Just as Dosuke and Hiashi were about to fight, a voice came from the side. "Everyone, stop."
Hiashi and Dosuke turned to look at the speaker.
They saw a ninja with short brown hair, wearing a dark blue robe and a Jonin vest, squatting on the wall. Under the moonlight, two other ninjas stood on either side of him with their arms crossed.
"Who are you?" Hiashi asked uncertainly, eyeing the newcomers.
Whoosh.
In a blink, the ninja in the dark blue robe appeared in front of Hiashi and Dosuke.
Dosuke looked at the man before him. He had inverted V-shaped lines on both sides of his eyes. But his eyes were even more special. Unlike the milky white Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, his were scarlet, with three tomoe slowly spinning in the pupils.
"I am Uchiha Yashiro from the Konoha Police Department. I hope you two will come with us. The police department will report your violation of village safety to the higher ups," Uchiha Yashiro said, warning the pair.
Dosuke shrugged. It seemed there would be no fight this time. It did not matter. He was confident he could handle Yusei, but against Hiashi, he was not sure he could win.
Under Uchiha Yashiro's gaze, Hiashi opened his mouth but said nothing. If it were anyone else, it might be fine, but the Uchiha would not give him any special treatment.
In the Uchiha's view, the Hyuga were a stumbling block preventing them from becoming Konoha's top ninja clan. The Hyuga were often used by the village to balance the Uchiha's influence.
Now, with Hiashi, the young head of the Hyuga clan, caught by the Konoha Police Department, they could not do much to him directly, but they could certainly embarrass the Hyuga name.
Hiashi adjusted his robes and stood still, just like Dosuke.
"Let's go, you two." With that, Uchiha Yashiro led them to the Konoha Police Department.
---
The next day, the newborn sun gradually rose.
In the Konoha Hokage Building, the Third Hokage puffed on his pipe. As he inhaled, the tobacco glowed faintly red.
Exhale.
A big puff of smoke billowed out.
The Third tapped the table. Whoosh, a cat masked ANBU appeared before his desk.
"Go and summon Tsunade and Hiashi for me."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The figure vanished.
A short time later, in the Hokage's office. Knock, knock, knock.
"Enter."
The door opened, and Hiashi, in a navy blue robe, appeared.
"Lord Hokage." Hiashi bowed respectfully.
"Yes, have a seat." The Third gestured to the chair beside him.
Soon after Hiashi sat down, heavy footsteps echoed in the corridor.
The office door was slammed open from the outside.
Tsunade, in a bright green coat, rushed in, looking slightly out of breath.
"Old man, what do you need me for?"
The Third picked up two scrolls from the table and handed one to Hiashi and one to Tsunade.
"Take a look at these."
They had been sent that morning by Uchiha Yashiro, the deputy director of the Konoha Police Department. The scrolls claimed the two had disrupted village stability and asked how to proceed.
At first, the Third dismissed it, but after reading the contents, he felt quietly troubled.
The people clashing yesterday were Tsunade's disciple and his own favored student, Dosuke, and Hiashi, the young head of the village's prestigious Hyuga clan. Reportedly, another Hyuga branch member had been severely injured.
After reading, Tsunade tossed the scroll onto the Third's desk.
"So what, old man? You still called me here? Is it necessary? No matter how you look at it, they provoked first. Dosuke was just defending himself." Tsunade's tone carried slight anger.
The Third said nothing, turning instead to Hiashi.
"Though the Hyuga boy struck first, his clansman is the victim here no matter what."
"Besides, I have heard from the clan that Yusei was injured quite badly this time. He may never be a ninja again. I do not think Lord Third would cover for an attacker," Hiashi said slowly, meeting the Third's gaze.
"Old man, what nonsense are you spouting? Only the Hyuga get to strike first? If it were me, I would tear down your whole clan."
"Tsunade hime, you should not be so impulsive. We should await the Third's decision," Hiashi replied with a calm smile.
From the start, Hiashi had sidestepped admitting fault for the initial attack. He focused instead on Yusei's condition, using the injured ninja to pressure the Third indirectly. If a Hyuga ninja was injured and unable to fight, the clan would have reason to sit out the impending war.
The Third coughed, exhaling a large smoke ring. His face was obscured behind the haze, hard to read.
"The Hyuga clan's preemptive strike was absolutely wrong. Though Dosuke defended himself too harshly, he also erred. As a first offense, how about confinement for Dosuke?"
He pondered, then added. "For Yusei, have Tsunade treat him. Patriarch Hiashi, you will not doubt Tsunade's medical skills. If he cannot be healed, I will personally arrange a retirement position for him. What do you think?"
"Lord Third's judgment is fair. I have no objections," Hiashi said without rebuttal.
He could see the Third favored his disciple. Confinement was no real punishment, and it dodged the war issue. He also sensed that while the Third said to treat Yusei first, the subtext was dissatisfaction with this test. It gave the Hyuga a choice: follow the village's will, or be forced to comply.
Hiashi looked at the Third behind the desk and cupped his hands in farewell. The Third nodded.
Then, to Tsunade, the Third said, "Go retrieve that kid Dosuke too. That is the end of it. You can check on the Hyuga boy as well."
She rolled her eyes at the Third. "Old man, you still have a shred of conscience." Then she turned to leave.
Watching Tsunade depart, the Third picked up the scroll from Uchiha Yashiro.