In the Land of Fire, in Konoha, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was handling official business in his office in the Hokage Building.
A member of the Intelligence Division called from outside the door. "Lord Hokage, we have urgent intelligence!"
"Bring it in," Hiruzen said, raising his head toward the door.
It's urgent intelligence from Team Kakashi, Hiruzen thought as he looked at the seal on the message. After reading it, his brows knitted tightly together, and his expression grew grave.
"Have the Hyuga clan head come here, and notify the three advisers to come for a meeting at once," Hiruzen said toward the corner of the office.
"Yes." An Anbu suddenly appeared in the corner, then vanished with a whoosh.
Hiruzen picked up the report again and read it word by word, taking long drags on his pipe.
Before long, the two advisers, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, arrived one after the other. "Hiruzen, is something urgent going on? Why did you summon us in such a hurry?" Koharu asked, looking at him.
"Sit down first. We'll talk when the others get here," Hiruzen replied, somewhat distracted.
A short while later, Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga Clan, arrived at the office. The two advisers were surprised to see him, but said nothing and continued waiting.
Hiruzen looked deeply at Hiashi without speaking, merely motioning for him to sit before resuming his pipe.
As Hiashi waited with growing unease, Root's leader, Shimura Danzō, finally arrived.
Hiruzen handed Danzō the report first. After reading it, Danzō said nothing. He passed it to the other advisers, then fixed Hiashi with a cold stare.
Even now, Hiashi had no idea what had happened. Other than during the Shinobi World War, he had never attended a meeting of Konoha's High Command.
Still, he could sense that the issue concerned the Hyuga Clan—and that it was bad news. Anxiety gnawed at him.
The report eventually reached Hiashi. His expression changed dramatically as he read it. He shot to his feet and stammered, "H-Hokage, and you three advisers, our Hyuga Clan has absolutely no intention of betraying Konoha. The information in this report may not be true!"
"Clan Head Hiashi, this report came from Team Kakashi. Are you saying Kakashi is lying?" Hiruzen asked, staring straight into Hiashi's eyes.
"I-I..."
Only then did Hiashi realize that, in his panic, he had spoken out of turn. Cold sweat had already broken out across his back.
Before Hiashi could finish, Hiruzen continued, "According to Kakashi, this Hyuga clansman has no Caged Bird Seal on his forehead. But as far as I know, no one from the Main Branch has left Konoha in a long time. How do you explain that?"
Hiashi fell silent for a long while before answering with difficulty. "You know our situation, Lord Hokage. The Main Branch would never allow the Byakugan to fall into outsiders' hands, nor would we betray Konoha. This could only have been done by someone from the Branch Family. I'll investigate thoroughly and give you and the three advisers an explanation."
"By that logic, someone from the Branch Family betrayed Konoha. Aren't they members of the Hyuga Clan too?" Danzō interjected, his expression icy.
Homura added, "The Byakugan has immense strategic value to Konoha. If our enemies get their hands on it, the damage to us would be severe."
Koharu also voiced her concerns. She feared that more than one Hyuga clansman might already be living beyond Konoha's borders.
At Koharu's words, Hiashi grew even paler. As if he had realized something, his lips began to tremble.
Seeing Hiashi at a loss, Hiruzen cut off the three advisers' questioning and said, "Hiashi, I don't doubt the Main Branch's loyalty. But the Caged Bird has caused deep resentment between the Main Branch and the Branch Family. Someone from the Branch Family has every reason to do this—and the ability to do it as well. Am I right?"
Hiashi thought it over. Although the Caged Bird could restrict the Hyuga Branch Family, it couldn't limit their freedom of movement completely. He could only answer,
"You're right, Lord Hokage."
Hiruzen continued, "Having a child outside Konoha isn't unusual. It's happened before. But the village cannot allow the Byakugan to fall into outsiders' hands, given how important it is to us."
"I don't care whether this was intentional. This cannot be allowed to happen. Before an even bigger mistake is made, I expect you to give me a satisfactory solution!" Hiruzen said, his expression stern as he looked at Hiashi.
At the Hokage's words, Hiashi felt a little more at ease. He lowered his head. "Please rest assured, Lord Hokage and three advisers. The Main Branch will investigate this matter thoroughly. I can also request permission to lead a team myself and bring that person back to Konoha."
"Are you planning to go with people from the Main Branch, or with members of the Branch Family whose loyalty is uncertain?" Danzō asked coldly.
Hiashi understood what Danzō meant. He clenched his fists and replied, "I can complete the mission alone."
"Hmph!"
Danzō said nothing, but his disdainful expression made it clear he didn't believe Hiashi.
Hiruzen took a few drags on his pipe and thought for a moment. "Hiashi, I'll have others handle this matter. Your main task for now is to find out who's behind it. Leave the rest to us."
Hiruzen continued discussing the matter with the advisers, but with so little information, they couldn't come up with any effective response.
After the meeting, once the other two advisers and Hiashi had left the Hokage's office, Danzō stepped up to Hiruzen and asked, "Hiruzen, what are you planning to do now?"
Hiruzen looked at his former teammate. "Danzō, I plan to have Shisui handle this and send him to support Kakashi."
"Shisui Uchiha? The Uchiha Clan can't be trusted!"
"Danzō, Shisui is Kagami's descendant. He's an Uchiha who inherited the Will of Fire and serves as a bridge between us and the Uchiha. Have you forgotten that?"
Danzō fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Send Root. I can bring the person back, dead or alive."
"I won't entrust this matter to you, and I don't want to provoke the Hyuga Clan right now. If possible, I'd rather bring the person back alive." As he spoke, Hiruzen fixed Danzō with a warning look.
"Hiruzen, you're too soft! How can anyone respect you as Hokage if you handle things this way?" Danzō shouted in protest.
"Danzō, do you want the Hyuga Clan to become another Uchiha? The Uchiha Clan is already planning a coup. If we provoke the Hyuga Clan now, are you suggesting we fight them both at once?"
At this, Danzō fell silent and gripped his cane tightly. "We should at least put the Hyuga Clan under surveillance."
"Haven't we assigned most of our people to monitor the Uchiha Clan? Where would we get enough people to watch the Hyuga Clan? If we use too few, they'll end up watching us instead, Danzō."
"So you plan to do nothing?"
"Didn't I say I'd have Shisui handle this?"
"That's it?"
"For now, that's all we can do."
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
Danzō slammed his cane against the floor and stormed out, slamming the door without waiting for Hiruzen to answer.
As he watched Danzō storm out, Hiruzen stopped the words he habitually wanted to say before they could leave his lips. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and silently reminded himself,
Danzō, I'm the Hokage.
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