Naruto: The Information Broker from the Uchiha Clan.

Chapter 142 Choice

Hyuga Tokuma was stunned as he stared at the explosive tag in his hand.

How could this happen?

Am I still trapped in an illusion?

impossible!

While Yun's abilities meant that the illusion created by those eyes couldn't be broken with a single spell, everything that had happened since returning to the village couldn't have been constructed with just an illusion!

So...

Tokuma suddenly scratched his head, wondering why the information in the illusion was actually true.

And these are explosive tags that cover the entire Leaf Village!

Although most of them may have become ineffective due to age, as the illusion suggests, even if only a small portion still works, it would still be a significant loss for the village.

Tokuma was feeling somewhat agitated. From the moment he saw the clouds after the illusion was broken, he believed that everything in the illusion was fake.

Therefore, the information about the explosive tags is also false.

But everything before him now told him that the intelligence was true.

And... Yun didn't say it.

Explosive tags are scattered throughout Konoha. Once this information is reported, someone will surely come to Kagerock to clear the explosive tags. The village is located below Kagerock, and its collapse will cause considerable damage.

The first place to clear the explosive tags should be Shadow Rock, but no one has come yet!

Yun...didn't you report it?

So what is Yun's purpose?

and many more!

Tokuma gripped the explosive tag tightly in his hand, realizing another possibility.

If that's the case, then there's another person involved.

"Whoosh!"

Clutching the explosive tag in his hand, Tokuma leaped down from the Shadow Rock and headed towards the Inuzuka Hana family's house in the village.

……

"Tokuma? Hana just got back. She's probably washing up now. Girls always take a little longer."

At Hana Inuzuka's doorstep, Tokuma was somewhat agitated, and the one who had just spoken was Hana's mother, Tsuru Inuzuka.

"Auntie, we just completed the genin assessment, and the instructor said we'd have a get-together, so I'm here to wait for the flowers."

Inuzuka Tsuru nodded, then asked with a puzzled look, "Who is your team leader, Jonin? I forgot to ask when Hana came back and was busy packing her things."

Tokuma scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and replied, "It's Yun, Uchiha Yun. He was our classmate before, but based on his achievements on the battlefield, he has indeed surpassed us by a great deal now."

"Uchiha Un?!"

Inuzuka Tsurugi asked in surprise, then thought for a moment before replying, "That person seems to be the same age as you all. I've only just realized that. Before... I never considered him to be in the same age group as you."

Uh!

Tokuma was taken aback by these words, but upon reflection, they were somewhat comforting.

No one would place them in the same period, so no one would compare them.

At this moment, Inuzuka Hana, who had finished washing up, came out.

Upon seeing Tokuma, he asked in confusion, "Isn't the dinner party still a while away? Why are you out so early?"

Upon hearing this, Inuzuka Tsuru glanced at his daughter, then at Hyuga Tokuma, and frowned slightly.

Tokuma, unaware of this, said somewhat urgently, "There are some things about the assessment mission that I think it's necessary for you to know as well, so..."

Assessment tasks?

Hua was stunned. Wasn't the assessment task already over?

Although everything within the illusion was indeed somewhat difficult...

After thinking for a moment, Hana turned to her mother and said, "Mom, Tokuma and I are going out for a bit."

"Oh? Okay, remember to come back early."

Inuzuka Tsuru nodded as he spoke, then watched with some concern as his daughter and the Hyuga branch family members left.

Are they members of the Hyuga clan... a branch family?

If the Byakugan bloodline is implanted on the forehead, it's better not to have it at all.

……

On the street, Inuzuka Hana looked at Tokuma, who was searching around, with a strange expression, because Tokuma had activated his Byakugan.

Is there anything worth doing in the village?

It's important to know that because the Byakugan has the ability to see through objects, the Hyuga clan generally doesn't activate it in public places in the village.

Hana Inuzuka scratched her head and said helplessly, "If we weren't already familiar with each other, I would definitely have arrested you right now and thought you were a pervert."

These words startled Tokuma, who was searching around, before he turned back and said with a wry smile, "The Byakugan isn't activated for such trivial things. We've been classmates for years, you should know me."

