Chapter 80: Sarutobi Hiruzen Feels Wronged

Even if an Uchiha ninja feels themselves nobler than the Hyuga, they cannot say with certainty that they themselves won't be thrown out by the Hokage to please Kumogakure.

The feeling of betrayal and fear ignited fury, and the Konoha Ninja angrily said:

"We fought desperately to protect Konoha, not so the higher-ups could bully us, and certainly not so our lives could be used to appease the enemy!"

"The Hyuga clan did the right thing, we support them!"

"The higher-ups must give an explanation, must publicly apologize! Must guarantee that no Konoha Ninja will be sacrificed to appease the enemy!"

Hyuga Hiashi arrived in time at the plaza before the Hokage Building, dressed in a white kimono, and said in the loudest voice:

"Villagers of Konohagakure, Konoha Ninja, today, I, Hiashi, have only one demand — justice!" This book is first published on Read Novels Daily, ttk s. tw, providing you with an error-free, non-misordered chapter reading experience.

Hyuga Hiashi's voice was resolute, filled with long-suppressed fury.

"Cloud Ninja used negotiations as a pretext to infiltrate the Hyuga clan's district, killed members of the Hyuga clan, and kidnapped my daughter to steal the Hyuga's Byakugan."

"To protect my daughter, to guard the Byakugan Bloodline Limit from leaking out, I killed that Cloud Ninja. Was I wrong?"

"No!"

But few answered, and their voices were scattered and uneven.

After all, this was in front of the Hokage Building, and the Third Hokage was inside; most people were still hesitating.

Perhaps, sacrificing the Hyuga was not the Third Hokage's decision?

Hyuga Hiashi was not disappointed, but continued: "Yet such a clear-cut act of self-defense, in the Third Hokage's mouth, became the crime of 'provoking a conflict.'"

"Shimura Danzo went even further, saying that if our Hyuga had not deliberately provoked a war, we should have gone and died on our own, and not troubled the Hokage."

"Our Hyuga! Wanting to live — is that a trouble?"

"Shimura Danzo also spread rumors, slandering us as selfish, greedy for life, and heedless of Konoha's safety!"

Hyuga Hiashi's tone grew heavier: "Since the founding of Konoha, my Hyuga clan has generation after generation gone through fire and water for Konoha, fought bloodily to the end!"

"In the three Ninja World Wars, Hyuga ninja always charged at the front lines, using Byakugan to see through enemy movements, using Gentle Fist to crush the enemy."

"A thousand clansmen sleep forever on the battlefield, and even more clansmen were left disabled for life — we have never complained!"

"Because we believed we were part of Konohagakure, and protecting Konohagakure meant protecting ourselves."

"But now, protecting our own children, we are slandered as harming Konohagakure — this is not fair!"

As planned, the Hyuga ninja shouted in unison: "Not fair!"

Hearing this, the Konoha Ninja and villagers whose emotions had been stirred up joined in the shouting.

"Not fair!"

"The Hyuga clan is not wrong!"

"The Third Hokage must give an explanation!"

Hyuga Hiashi said loudly: "The Third Hokage said — he said the Hyuga should consider the bigger picture."

"But the bigger picture he spoke of demands that I kill my own brother, to please a defeated enemy!"

"The so-called bigger picture is to ignore the feelings of Konoha Ninja, all for the sake of obtaining peace!"

"Is peace obtained by sacrificing innocent Konoha Ninja and flattering the enemy true peace?"

The crowd shouted again: "No!"

Hyuga Hiashi raised his arm and cried out: "The Hyuga do not acknowledge such peace, nor do we accept the so-called bigger picture!"

"Today, we reveal all the truth to the public, so that everyone will know that hurting the feelings of Konoha Ninja is the true betrayal of Konoha!"

While Hyuga Hiashi was speaking, the Hyuga ninja, one after another, defied the prohibition and activated their Byakugan within Konohagakure.

Pair after pair of pure-white eyes carefully scanned every ninja, searching for traces of Root ninja.

The Byakugan's function is singular, but its insight surpasses even the Sharingan; no subtle fluctuation of chakra can escape the Byakugan's gaze.

The Root ninja did not witness this scene — they took it for granted that the Hyuga ninja would still obey the Hokage's prohibition and not activate Byakugan within Konohagakure.

So they disguised themselves without the slightest scruple, then slipped into the crowd to spread rumors, trying to confuse the public.

A Root ninja disguised as a peddler whispered to the villagers around him: "Don't believe the Hyuga clan's lies — they deliberately killed the Cloud ninja."

A villager, puzzled: "That doesn't add up. The Hyuga clan head said they gained nothing from killing the Cloud ninja — why would they deliberately kill someone?"

The Root ninja sneered: "What else could it be? Of course they want to provoke a war, to raise their own status."

"If the war doesn't stop, it's us ordinary folk who'll suffer—"

Before he could finish, two pairs of pure-white eyes appeared behind him.

An icy gaze fell upon him, freezing his whole body; a chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

A Hyuga Branch Family ninja sighed: "It's Root ninja all right — they really did come!"

"Root ninja are still spreading rumors, just like they did back then against Hatake Sakumo!"

Before the Root ninja could react, the Hyuga ninja appeared instantly before him; Gentle Fist struck precisely at his pressure points, sealing his chakra.

"Take him away!"

The Hyuga ninja stepped forward, seized the Root ninja, and dragged him to the plaza of the Hokage Building.

This scene repeated several times throughout the crowd — each time, Root members spreading rumors were spotted by the Hyuga ninja's Byakugan.

The captured Root ninja had their chakra sealed by the Hyuga ninja, their hands bound behind their backs, heads bowed, and were pressed down at Hyuga Hiashi's feet.

Hyuga Hiashi pointed at these Root ninja and said: "Everyone, look — these are Root ninja!"

"They are the ones, under Shimura Danzo's command, secretly spreading rumors, slandering my Hyuga clan, trying to cover up the truth!"

"Look — these leaflets are ironclad proof!"

Hyuga Hiashi displayed to the crowd the leaflets, coded signals, slips of paper, and other items that had been searched out.

The contents of the leaflets were, as suspected, entirely rumors slandering the Hyuga clan.

The ironclad evidence left no room for the slightest rebuttal.

The murmuring below reached its peak once more; everyone looked at the Root ninja with fury and disgust, and toward the Hokage Building with deep suspicion.

At this moment, the Third Hokage was sitting at his desk, his face so dark it looked like water could drip from it.

The cheers and questioning voices from the plaza outside the window reached his ears, every word like a needle piercing into his flesh and blood.

It hurt, a little, but bearable.

But there was absolutely no solution.

Sarutobi Hiruzen picked up his pipe, took a fierce drag and slowly exhaled; the smoke blurred his vision, but the problem was still there, and growing more and more serious.

He felt utterly wronged.

The Third Hokage had spent his whole life striving to protect Konoha's peace and stability, and in the hearts of Konoha's ninja and villagers, he had always been a symbol of kindness, dignity, and fairness.

But now, the Hyuga clan's counterattack had exposed all his compromises and injustices before the Konoha villagers, causing him to lose face completely and fall into an unprecedented embarrassment.

The Third Hokage certainly knew the truth — he was very clear that the Cloud Ninja had deliberately picked a fight.

But he had to consider the bigger picture. Although Kumogakure had been defeated in war, its strength remained formidable; it was not an enemy that could be easily wiped out.

If the Cloud Ninja were not satisfied, the war could not end, and more Konoha Ninja would die — shouldn't Hyuga Hizashi have taken the initiative to die?