The truth was that, under Hiashi Hyuga's leadership, the Hyuga Clan had let Hiruzen Sarutobi seize upon their weakness. Using the excuse that another war could not be allowed to break out, Hiruzen Sarutobi pushed the incident of the Kumogakure envoy being killed after failing to abduct Hinata Hyuga onto the Hyuga Clan, citing the fact that none of Konoha's clans wanted war to continue and demanding that the Hyuga Clan take responsibility.
No matter how powerful the Hyuga Clan was, they could not ignore every clan in Konoha.
If the Kumogakure envoy's death after his failed attempt to abduct Hinata Hyuga led to another war, then all the clans of Konoha—not to mention the ordinary civilians—would resent the Hyuga Clan for dragging them into war.
At that point, faced with the objections of every clan and civilian in Konoha, the Hyuga Clan would truly be unable to move an inch.
Under such circumstances, handing someone over directly was the best choice for the Hyuga Clan.
It would both avert a war between Kumogakure and Konoha, prevent the Hyuga Clan from becoming the target of public criticism and blame from every clan and civilian in Konoha, and allow Hiruzen Sarutobi to successfully put the Hyuga Clan in its place.
It was simply killing several birds with one stone.
In truth, when Hiruzen Sarutobi used the excuse that another war could not be allowed and told the Hyuga Clan to discuss a solution, the Hyuga elders and Hiashi Hyuga had understood that their clan had to take responsibility for the Kumogakure envoy's death.
They had no choice but to take responsibility.
The Hyuga Clan could not bear the consequences of causing Konoha and Kumogakure to go to war again.
This was not because Hiruzen Sarutobi was weak and could not even