Inuzuka Hana's eyes twitched, and she pointed to a curtain not far ahead with the word "Bath" printed in large characters: "Whatever you're looking for, if you keep going forward, I'm not following you. I'm afraid I'll get beaten to death!"

"Found it!"

Dejian's exclamation startled Hana, who then pulled her into a small alleyway.

In a corner, Tokuma lay on the ground and reached his hand into the corner.

A moment later, a detonating tag was seen in his withdrawn hand.

???

The moment the explosive tag came into view, Hana Inuzuka understood instantly.

"How is that possible?!"

The same question came out without thinking.

At first, Hana Inuzuka, like Tokuma, even wondered if she was still under a spell.

But thinking about everything that happened after returning to the village, he denied this possibility.

"How...did you find out?" Hana Inuzuka asked.

Tokuma looked at the Shadow Rock in the distance: "There, more explosive tags have been hidden and buried."

As he spoke, Tokuma turned to look at Hana: "The spy in the genjutsu said that there are a lot of explosive tags buried in the Hokage Rock. I don't know why, but I went to check it out after I came back."

After saying that, the two looked at each other and then fell silent.

Both Tokuma and Hana are members of prominent clans in Konoha, giving them a natural advantage in knowledge and experience compared to ordinary people.

In the original work, Naruto was an orphan from birth, Sasuke was the only one left in his clan when he was eight years old, and Sakura was just born an ordinary child.

In terms of cognition, Shikamaru clearly knows more than them.

"It's been almost two hours since I returned to the village, but no Anbu have gone to investigate the Hokage Rock area."

Tokuma raised his hand, revealing two explosive tags: "One of these is from the Hokage Rock, and the other was just found in this crevice."

Inuzuka Hana thought for a moment and asked, "Were there any explosive tags along the way we came from?"

Tokuma paused for a moment, then nodded and replied, "Indeed, there aren't any. Even in the shopping street we just passed, my Byakugan didn't detect any explosive tags hidden anywhere."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tokuma realized what was happening.

He immediately asked, "This precisely proves that the explosive tags were indeed planted nearly thirty years ago, because Konoha Village wasn't as large as it is now back then. Furthermore, the commercial district was moved from its original location due to urban planning issues!"

Inuzuka Hana nodded: "Yes, that's exactly right, which further proves that this information is indeed true. And Yun... Master didn't report it to the village after he returned, right?"

After pausing for a moment, Inuzuka Hana looked at Tokuma and asked, "So, you came to find me...did you guess something?"

After speaking, Tokuma scratched his head and remained silent for a while.

After a long silence, Tokuma finally said, "Given... Teacher's current position in the village, or rather, the Uchiha's current position in the village, Teacher has no use for these explosive tags in any way."

"Being part of the branch family, and because I was in the same class as my teacher, Hizashi-sama told me many things. The Uchiha of today are completely different from the Uchiha of six years ago."

"After the war with Kumogakure, the Uchiha clan, led by the teacher and the Uchiha clan head, has once again entered the upper echelons of Konoha."

"From this perspective, these explosive tags might have been useful to the Uchiha clan six years ago, but they have no effect on the current Uchiha."

After a moment's thought, Inuzuka Hana nodded: "So... all of this was intentional on the teacher's part. Therefore... the assessment isn't over yet, right?"

"No!"

Tokuma shook his head: "The assessment must be over, and our status as genin has been confirmed. But the explosive tags are probably the first confirmation of the teacher's attitude towards us."

First confirmation?

Inuzuka Hana was taken aback for a moment, but then she understood the meaning behind Tokuma's words.

If Tokuma represents the new generation of the Hyuga branch family, then I clearly represent the new generation of the Inuzuka family.

but……

At this moment, Hua thought of something else.

The detonation tag was hidden so well that it was impossible for him to detect it, even with the information from the illusion.

So... was Tokuma's discovery also within that person's expectations?

What exactly does Yun want to do?

"Tokuma, what are you planning to do?"

Inuzuka Hana looked at her teammate and continued, "Should we report to the Hokage? Or go to our teacher?"

Upon hearing this, Dejian looked up at the flowers.

These two choices marked the first confirmation of their attitudes.

Should we trust the teacher, or report the matter to the village's higher-ups out of suspicion?

