After the previous explosion, the Konoha shinobi all believed that Tobi must have been caught in the blast and torn to shreds. When they saw Asuna, though unconscious, still breathing, they felt deep down that such a sacrifice was well worth it, because Konoha Village had lost a powerful enemy, and their side had suffered no deaths.
However, Tobi now appeared before everyone completely unharmed, which was somewhat unacceptable to the Konoha shinobi. Fortunately, Asuna was only severely injured and unconscious, which offered them some comfort. If Asuna had died, they truly wouldn't have been able to explain it to others.
Mizuki turned her head, glaring fiercely at Tobi, her eyes glowing crimson as she coldly said, "What trick did you pull, you bastard?"
"What do you mean, 'pull a trick'? It was just an unfortunate accident. In battle, things sometimes happen that the participants can't control." Tobi slightly turned his head, avoiding Mizuki's gaze. It wasn't that he dared not meet her eyes, but with the Sharingan's observational power, she might notice his own Sharingan.
If she were to know he possessed the Sharingan now, the intelligence loss on his side would be quite severe. So far, the information revealed was still within an acceptable range, but if the existence of the Sharingan were exposed, it would be detrimental to Tobi's future plans.
The Sharingan, after all, offered too much room for speculation.
In the normal timeline, known only to Kazamori Masaki, Uchiha Obito controlled the Fourth Mizukage, causing the ninja village and the Daimyo of the country to completely fall out, leading to continuous internal strife. Later, Terumi Mei, who led the resistance, discovered that the Fourth Mizukage was being controlled. After overthrowing the Mizukage's rule, she quickly legitimized her actions, rapidly stabilized the Hidden Mist Village, and established cooperation with the Daimyo.
After all, no local lord could accept the use of genjutsu to control a leader. If such a person were found beside a country's monarch, they would inevitably find a way to remove them, and this often led to major changes. A leader controlled by genjutsu would have already lost the right to rule the country.
Although Tobi didn't know this event would happen in the future, he could vaguely guess some things. During the Warring States period, Uchiha clan ninjas had indeed made such moves on several occasions, only to be exposed by Senju clan ninjas, causing trouble for the Uchiha clan that was difficult to quell. The Uchiha clan had such a history of misconduct, and if the Konoha shinobi were to exploit it, they might gain what they called "righteousness."
Tobi, of course, had to prevent such things. He didn't notice that Mizuki, in her anger, didn't sense anything unusual. However, Hyuga Hiashi, who was equally perceptive and calm, noticed his somewhat strange behavior.
From his appearance until now, Tobi's demeanor had always been unrestrained, completely disregarding others' opinions.
But now, he seemed to be deliberately avoiding something, which made Hyuga Hiashi's eyes narrow slightly.
However, Hyuga Hiashi's attention was immediately drawn to Tobi's words, and everyone else was left speechless. That was originally the excuse Konoha Village intended to use, but unexpectedly, the opponent had used it on them first. Just as everyone had thought earlier, such a reason, though clearly absurd, left them with no way to counter it.
They had no intention of completely falling out with the Daimyo at this point; they couldn't bear such responsibility. It seemed they could only swallow this bitter pill. Fortunately, Asuna was still alive, so the loss wasn't too severe.
Mizuki glared coldly at Tobi, but she had no time to waste on this guy any longer. She looked up at Hyuga Hiashi and said, "Hiashi-sensei, I'll take Asuna to the branch hospital in the capital right now."
"Alright," Hyuga Hiashi nodded. "The others will go with you. I'll stay here and need to properly explain things to the Daimyo. Ten'ichi-niisan, please inquire at the Fire Temple if they have any good medicinal herbs. I'm worried the hospital might not have anything strong enough."
"Understood, Hiashi-niisan, rest assured, I won't let Miss Asuna come to any harm," Ten'ichi told Hyuga Hiashi.
Upon receiving the answer, Mizuki quickly picked up Asuna and headed out of the Daimyo's mansion. The others followed Mizuki, leaving only Hyuga Hiashi to confront Tobi.
Tobi glanced at Hyuga Hiashi. This man was the oldest among the Konoha shinobi and a member of the Byakugan clan. To some extent, he was troublesome. The Byakugan was a visual jutsu comparable to the Sharingan, but that generally referred to the ordinary Sharingan. The Mangekyo Sharingan had a great advantage, but one couldn't be careless because of it.
In any case, this was not a situation to determine victory through force. Without using force, it relied on the power of words.
The two returned to the training ground. Only the Konoha shinobi, Ten'ichi from the Fire Temple, and Tobi followed. Everyone else remained with the Daimyo. The four Guardian Ninja were not very familiar with the Konoha shinobi, so they naturally wouldn't go to check on Asuna's condition.
At this moment, the Daimyo was somewhat flustered by the previous explosion. Initially, he was intimidated by the force of the blast. Secondly, he was delighted to see Asuna caught in the explosion—because no matter what, Asuna wouldn't come out unscathed—but then came a wave of panic. He only intended for Asuna to suffer some loss, but he didn't intend for her to die. She was the Hokage's daughter, after all. To come to serve as a Guardian Ninja and then die like this... The current Daimyo's mansion didn't have the power to suppress Konoha Village, so an explanation had to be given to Konoha Village.
When the Daimyo saw Tobi reappear, he was first delighted, then resentful. Why did you have to cause such a huge commotion? If Kazamori Masaki's daughter died, his side would definitely face enormous trouble.
Seeing Tobi and Hyuga Hiashi return, the Daimyo quickly asked, "How is it?"
"Asuna is severely injured and unconscious. She has been sent to the Konoha branch hospital for treatment," Hyuga Hiashi reported to the Daimyo with a stoic expression.
The Daimyo breathed a sigh of relief. As long as she wasn't dead, everything was fine. He didn't care if she was severely injured or not; the earlier panic had disappeared, leaving only a secret glee. Kazamori Masaki's daughter had suffered such a great loss, which truly made him happy. That Fumori Masaki had always put on airs in front of him, and now he finally got his revenge.
But on the surface, the Daimyo still showed a pained expression: "Ah, I never thought a simple match would escalate to this point. I truly feel uncomfortable.Asuna was a formidable Guardian Ninja."
"It can't be helped; accidents always happen in battle. Since she's still alive, we should do our best to treat her. If we were to lose such a Guardian Ninja, His Excellency the Daimyo would also be very regretful," Tobi shook his head slightly.
"Indeed. Convey my order: ensure the best medicinal herbs are sent to the hospital to helpAsuna recover," the Daimyo told the Guardian Monk beside him.
Hyuga Hiashi watched the two of them playing off each other and felt a knot in his stomach. As a member of the Hyuga clan, he wasn't unaware of the true faces of these national rulers, and seeing it still made him very uncomfortable. This two-faced behavior, really, was truly disgusting.
Anyone in the upper echelons couldn't help but get involved in such matters, could they? Hyuga Hiashi thought about his own clan; wasn't it the same between the Main House and the Branch House?
"Thank you, Your Excellency the Daimyo." Although he disliked the Daimyo's hypocritical attitude, Hyuga Hiashi still had to maintain outward harmony and bowed to the Daimyo.
"Hmm, now go quickly and check onAsuna's condition. When you have an update, remember to inform me." The Daimyo said this, then looked at Tobi, "You, come here! Causing such a big commotion, you need to reflect properly. Afterwards, you must apologize to them!"
"Yes, yes," Tobi replied, following the Daimyo into the inner room.
Hyuga Hiashi felt increasingly uncomfortable. With the two of them leaving, he no longer had to watch the performance. He glanced at the other four Guardian Ninja and turned to leave without hesitation.