"Insolence!"
Hyūga Higo's gaze turned icy as he fixed his stare on Hyūga Kumokawa. In a low, stern voice he rebuked, "The Byakugan is tied to the Hyūga clan's foundation spanning generations. This decision concerns the fate of the entire family. You have no right to interfere!"
"A fine 'family fate' indeed."
Hyūga Kumokawa's eyes swept across every elder's face. The pale golden flicker of candlelight and the dark silhouettes of those present danced in his white pupils as he gave a cold laugh. "So when you tortured my father to death with the Caged Bird Seal, that was also for the sake of the family's fate?"
The main house elders present all flinched. Their hands resting on their laps tightened, and their glances darted involuntarily toward the silent Sarutobi Hiruzen beside them.
This was not a story that would reflect well if it ever got out.
After all, Kumokawa's father had been a registered jōnin of Konoha. Externally they had always claimed he sacrificed himself protecting the main house, which was why Kumokawa had been granted those special privileges.
Now that Kumokawa had suddenly brought the matter up right in front of the Third Hokage, the elders felt a surge of humiliated fury, as though their ugly secret had been laid bare before an outsider.
"Protecting the main house is the duty of the branch house. The main house is the root of the Hyūga clan. Your father died with honor!"
Hyūga Higo's expression darkened to something terrifying. Feeling provoked, he made no attempt to hide the arrogance of his position.
"Died with honor?" Hyūga Kumokawa shot back coldly. "My father, Lord Hizashi, and I all carry the same blood as you, yet we're denied even the clan's inherited ninjutsu. Now that you need us to lay down our lives, you suddenly remember we share the same roots?"
"Insolence!"
"Arrogance!"
Two hot-tempered main house elders shot to their feet in rage. Had Sarutobi Hiruzen not been present, they would have activated the Caged Bird Seal on him without hesitation.
Facing their furious shouts, Hyūga Kumokawa stood his ground, neck stiff and unyielding. Yet deep in his eyes a calculating glint flickered.
He was not throwing his life away with this act. He knew perfectly well that once his plan succeeded, he would no longer be able to remain in the Hyūga clan anyway.
Even without today's performance he would have become someone the main house feared, and there was a high chance he would meet an "accidental" death under mysterious circumstances.
Of course he could remove the Caged Bird Seal himself, but he could not reveal that ability yet.
What he needed now was to make sure the Hyūga main house would not dare move against him.
He needed a new patron—someone more powerful than the Hyūga main house. He needed a larger stage than the Hyūga clan itself.
With that thought, Hyūga Kumokawa glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who knelt there motionless like a stone statue, deep in thought and saying nothing.
Just then, a flash of understanding crossed the Third Hokage's cloudy eyes. His gaze lifted slightly, sweeping over Kumokawa's grief-stricken face behind Hizashi.
So this is about seeking justice for his father and for Hizashi?
This child truly is a loyal and righteous one. It is simply that his emotions lie too close to the surface; he cannot hide them.
Still, was this not exactly the sort of subordinate those in power preferred most?
"Though it is a shame," Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed inwardly. "If only his strength were greater."
Lately the Hyūga clan's growing arrogance and the Uchiha clan's mounting discontent had filled even the Hokage with unease.
His control over these two major Konoha clans remained too weak. He had already begun considering the idea of promoting individuals from within both families to serve under him. One way or another, he needed to plant a few loyal agents among them, so that if either clan ever made an unexpected move he would not be left completely in the dark.
It was the instinctive caution of any ruler.
On the Uchiha side, after careful intelligence gathering and analysis, he had already chosen Uchiha Shisui, descendant of Uchiha Kagami. For the Hyūga clan, however, he had struggled to find a suitable candidate.
Main house members would never obey him, while branch members did not dare defy their superiors.
The servility instilled by the Caged Bird Seal had long been etched into their souls. Most branch members had grown accustomed to the main house's dominance.
Hyūga Kumokawa, it seemed, was the perfect choice—except that his current strength still left something to be desired.
"Enough, Kumokawa. Say no more."
Hyūga Hizashi spoke in a measured tone. From the corner of his eye he noticed Kumokawa's reddened eyes and the grief and resentment written across the boy's face.
Kumokawa had only come along because he had returned a ninjutsu scroll earlier, and it so happened that Hyūga Higo was also present in the guest room at the time.
Higo and Hizashi had been discussing the plan for Hizashi to die in Hiashi's place. With his greater combat experience, Hizashi had quickly detected the sound of hurried breathing outside the room.
He had made an excuse to send Higo away, then stepped out and found Hyūga Kumokawa standing there as if struck by lightning.
Fortunately he had stopped the boy before his sudden fury could boil over. Otherwise, in that emotional state, Kumokawa would surely have burst inside—and might even have recklessly attacked Higo.
A quiet sigh escaped Hizashi.
Recalling how Kumokawa had broken down earlier and seeing the lingering resentment on the boy's face now, Hizashi knew the child truly regarded him as family. The realization moved him more than he expected.
He had not anticipated that his recent kindness toward the orphaned boy would make him grow so attached. The news that Hizashi was to die in someone else's place had left the child unable to hide his deep resentment.
This boy valued bonds far too deeply. Whether that was a blessing or a curse, Hizashi could not yet say.
"Wait… hold on a moment."
Hyūga Hiashi finally snapped out of his daze, seeming to realize something. He rose quickly. "What do you mean by 'final journey'? What do you mean 'someone about to die'? You two…"
Hyūga Higo suppressed the anger of being challenged. He turned his gaze away from the detestable boy and said coldly, "We will present Hizashi's body as your substitute."
"Hizashi has already agreed."
Hiashi stared at his brother in disbelief.
How could this be? Why would Hizashi agree?
Didn't Hizashi harbor nothing but hatred for him, his elder brother?
"But… but…" In his shock Hiashi's words tumbled out carelessly. "What the Land of Lightning and Kumogakure want is the Byakugan, isn't it? Once Hizashi dies, his Byakugan will be destroyed as well. They will never accept that."
"Judging from the Cloud ninja's attempt to kidnap Hinata, that is exactly what Kumogakure intended," Hyūga Higo said, a dark shadow crossing his eyes. "However, the condition set by the Land of Lightning is to 'hand over the body of the culprit, Hyūga Hiashi.'"
"If we pretend to accept their demand and deliver Hizashi—who looks identical to you—then Kumogakure will have no legitimate reason to keep pressuring us."
Hiashi opened his mouth but found no words. His eyes turned once more to the silent Hizashi.
Hizashi's expression was calm, as though he had fully accepted his fate.
In truth, however, he was waiting.
Waiting for an answer. Waiting for a choice.
He was waiting to see whether his elder brother would make the exact same decision that man had predicted.
***
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