Tokuma hesitated for a moment, then asked in return, "And what's your choice?"

Hua shook her head slightly: "Teacher should know something about the Inuzuka clan, so I don't need to make a choice. In fact, you shouldn't have come to me. It was within Teacher's expectations that you discovered these explosive tags with your Byakugan, and I wouldn't have been able to find them with Rimaru."

"I'm sure you're well aware of this, teacher. There's really no need for you to come to me to tell me these things. The Inuzuka clan has always been discreet and self-protective. Given my connection, there's no need to test their attitude."

After he finished speaking, Tokuma understood.

The flower and I... are not the same!

Thinking about this, Tokuma felt the uniqueness of his forehead.

So... am I the only one who needs to test things out?

But doesn't this just prove that... the teacher has a way to solve the problem of the caged bird?

"Tokuma".

The sudden sound of the flower made Tokuma raise his head slightly.

Hana then said, "I've also heard a little about the main and branch families of the Hyuga clan..."

"The curse of the caged bird is something that even if an enemy nation uses all its strength, it cannot break and thus gain the White Eye."

"This means you don't really have a choice, so what's there to hesitate about?"

As she spoke, Hana took a step closer: "Tokuma, you should know very well what kind of monster you, as a member of the branch family, are trying to break. The fate of the branch family is shaped by ancient and rigid rules."

As she finished speaking, Hana looked towards the Hokage Building in the distance, and the Hyuga clan's territory not far away.

"And these rules were set by the high and mighty members of the Hyuga main family."

"At the start of the war with Kumogakure, I heard that the current head of the Hyuga main family, because of brotherly affection, even..."

He imprisoned his own elder relatives and removed them from their positions as elders.

"This generation certainly presents an opportunity for the branch family. The Hokage is still very young..."

At this point, Hua stopped talking.

After a long silence, Hua turned around and waved her hand: "I'm going back. I'll come over when it's time for the dinner. As for your own destiny, you have to choose which path to take."

As soon as she finished speaking, Inuzuka Hana prepared to leave.

At that moment, Tokuma, who was behind her, slightly raised his head and said to Hana, "I understand what to do!"

Hua smiled, her back to her friend, waved again, and left.

……

Uchiha clan.

Leaning against the doorframe, Yun looked at Tokuma, who had just come to visit, and thought for a moment before saying, "You found out? Take me to see him."

One sentence left Tokuma, who had so many questions he wanted to ask, speechless.

At that moment, Izumi, who was behind Yun, peeked out and asked, "Tokuma, don't misunderstand, brother..."

Asahi smiled, while Tokuma felt a little helpless.

Did Izumi notice this?

Or rather... did the teacher and Izumi explain the authenticity of the explosive tags?

……

Inside the Hokage Rock.

Looking around, Yun reached out and pressed his hand onto the soil. A moment later, an explosive tag appeared in his hand.

"Nearly thirty years ago, Kagerou Village sent a trap master to infiltrate Konoha and plant these explosive tags. At that time, no one was aware of their existence."

"If everything goes as planned, Konoha should have suffered heavy losses that time. But even if there are no unexpected events, there will always be some. Kagerou Village was wiped out, just before this trap master prepared to detonate..."

As Yun finished speaking, Tokuma, who was behind her, asked, "Teacher, aren't we going to tell the village about this?"

Yun shook her head slightly: "After you brought me here, this discovery must be told to the village. After all, the Uchiha are Konoha's Uchiha, aren't they?"

Seeing Tokuma looking somewhat dazed, Yun stepped forward and reached out, placing his hand directly on Tokuma's forehead.

"Now... I can make the caged bird on your forehead disappear, and then the Hyuga main family will no longer be able to control you with it."

"However... the disappearance of the caged bird also means that if you are killed in the future, your body will be obtained by enemy ninjas, and your Byakugan will also be obtained by the enemy."

"Furthermore... the information that the Byakugan can be obtained from the corpses of branch family members will quickly spread in the black market. Regardless of whether you are special or not, branch family ninjas outside the area will be targeted."

Yun then looked at Dejian and said, "So... what do you choose? Let me make it clear first, no matter what you choose, I will help you."

……

(End of this chapter)