Land of Fire, eastern coastal region.
Frontline Camp.
Thousands of Konoha Ninja were stationed here, facing off against the Mist Ninja under the command of one of the Sannin, Orochimaru. In one corner of the camp, Konoha Ninja with pure white eyes and loose white robes could be seen everywhere. This was the camp Orochimaru had specifically set aside for the Hyuga Clan's visitors.
Hyuga Hiashi and the others hadn't come to the front as reinforcements, so they weren't under Orochimaru's command.
They had come to deal with the theft of the Byakugan, mainly to pursue Hyuga Ritsu's failure to provide timely aid. They wouldn't take part in the fighting at the front. As for reclaiming the stolen Byakugan, that would take careful consideration.
"Damn it, Orochimaru's a real bastard!"
Main Family Elder Hyuga Hisho swept aside the tent flap and stormed inside.
"Elder Hisho, watch what you say. Do you know where you are?" Hyuga Hiashi, seated at the head of the tent, frowned and shot an unhappy look at Hyuga Hisho, who was running his mouth and speaking recklessly.
"Hisho, the Clan Head is right. Watch what you say. Orochimaru is Lord Hokage's student, and he might even become the Fourth Hokage one day. Are you trying to bring trouble down on the clan with that loose tongue?"
Main Family Elder Hyuga Daichi, seated nearby, also frowned and glared at Hyuga Hisho, clearly displeased with him.
"I only complained once... Fine, fine, I get it. I shouldn't have said that. But Orochimaru... ahem, Orochimaru still has the same attitude. He still says he doesn't know when Hyuga Ritsu will be back."
Hyuga Hisho sat down in a huff. He looked at Hyuga Hiashi and grumbled, "Clan Head, we can't just sit around waiting like this, can we? It's already the third day, and Hyuga Ritsu still hasn't come back. I suspect that little bastard has gone rogue!"
If Hyuga Ritsu was a little bastard, what did that make the rest of us, who are Hyuga too?
Hyuga Hiashi shot Hyuga Hisho an exasperated look. After a moment's thought, he said slowly, "I doubt he's gone rogue. Unless he plans to hide his identity for the rest of his life, where could he go? His parents are still in the clan, too. He isn't the sort of person who would abandon them."
"You never know."
Hyuga Hisho was unconvinced.
Hyuga Hiashi was about to say something, but hurried footsteps sounded outside.
"Clan Head, Lord Orochimaru and Jonin Namikaze Minato are here to see you. They say they have urgent business with you," a Branch House Jonin reported respectfully from outside the tent.
"Namikaze Minato?"
Hyuga Hiashi froze. "Wasn't he fighting the Iwa Ninja in the north? Has he been transferred here to fight the Mist Ninja?"
The surprise lasted only a moment. Hyuga Hiashi cleared his mind and looked around. "Elder Daichi, Elder Hisho, since Lord Orochimaru and Jonin Namikaze Minato are here to see us, let's go out and welcome them."
Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato were Konoha's only two candidates for the Fourth Hokage position. One of them was certain to become the Fourth Hokage, so even the Hyuga Clan had to treat them with due respect.
Hyuga Daichi and Hyuga Hisho had no objections.
The three of them went out together,
and saw Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato standing side by side at the entrance to their quarters.
"Lord Orochimaru, Jonin Minato, I'm sorry I wasn't here to welcome you. Please forgive me!"
Hyuga Hiashi was very courteous.
However,
Minato cut in before Hyuga Hiashi could finish his pleasantries. "Senior Hiashi, I've come to see you because it's urgent. There's no need for small talk. Please... find somewhere safe where we can speak privately."
He glanced around.
There were many members of the Hyuga Clan here. This wasn't the place to talk, especially since the matter was sensitive.
"Hm? What happened?"
Hyuga Hiashi's heart skipped a beat. Minato's manner made him uneasy, but he forced down his anxiety and quickly led Orochimaru and Namikaze Minato to a tent with a barrier inside, which he used as a study.
"Jonin Minato, has something happened in the village?"
After lowering the tent flap, Hyuga Hiashi asked anxiously.
"Senior Hiashi, and you two seniors as well."
Minato looked at the three members of the Hyuga Clan's Main House before him. For a moment, he struggled to find the words. But he had to tell them, so he steeled himself and spoke. "This will come as a severe shock. Please prepare yourselves for the worst!"
At those words,
Hyuga Hiashi's face grew frighteningly pale.
Hyuga Daichi and Hyuga Hisho exchanged a look, their lips pressed tight and their expressions grave.
Nearby,
Orochimaru was smiling, thoroughly enjoying the spectacle. He didn't know why Minato had come; Minato had only told him that he was acting on Lord Hokage's orders to meet with Hyuga Hiashi and the others.
But that didn't stop him from enjoying the show. If anything, not knowing what was going on made it all the more entertaining!
"Here's what happened. Earlier today, your clan's Branch House Jonin, Hyuga Ritsu, secretly returned to the village. He killed the Main House members who had stayed behind at the clan compound, gathered the Hyuga Clan's Branch House members, and removed you from the position of Clan Head, Senior Hiashi. Hyuga Ritsu took the position himself. He then selected six elders from among the Branch House Jonin... Senior Hiashi, are you all right?"
Minato looked at Hyuga Hiashi, whose face had turned deathly pale, and asked with concern. He worried that the terrible news might make Hyuga Hiashi faint on the spot.
Fortunately, Hyuga Hiashi held on.
Hyuga Daichi was the one who couldn't take it. The mild-tempered Main Family Elder rolled his eyes and toppled to the ground with a thud.
"Elder Daichi!"
"Daichi?"
"Someone, hurry and get a Medical Ninja!"
The tent instantly descended into chaos. Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hisho rushed over, and Minato also called for a Medical Ninja. Only Orochimaru watched in astonishment, stunned by the news Minato had just delivered.
To be honest,
a few days earlier, when Hiruko had asked him to arrange an assignment away from the village for his precious student, Orochimaru had assumed Hiruko was helping Hyuga Ritsu defect. Out of respect for Hiruko, he'd signed off on it without hesitation.
Hyuga Hisho had come to complain to him these past few days, but Orochimaru had sent him away each time, figuring Hyuga Ritsu had long since run off to who knew where.
But now it turned out that the boy had returned to Konoha!
And he'd done something this huge. Since he couldn't dodge the blame the Main House was trying to pin on him, had he simply toppled the Main House instead? That was an astonishingly delightful way of thinking!
This was just too interesting!
If the fighting at the front weren't keeping him tied down, he'd be eager to head back to Konoha right now and see what had happened—to find out how Hyuga Ritsu had managed to pull off something this huge!
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