Chapter 13: Hyuga, Never Compromise! (Part 1)

Many Konoha Village villagers were frightened by the Cloud Ninja's extreme behavior. For a moment, many realized that "the situation was dire." With panicked expressions, they fled the crowd, hurriedly spreading the news so that more people would know that war was likely coming.

Soon, the news of the Cloud Ninja delegation leader's death spread throughout Konoha Village, and everyone who heard it was shocked.

Each clan quickly realized the difficulty of this matter and immediately sent clan representatives to the Hokage Building. In fact, these clans hated war the most, because in every war, clan ninja were the backbone of Konoha, followed by civilian ninja and ordinary genin. This also meant that every time a major war broke out, every clan had to suffer heavy losses. Now that the Nine-Tails Incident had just ended, why were they going to war with the Cloud Ninja again?

Furthermore, because the Third Hokage had blocked the news, and the incident had happened so suddenly—less than 11 hours had passed from last night until the Cloud Ninja staged their coercion today—many clans were still in a state of confusion when they heard the news that "the Cloud Ninja are going to war." Many people did not know what was actually happening. The heads of the various clans were like ants on a hot pan, running around in circles, hurriedly sending their clan's eyes and ears to scout for information.

"What on earth is going on! Why did the leader of the Cloud Ninja Village delegation suddenly die, and how did it suddenly escalate to the point of going to war?!"

"But just yesterday, everything was fine, and they said they were going to sign a peace agreement..."

"What exactly is the Third doing!"

The major clans, led by Uchiha and Hyuga, and the mid-level clans, led by Ino-Shika-Cho, could still keep their cool for now. But those small and medium-sized clans could not take it anymore. A group of people had died in the Third Shinobi World War, and the Nine-Tails Incident had almost wiped out their very homes. If they kept fighting like this, it was uncertain if their clans would be completely wiped out and forced to "GG." Therefore, some leaders of small and medium-sized clans had long been dissatisfied with the Third; why was the fighting never-ending?

In fact, from the perspective of these clans, the Third Hokage's desire to settle things peacefully was correct. Not only because the village itself was hollowed out, but also because the village's hatred and rejection of war had reached a peak.

The death of the Fourth not only dealt a heavy blow to the Third, but also cast a shadow over the entire Konoha, from which they had not been able to emerge to this day.

If they were to be forced into war, to be honest, the Third might not be able to rally the hearts of the people, and this was exactly what the Third Hokage had been worrying about.

————————

Deep within the Hyuga Clan, the Clan Head's study.

From the moment he received the news, Hyuga Hiashi had declined all meetings. He stayed alone in his study, thinking quietly.

"Why did it turn out like this?"

Hyuga Hiashi could not understand it no matter how hard he thought; how could things have taken such a sharp turn for the worse in just one night?

Moreover, the incident happened so suddenly that Hyuga Hiashi felt caught off guard. His brain was thinking rapidly about what kind of impact the Hyuga Clan would suffer in this incident. As of now, the most direct cause of the Cloud Ninja envoy's death should have something to do with the Third. The person was taken away by the Anbu, and the exchange to the Cloud Ninja delegation should also have been approved by the Third.

So, logically speaking, this matter should have already been cleared of any connection to the Hyuga Clan, but Hyuga Hiashi did not think so.

Because behind this incident, he smelled the bloody scent of an impending storm.

Someone was deliberately using the Hyuga Clan as the target for their blade.

He gripped the scroll in his hand tightly, blue veins bulging on the back of his hand.

Hyuga Hiashi suddenly looked ferocious, raised the scroll in his hand high, and smashed it hard onto the floor!

"—Those bastards from the Cloud Ninja!!"

It was like a roar, like an outlet.

By now, the nature of the matter had undergone a complete qualitative change. At the beginning, this was just an ordinary diplomatic scandal, and the role the Hyuga Clan played was merely that of a victim. But after that envoy died, the matter began to run wildly in an uncontrollable direction.

Now, it was not just a question of whether Konoha would be dragged into war again, but what role the Hyuga Clan would play in the future. Most importantly, if the Third Hokage wanted to appease the anger of the Cloud Ninja Village, would he use the Hyuga as a sacrificial lamb and hand them over?

No, the Third would not sacrifice the Hyuga, and it was not necessarily the case that the Hyuga Clan was in trouble.

Hyuga Hiashi took a deep breath. Based on his relationship with the higher-ups over these years, he believed that the Third could not possibly betray the Hyuga.

It was just that the Cloud Ninja were carrying the envoy's corpse through the streets, shouting for Konoha to hand over the murderer, which to Hyuga Hiashi was no different from shouting it right in his face.

Moreover, what Hyuga Hiashi worried about was that the Cloud Ninja, while seeking revenge and avoiding the escalation of conflict, had deliberately not shouted about settling accounts with the Third, but had instead directed their hatred straight at the Hyuga Clan.

But, what was their goal in doing this?

Just as Hyuga Hiashi was feeling worried and angry about the future of the clan, a noisy sound suddenly came from outside the door.

"What is that noise outside the door!"

Already feeling restless, Hyuga Hiashi lost his usual composure. Under immense pressure, he suddenly heard the noise outside, and a surge of evil fire rose in his heart. His usual steady and calm demeanor was gone, replaced by a reprimand that sounded like he was ashamed and angry.

With a creak, Hyuga Hiashi pulled the door open, wanting to see who dared to be so rude.

But the moment he saw who it was, the evil fire in Hyuga Hiashi's heart vanished without a trace. His face full of ferocity was retracted, and his attitude became respectful. Hyuga Hiashi bowed his head and said, "I didn't expect you to come here; it is truly disrespectful, Elder Yuanzai."

The old man standing at the door at this moment was the Elder of the Hyuga Clan—Hyuga Yuanzai.

And the group of elders following behind him.

The Hyuga Clan's council of elders was basically composed of main family members, but the position of Elder had always been held by the main house. The branch family elders were responsible for assisting in the management of various clan affairs, while the main house Elder was responsible for supervision and personnel.

The Clan Head would not participate in the daily activities of the council of elders, but any decisive matter for the clan had to be approved by the Clan Head. In special periods, the Clan Head could bypass the Elder to manage the entire clan directly, but the clan could not ignore the Clan Head and take orders directly from the Elder.

In Kishimoto's original setting, the main house was small in number and the branch family was large. Even if the main house gave birth to twins, one had to be separated into the branch family. In fact, according to this setting, Hyuga Hanabi should also have been a branch family member in the later stages, and sooner or later she would have been branded with the fate of the "Caged Bird." However, she had a good sister and brother-in-law, which was why she escaped her original destiny.

The Elder before Hyuga Hiashi was his senior in terms of seniority. Although he was not a direct relative of his father's line, he was also of the main house bloodline. Therefore, regardless of status or position, the old man before him needed to be treated with respect by Hiashi, but Hyuga Hiashi's previous actions were clearly a bit too rude.

"I didn't expect that even you would come... Please, come in!"

Hiashi hurriedly invited the elders into the study, then ordered the guards to keep a strict watch, and not to let anyone approach!...