The temperature inside the meeting hall dropped sharply.
It was as if even the air itself was about to freeze.
The oppressive atmosphere made it difficult for people to breathe.
Namikaze Minato stood facing the Inuzuka Clan head and Inuzuka Yū.
Neither side was willing to retreat even half a step.
And Inuzuka Yū’s words were undoubtedly fuel thrown onto the fire of Minato’s anger.
Before this, he had still held some doubt about the confession given by the two Inuzuka special jōnin.
After all, they had said those words while being pushed to the limit, nearly hysterical and on the verge of collapse.
He could not fully judge how reliable they were.
But now, hearing Inuzuka Yū personally say such things had completely confirmed their earlier testimony.
He truly had wanted to kill Nohara Haruto.
The words civilian ninja stabbed painfully into Namikaze Minato.
If another shinobi had come today, perhaps they would not have taken those words too seriously.
But Namikaze Minato was different.
Because he himself had been born into a civilian family.
Did that mean that if the Inuzuka Clan wanted to, they could rely on their numbers and clan power inside Konoha and kill even him without hesitation?
How arrogant.
It was precisely to eliminate the self-contained, clan-centered factions inside the village that generations of Hokage had worked hard to establish the Ninja Academy.
Because of that, children from civilian families like him finally had the opportunity to learn ninjutsu and become shinobi.
But now?
These civilian shinobi had worked so hard simply to gain recognition from others.
Even if they had not been born into great clans, they could still become excellent ninja.
They could still hold the dream of becoming Hokage.
Yet now, all those efforts were being thrown to the ground and trampled underfoot by people born into powerful clans.
What did they think Konoha was?
What did they think of all the effort the people in this village had made over the years?
Did they believe those precious things could simply be stepped on by the Inuzuka Clan?
They actually dared to trample Konoha’s rules so brazenly.
This was unforgivable.
Thinking of this, Namikaze Minato’s expression had already darkened to the extreme.
An icy chill gradually filled his eyes.
Although he was laughing wildly, the sound made others feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave.
“Haha.
I really didn’t know that the Inuzuka Clan had already become so powerful inside Konoha.”
His tone carried unmistakable mockery.
“You can kill other civilian shinobi at will by relying on your clan’s strength, without even needing Lord Hokage’s orders?”
“Today has truly opened my eyes as a civilian ninja.”
The Inuzuka Clan head knew that Inuzuka Yū had gone too far with his words.
But at this moment, he had to stand on Yū’s side in order to preserve the Inuzuka Clan’s face.
This conflict could not continue escalating.
The Inuzuka Clan head rose from his seat, his face cold.
He directly gave Namikaze Minato an order to leave.
“It seems our Inuzuka Clan cannot continue hosting Jōnin Minato today.
If we have offended you, please forgive us.”
Namikaze Minato stood up almost at the same time.
“In that case, I’ll take my leave!”
He did not want to stay in this place for even one more second.
After saying that, Namikaze Minato strode out of the Inuzuka Clan compound.
The Inuzuka Clan head and Inuzuka Yū remained in the meeting hall and began whispering about some secret matters.
From beginning to end, none of them noticed one thing.
The person at the center of their discussion, Nohara Haruto, had also been present.
Haruto loved watching a good show.
With such an entertaining scene right in front of him, how could he possibly miss it?
When Namikaze Minato first arrived at the Inuzuka Clan, Nohara Haruto had already reached the roof of the meeting hall.
He lifted a roof tile and hid there using the Transformation Technique.
The Inuzuka Clan was best at tracking and guarding through scent.
But for Nohara Haruto, a doctor, hiding his own smell was an extremely simple matter.
Besides, with his current strength, there was no way these people could discover him.
Now that Minato had left, naturally, there was no more show to watch.
“Sigh.
If they had started fighting, that would’ve been interesting.”
Nohara Haruto sighed regretfully, then silently left the Inuzuka Clan.
Without that wonderful show to watch, he felt somewhat bored and listless.
With nothing else to do, he simply went home.
On the other side, after Namikaze Minato walked out of the Inuzuka Clan compound, his anger still had not completely faded.
Even in such fury, his mind remained extremely clear.
Today’s matter was definitely not as simple as it looked on the surface.
The Inuzuka Clan’s arrogance inside Konoha had created an extremely serious influence.
He absolutely could not allow their terrible behavior to continue developing unchecked.
However, with his strength alone, there was no way to make the Inuzuka Clan change their thinking.
It seemed he would have to ask his teacher, Jiraiya, for help.
Half an hour later, Namikaze Minato arrived at Konoha’s mission registration office.
“What?
Teacher Jiraiya left the village?
And he won’t return for more than half a month?”
Minato could not help scratching his head.
He had not expected Jiraiya-sensei to be out on a mission at a time like this.
How inconvenient.
What should he do now?
This matter could not be delayed for too long.
Namikaze Minato’s gaze landed on the round building beneath the Hokage Rock in the distance.
Gradually, his eyes became firm.
It seemed he could only bypass Jiraiya-sensei for now and report this matter directly to Lord Hokage.