Not Over Yet

After the Anbu sent word, the Yamanaka clan head and the Hyuga Second Elder's guard soon arrived at the Hokage Office.

As it happened, the current Yamanaka clan head was someone Kawaki Aoba "knew."

He was Yamanaka Inoichi, father of Yamanaka Ino, one of the future Konoha 12.

Inoichi looked barely past twenty. Among his generation in the major ninja clans, he was one of the youngest, if not the youngest. Aoba had not expected him to be the first to become a clan head.

Once Inoichi heard what had happened and why he had been summoned, he raised no objections. He would follow Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's arrangements and get to the bottom of the matter.

As for the Hyuga Second Elder's guard, his face had gone noticeably pale.

Through Observation Haki, Aoba could clearly sense the grief and hatred mingling within him.

The guard still wore a stiff expression and behaved with utmost respect, but everyone present could see how nervous he was.

Aoba knew the man was destined to be sacrificed. He was innocent, too.

But what could Aoba do? As a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, the guard had been born to protect the Hyuga Main Family. And from Aoba's perspective, he was a potential enemy. All Aoba could do was apologize to him in his heart.

The memory search began, giving Aoba his first look at the Yamanaka Clan's secret technique.

Inoichi placed a hand on the Hyuga guard's head. A steady stream of Yin Release Chakra flowed through his palm and into the man's brain.

"Urgh!" The guard's face twisted as though he were enduring intense pain.

"Relax your body, steady your Chakra, and don't resist," Inoichi warned him.

The others waited quietly for the result. Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai barely dared to breathe, yet neither could take their eyes off the scene.

As time passed, however, the Hyuga Second Elder sensed something was wrong.

He knew something of the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique. Searching shallow memories from the past few days should not have taken this long, especially with the subject cooperating willingly.

The Hyuga Second Elder realized something was amiss. The whole affair seemed strange from start to finish.

Just then, Inoichi began withdrawing his Yin Release Chakra. It appeared he had finished using his secret technique.

Yet a mere search of someone's shallow memories had left the Yamanaka clan head drenched in sweat.

"Lord Hokage, I haven't fully mastered my family's secret technique, so I took longer than I should have. Fortunately, I managed to complete the task. The memories I found confirm that the truth is just as Genin Kawaki described."

The Hyuga Second Elder froze at Inoichi's words and stared blankly at him.

In that moment, even he realized he had been played—and by a whole group of them.

No wonder everything had felt strange from the moment he entered. They had all conspired to put on a show for him.

Fine. Very fine.

The Hyuga Second Elder glared at everyone through gritted teeth.

But Inoichi dealt him another blow.

"There's one more matter I must apologize for, Lord Hokage. I've neglected my training in the family's secret technique, and I've never searched a Jonin's mind before. I made a mistake while using it just now and accidentally caused some damage to this Hyuga ninja's brain." Inoichi looked ashamed and upset.

After apologizing to the Hokage, he bowed deeply to the Hyuga Second Elder as well.

The gesture only stoked the elder's fury. Yet Inoichi had to do it. A Hyuga Jonin had suffered an unexplained loss, and he owed them an explanation, even if it was only for show.

"Do you take this old man for a fool? You mock me like this and think the Hyuga Clan will simply take it?" The Hyuga Second Elder was beside himself with rage. He pointed at Aoba.

"If this damned brat hadn't awakened the Byakugan, why would I even spare him a glance? You're framing me to seize the Hyuga Clan's bloodline. Do you take everyone for fools?"

At those words, the expressions of Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, and Inoichi changed at once.

All three knew the truth: the Hyuga Second Elder had indeed been wronged. But if this became an accusation that they were trying to seize the Hyuga Clan's bloodline, the matter would grow far too serious.

Inoichi hurriedly lowered his head, bitterly regretting his involvement. He should never have been drawn into this. But all three Ino-Shika-Cho Clans had sided with the Hokage, leaving him little choice.

Danzō stepped forward and snapped, "Enough! Your clan owes the village an explanation for attacking a comrade in the village. You don't get to question the village.

"You've made a grave mistake, yet you show no remorse and insist on making trouble. Is this how the Hyuga Clan treats the village?"

"You... all of you..." The Hyuga Second Elder shook with anger, pointing first at Danzō, then at the others in turn.

He opened his mouth to say something harsh, but Hiruzen gave him no chance.

"Enough. Keep this up, and it will do neither you nor the Hyuga Clan any good. Go home. When Xingcun and Huoshu return, let them handle this."

The Hyuga Second Elder understood Hiruzen's meaning. That only made his face burn with humiliation. He felt deeply insulted, but he knew better than to stay and turned to leave.

Hiruzen was right. Continuing this would do the Hyuga Clan no good. Powerful though the clan was, openly clashing with the village would be foolish.

The elder lacked tact, not intelligence.

Hiruzen watched him leave and shook his head. Clearly, he thought little of the Hyuga Second Elder. The Hyuga Clan's system made it difficult for the Main Family to produce anyone truly exceptional.

It was fortunate enough when one of them grew up without believing the whole world revolved around him.