The Steps of Chaos

Inside the Hokage's office.

"Slander! This is slander! Hokage, do you also think that all of us Hyuga are cowards afraid of death?!"

Hiashi angrily questioned the Third Hokage.

"Hiashi, it is not what I think. It is that people in the village already think so." Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed.

"You know the current situation well enough. Our comrades in the village are shedding blood on the front lines, yet as the Hyuga Clan Head, you have remained in the rear and done nothing. Rumors are bound to arise. Hiashi, you must consider the bigger picture and not give the villagers cause for further speculation."

"But something like this has happened within our clan. How can I leave just like that?!" Hiashi could not help saying.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression grew calm. "What, do you think your Hyuga Clan's family affairs are more important than the village's very survival? One dead Hyuga is a matter of heaven-shaking importance, while the comrades who died on the front lines are insignificant?"

That accusation instantly made Hiashi's expression turn ugly. "I would not dare!"

Sarutobi's gaze shifted slightly, and his expression softened once more. "Hiashi, I know the Hyuga Clan has its difficulties. The village will stand up for you. I will thoroughly investigate Jinyu Hyuga's murder. Something like this happened in Konoha—I will never allow the culprit to roam free!"

Hiashi stood there, his face shifting between pale and flushed. "I understand. Thank you, Hokage!"

Sarutobi nodded approvingly. "A supply convoy will be leaving the village in the next few days. Go back and make your preparations."

After Hyuga Hiashi left, the smile on Sarutobi's face gradually faded.

Still too young, Hiashi. He showed his thoughts on his face so easily. Was he really this unsettled over the death of a single clansman?

He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window behind his desk, his gaze deep as he looked out over the village.

If Minato was just as young, how would he deal with those old bastards...

If the war ended smoothly, how could I retire in peace?

Hyuga Clan Compound.

Hiashi returned to his residence and found both his father and Ayano there. The two were kneeling in the middle of the living room, apparently waiting for him.

Hiashi walked in, looked at his father seated in the place of honor, and silently knelt down beside him.

With a weathered face and white hair, Hyuga Taikei rested both hands on his cane and shot him a sidelong glance. "You look rather wretched, Hiashi."

Hiashi slowly closed his eyes. Across from him, Ayano wore a worried expression.

Hyuga Taikei slowly asked, "What threw you into such disarray?"

Hiashi abruptly opened his eyes, anger in his voice. "Those Byakugan are clan secrets. Outsiders could not possibly know about them. I suspect those old bastards from the Branch Family have been stirring things up! I intended to investigate this matter thoroughly, but the Hokage is now ordering me to the front lines. He says rumors have already spread through the village. It must be the Uchiha Clan fanning the flames!"

Yet Hyuga Taikei sighed upon hearing this. "You have greatly disappointed me, Hiashi."

Hiashi snorted coldly. "Something like this has happened in the clan. As its head, I will naturally bear all responsibility."

But Hyuga Taikei said, "They are merely the eyes of dead people. If they have been lost, then they have been lost. But look at you now—do you still resemble a clan head? If the Branch Family sees this, if the Uchiha Clan sees this, they will only look down on you even more."

Hiashi's eyes widened at that. "Those are Byakugan! Our Hyuga Clan has always strictly controlled the spread of our bloodline. How can we simply let them be lost?!"

Hyuga Taikei said, "And what if they are lost? Without Hyuga blood, another Byakugan clan will not emerge. At most, there will merely be a few more people in the shinobi world with Byakugan."

Hiashi remained silent, his voice stifled.

Hyuga Taikei continued, "What, do you consider it a disgrace?"

Hiashi said nothing.

Hyuga Taikei said indifferently, "If you find it so unbearable, why not give up your position in the Main Branch?"

Hiashi was furious inside, but he still forced himself to endure it. "Then what do you think I should do now?"

Taikei said, "Go to the front lines. The war is so intense now; the Hyuga Clan's strength is needed."

Hiashi's brows furrowed tightly. "What about the clan's affairs?"

"The Hokage should look into this matter, shouldn't he?"

"He said he would investigate it thoroughly."

"Then let the Hokage investigate."

"But..."

"What?" Taikei glanced at him, cutting him off.

"Are you afraid the Hokage will find nothing, or are you afraid he will find something?"

"..."

"You regard this as a scandal. You fear word getting out will damage the dignity of the great Hyuga Clan Head?" Taikei narrowed his eyes as he questioned him.

Hiashi kept a grim expression and remained silent.

"Hiashi, is the name Hyuga truly so shallow in your eyes?"

"Do you not know what kind of reputation the Uchiha Clan has among the common people? Yet over all these years, has anyone ever shaken their standing?"

"Let the common people say whatever they want. What matters is how the Hokage sees you. Do you want him to think you are someone who cares only about his own clan and not whether the village lives or dies? Have you considered the consequences? Compared with villagers secretly laughing at you a few times on the street, which do you think is more serious?"

Hiashi's eyes flickered at those words. His expression shifted for a long while before he finally took a deep breath. "I understand. I was foolish."

Taikei nodded, then asked, "How is that child?"

Hiashi said, "I personally tested him last night. There is no problem."

"There may be no problem now, but that does not guarantee what will happen in the future. Now that the Byakugan have been stolen, that child may become an unpredictable factor in the eyes of the Branch Family." Taikei said, "That child must hold absolute loyalty toward the clan. While Hiashi is away at war, Ayano, go show him more care."

Ayano hurriedly lowered her head and replied, "Understood."

Taikei then said to Hiashi, "Hiashi, you are of the Hyuga Clan's Main Branch. You must understand that maintaining our clan's stability is the most important thing! You must not allow internal strife to arise within the clan!"

"I know."

Taikei sighed softly and muttered, "Chaos is an abyss..."

"An abyss with its maw wide open, devouring everything... When I die, give him my eyes."

"Lord Taikei!" Ayano said in shock from the side. "He is only a member of the Branch Family. How could he be worthy of using the Main Branch's eyes!"

Taikei frowned slightly. "What, do you think the Branch Family is naturally inferior to the Main Branch? Your younger sister shares the same blood as you, yet she is also Branch Family. It is precisely mindsets like yours that have caused the conflict between the Main Branch and Branch Family to deepen to this extent."

Ayano immediately lowered her head and said no more.

"Go make your preparations. Be careful on the front lines. It is not like the village there. Every military achievement you earn there will be far more important than uncovering the murderer in the village. As for the clan's affairs, I will handle them myself."