Chapter 3: The Choice on the Night of Destiny (Part 2)

"Why, how is this possible!"

Hyuga Hiashi could no longer maintain his indifferent attitude, a look of shock and anger appearing on his face. He was shocked by the massive crisis he had nearly brought upon his clan, and angry that the other party would so disregard status and position, acting with such audacity as to break into the Hyuga Clan to attempt to abduct his own direct bloodline!

Hyuga Hiashi looked at the Cloud Ninja envoy with an exceptionally complex gaze, containing both anger and deep lingering fear.

"This bastard actually dared to do such a thing; is he not afraid of inciting a war!?"

"We are currently in the middle of negotiations; to run to the Hyuga Clan to kidnap my daughter at such a sensitive time—do they actually think they can escape without a sound? Or do they really take the Byakugan of our Hyuga Clan for mere decoration!?"

Hyuga Hiashi stared fixedly at Nanshu with an annoyed glare and roared. Nanshu twitched the corner of his mouth; in truth, he didn't know why the Cloud Ninja would do something so inexplicable either. If it really came down to it, one could go ask Kishimoto about this plot point, though it was unlikely he could provide any reasonable justification.

Hyuga Hiashi's first thought at this moment was to immediately report this matter to the higher-ups and denounce the actions of the Cloud Ninja to terminate the negotiation process!

"Does Lord Hiashi wish to report this matter?"

"Otherwise?"

"Then the charge of obstructing the negotiations between the two villages might fall upon the head of the Hyuga. This may not be a good choice, but I respect the wishes of the Hyuga Clan and am willing to step forward to provide testimony for you."

"This..."

Hyuga Hiashi stood in the cold night wind holding Hinata. He frowned tightly, his conflicted expression clearly showing he was still wavering in hesitation.

What happened tonight was an utter humiliation for the Hyuga. He didn't even know what face he would have to face his clansmen, who would inevitably be furious and protest this matter, upon returning.

At this moment, Hyuga Hiashi's complexion had turned ugly to the extreme.

After a few deep breaths, Hyuga Hiashi forced himself to calm down.

"... Perhaps there is some misunderstanding here."

The muscles on Hyuga Hiashi's face were twitching as he suppressed his anger and spoke in a calm tone.

"What do you mean?"

Nanshu wore an expression of not quite understanding, his pupils hinting at a sense of inquiry.

"I..."

Just as Hyuga Hiashi was about to say something, he suddenly raised his head to look at the woods nearby. Nanshu also seemed to have sensed something and turned his head to look as well.

—Whoosh.

Several swift black shadows passed through the woods, making a "rustling" sound. Their figures were extremely fast, and in the blink of an eye, they landed in front of the two.

These people wore gray vests and animal masks. Each of them exuded a faint sharpness and the scent of blood, and their appearance meant that some major problem had occurred in the village.

"Anbu?"

Nanshu frowned subconsciously. It wasn't surprising for the Anbu to appear here; it would be strange if the Anbu hadn't taken action when even the Police Force had discovered it. What Nanshu found strange was that these Anbu had arrived with unbelievable speed.

The arrivals were three Anbu members. The leader was a man wearing a dog mask with silver hair. His strength was, needless to say, at the elite level, especially the Three Tomoe Sharingan in his left eye—that was the bet the Uchiha Clan had placed on the Fourth Hokage, but after the Fourth died, that investment had gone down the drain.

As soon as the Anbu arrived at the scene, a vague aura locked onto Nanshu.

"Lord Hyuga."

Kakashi first greeted the Hyuga Clan Head, then several unfriendly gazes locked onto Nanshu.

One of them, who looked like a deputy, shouted at Nanshu without the slightest courtesy: "What is someone from the Uchiha Clan doing here? This is not your territory!"

That cold, questioning remark made one feel psychologically uncomfortable; a deep sense of alienation and exclusion welled up.

"I am following the orders of the Third Hokage to carry out a patrol mission. I followed the traces of the thieves here to investigate."

Nanshu looked at the Anbu led by Kakashi. The exclusion and vigilance in their eyes were barely concealed. The targeting and hostility spreading in the air stung his skin like silver needles. This feeling made one's mood terrible. If this were in a classroom, one would change classes; if it were in school, one would transfer schools. But unfortunately, the Uchiha did not have such convenient options.

"Protecting Konoha and safeguarding the safety of the people is the duty of the Uchiha Police Force, unless the Third Hokage personally orders that Uchiha personnel are not allowed to approach this area—then the Uchiha naturally would not be so ignorant of the situation."

"But I have never heard that the Third Hokage ordered a ban on the Police Force approaching this area. Or was it that the Third Hokage just gave the order, and I violated it without knowing?"

Faced with Nanshu's questioning, the Anbu paused for a moment.

"... No."

Kakashi frowned, feeling that the Uchiha before him seemed different from the others.

No?

Nanshu grinned slightly at this moment. His handsome face appeared somewhat distorted due to suppressed anger, and his fine long eyebrows were knitted together. Then, he parted his lips slightly and said coldly.

"Then what business is it of yours where I patrol! Stop barking, you stray dogs."

Being targeted for no reason and remaining silent was not Nanshu's temperament.

