Chapter 14: Hyuga, Never Compromise! (Part 2)

Inside the study, the Elders sat on both sides with solemn expressions, an indelible gloom hanging over their faces.

The aftershocks of what happened last night had yet to subside; they had only just managed to soothe the restlessness of the clan's youth, and yet this morning, the death of a Cloud Ninja envoy had occurred. The Hyuga Clan could be said to be facing a gathering storm—no, it might even be that they had already become the center of a political tempest.

The Elders keenly sensed that the situation had become too serious to ignore; if they did not act now, the Hyuga Clan might very well be doomed beyond salvation.

The Elder, Hyuga Yuanzai, furrowed his brows. He looked at Hyuga Hiashi and spoke: "Last night, that Cloud Ninja broke into the Hyuga Clan and nearly abducted a member of the main branch. By all rights, even if we had killed that Cloud Ninja, no one could have said anything. However, for the sake of peace between the Cloud Ninja and Konoha, our Hyuga Clan swallowed this insult and handed the culprit over to the Third Hokage, giving the higher-ups more than enough face. But I never expected that in just one night, the situation would take such a sharp turn for the worse."

It is quite interesting, when you think about it; the dignified Hyuga Clan has encountered consecutive political crises in a mere 18 hours. Hyuga Yuanzai does not believe there is nothing hidden behind this.

"Right now, that group of Cloud Ninja is gathered in front of the Hokage Building, carrying that Cloud Ninja's corpse and clamoring for Konoha to hand over the murderer. They have the look of people who will not stop until they get an explanation... Gentlemen, who do you think they want to provide that explanation? If things truly spiral out of control, do you all think the higher-ups will support our Hyuga Clan?"

With a 'clatter', a hot-tempered branch family Elder jumped up from his seat and began to curse directly: "The Hyuga Clan suffered a great humiliation last night! If it weren't for the decades of friendship with the Third, I would have killed that Cloud Ninja no matter what! Now that the Cloud Ninja envoy is dead, and the delegation is inciting the public to force the higher-ups to give them an explanation, isn't this, in the end, just aimed at taking revenge on our Hyuga Clan?!"

"If the higher-ups really want to burn the bridge after crossing it and use our Hyuga Clan as a scapegoat, then we should all go out and protest in the streets too! I don't believe that if those Cloud Ninja dare to stir up such a storm, we Hyuga don't dare to be the second ones to do so!?"

"Besides, that man's death has nothing to do with the Hyuga. If we really want to get to the bottom of it, shouldn't the Third, who let him go privately, be the one to bear the consequences!?"

The Elders present were usually calm and did not show their emotions on their faces, but today they were uncharacteristically furious, and even their usual focus on high-level relations had become exceptionally harsh.

Hyuga Hiashi understood the mood of the Elders present. For the dignified Hyuga Clan to have their door pried open and someone snatched away on their own territory—and not just anyone, but the direct bloodline of the current Clan Head—was something that would make even an ordinary family furious, let alone a prestigious clan that had always viewed its reputation as its life.

However, even though the Hyuga Clan wished they could tear the culprit from last night into a thousand pieces, for the sake of the Third's face, they had to swallow their pride and hand the person over.

But who would have thought that after only one night, such a thing would happen again? The culprit who nearly made the Hyuga Clan a laughingstock of Konoha was dead, and his accomplices were carrying his corpse to the Hokage Building to cause trouble, forcing Konoha to hand over the murderer. In this situation, the Hyuga Clan naturally felt that the Cloud Ninja were targeting them, so the Elders were settling old and new grudges together, cursing loudly on the spot.

"That's right! The Third Elder is correct!"

At this moment, another Elder stood up, his face flushed, and shouted with hair standing on end: "It was the Cloud Ninja who were in the wrong first; we Hyuga were only defending ourselves normally. Now that the man is dead, they want to splash dirty water on us, and we will never agree to this! If they dare to make false accusations, then we will fight them to the end! If the Third wants to burn the bridge, then we will expose everything directly; at worst, we'll break it all off! I don't believe the Third would really sell out the Hyuga just for the Cloud Ninja!"

"Well said! We cannot let people treat the Hyuga like a soft persimmon; this precedent must never be set!"

"If we set this precedent, then everyone will dare to come and trample on the Hyuga's head. Besides, we were in the right to begin with; why should the Hyuga be required to bow to the Cloud Ninja!"

"I firmly oppose it! No matter how the higher-ups want to handle this, the Hyuga Clan will never accept this second humiliation!"

