Seeing Toro lying on the ground, Tatsuya's face was terrifyingly grim! He realized he'd been set up! This was a trap deliberately set by Toro!
It was only at this moment that Tatsuya truly understood why, in the original story, the leader of the Cloud delegation had died so easily at the hands of Hiashi Hyuga. Before taking action, Toro had already resolved to die. His true goal was to reignite the conflict between Konoha and Cloud!
There were two possible outcomes to this event:
The first was that Toro successfully kidnapped Hinata Hyuga, the heiress of the Hyuga clan's main family, back to the Cloud Village, stealing the Byakugan bloodline limit of the Hyuga clan. With the loss of their heiress, the Hyuga clan certainly wouldn't let the matter rest! To appease the Hyuga clan and maintain the village's prestige in the ninja world, Konoha would inevitably have to declare war on the Cloud Village again.
The second was that if the kidnapping failed, he would choose to die at the hands of an important figure in Konoha, such as the Hyuga clan leader, Hiashi Hyuga, and then the Cloud Village could use this as a pretext to attack Konoha.
Faced with this situation, Konoha would also have only two choices: either hand over the murderer who killed Toro, or choose war. If Konoha chose the former, then the Konoha leadership would inevitably fall out with powerful clans like the Hyuga, and the internal conflicts within the village would be intensified. If Konoha chose the latter, then they would fall right into the trap of radicals like Toro within the Cloud Village, who could use this as an excuse to persuade the Cloud Village to continue the war against Konoha.
In the original story, the leader of the Cloud delegation died at the hands of Hiashi Hyuga. However, unfortunately for them, they hadn't anticipated that Hizashi Hyuga would sacrifice himself in his brother's place.
Now, the course of events had changed, and Tatsuya had unluckily walked right into this trap. Seeing that kidnapping Hinata was hopeless, Toro had decisively chosen the second option, dying by Tatsuya's kunai.
Behind him, Sakawa and Teru had also caught up. Seeing the dead Toro, they also realized the gravity of the situation. Sakawa's face was filled with panic and helplessness! His recklessness had implicated Tatsuya.
Teru turned to Tatsuya and said gravely, "Tatsuya, what do we do now?"
Tatsuya waved his hand at the two. "You two get out of here immediately!"
Hearing this, Sakawa protested, "How can we do that? We can't just leave you here!"
"This matter is too big; you can't handle it! Don't worry, I'll be fine!" Tatsuya said decisively, shaking his head with a grim expression.
Hearing Tatsuya's words, Sakawa was about to say more, but Teru had already forcefully dragged him away. Tatsuya was right! With their strength and status, even the slightest involvement in this matter could easily lead to them being sent out as scapegoats. The best course of action was to leave first and not make things worse for Tatsuya.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Just as Sakawa and Teru left, a series of whooshing sounds rang out. Several Hyuga clansmen and two squads of ninjas dressed in Anbu attire arrived.
Under the dim moonlight, Tatsuya stood coldly on the outer wall, while the leader of the Cloud delegation, Toro, lay in a pool of blood. This scene was particularly striking. In the distance, Hinata Hyuga, the heiress of the Hyuga clan's main family, still unconscious, was no longer the focus of attention.
After a moment of shock, several Hyuga clansmen hurried over to pick up Hinata. After checking her over and finding that she had only suffered minor injuries, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
On the other side, Tatsuya was facing off against the two newly arrived ninja squads. Having spent some time in the Anbu, Tatsuya immediately recognized that these two squads were Root ninjas.
"Jonin Akimichi Tatsuya, did you kill the leader of the Cloud delegation, Toro?" the leading Root ninja demanded.
Glancing at the Root ninja, Tatsuya said coldly, "The leader of the Cloud delegation, Toro, was intercepted by me and then deliberately ran into my kunai."
"Deliberately ran into it? Jonin Akimichi Tatsuya, your explanation is hard to believe. You'd better come with us first and explain yourself. Don't make any unnecessary resistance!" The leading Root ninja sneered. As he spoke, he actually stepped forward, intending to apply a sealing curse to Tatsuya.
"Come with you? Where to? The Hokage's office, or Danzo's Root base?" Tatsuya's face showed unconcealed mockery. As he spoke, the kunai in Tatsuya's hand began to spin, clearly indicating that he was ready to fight at any moment. These Root ninjas were clearly up to no good; Tatsuya wouldn't let them do as they pleased.
"Akimichi Tatsuya, are you trying to defy the village's orders and become a rogue ninja?" Seeing Tatsuya take a fighting stance, the leading Root ninja stopped in his tracks, his voice filled with killing intent.
"Root doesn't represent Konoha, and Danzo is not the Hokage!" Tatsuya said coldly.
"Take him down!" Hearing this, the leading Root ninja's eyes were filled with icy killing intent. He waved his hand towards the ninjas behind him, giving the cold order.
The two Root squads immediately attacked!
Hmph! Seeing the Root squads boldly attack, Tatsuya's face was also filled with killing intent. These reckless individuals had attacked him twice now!
Boom!
Tatsuya leaped into the air, jumping down from the outer wall. While airborne, Tatsuya's hands rapidly formed seals.
Poof!
White smoke billowed, and Seiryu's massive body appeared beneath Tatsuya's feet. Facing these Root madmen, Tatsuya didn't dare to be careless.
On the outer wall, the Root ninjas who had given chase began to throw blades and use ninjutsu against Tatsuya.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A dense barrage of kunai and shuriken rained down from above, along with a Fire Style ninjutsu jointly performed by several Root ninjas.
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
Seeing this, Tatsuya quickly formed hand seals, unleashing a Wind Style ninjutsu.
"Such a powerful Wind Style ninjutsu!" Seeing the intense hurricane sweeping through the air, the leading Root ninja's expression changed drastically. With ample chakra to support it, the power of Tatsuya's Wind Style ninjutsu was astonishing. It directly dispersed the Fire Style ninjutsu jointly performed by several Root ninjas.
The kunai and shuriken raining down from the air were also either deflected or slowed down by the hurricane, allowing Tatsuya to easily dodge them.
As the smoke and fire cleared, the Root ninjas immediately saw Tatsuya standing unharmed on Seiryu's back. The massive Seiryu slowly raised its head, its huge golden, vertical pupils fixed on the Root ninjas, emanating a suffocatingly powerful pressure.
This man and snake were not something they could handle! Realizing this, the leading Root ninja didn't dare to continue attacking recklessly. His eyes were fixed on Tatsuya and the Seiryu beneath his feet.
On the outer wall, the several Hyuga clansmen protecting Hinata were also stunned. The fame of Konoha's secret jutsu ninja, Akimichi Tatsuya, had spread throughout the ninja world, but very few ninjas had actually witnessed his fighting prowess. Today, everyone present was fortunate enough to be a witness. To be able to use a C-rank Wind Style ninjutsu with such power, his strength was truly remarkable!
_______
+80 chapters on: patreon.com/Shinobi_Scrolls