Once these words were spoken, it immediately enraged the Anbu. The two companions behind Kakashi almost instinctively reached for the short swords on their backs. The hostile relationship between the two sides was exposed in just a few words.

Nanshu raised an internationally recognized gesture at them, expressing his heartfelt greetings to the Anbu, the Hokage, and the entire family of the Konoha higher-ups!

"Calm down, we are not here to argue."

Kakashi pacified the agitated emotions of his companions, then turned to look deeply at Nanshu again. The other party stared at him and the others with the same cold, exclusionary gaze. The atmosphere between the two sides had dropped to freezing point.

Truly a typical Uchiha; only Obito was the exception.

Now that the village was in a critical period of peace negotiations, no one could afford to cause trouble. Kakashi chose to ignore the arrogant and rude Uchiha Nanshu here and instead turned to lead the topic back to the Hyuga Clan incident.

"Lord Hyuga, the Third Hokage has already learned of the situation here through a secret technique. I hope this matter can be left to us, the Anbu, to handle from here on."

"The Third Hokage already knows?"

Hyuga showed a surprised expression.

Nanshu's gaze shifted slightly. He thought to himself that the so-called secret technique must be the Third Hokage's Telescope Technique. However, while it could track the movements of the Cloud Ninja, it couldn't discover Nanshu, who was hiding in the shadows using "skills."

"Yes, we have not relaxed our surveillance since the Cloud Ninja delegation entered Konoha."

"Lord Hyuga, the Third Hokage expresses his utmost understanding for what the Hyuga Clan has encountered, but considering that peace is hard-won... please prioritize the big picture."

Kakashi's attitude was sincere and his tone was gentle. His attitude toward Hyuga Hiashi and his attitude toward the Uchiha were as different as heaven and earth. After all, the former was a staunch supporter of the Hokage faction, while the latter had already been half-expelled from the "village registry" by the Konoha higher-ups.

"The matter of the Hyuga Clan will be handled properly; the Third Hokage guarantees it to you."

Hyuga Hiashi frowned tightly; he had actually already guessed this result.

He secretly clenched his fists tightly, a surge of anger stuck in his throat, unable to be swallowed or spat out. He only felt that the dignity and face of the Hyuga Clan had been completely lost tonight, and twice in a row at that.

"Hiss~ Whoo."

Hyuga Hiashi exhaled a long, turbid breath, his voice trembling as if he were trying his best to suppress his emotions.

"I understand. Whether in the past or the future, the Hyuga Clan will always put the village's interests first. Please convey this to the Third Hokage."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi and the others breathed a sigh of relief, secretly thinking that the Hyuga Clan was indeed reasonable and capable of considering the overall interests of the village; in this way, their mission could be considered complete.

Hyuga Hiashi shifted his gaze to the Uchiha youth standing to the side; if he hadn't appeared in time to stop his killing blow, the events of this night would likely have been difficult to resolve, and if he had truly killed the Cloud Ninja envoy on the spot, he feared...

If things had truly reached the worst possible outcome.

Would the higher-ups sacrifice the interests of the Hyuga Clan to ensure peace?

Hyuga Hiashi shook his head; what happened tonight was already absurd enough, and he no longer wished to dwell on anything else.

It was just this damned politics and the increasingly disgusting environment; the current political climate of Konoha was like a rainy season with endless overcast drizzle, revealing a rotten, musty smell from the inside out.

"Nanshu-kun, thanks to you, tonight's events did not head toward the worst-case scenario. I hope you can come to my Hyuga estate another day; the Hyuga Clan will certainly reward you properly."

The necessary pleasantries still had to be said, and to express his gratitude by directly calling him "Nanshu-kun" was at least Hyuga Hiashi's final insistence.

"You're welcome. As fellow comrades of Konoha, we should naturally help one another; after all, only by sharing weal and woe will no one be able to bully us."

Help one another, share weal and woe?

Hyuga Hiashi was stunned after hearing this.

Subsequently, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This understated remark left the three factions present with different expressions: Nanshu wore a gentle smile on his face as he had achieved his wish, while Hyuga Hiashi, though deciding to concede for the village's interests, was filled with pent-up anger, though he kept it hidden.

Only the Anbu, upon hearing these slightly ironic words, had somewhat unnatural expressions.

Nanshu nodded, revealing a faint smile; the gratitude in Hyuga Hiashi's heart was his greatest gain tonight, and for this, the day and night he spent lurking nearby had not been in vain; it seemed his mission should be completed perfectly.

But the only regret was letting the Anbu intervene; he had underestimated the Anbu's reaction speed and the Third Hokage's voyeuristic habits; what could have been a double-A rating would now be an A at best, wasting an important plot point for nothing.

For this reason, Nanshu looked at the Anbu led by Kakashi and the others with an even more unfriendly gaze.

Toward these "enemies" who would sooner or later turn against him, Nanshu held one hundred percent vigilance. If things went smoothly enough, it would be best if they could be resolved peacefully in the future, but before that, no amount of preparation for the "war" that would come sooner or later was too much.

After all, Nanshu had his own missions and goals that must be achieved, so the Uchiha Clan must safely survive the crisis of the Uchiha Clan annihilation night, which was deeply connected to Nanshu's own interests....