" I confess. This was my decision alone. It has nothing to do with the clan."
In the Hokage's office, Danzo felt exhausted as he faced Hyuga Naoya, who had taken all the blame upon himself.
Of course, he knew that Hyuga Naoya and Hyuga Wuye were on bad terms. He had even hoped to lure Hyuga Naoya into biting back at Hyuga Wuye.
Yet this old fool kept claiming that he had made his mistakes to uphold tradition and protect the clan. He was willing to accept the village's punishment, and he had even proactively cleared Kaguya and Hyuga Wuye of responsibility, shouldering everything himself.
If the Third Hokage and Danzo had not known about the hatred between Hyuga Naoya and Hyuga Wuye, they might have believed that Hyuga Naoya was merely a conservative old man who had gone down the wrong path...
"Since that is the case, then the punishment for the Hyuga Clan's violation of village regulations this time will be..."
After pondering for a moment, the Third Hokage said, "The Hyuga Clan is ordered to return the withheld mission rewards to the ninja as soon as possible. In addition, Hyuga Naoya, the former Great Elder of the Hyuga Clan, will be exiled to the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water in place of imprisonment."
He still chose the punishment that would maximize utility. A Hyuga clansman locked away was naturally less useful than one stationed at the border as a scout.
"Yes."
Hyuga Naoya had no objections at all.
Once he withdrew, the case was considered completely resolved.
Not only had the Hyuga Clan been unaffected by this sudden incident, but the abolition of their Great Elder had even earned them the villagers' praise.
Moreover, the clan's ninja had become far