"Everyone is right!" shouted the Elder who had spoken first, the anger on his face yet to fade. "Originally, this matter was started because those Cloud Ninja pups broke the rules first. For the sake of peace, for the sake of the Third! The Hyuga Clan swallowed this insult! Now they are clamoring for Konoha to hand over the murderer, so does one even need to think about who they are targeting? Those few people from last night were at most participants; in the end, they are definitely targeting the Hyuga Clan!"

"Do they actually harbor the delusion that we would hand over our Clan Head?! This is a supreme humiliation; the Hyuga Clan will never accept it!"

"That's right, if you ask me, we should contact the families we are close to and pressure the higher-ups. Since this matter has blown up so big, they should give the Hyuga Clan an explanation!"

"All the grievances have been given to the Hyuga, so why treat the Cloud Ninja's pups so well! Have the higher-ups forgotten how the Hyuga Clan has fully supported their Hokage faction for these past decades?"

The atmosphere in the study was like boiling water; the clamor of the indignant Elders nearly blew the roof off. At this moment, they didn't care at all whether the words in the study would leak out.

After all, what happened last night could be said to have caused the Hyuga Clan to lose all face; it would not be an exaggeration to say their dignity had been swept into the dirt.

The Clan Head's own daughter was nearly abducted, and the Hyuga Clan didn't even dare to let out a fart before handing the person over. This loss of face was simply... some Elders felt like vomiting blood just thinking about it.

"Clan Head, what is your take on this matter?"

The Elder, Yuanzai, looked at the indignant Elders and turned his head to ask Hyuga Hiashi with an expressionless face: "Do you think that behind this matter might be..."

Hyuga Yuanzai's perspective on the problem was different from the other Elders. Rather than worrying about the Cloud Ninja causing trouble, he was more concerned about the attitude of the higher-ups. One must know that in recent years, the higher-ups' suppression of the Uchiha had been plain to see. Although the higher-ups had many reasons on the surface to suppress the Uchiha, many families knew in private that ever since the Third took office, he had been intentionally or unintentionally curbing the power of the clans, and the Uchiha were merely the most boisterous ones and the best target.

This incident was both bizarre and full of twists and turns; the sensitive Elder realized the huge risks that might exist behind it.

Now the Uchiha were being suppressed until they could barely breathe, like grasshoppers after autumn, clearly unable to jump for many more days. If the higher-ups truly believed that the Uchiha were no longer a threat and were now planning to turn around and deal with the Hyuga, who were also a prestigious clan...

"Elder Yuanzai, you are overthinking it; the Hyuga Clan is not the Uchiha."

Hyuga Hiashi frowned and subconsciously interrupted.

"This incident should be purely accidental. Moreover, the current Hyuga is an important foundation for curbing the Uchiha and maintaining stability within the village. The higher-ups will not use such methods to deal with us, and they certainly wouldn't choose to do so during such a sensitive period. Otherwise—"

Were they truly not afraid of the Hyuga and Uchiha joining forces? And Hyuga Hiashi believed that as long as the Uchiha did not fall, the Hyuga Clan would not need to worry about such problems.

"It's just that this incident is indeed bizarre; the fact that everything seems to be targeting the Hyuga is indeed worrying." Hyuga Hiashi said with an incomparably heavy heart: "I am now more concerned about how to let the clan weather this storm. Judging from the Cloud Ninja's actions, I fear this incident will be very difficult to resolve peacefully. What I fear is that the Third's nature will lead him to value peace above all else, and in the end, he will choose to forcibly smooth things over just like last night. When that time comes, our Hyuga Clan will have to face a very awkward and troublesome situation."

"However, he is the Third Hokage after all; he should not easily yield to the pressure of the Cloud Ninja. Furthermore, I did not launch any actual attacks against that Cloud Ninja; they cannot possibly have sufficient evidence to attack the Hyuga. In that case, I think the Hyuga Clan should be able to safely weather this crisis."

Recalling the Uchiha youth who had stopped him at that time, Hyuga Hiashi's gratitude toward him deepened a little more. Truly, if he hadn't stepped in to stop him in time, the situation would likely have changed completely by now.

"The peace of the village is sometimes like a great mountain, pressing down on every one of our clans at all times."

The Elder, Yuanzai, suddenly said: "For the sake of the village's peace, everything can be sacrificed. Even the Uchiha, who once joined forces with the Senju to create Konoha Village, could be sacrificed. So, for the future of the village, which is in its most difficult period, what could the sacrifice of one clan's interests possibly count for?"

"..."

Upon hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi fell silent. He held the teacup to his lips, but had no heart to drink.