On the third day after the Hidden Cloud Village leader and vice-captain had been captured on the spot by the Hyuga Clan, the Hidden Cloud delegation's official diplomatic note arrived at the Hokage's office.
It was not an apology. Nor was it an explanation. It was a protest.
The note had been personally signed by the head of the Hidden Cloud delegation, and its wording was so forceful that it hardly sounded like the tone a ninja village should take after being caught attempting an abduction. Its general meaning was this: Kumogakure had dispatched a delegation to Konoha to conclude an alliance treaty. The vice-captain of the delegation's guard unit had been attacked by unidentified individuals while carrying out a nighttime patrol, leaving him seriously injured and unconscious. The captain of the guard unit had entered the Hyuga Clan compound while searching for the missing vice-captain and had likewise been attacked. He was now being illegally detained by Konoha. Kumogakure demanded that Konoha immediately release the detained personnel, hand over the attackers, and compensate the Hidden Cloud Village for the losses suffered due to the serious injuries of two high-ranking ninja in its delegation's guard unit. Otherwise—Hiruzen Sarutobi slapped the note onto the desk before reading what came after.
The atmosphere in the Hokage's office was far graver than usual. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sat behind his desk with a pipe in hand, his expression extremely unpleasant. The desktop was covered in documents—the Hidden Cloud's protest note, the incident investigation report submitted by ANBU at the first opportunity, the detailed testimony and records of battle traces presented by the Hyuga Clan, and an injury assessment report on the Hidden Cloud leader issued by the medical corps. The report confirmed that the penetrating wound in the Hidden Cloud leader's right