"Village? Or the shinobi world?"
Tanaka heard the words, his expression remained calm without any sign of surprise, and he continued chewing the sea king's meat at the same steady pace.
"The village."
Natsu answered without hesitation.
"Tell me more."
Tanaka showed a hint of curiosity on his face.
He initially thought it was news about Sakumo's suicide spreading. After all, some time had passed since his death, and it was normal for spies hidden in Konoha from various nations to have uncovered this intelligence.
But based on Natsu's answer, it seemed unrelated to Sakumo.
"It concerns you, Tanaka-sama. Since this morning, a rumor has been spreading all over the village."
"They say that during the jonin exam, you encountered the ANBU Commander and defeated him."
Natsu frowned slightly, revealing a trace of seriousness.
She was no longer the same servant of the main house as before. Now, she was a rising star in the Hyūga clan, holding great power.
Although she was still young, with the support of Tanaka, her influence in the family even surpassed the elders and elite jonin of the clan.
Upon learning of this sudden rumor spreading throughout the village, she knew immediately—this was going to be a big problem.
"Interesting."
Tanaka's gaze sharpened slightly.
Previously, when he passed the assessment, Hiruzen publicly announced it to boost Konoha's morale and intimidate other ninja villages. However, they only disclosed that Tanaka had passed the assessment and, at the age of eight, had been promoted to Konoha jonin.
But as for the details of the assessment, who his opponent was and the results of the battle, nothing was revealed.
There were two reasons for this:
First, to prevent intelligence on Konoha's two jonin from being leaked.
Second, because Shinnosuke had lost too miserably. If the news spread, it would be humiliating for the ANBU Commander and tarnish the reputation of the Sarutobi clan.
Yet now, aside from the techniques used in the fight, almost everything else had been leaked.
Not only did the entire village know, but soon, all five great ninja villages would hear about it.
And Tanaka fully understood what that meant.
"Someone deliberately leaked the information to fan the flames. They want to stir up conflict between the Hyūga and Sarutobi clans."
"Or rather, they want to completely turn you against Shinnosuke. Perhaps even provoke a conflict with the Third Hokage."
After a month of training and learning, Natsu was no longer the same as before.
Her strength, knowledge, and various abilities had greatly improved.
That was why, upon hearing that news of Tanaka's battle with Shinnosuke had spread throughout Konoha, she quickly deduced the schemer's intention.
"Who do you think leaked the news?" Tanaka took a bite of his meal with his chopsticks.
"Apologies. At the moment, I have no leads because too many people witnessed your battle with Shinnosuke."
Natsu bit her lip lightly and shook her head.
The Sannin, Uchiha, the Ino-Shika-Chō clans, Kurama, and other clan leaders—she had analyzed each one, but she couldn't determine who was behind it.
"It's fine, Natsu. The one who benefits most from this situation will reveal themselves soon enough."
Tanaka showed no disappointment and continued eating.
"As expected of you, Tanaka-sama."
Natsu watched as Tanaka remained calm and composed despite the situation, continuing to eat as if nothing had happened. His demeanor exuded an unshakable presence, like a mountain standing firm in the face of a storm.
She couldn't help but admire him. She still remembered how anxious and restless she had felt when she first heard the news.
Because no matter who had spread the information, once the rumor circulated, conflict between the Hyūga and Sarutobi clans would be inevitable.
Tap, tap.
Just as Tanaka finished his meal and Natsu was about to clear the dishes, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the door.
Knock, knock.
As soon as a brief knocking sound rang out, the sliding door was swiftly pulled open by Hizashi, who had hurried over.
"Tanaka, something big has happened."
He didn't even wait for Natsu to finish cleaning up the dishes. The moment he entered, he quickly walked to Tanaka, sat down on the cushion opposite him, and spoke in an extremely serious and heavy tone.
"What happened?"
Tanaka remained calm as he poured a cup of tea for his teacher.
"The ANBU Commander has been replaced."
Hizashi's eyes were solemn as he delivered this shocking news.
Beside them, Natsu, who was still tidying up the tableware, froze for a moment, her pupils shrinking slightly as her hands momentarily stiffened.
"Oh? Shinnosuke has been removed? That was quick."
Tanaka shook his head.
When he first learned that the news of his battle with Shinnosuke had spread across Konoha, he had already expected that this would happen.
Shinnosuke became the ANBU Commander in the first place simply because he had written the best essay titled "My Father is the Hokaga."
If he hadn't made any mistakes, with Hiruzen backing him, he could have sat comfortably in his position as ANBU Commander. But the moment he took a wrong step, everyone would push him down.
After all, the one who held true power in Konoha was the Third Hokage—not Shinnosuke.
"The main issue is that Shinnosuke lost too badly."
"We understand that his defeat wasn't unfair. It was reasonable and had nothing to do with him being weak—it was simply because you were too strong. But the villagers don't see it that way, and even the ninjas from civilian backgrounds don't understand it."
"An ANBU Commander being defeated in a single move by a kid—such a story is far too sensational. Naturally, it has sparked endless rumors."
Hizashi sighed lightly.
"And the worst part is, among all the rumors, some are so outrageous that even I broke into a cold sweat when I heard them."
"'Shinnosuke became ANBU Commander not because of his strength, but because his father is the Third Hokage.'"
"'The Hokage only appoints his own people. As long as you have the surname Sarutobi, you could be put in ANBU and enjoy an elite salary.'"
As soon as he said this, the entire room was filled with a suffocating atmosphere.
"…"
Natsu lowered her head, not daring to breathe too loudly.
This was an incredibly offensive statement.
It was practically forcing Hiruzen to personally dismiss his own son!
Even if the mastermind was the one who spread the rumors was Tanaka. Would the now-dismissed Shinnosuke not hold resentment toward him?
And what about the Third Hokage?
Having to personally discard his own son—wouldn't he inevitably develop hostility toward the Hyūga clan?
"Who replaced Shinnosuke?"
Tanaka picked up his teacup and took a slow sip of tea.
Was the situation dire?
What a joke.
No matter how bad it got, could it be worse than being born with a Caged Bird?
He had already overcome the oppression of the main house. Now, he had the power of the Void Walker's Gate, allowing him to freely travel between the Naruto and One Piece worlds.
He possessed the Op-Op Fruit, the Byakugan, mastery over all of the Hyūga clan's secret taijutsu techniques, and even held knowledge of the Rokushiki and both forms of Haki.
This? This was just a minor setback.
Even if Hiruzen suddenly lost his mind and led Konoha's entire military to besiege the Hyūga clan, Tanaka would still have a way to deal with it.
Worst case scenario?
He would just take every clan member who had a favorable impression of him and escape to the One Piece world for a while.
Once the entire Hyūga clan had reached jonin-level, or even Kage-level strength, mastering Haki, Rokushiki, and secret taijutsu techniques—then they would just grab a few Devil Fruits and return to the Naruto world for revenge.
And that was just the absolute worst-case scenario.
Tanaka seriously doubted that a mere Sarutobi clan could force him into relocating his entire clan to the One Piece world.
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30 Advance chapters!
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