Inside Hyūga Hiashi's grand hall, many members of the Hyūga clan were drinking and chatting merrily, the atmosphere warm and harmonious.
Tonight's gathering was said to be a birthday celebration for Hinata, but in truth, it was merely an excuse for a clan meeting—a chance to reconnect and strengthen bonds.
After the Caged Bird Incident, the Hyūga clan had undergone a massive purge from top to bottom.
Those main family members guilty of the worst crimes were executed. The ones with lighter offenses were stripped of their wealth and titles, reduced to ordinary Hyūga clansmen—no longer possessing any privileges.
As for the branch family's "lapdogs," some of them were also executed—among them Hyūga Tetsu, who had once served as Hiashi's steward.
After so many executions, everyone was given a step down to save face. Moreover, with the clan's secret techniques now made accessible to all members, even many who had long since plateaued in strength found themselves advancing once again.
With that, much of the resentment in the branch family's hearts began to subside—at least on the surface, the clan seemed united.
Hyūga Hizashi, the newly appointed clan head, had seen this as a perfect opportunity. Using Hinata's birthday banquet as a pretext, he gathered all the powerful and influential jōnin of the clan to discuss its future.
In Hizashi's eyes, now that the Hyūga's ailments had been purged, it was time for the clan to rise again.
"Everyone, this time we owe much to Brother Uchiha Rokuro's help. The Hyūga are not an ungrateful people. We must repay him in the future."
"The Clan Head is right. Brother Rokuro has done us a great service. Words cannot express our gratitude. If he ever faces trouble, we'll help him with everything we have."
Hyūga Taiki was the first to stand and voice his support, and soon the others followed in agreement.
Though Hyūga Hiashi still felt uneasy about Rokuro's actions, now was certainly not the time to show it. So he too spoke in support, before shifting the topic to Danzō.
"Clan Head, what do you plan to do about Elder Danzō?"
"Brother, Shimura Danzō is known as the Darkness of the Ninja World. I always thought his ruthlessness was reserved for outsiders—but who would've thought he'd turn such cruelty on his own village? Hmph, the fact that he arrived so conveniently during our crisis clearly shows his intent to weaken the Hyūga clan."
Hiashi gave a small nod, then sighed.
"Danzō is not only the leader of Root, but also head of the Shimura clan. The Hyūga and the Shimura have always been rivals among Konoha's noble families. Our strength rises and falls in opposition—if the Hyūga suffer a major loss, clans like the Shimura will circle us like sharks scenting blood. We must remain vigilant."
The Hyūga jōnin all nodded. In the past, they might have hesitated to believe it—but after Danzō's recent actions, none could doubt his scheming nature.
"Danzō's ambition knows no bounds," Taiki muttered. "But I wonder—did he act alone this time, or with the Third Hokage's approval? If it's the latter… that would be truly disheartening."
The brothers Hizashi and Hiashi exchanged a long look but said nothing. It was clear both had already considered that possibility—but without proof, they couldn't speak it aloud.
Just then, the heavy air in the room was broken as little Hinata burst in, flustered and near tears.
"Father! Something's wrong! Big Brother Neji—he's been taken away by a masked man!"
"What did you say? What happened to Neji?"
Hiashi rushed forward and grabbed Hinata's hand so tightly it turned purple.
Tears welled up in Hinata's eyes as she repeated herself.
"Byakugan—activate!"
In an instant, dozens of Byakugan eyes flared open throughout the hall, scanning every direction for the culprit—yet not a single trace could be found.
Even Hizashi, whose Byakugan could extend over ten kilometers, failed to detect the kidnapper. That could only mean one thing—the abductor was incredibly fast, far beyond the skill of an ordinary thief.
"On the southern rooftop! There's a footprint—fresh, just made!"
Taiki, ever observant, spotted the clue. Hizashi immediately ordered everyone to split up and pursue. He himself dashed off personally—after all, it was his own son who'd been taken. Neji was not only his child but a prodigy, the future hope of the Hyūga clan. There was no way he'd let him fall into enemy hands.
Whether it was fate's inertia or simply Hiashi's uncanny knack for tracking, the story unfolded just as it had once before—Hiashi intercepted the masked kidnapper and struck him down with a single blow, crushing his internal organs and ending his life on the spot.
After confirming that Neji was merely unconscious and otherwise unharmed, Hiashi reached down and pulled off the kidnapper's mask—and froze in horror.
As the former clan head, current elder, and a senior jōnin of Konoha, Hiashi was well aware of the delegation from the Land of Lightning.
The man before him wasn't just a member of that envoy—he was their leader. His face was so distinctively ugly that Hiashi recognized him immediately.
In an instant, everything clicked into place. The man's identity, the current tension between the Fire and Lightning countries—it all painted a dire picture.
He realized he had just made a terrible mistake. A fatal one.
Moments later, Hizashi and the others arrived. Upon hearing what had happened, Hizashi clapped his brother's shoulder.
"Brother, you did nothing wrong. This was clearly a scheme by the Cloud Village. The Hyūga clan will not yield an inch!"
Hiashi blinked in surprise before realization dawned.
A visiting envoy, breaking into someone's home on his first night in Konoha, trying to kidnap a child—and not just any child, but a Hyūga with the most powerful dōjutsu in the world? Only a fool would believe that wasn't deliberate provocation.
"They're looking for an excuse to start a war," Hiashi growled. "The Land of Lightning never intended to make peace with the Land of Fire!"
The other Hyūga erupted in anger, shouting curses toward the Cloud. Their outburst quickly drew the attention of ANBU. When they arrived and saw the envoy leader's corpse, even they were stunned.
They hurriedly reported to Kakashi, who was in charge of the envoy's security. The moment he heard, his calm demeanor faltered for once.
The envoy had barely arrived—hadn't even had time to unpack—before their leader was dead.
He ordered the ANBU to secure the body and immediately reported to Hiruzen Sarutobi. Meanwhile, chaos broke out in the Cloud delegation, almost as if they had anticipated it.
That night, all of Konoha was thrown into turmoil.
While the village reeled from the envoy's death, Rokuro and his family had just finished their daily experiments and returned home via Flying Thunder God.
Through his sensory barrier, Rokuro quickly grasped the situation.
"The Cloud Envoy, huh? So the plot's reached this point already. Interesting… Neji's the one kidnapped this time instead of Hinata—and the one who killed the kidnapper is still Hiashi. Now that's going to be entertaining."
END OF CHAPTER
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