Creak… creak…
A black shadow dropped silently onto the roof of the Hyūga clan head's residence.
Listening to the restless sounds coming from inside, the shadow formed seals and cast a genjutsu. Illusory white feathers drifted into the room.
The slightly labored breathing gradually steadied and grew peaceful. The shadow slipped inside as quietly as a cat and found a young girl sleeping soundly beneath the covers.
Without wasting a second, he scooped her up under one arm and leaped out of the compound.
He hadn't gone far when a figure stepped out from the courtyard gate ahead.
"…"
Hyūga Hiashi stared at the masked intruder, then noticed Hyūga Hinata cradled in the man's arm. His normally stern face hardened further as fury erupted—the line had been crossed.
You're dead!
With no hesitation, Hyūga Hiashi activated his Byakugan. Veins bulged at the corners of his eyes as he surged forward.
The first palm strike was dodged, but to Hiashi the movement looked painfully clumsy.
Bang!
The second palm, packed with chakra, slammed into the intruder's abdomen without resistance, pulverizing his meridians.
Blood sprayed from the man's mouth as he crumpled forward. Hiashi caught Hinata smoothly and let the intruder collapse.
"So weak."
His rage cooled considerably. The now-calm Hyūga Hiashi frowned, suddenly struck by how unexpectedly feeble the intruder was. It was almost as if the man had come here to die.
Someone this weak dared infiltrate the Hyūga clan and attempt to kidnap the main family's direct daughter? Was he just some reckless bounty hunter blinded by greed?
But before the thought could settle, a chill and sharp sting bloomed across his forehead. Warm liquid trickled past his brow.
Hyūga Hiashi instinctively touched the spot and felt a clean gash running straight across his forehead. The sweet, metallic scent of blood filled his nose, and his fingers came away warm and sticky…
"Is this… blood?"
Shock flashed across Hyūga Hiashi's face as he looked down at the corpse. With his limited battlefield experience inside Konoha, he finally noticed the kunai still gripped in the dead man's hand.
How is this possible?
When had he been cut?
The fool hadn't even survived two of his palm strikes.
A deep, inexplicable unease gripped him. Hyūga Hiashi's brows drew together.
He tore off a strip of cloth, quickly bandaged the wound on his forehead, then bent down and pulled away the intruder's mask.
The corpse stared upward with unclosed eyes, yet its face wore an eerily peaceful expression—unnaturally so. It almost looked as if the eyes were still watching him.
"…"
The moment Hyūga Hiashi saw the Kumogakure forehead protector on the corpse's brow, he froze.
Then realization slammed into him. Cold sweat broke out across his entire body.
It felt as if a bucket of ice water had been dumped over him from head to toe. The chill raced up his spine and straight into his skull.
Damn it! A Kumogakure shinobi?!
————————
Drip… drip…
Autumn weather turned on a dime.
The day before, Konoha had basked under clear skies. Today, thick black clouds blotted out the sun, and cold rain pattered down.
Yesterday the village had been overflowing with joy. They had finally welcomed peace.
In a sense, it felt as if Kumogakure had come bowing in submission—an unprecedented event.
But today, like the sudden shift in weather, Konoha was steeped in gloom. Not a ray of sunlight could pierce the heavy clouds.
The entire village simmered with tension. Rumors flew among the civilians, leaving everyone on edge and sparking open panic.
In just a single day, word had spread that the entire Kumogakure envoy delegation had died inside Konoha.
Two of the shinobi had been blown up in their guest quarters. The lone survivor had fled after shouting that Konoha had broken the alliance treaty—only to be killed by the Hyūga clan head himself.
Anyone could see exactly what was happening.
The four words that rose in everyone's mind were the same.
"Covering up the murder."
Inside the Hyūga clan's meeting hall, a trembling elderly voice quietly spoke those four words.
Only two tall candles burned in the dimly lit room, their flames flickering and casting shadows across Hyūga Hiashi's lowered face. The white bandage on his forehead was already stained with fresh blood.
He was not alone. Eight silhouettes stretched along the walls. The seven main family representatives, including Hiashi, knelt facing one another.
As for the final person…
"Haah…"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, seated at the head, took a long drag from his pipe. The exhaled smoke drifted downward, its faint shadow dancing in the candlelight.
"We've already received a formal protest from the Land of Lightning," he said calmly. "They claim Konoha never showed any sincerity in forming an alliance. Not only did we tear up the treaty unilaterally, but we also attacked their envoys—despicable and intolerable."
"They've issued an ultimatum. Konoha must provide an explanation, or they will formally declare war on the Land of Fire."
Hyūga Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "Sandaime-sama, what exactly do they demand as an explanation?"
"Hand over the body of the murderer 'Hyūga Hiashi.'"
Sarutobi Hiruzen repeated the demand word for word, then added, "Kumogakure has already begun assembling shinobi at the border of the Land of Hot Springs. They look ready to invade the Land of Fire at any moment."
Hearing the Land of Lightning name Hyūga Hiashi specifically as the murderer, the six Hyūga elders' aged faces flickered in the candlelight, their expressions turning dark and ominous.
This was no longer merely a conflict between Kumogakure and Konohagakure. It had become a full diplomatic crisis between the two great nations—the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire. Yet the entire affair felt strangely off from beginning to end.
Where had those explosive tags in the Kumogakure envoys' quarters come from?
Why had the surviving Kumogakure shinobi run straight to the Hyūga clan grounds and tried to kidnap the main family heiress, Hyūga Hinata?
How had a jōnin been killed so effortlessly by Hyūga Hiashi, the clan head, without putting up any resistance?
And why was the Land of Lightning so pointedly demanding Hiashi's body?
"This is a conspiracy by Kumogakure," Hyūga Hiwa said, the main family elder second only to Hiashi in status. "Their goal is the Byakugan."
His voice was hoarse and low, but his aged face remained calm.
"I believe it's a conspiracy too," Sarutobi Hiruzen replied with a nod, then slowly shook his head. "But that no longer matters."
He spoke frankly. "If no one has the will to uncover the truth, then even if the truth were scattered across the streets, it wouldn't take root."
***
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