Traitor

"Oh! Oh!"

Hyuga Hiashi scrambled to his feet, only then realizing he had been so flustered that he was still kneeling moments ago.

What a complete loss of face!

He said coldly, "I beg the Hokage to deliver justice! Uchiha Siming intruded into the Hyuga Clan without invitation, disrupted our Clan Tournament, and must face severe punishment!"

If he couldn't even discipline a single Uchiha clansman, then his authority as Hyuga clan head would be utterly shattered!

The gazes of the surrounding Branch Family members only stoked his fury further!

Beside him, Hyuga Nezi's small face shifted in alarm, and he hurriedly cried out, "It's not my teacher's fault!"

"It's all because of me—blame me if you must!"

He stepped forward.

His tiny frame bore a face of unyielding resolve.

"Neji, get back here!"

Hyuga Hiashi's expression darkened. As a Branch Family member, Neji's failure to stand with the Main Family when it was insulted was nothing short of betrayal.

Hyuga Neji's body trembled.

At only seven years old, his small stature seemed pitifully fragile, like a wisp of smoke that a gust of wind could scatter. Yet he gritted his teeth, rooted to the spot, and stubbornly blocked the way before Uchiha Siming.

Like a stubborn stalk of green bristlegrass sprouting from a crack in the wall.

"Neji!"

Hyuga Hiashi's face twisted in unbearable shame.

If Neji's earlier actions could be dismissed as childish ignorance, now he was openly slapping the Hyuga Clan's face!

He turned to Hiruzen Sarutobi, feeling as though his own cheeks were stinging: "Lord Hokage, you see for yourself—Uchiha Siming not only sabotaged our Clan Tournament but also corrupted a member of the Hyuga Clan. His intentions are utterly vile! I beg you to deliver justice!"

He had already made up his mind.

No matter what happened today.

He would make sure both Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Siming paid the price!

"Hahaha."

Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a few hearty laughs, wearing an expression as if he found the whole affair amusing:

"Hiashi, don't be angry. They're just children—even Siming is only fifteen now. Don't bother quarreling with them."

He brushed it off as if it were a trivial matter.

Children?

Don't bother quarreling with them.

Hyuga Hiashi's mouth gaped in disbelief. Did you even hear what you just said?

Neji could be called a child, but Uchiha Siming had already awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan, and his strength was in no way inferior to Hiashi himself—how could he still be called a child?!

In the Second War, six-year-olds were sent to the battlefield!

He stammered, "L-Lord Hokage..."

"Enough. This matter ends here."

Hiruzen Sarutobi waved a hand, cutting off everything Hyuga Hiashi wanted to say. He looked at the man with disappointment—yes, Hyuga Hiashi's strength was only that of an Elite Jonin, and the Uchiha Clan had over twenty such fighters.

Now he had lost all face.

A clan head so incapable—and he had come to this man for advice? How laughable.

Hyuga Hiashi's face stiffened, and he stammered, "Y-Yes, yes."

"Heh."

Uchiha Siming let out a sneer, his eyes filled with nothing but mockery.

Even after the founding of the hidden villages, external threats had diminished, but within the village, strength still ruled. Before, Hyuga Hiashi could use his Main Family status to stave off conflict, but once he made a move and was defeated...

His strength became a fixed mark.

Once the veil was torn, there was nothing left but to be trampled underfoot.

It was like a certain country in his past life, called an elephant—before it acted, the two great powers were wary of it. But the moment it failed against a smaller nation, it was doomed to become a piece on the chessboard, waiting to be devoured.

No more fuss.

No more arrogance.

Only the possibility of waiting for death.

That was exactly the situation Hyuga Hiashi now faced.

"By the way, Siming, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly spoke, his murky eyes flickering: "Do you know the cause of Shisui's death? At that time... were you with Neji?"

His eyes gleamed uncertainly, like the deep waters of a lake, impossible to read.

There was truly no need to stick up for a Hyuga clan head who couldn't even defeat an "ordinary Uchiha"—from the moment he was defeated, Hyuga Hiashi's prestige was gone.

Hm?

Uchiha Siming raised an eyebrow.

Ask here?

Ask at this time?

Ask in an open-ended manner before everyone's eyes?

As everyone knew, questioning in a closed interrogation setting was called coercion, but questioning in full view of others, with a seemingly solemn air—what was that called?

It was called helping him cheat!

Siming understood in an instant, realizing that Hyuga Hiashi had been temporarily abandoned.

His expression suddenly turned furious, growing cold: "Lord Hokage, are you questioning me?!"

Hm?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression shifted slightly. Good lad, to have such political instinct. His face immediately darkened: "Siming, I am merely investigating the death of Anbu elite Uchiha Shisui. Every person in Konoha must cooperate—whether it's anyone else or the Uchiha Clan!"

"Neji, the Anbu is investigating. You've been following Uchiha Siming to study recently. You tell us—where was he yesterday!"

He had originally intended to let things turn sour first, then later express his good intentions to Uchiha Siming.

To win some goodwill and show his thoughtful care, but he hadn't expected Siming to grasp his intent and respond in the best possible way!

The two men—one with a deep expression.

One with a furious look—yet in the depths of each other's eyes, they saw the same flicker of recognition.

Lad Siming, you have talent!

Old fox Sarutobi, you're plenty sly!

Nearby, Hyuga Hiashi's face lit up with joy, and he said sternly: "Neji, tell the truth—did Uchiha Siming leave the Senju Clan yesterday or not?!"

His words were deliberately vague.

As if the mere fact that Uchiha Siming had left the Senju Clan yesterday made it possible for him to have killed Uchiha Shisui.

"No!"

Hyuga Neji cut in decisively, his young face unnervingly calm, as if he had rehearsed this many times.

"Yesterday, I was at the Senju Clan studying with my teacher the entire time. My teacher never left the Senju Clan. The only time he left was when an elder from his own clan called him out."

"Therefore, my teacher knows absolutely nothing about Uchiha Shisui's death!"

Traitor!

Hyuga Hiashi's face darkened.

"Hmph!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi snorted coldly, looking at Siming with a scrutinizing gaze.

"If you haven't done anything wrong, then why refuse the investigation? Uchiha Siming, your Will of Fire is impure!"

"Then there's no need to trouble Lord Hokage."

Uchiha Siming's voice was cold and hard, as if he held great resentment toward the Hokage: "The Uchiha Clan's Will of Fire has always been displayed to the fullest on the battlefield—it needs no one's doubt!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's face grew even darker.

Nearby, Hyuga Hiashi could no longer hide the delight in his heart, curling at the corners of his mouth.

He was just about to say something.

When he met Uchiha Siming's needle-sharp gaze, as if looking at a piece of trash:

"And you, Hiashi—don't you dare target Neji behind his back. Otherwise, from now on, every time I see a member of the Hyuga Main Family, I'll beat them once!"