"Clan Head, the person you mentioned is...?" A Hozuki Clan elder asked instinctively.
"Who else could it be but that one? Look, the moment he returned to Kirigakure, our Mizukage-sama was so frightened that he stopped all his little moves. If that isn't fear of that person, I can't think of any other explanation."
When Hozuki Mangetsu said this, there was a faint trace of mockery in his tone.
It was just unclear whether his mockery was directed at Karatachi Yagura or at the Hozuki Clan elders seated below him.
Although the Hozuki Clan's decision to stand by and watch had been made by the previous Clan Head, would the previous Clan Head have gone against the will of the clan and done nothing at all without the support of the elders before him?
Thinking of this, Hozuki Mangetsu felt exhausted.
But what could he do? These elders were his clansmen, after all.
They shared the same blood. Break their bones, and the tendons would still be connected.
Although he had now become the Clan Head of the Hozuki Clan, he was still their junior.
There were some overly harsh words he could not bring himself to say to these elders.
For that, he could only let the previous Clan Head take the blame.
"Um, Clan Head, will Mizuki Ember help us? Back then, we ignored the pleas for help from the Yuki Clan and the Kaguya Clan. Will he really risk breaking the unspoken truce with Kirigakure to help us now?" Another Hozuki Clan elder asked, his face filled with concern.
What went around came around.
The cause planted in the past had borne fruit today.
It was precisely because of this point raised by that Hozuki Clan elder that Hozuki Mangetsu, as Clan Head, had remained somewhat conflicted