Hattori Family, Grand Council Hall.
At this moment, various members of the Hattori Family had gathered all together.
All the Great Elders, as well as family descendants, were present.
At the head of the conference table sat a figure.
He was a middle-aged man with a slim figure, his face exceedingly ordinary.
Dressed in a white samurai outfit, slightly stooped, his body showed no signs of True Qi Fluctuation, making him look wholly unexceptional.
However, the gazes from the others towards this middle-aged man were filled with nothing but deep respect, all treating him with the utmost reverence.
Unless the middle-aged man spoke, not a single person dared to utter a word.
Because this middle-aged man was none other than the Clan Leader of the Hattori Family, Hattori Masao.
Moreover, he was also the Hattori Hanzo of this generation!
It was known that Hattori Hanzo was a title handed down within the Hattori Family.
Only the strongest ninja within the family could inherit this title.
And as the currently strongest ninja of the Hattori Family, Hattori Masao, known as Hattori Hanzo, was truly deserving of the name.
At this moment, Hattori Masao was seated at the head of the conference table, presiding over the regular meeting.
Just then, the grand doors of the council hall were pushed open from the outside, and a hurried figure rushed in.
It was none other than the Young Samurai who had escaped back from the Sakura Forest.
The abrupt appearance of the Young Samurai caused some discontent among many family members.
After all, they were in a meeting, and his sudden intrusion was deemed incredibly impolite.
"What’s wrong with you, lad? Have you no manners? Don’t you see we are in a meeting?"
An Elder of the Hattori Family glared fiercely at the Young Samurai and scolded him coldly.
"Truly disgraceful, don’t you know to knock and report first?"
A Hattori Family youth also frowned and commented.
Other folks also cast disdainful and reproachful looks towards the Young Samurai.
This made the Young Samurai’s face turn red with great embarrassment.
He was just too hurried, so he hadn’t thought things through and barged right in.
Confronted with everyone’s criticism, he felt somewhat bewildered and dared not talk back.
In the whole hall, only Hattori Masao remained silent throughout.
He observed the anxious expression in the Young Samurai’s eyes, narrowed his own, and then waved his hand to the others, signaling them to pause.
Seeing this, everyone promptly shut their mouths.
This showed the reverence Hattori Masao commanded within the Hattori Family.
As the hall hushed, Hattori Masao looked at the Young Samurai and asked indifferently, "Speak, what happened?"
Upon hearing this, everyone’s eyes turned towards the Young Samurai.
The Young Samurai took a deep breath, hurriedly clasped his fists, and said, "Reporting to the Clan Leader, unidentified intruders have entered the Sakura Forest!"
Hattori Masao narrowed his eyes.
One Elder sneered and said dismissively, "Pfft, I thought it was something urgent. If someone intrudes into the Sakura Forest, just drive them out, does it warrant disturbing the Clan Leader for such a trivial issue?"
"Exactly, with two of you at Xuan Rank Perfection guarding the Sakura Forest, who could possibly break in? Just withdraw quickly and don’t interrupt our meeting!"
A young man also scoffed, dismissing the matter nonchalantly.
"It’s not that, that person is exceptionally strong, and we’re no match at all!"
The Young Samurai hurriedly shook his head and explained.
At this, everyone was slightly taken aback.
Hattori Masao eyed the Young Samurai, inquiring further.
"Tagawa-kun just exchanged blows with him and was immediately defeated. Additionally, I could tell that the person didn’t even use his full strength. I estimate that his strength must be above Earth Rank, at least a practitioner in the Earth Rank Early Stage!"
The Young Samurai hurriedly explained.
And Tagawa-kun he mentioned was the Young Samurai who had previously fought with Chen Feng and had been easily subdued by him.
"Earth Rank Early Stage, huh?"
Hattori Masao narrowed his eyes, then shook his head with a smile, "It seems our Hattori Family has been hidden for too long if even someone of Earth Rank Early Stage dares to challenge us!"
After saying this, he looked towards the people at the conference table and asked faintly, "Who is willing to fight and subdue the intruder?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other.
Those who could sit at this conference table were generally elders and elite descendants of the Hattori Family.
The strengths of these individuals were all above Earth Rank.
Especially the Elders, who were at the Earth Rank Late Stage.
Thus, to most of them, facing an opponent of Earth Rank Early Stage seemed beneath them.
They felt it would diminish their own status.
Therefore, momentarily, everyone exchanged glances, with no one standing up.
After about a minute.
At that moment, in the seat to the left of Hattori Masao.
A young man stood up, looked at Hattori Masao, and with a playful smile said, "Since no one else wishes to go, I might as well do it since I’m free anyway. Let me take care of that trash!"
At this statement, everyone’s eyes turned towards the young man.
He was a rather handsome young man, starkly different from the exceedingly ordinary Hattori Masao; he definitely was considered very attractive.
Regarding his age, he appeared to be in his early twenties, sporting neatly styled short hair.
Unlike the others, he was dressed in a modern white sports outfit instead of a samurai outfit.
However, nobody dared to underestimate him.
Being able to sit right next to Hattori Masao indicated his important status within the Hattori Family.
This young man was named Hattori Minami.
His renown within the Hattori Family was second only to Hattori Masao and some influential Elders.
This wasn’t merely because he was the strongest among all the family’s young descendants!
At just twenty-one years old, his strength had already reached the Earth Rank Middle Stage, just a step away from Earth Rank Late Stage.
Such an exceptional cultivation talent left many Elders in awe.
Furthermore, if things continued this way, it wasn’t improbable for Hattori Minami to reach Heaven Rank in the future.
He could be considered a once-in-a-century unparalleled genius within the Hattori Family!
Almost everyone in the Hattori Family had accepted that he would be the next Clan Leader, the future successor of Hattori Hanzo!
This illustrated everyone’s high hopes for Hattori Minami!
Hattori Masao also held a particular appreciation for Hattori Minami; even though Minami wasn’t his biological son, he was still highly valued.
Now seeing Hattori Minami stepping forward, Hattori Masao nodded with a gratified look and said, "Very well, then let you be the one to eliminate the invading enemy!"