without hesitation.
Tsunade's face stiffened. Haruto was being way too straightforward—this was a disaster waiting to happen!
"Where are those scrolls now?" Hiruzen continued.
"Threw them away!" Haruto said with a completely natural expression. "They were useless to me, so I got rid of them… Well, actually, I destroyed them. Burned them, to be precise."
It was unclear if Haruto did this intentionally, but the way he phrased it made it sound completely unconvincing.
"Destroyed them?!" Hyuga Raita's voice erupted with rage. He no longer cared about Hiruzen Sarutobi's presence as his face contorted in fury. "You dare destroy my Hyuga Clan's secret techniques?! Those scrolls contained our lost Taijutsu! And you actually burned them?!"
"It was mine to destroy. Why couldn't I?" Haruto replied with feigned innocence.
"Yours?!"
"I dug it up. That makes it mine," Haruto stated matter-of-factly. "Besides, even if it originally belonged to your clan, do I have any obligation to keep it safe for you? Did you pay me a storage fee? I found it, so I had the right to burn it if I wanted to!"
Tsunade rubbed her forehead, full of despair.
Everything was unfolding exactly as she had predicted. Haruto was deliberately provoking them! And it was worse than she had expected.
He could have simply claimed he never saw the scrolls and played dumb. Or, if he had acknowledged finding them, he could have demanded money in exchange—after all, he had spent a considerable amount of his own resources to dig up the treasure. It would have been completely reasonable to ask for compensation.
But instead, he admitted to seeing them… and then said he burned them!
Hyuga Raita was, of course, furious!
And the worst part? The scrolls hadn't actually been destroyed—they were right inside the animal-skin bundle Haruto carried. If that was discovered, things would get ugly fast.
"You! You! You!" Hyuga Raita pointed a trembling finger at Haruto, his rage making his hands shake. "You bastard! How could you do such a thing? As a Konoha ninja, shouldn't you have turned over our clan's lost techniques? Do you even care about Konoha?! Destroying our secret scrolls—what benefit does that give you? Are you even part of this village, or are you its enemy?!"
A heavy accusation!
The atmosphere instantly grew tense. Haruto's status was complicated, and this was not something that could be said lightly—especially since Hiruzen Sarutobi had plans to take him as a disciple. Hyuga Raita had clearly lost control due to his rage.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you." Haruto adjusted his sunglasses and stared at Hyuga Raita. "Then let me ask—when your clan sent assassins to kill me, did you ever consider that I was already a Konoha ninja?!"
Silence fell over the area in an instant.