Preventing Suicide

So that was what happened.

An envoy from Kumogakure had visited Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had personally received them.

Some of Konoha's major clans had attended as well.

Naturally, the Hyuga Clan had been among them.

Hiashi had no sons, only Hinata and Hanabi.

Hinata was older, so Hiashi had taken her with him.

After all, it was a banquet.

It would also give Hinata a chance to broaden her horizons...

But unexpectedly, Kumogakure had made its move during the banquet.

They had taken advantage of Hinata leaving the banquet to kidnap her.

Then they had someone use a secret technique to transform into Hinata and confuse Konoha...

That was all there was to it.

Hiashi's expression turned livid after hearing this. He said in a low voice, "Then... the Hinata in that room is a Kumogakure shinobi?"

Towering fury rose in his eyes.

As a member of the Hyuga Clan, a wielder of the Byakugan.

His daughter had been kidnapped right under his nose.

This was a humiliation!

Hiashi had a fiery temper as well. He rose directly to his feet.

He intended to kill the Kumogakure shinobi currently posing as Hinata within the Hyuga Clan compound.

Naruto spoke at just the right moment. "If I were you, I wouldn't do that."

Hiashi halted and said heavily to Naruto, "Naruto Uzumaki, you saved Hinata. The Hyuga Clan owes you a favor."

"But this is a matter within our clan. It wouldn't be appropriate for you to interfere."

Though Naruto was still young.

Hiashi did not treat him as a child.

After all, he had rescued Hinata from Kumogakure shinobi and brought her back safely.

That was enough to prove Naruto's strength.

He might even have drawn upon the Nine-Tails' power.

If the Hyuga Clan did not have a rule forbidding its women from marrying outside the clan.

Seeing how things were going between Naruto and Hinata, Hiashi would probably have gone along with it.

Unfortunately...

That was a clan rule, and Hiashi could not break it so easily.

After saying that, Hiashi intended to go kill the Kumogakure shinobi.

But Naruto unexpectedly said something shocking. "If you don't want the people around you to die, you'd better not act rashly."

Hinata came behind Naruto and tugged at the corner of his clothes.

She was somewhat nervous.

Because in Hinata's impression, her father was synonymous with strictness and seriousness.

Hinata had never seen anyone oppose Hiashi.

His decisions were practically the decisions of the Hyuga Clan.

His attitude had always been exceedingly forceful.

Now Naruto and Hiashi were having an argument.

That was something Hinata did not want to see.

Because on one side was her clan, and on the other was Naruto.

If they truly fell out, Hinata would be caught in the middle and have no idea what to do.

Noticing Hinata's nervousness, Naruto raised a hand and rubbed her little head. "Don't worry, Hinata."

For some reason, despite facing such a grave situation.

Hearing Naruto's words made Hinata feel much calmer.

Seeing Naruto openly act so intimately with his daughter right in front of him.

Hiashi's expression immediately became even more severe and frightening.

A trace of anger lurked in Hiashi's voice as he said to Hinata, "Hinata, go find your mother first. Naruto Uzumaki and I will handle things here."

"I..." Hinata did not dare look at Hiashi's stern expression. She lowered her head, hesitating.

Seeing this, Hiashi narrowed his eyes slightly, already becoming wary of certain things.

Because Hinata had never dared defy him.

Yet now, for Naruto's sake, she dared disobey him.

But there were more important matters at hand.

Hiashi shifted his gaze away from Hinata and fixed it on Naruto instead.

Faced with Hiashi's pressure, Naruto remained incomparably calm.

Before Hiashi could speak, Naruto said to him, "Have you forgotten what happened a few years ago?"

Can't find the book by its title? Try searching for the author; it may have simply been renamed!

The moment those words were spoken.

Hiashi's Byakugan contracted sharply.

Naruto Uzumaki...

How did he know about that incident?

Hiashi was utterly shocked.

But Naruto did not stop. "Hiruzen Sarutobi is old. If you don't produce irrefutable evidence, he'll definitely have you handle this matter yourself."

"Because the current Hiruzen Sarutobi does not want to offend Kumogakure of the Land of Lightning."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not want to offend Kumogakure.

Those words weighed on Hiashi's heart like a heavy mountain.

He was the head of the Hyuga Clan. His stance in Konoha was neither hawkish nor dovish.

He only considered the interests of his clan.

But where those close to him were concerned, Hiashi was unquestionably a hawk.

Who cares about the consequences?

Anyone who dared touch those close to him, he'd fucking kill first and talk later.

Because of that temperament, Hiashi had suffered a loss once before.

Back then, Hiashi had not believed that Hiruzen Sarutobi would refuse to reason with Kumogakure and instead make his clan settle the matter internally.

That had led to the death of Hiashi's younger brother, Hizashi.

That incident was a pain in Hiashi's heart.

Could it be that, years later, he was about to act impulsively again?

Hiashi's expression softened. He said to Naruto, "Thank you for the reminder, Naruto."

With Naruto's reminder, Hiashi already knew what to do.

Hiashi returned inside and sat down.

His expression had changed from impulsive to composed.

After a while, Hiashi finally said, "Capture that Kumogakure shinobi, then use someone from the Yamanaka Clan to examine his memories."

"Then make the matter public."

"With irrefutable evidence before them, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi does not want to offend Kumogakure, he'll have to consider the feelings of the others in the village."

Few people had known about what happened last time.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had made Hiashi handle it himself.

After swallowing that loss, Hiashi had developed a faint dissatisfaction with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Now that this had happened, it was the perfect opportunity to make things difficult for him.

After speaking, Hiashi looked toward Naruto.

He seemed to care greatly about Naruto's opinion.

Naruto had initially thought this plan was highly feasible as well.

But then he shook his head and rejected it.

Naruto said to Hiashi, "As long as we have irrefutable evidence, that's enough. We can't make it public. That approach is too aggressive and could lead Hiruzen Sarutobi to target the Hyuga Clan in his future policies."

"Hmph... When people grow old, they should step down instead of constantly stirring up internal strife." After hearing this, Hiashi understood Naruto's meaning and openly vented his dissatisfaction with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Naruto sighed. "The most important thing now is to restrain that Kumogakure shinobi posing as Hinata."

Just as he finished speaking, a disturbance came from behind him.

An unfamiliar shinobi, bound up tightly, was escorted to the scene by several members of the Hyuga Clan.

The moment Hiashi saw him, his entire face darkened.

An intense killing intent radiated from his body, making him seem terrifying.

Yet the Kumogakure shinobi lay on the ground, looking smugly at Hiashi.

"Being angry won't help! Your Hokage is no longer a Shinobi Hero. He's a coward!"

"He doesn't dare offend Kumogakure at all."

"If you want to make this a minor matter, release me immediately."

"Then Kumogakure can demand some compensation from your Hyuga Clan, and this matter will be over."

Kumogakure's scheme had been exposed before the Hyuga Clan.

Yet even after being discovered, he was still so arrogant.

Hiashi's expression instantly twisted. His fists clenched tightly, and veins bulged on his arms.

An uncontrollable urge to kill urged him onward.

Since when has our Hyuga Clan ever been humiliated like this??

But Hiashi was the clan head after all, and his self-control was quite good.

Hiashi was not controlled by his rage and did not kill the Kumogakure shinobi.

Just then.

A sound came from the sky.

Everyone looked at Naruto in horror.

Naruto calmly explained, "Just preventing suicide."

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