Konoha Village, inside the interrogation room.
"Think carefully one more time. Is there anything you left out?" After a pause, Mori Ibiki set down the paper and pen in his hands. "I must remind you again: the Akatsuki Organization has now been classified as an S-rank—an extremely dangerous criminal organization. Lying or concealing any information related to it is a serious crime, and you will receive the harshest punishment!"
Neji shook his head from the interrogation chair. "I'm sorry, but that's all I remember!"
Ibiki gave Neji a deep look, then picked up his pen again and bent over his records.
In the observation room, separated from the interrogation room by a one-way pane of glass, the Third Hokage, a pipe clenched between his teeth, glanced at Hyuga Hiashi beside him. "Do you think Neji is trustworthy?"
Hiashi said, "The moment he returned to the village, he reported the situation to me."
The Third Hokage asked again, "Then do you think he's hiding something?"
"No. Don't forget, he's a member of the Branch Family. He could never betray his clan!"
Hiashi was extremely confident.
The existence of the 'Caged Bird' gave the Main Family absolute power over the lives and deaths of the Branch Family. That was why the Branch Family had never dared to defy the Main Family all these years.
After receiving Hiashi's assurance, the Third Hokage nodded.
Unlike the unruly Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga Clan was fairly docile, so the Third Hokage was very satisfied with them.
After a moment, the Third Hokage suddenly asked, "Why do you think the Akatsuki Organization let Neji go?"
Hiashi hesitated.
The question was clearly a trap, and he had not figured out how to answer it.
The Third Hokage did not seem to truly want to hear Hiashi's answer. He