"Father."
The moment Hyuga Yamatsubaki returned home, Hyuga Hiashi came to see him.
Hyuga Hizashi came as well.
Though they were brothers, their statuses were worlds apart.
One belonged to the main house, exalted and untouchable.
The other belonged to the branch house, lowly as a servant.
"Father."
Yamatsubaki gave a slight nod.
"What is it?"
"Father, have you heard the rumor about the Byakugan?"
"Come to the study."
Yamatsubaki took the lead and walked toward the study.
Hiashi and Hizashi followed behind him.
"Father."
The moment they stepped inside, Hiashi could no longer hold back.
"Is what that rumor says true?"
Yamatsubaki frowned.
"Hiashi, why would you think that?"
"Because it's suspicious, isn't it?"
Hiashi said, "Before you returned, I spoke with some clan members who came back from the front lines. All of them felt there was something deeply wrong with this matter."
"With Konoha's current situation, there was no need at all to form an alliance with Kirigakure."
"For Konoha, the disadvantages clearly outweigh the benefits."
"And besides, members of our main house had never been sent that deep into the front lines before. Only that one time—and then that member was killed by Kirigakure, and the Byakugan was taken."
"And there's also the Kaguya Clan. Their relationship with Kirigakure hadn't deteriorated to that extent before."
Yamatsubaki looked at Hiashi in disappointment.
"Idiot!"
"Konoha's alliance with Kirigakure is something Hokage-sama considered himself. Is it your place to sit here indulging in wild speculation?"
"It is true that the Kaguya and Hyuga clans have been friendly for generations. But we serve different villages and different masters. During the war between Konoha and Kirigakure, it's not as though the Kaguya never killed Hyuga."
"Why would they fall out with Kirigakure for the sake of our Hyuga Clan?"
"If they turned against Kirigakure, it was for their own sake."
Hiashi still looked unconvinced.
"Father, then are you saying everything in that rumor is false?"
"Not necessarily."
That only confused Hiashi further.
Yamatsubaki looked at him, shook his head, and said, "Whether it's true or false, the matter has already happened."
"As the head of a ninja clan, what we must consider is not right and wrong."
"We must consider what course of action benefits the clan the most."
"Isn't the Uchiha Clan's example right there in front of you? Have you still not seen clearly enough?"
"After that rebellion, what has become of the Uchiha now?"
"Wandering outside, homeless, lives hanging by a thread…"
"And the few left in the village live like prisoners. Only Uchiha Shisui has been given some special leniency and can move about with relative freedom."
"And there is also Uchiha Obito, who only escaped that fate because he was Namikaze Minato's disciple—and because he was a fringe figure within the Uchiha to begin with."
"Hiashi, at your age, you should be thinking more maturely."
Hiashi fell silent in thought.
"Father, do you mean that the Hyuga Clan cannot leave Konoha, so everything we do must be based on that premise?"
Yamatsubaki raised a brow.
"That's right. It seems you finally understand a little."
"In that case, let me ask you—what do you think we should do next?"
Hiashi thought for a moment.
"First, we should make our stance clear to Hokage-sama. We must show that the Hyuga Clan will always stand on the same front as the village and set his mind at ease."
"Second, we must ensure that something like this never happens again. In other words, from now on, members of the main house must never be sent to the front lines again. We should even refuse missions that require them to leave the village."
"Third, we need to control the situation within the clan and not make the same mistake Uchiha Yamakaku did."
A smile finally appeared on Yamatsubaki's face.
"Now you're starting to look like the future head of the Hyuga Clan."
"In the world of adults, there is no such thing as so much right and wrong. Everything we consider must revolve around the survival of the Hyuga Clan and the interests of the Hyuga Clan."
"Hiashi. Hizashi. I'm giving you two a task."
"Go calm the clan members. Do not let them do anything extreme."
"If necessary… use the Caged Bird."
The moment those words fell, Hizashi's expression changed sharply.
Because Hiashi was the one who used the Caged Bird—
And he, Hizashi, was the one who bore it.
Only after speaking did Yamatsubaki realize what he had said.
But as a father, he still could not bring himself to lower his pride and apologize to Hizashi.
"Go."
Hiashi left with the task.
Those Hyuga clan members who had returned from the battlefield had not even gotten the chance to speak—to ask clan head Yamatsubaki to verify the matter with the Kaguya Clan—before they received Hiashi's answer first.
"The rumors are false."
"This was our own Hyuga Clan's failure."
"That main-house member was too careless and fell into Kirigakure's trap."
"And the branch-house member at the time failed to protect him properly."
But this was not the answer every Hyuga ninja wanted.
"Not even a verification?"
One Hyuga ninja said, "Why not ask the Kaguya Clan?"
Seeing that Hiashi and Hizashi had failed to settle the situation, Yamatsubaki stepped forward himself, his face dark.
"The matter has already been decided. What exactly are you all still questioning?"
"This is the enemy's scheme to sow discord. Can't you see that?"
"Do you really have to fall for it and let yourselves be used like weapons before you're satisfied?"
"What benefit is there in harming the Hyuga Clan and harming Konoha?"
"Or have you all been bought off?"
"If that's the case, perhaps I ought to use the Caged Bird Seal and investigate properly."
The intimidation of the Caged Bird was too great.
The branch-house members dispersed almost immediately.
Not far away, inside the Uchiha compound, Uchiha Fugaku clicked his tongue.
"This Hyuga Yamatsubaki… his attitude really is exactly the same as Father's back then."
"But is that really a good thing?"
"If all you do is retreat… if all you do is endure humiliation… what do you end up getting?"
"The Hyuga Clan's situation won't be much better than the Uchiha's."
…
…
Sunagakure.
Kazekage Building.
Rasa sat behind his desk and looked at the system panel.
The points kept rising, but not very quickly.
That was within Rasa's expectations.
After all, all he had done so far was have Ebizo spread the rumor.
Even though both Iwagakure and Sunagakure's forces were fanning the flames, the effect was still limited.
"In that case… time to start printing cards."
"This time, I can design a card game."
"Something like Three Kingdoms Kill? No… Three Ninja Villages Kill?"
Just then, Rasa suddenly noticed the speed of the point gain on the system panel surge dramatically.
Not long after, he received a report and immediately understood why.
"The Kaguya Clan publicly declared that the rumors about the Hyuga Clan are true? That they can testify?"
A strange expression appeared on Rasa's face.
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