All Sides React

In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi held a report in his hands. As he read it, his brow furrowed.

"The Land of Rivers? I didn't expect Kakashi and Itachi to take such a heavy loss this time."

It was only after reading the report Kakashi and the others had sent that Hiruzen realized how troublesome their enemy was. He hesitated over whether to send reinforcements again.

Hiruzen set the report aside and picked up another. It listed the two identities Hyuuga Nen had used in the Land of Sea and the Land of Tea. The information had been provided by Kakuzu.

The report also noted that Kakuzu had already passed the information on to the underground Bounty Exchange. In other words, ninja villages beyond Konoha already knew about Hyuuga Nen.

After reading it, the age in Hiruzen's face seemed more pronounced. He let out a long sigh and began smoking.

As Hiruzen sat there, smoking with a troubled expression, the sound of a cane striking the floor came from outside his office.

"Tap, tap."

Shimura Danzō opened the office door and entered, carrying a report of his own.

Without a word, Danzō handed the report to Hiruzen, then stood quietly and watched him.

Hiruzen opened it. It was urgent information from spies stationed in other countries. The four great nations besides Konoha had all begun assembling teams to hunt down Hyuuga Nen.

Hiruzen smoked as he read, saying nothing. He still seemed to be weighing his next move.

"Hiruzen, what do you plan to do in this situation?" Danzō asked, both hands resting on his cane.

"According to the reports, the other great nations don't know where this Hyuga Clan member is right now, so all they can do is make educated guesses."

"And given the time and distance involved, they'll probably search the nearby countries first. The Land of Wind and the Land of Earth will likely start with the Land of Rivers, while the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning will probably begin with the island nations near them."

As Hiruzen spoke, he slowly handed Danzō the report from Kakashi and the others.

"So there's a good chance this Hyuga Clan member will head to the Land of Rivers." After reading the report, Danzō looked at Hiruzen.

Hiruzen nodded. "If Kakashi and the others are right, the Land of Rivers should be his destination."

"Then Kakashi and the others could run into people from the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth. Hiruzen, let Root handle this. I guarantee we'll bring him back!"

Hiruzen considered Danzō's request for a while before finally nodding.

The situation had already spiraled out of control, and according to Kakashi and the others, this Hyuga Clan member was extremely powerful. Hiruzen had no choice but to accept Danzō's proposal.

Before Hiruzen could speak, Danzō added, "I also plan to bring people from the Hyuga Clan, in addition to Root."

"The Hyuga Clan? Members of the Branch Family? How can you guarantee the people you bring will be loyal?" Hiruzen asked.

"I'll have Root shinobi keep an eye on them. They'll only track him during this operation. I won't let them take part in the capture."

"All right. We'll do it your way." Hiruzen nodded, then added, "Since you might encounter people from the Land of Earth and the Land of Wind, I'll assign one person from each of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans to support you. They'll join your team."

Danzō seemed not to have expected Hiruzen to make that suggestion. He paused before replying, "That's fine. Let the Ino-Shika-Cho shinobi join us too."

"If there's nothing else, I'll start assembling the team now." Danzō asked Hiruzen one last time.

"That's fine, Danzō. I'm counting on you to handle this." Hiruzen said one final thing.

After Danzō left the Hokage's office, Hiruzen stood up and walked to the window. He looked toward the faces carved into Kage Rock, lost in thought.

After a long while, Hiruzen came back to himself. "Have the Hyuga Clan leader... Never mind. I'll go there myself." With that, he left the office.

By the time Hiruzen arrived at the Hyuga Clan compound, Hyuga Hiashi was already waiting at the entrance.

"Lord Hokage, you're here. Please, follow me," Hiashi said.

Hiruzen nodded and followed Hiashi to his room. Several members of the Main Branch were already waiting inside. When they saw Hiruzen, they hurried to greet him.

Hiruzen wasn't in the mood for pleasantries. Once seated, he went straight to the point. "Hiashi, how is the investigation I assigned you coming along?"

A tense expression crossed Hiashi's face. He quickly stood up.

"Lord Hokage, the Main Branch has been investigating this in secret, but we simply haven't had enough people. We haven't found anything useful. Please give us a little more time."

"Have you heard the information from the Black Market?" Hiruzen asked, ignoring Hiashi's explanation.

"Yes, Lord Hokage. We've heard about it and are discussing what to do."

"We can't keep this information secret. What does the Hyuga Branch House think of it?" Hiruzen pressed.

"This..."

Hiashi's face took on a complicated expression, showing worry, fear, and even a trace of anger.

Seeing Hiashi's expression, Hiruzen could roughly guess what was on his mind.

He continued, "Since we can no longer keep this information secret, stop investigating in secret. Conduct a thorough search of the entire clan instead."

"I understand, Lord Hokage. The Hyuga Clan will give you a satisfactory answer. Please rest assured."

Having said this, Hiashi bowed his head deeply.

After leaving the Hyuga Clan compound, Hiruzen walked a few steps before turning to look back at it. He murmured:

"The Hyuga Branch House..."

Hiruzen knew perfectly well that, in some ways, the Hyuga Branch House were little more than slaves to the Main Branch. That went against the Will of Fire he so often spoke of.

When the First first proposed the Will of Fire, he hoped there would be no divisions between clans in Konoha, no distinction between clan shinobi and ordinary shinobi. Everyone in Konoha would contribute equally to the village and protect every person in it.

But the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird system was a blatant affront to the Will of Fire. The Hyuga Branch House were beyond the reach of the Will of Fire.

Yet the Byakugan was of enormous strategic value to Konoha, and Hiruzen had no choice but to tolerate what the Main Branch did to the Branch Family.

Without the Caged Bird, Konoha had no way to ensure it would be the only village to benefit from the Byakugan. Hiruzen couldn't accept that either.

For all these reasons, the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird system had remained in place from Konoha's founding until now, unchanged. Hiruzen had pretended not to notice, hoping that what he didn't see wouldn't trouble him.

As he continued walking, Hiruzen thought of the report Kakashi had given him. "Sealing Technique?" he murmured.