Thud—!
The sound of a forehead striking the floor rang through the room, which had fallen silent in that instant.
"Please... entrust this matter to the Hyuga Clan. The trouble the Hyuga Clan has caused the village will be answered for by the Hyuga Clan to the village's satisfaction."
Feeling the cold touch of his forehead against the ground, a faint sheen of cold sweat appeared on Hyuga Hiashi's brow.
When it came to Neji Hyuga, Hyuga Hiashi had to take responsibility for the matter.
The Third Hokage had agreed so readily at the time that he had breathed a sigh of relief.
But he had never expected the acting Hokage to bring it up again. That made things obvious.
This matter was not as simple as the Third Hokage had made it sound.
And here, even invoking the Third Hokage would probably be of little use. This acting Hokage's prestige and political skill were no weaker than the Third Hokage's. Though he was still technically the acting Hokage, he was, in truth, already the Fifth Hokage.
It was even quite possible that the reason the acting Hokage before him had been able to come to his residence within the Hyuga Clan compound was that he had already persuaded the Third Hokage.
After all, Neji's matter was not simply Konoha's internal affair. It involved all sorts of interests, and perhaps it had reached the point where Neji Hyuga had to be used to show the entire Shinobi World Konoha's stance.
In fact, whenever Hyuga Hiashi thought of this, he had the feeling that the acting Hokage before him might use Neji to establish his authority—using Neji's punishment as a thunderous debut meant to intimidate the entire Shinobi World.
For now, only Konoha's internal personnel—the ninja community, and perhaps only its