Konoha High-Level Meeting

In the Land of Fire, within Konoha, at the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was busy handling official business in his office.

A voice from a member of the Intelligence Division sounded from outside the door, "Lord Hokage, there is urgent intelligence!"

"Bring it in," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, lifting his head toward the door.

It's urgent intelligence from Team Kakashi, Hiruzen thought as he noted the mark on the letter. After reading the report, his brows furrowed tightly, and his expression turned grave.

"Have the head of the Hyuga Clan come to see me, and notify the three advisors to come for an immediate meeting," Hiruzen said to the corner of his office.

"Yes." An Anbu suddenly appeared in the corner and vanished with a whoosh.

Hiruzen then began to read the report word by word, taking deep puffs of his pipe as he did so.

Shortly after, the two advisors, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, arrived one after the other. "Hiruzen, is there something urgent? Why call us here so suddenly?" Koharu asked, looking at him.

"Sit down first; we will wait for the others before we discuss it," Hiruzen replied, sounding somewhat distracted.

A while later, the head of the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi Hyuga, also arrived at the office. The two advisors were quite surprised to see him, but they said nothing and continued to wait.

Hiruzen gave Hiashi a deep look, said nothing, and simply gestured for him to sit before continuing to smoke.

Under Hiashi's slightly uneasy wait, the leader of Root, Danzo Shimura, finally arrived late.

Hiruzen handed the report to Danzo first. After reading it, Danzo said nothing; he passed the report to the other advisors and then fixed a cold gaze upon Hiashi.

Hiashi still had no idea what had happened. Aside from the Shinobi World War, he had never participated in a high-level Konoha meeting.

However, he could sense that this matter concerned the Hyuga Clan and was not good news, which filled him with deep anxiety.

When the report was finally passed to Hiashi, his face changed drastically upon reading it. He stood up abruptly and stammered, "Lo-Lord Hokage, and the three advisors, our Hyuga Clan has absolutely no intention of betraying Konoha. The intelligence here is not necessarily true!"

"Clan Head Hiashi, this intelligence came from Team Kakashi. Are you suggesting that Kakashi is lying?" Hiruzen stared intently into Hiashi's eyes as he spoke.

"Th-this..."

Only then did Hiashi realize he had spoken out of turn in his panic, and cold sweat began to seep down his back.

Without waiting for Hiashi to finish, Hiruzen continued, "According to Kakashi, this Hyuga clansman does not have the Caged Bird curse mark on their forehead. But I recall that your Main House members have not left Konoha for a long time. How do you explain this?"

Hiashi was silent for a long while before answering with difficulty, "Lord Hokage, you are surely aware of the situation within our clan. The Main House would never allow the Byakugan to fall into outside hands, nor could we ever betray Konoha. This must be the work of someone from the Branch House. I will certainly investigate this thoroughly and provide an explanation to you and the three advisors."

"According to you, someone from the Branch House betrayed Konoha. Are they not still members of the Hyuga Clan?" Danzo interjected, his expression icy.

Homura also spoke up, "The Byakugan holds significant strategic value for Konoha. If our enemies obtain it, it will deal us a massive blow."

Koharu also expressed her concerns, fearing that there might already be more than one Hyuga clansman living outside of Konoha.

Hearing Koharu's words, Hiashi's face turned even paler. He seemed to realize something, and his lips began to tremble slightly.

Seeing Hiashi's flustered state, Hiruzen interrupted the advisors' questioning and said, "Hiashi, I do not doubt the loyalty of the Hyuga Main House. However, because of the Caged Bird, there is deep-seated resentment between your Main and Branch Houses. Therefore, it is entirely possible for someone from the Branch House to do this, and they would have the means to do so. Am I right?"

Hiashi thought for a moment. Although the Caged Bird could restrict the Branch House, it could not guarantee 100% control over their freedom of movement. He could only answer:

"You are correct, Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen continued, "In truth, having a child outside of Konoha is not unheard of; such things have happened before. But because the Byakugan is so vital to the village, Konoha cannot accept it being out in the wild."

"I don't care if it was intentional or not; this situation is unacceptable. I expect a satisfactory solution from you before a greater mistake occurs!" Hiruzen looked at Hiashi with a very serious expression as he said this.

Hearing the Hokage's words, Hiashi's heart settled slightly. He lowered his head, "Please rest assured, Lord Hokage and advisors. Our Main House will investigate this matter thoroughly, and I request to lead the team myself to bring that person back to Konoha."

"Are you planning to go with members of the Main House? Or with Branch House members whose loyalty is uncertain?" Danzo asked coldly.

Hiashi understood what Danzo meant. He clenched his fists and replied, "I can complete the mission alone."

"Hmph!"

Danzo said nothing, a look of disdain appearing on his face, as if he did not believe Hiashi.

Hiruzen smoked and pondered for a moment. "Hiashi, I will have others handle this matter. Your main task now is to find out who is behind this. Leave the rest to me."

Afterward, Hiruzen continued to discuss the matter with the advisors, but due to the lack of intelligence, they could not come up with any good countermeasures.

After the meeting, once the other two advisors and Hiashi had left the office, Danzo walked up to Hiruzen and asked, "Hiruzen, what do you intend to do now?"

Hiruzen looked at his former teammate. "Danzo, I intend to entrust this matter to Shisui and have him support Kakashi."

"Shisui Uchiha? The Uchiha Clan is not to be trusted!"

"Danzo, Shisui is a descendant of Kagami. He is an Uchiha who has inherited the Will of Fire and serves as our bridge for communication with the Uchiha. Have you forgotten that?"

Danzo was silent for a moment before continuing, "Let my Root handle it. I can definitely bring the person back, dead or alive."

"I do not intend to hand this over to you, and I do not wish to provoke the Hyuga Clan at this time. If possible, I still hope to bring the person back alive." Hiruzen looked at Danzo with a warning gaze.

"Hiruzen, you are too soft! As Hokage, how can such an approach convince anyone?" Danzo retorted loudly.

"Danzo, do you want the Hyuga Clan to become the next Uchiha? The Uchiha are already attempting a coup. If we provoke the Hyuga now, are you trying to fight them both at the same time?"

Hearing this, Danzo fell silent, gripping his cane tightly. "Then we should at least place the Hyuga Clan under surveillance."

"Aren't most of our men already occupied monitoring the Uchiha? Where would we find the manpower to watch the Hyuga? If the numbers are too small, they will be the ones watching us, Danzo."

"So you are saying you intend to do nothing?"

"Did I not say? I will have Shisui handle this matter."

"Just like that?"

"For now, this is the only way."

"Hiruzen, you will regret this!"

Danzo Shimura slammed his cane heavily against the floor and, without waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to answer, stormed out and slammed the door behind him.

Watching Danzo Shimura storm off, Hiruzen Sarutobi stopped the words he habitually wanted to say. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and thought to himself:

Danzo, I am the Hokage.