The Hyūga Clan's Secret Clan Meeting

Hiruzen Sarutobi was genuinely at a loss for what to do.

With the Kumogakure delegation pressing in from the outside, his own villagers worrying about chaos from within, and there might be some traitors stirring up trouble in the middle, this situation made Hiruzen Sarutobi feel that it was exceptionally difficult.

This is the situation on Hiruzen Sarutobi's side; at the same time, the situation within the Hyūga Clan is hardly any better.

This matter was originally kept secret. Hiruzen Sarutobi's order to Hyuga Hiashi was to keep it a secret and not tell anyone.

But my Lord Hokage, you told me to keep it a secret, and I did so perfectly, but the leak came from you! How can I accept this?

So when the people of Konoha were outraged and everyone learned that the person who had gone missing from the Kumogakure Hyuga Hiashi Hyūga Clan, the entire Hyūga Clan was stunned.

What? Our clan leader killed them? How could that be? Why would our clan leader kill members of the Kumogakure delegation for no reason? This must be a rumor, a slander!

But as the saying goes, "three men can make a tiger," and "many mouths can melt metal." When many people with seemingly convincing stories say something, even a false statement can become the truth.

Seeing that such rumors were spreading throughout Konoha, and that the delegation from Kumogakure had directly challenged the Lord Hokage because of it, even the Hyūga Clan, which had initially been skeptical, began to get restless.

Could this really be true? Could that person from the Kumogakure delegation really have been killed by our own clan leader? If so... how should we handle this?

As their worries grew and they became increasingly restless, the Hyūga Clan held a clan meeting.

This was a very serious clan meeting, attended by the core figures of the Hyūga Clan. First was the clan head, Hyuga Hiashi; then Hizashi Hyuga, the younger brother of Hyuga Hiashi, the representative of the branch family; and then the elders of the Main Family.

Elders... I don't know when they became such a detestable thing, but they do exist. Not only does Konoha have elders, but all the major clans have them, including the Hyūga Clan.

Moreover, these elders, whether large or small, all wield some power, and their age and seniority make them consistently averse to conservatism and decay.

Thus, at the very beginning of this secret clan meeting of the Hyūga Clan, an old, decrepit scoundrel, ostensibly concerned but actually provoking trouble, addressed Hyuga Hiashi:

"Hiashi, the rumors in Konoha are rampant right now, so what exactly happened? You should give the clan an explanation."

This elder's question was like flipping a switch, and the other elders followed up with their own questions.

"Yes, this is no small matter. Even if you are the clan leader of the Ri tribe, you still need to make this clear."

"This involves our Hyūga Clan, and you happen to be the clan leader. You must set an example and make sure these things are clear."

"Let me get straight to the point, Hiashi, did you really kill the person who went missing from the Kumogakure delegation?"

Looking at these elders who usually hindered him, and seeing their apparent concern but actually curiosity and even malice, Hyuga Hiashi was extremely annoyed.

However, Hyuga Hiashi give these old fogies face and couldn't directly turn against them, so he could only honestly tell them the truth:

"Strictly speaking, I didn't kill the people from the Kumogakure delegation."

Hearing Hyuga Hiashi say this, the elders all breathed a sigh of relief.

Although they looked down on their clan leader and wanted to gain more clan benefits and power from him, when it came to this matter, whether he was murdered or not was indeed the more important factor.

Good! As long as it wasn't Hyuga Hiashi who killed him, then these things won't involve our Hyūga Clan, and the problem won't be too big.

So the elders, one after another, began to express their relief:

"Alright, alright, as long as it wasn't you, Hiashi, who killed him, then our Hyūga Clan doesn't need to get involved in this matter. This is clearly no small thing."

"Yes, yes, let the Konoha and Kumogakure delegations argue it over. We, the Hyuga Hyūga Clan, will sit back and not get involved."

"It's good that it wasn't you, Hiashi. The Uchiha Clan has become increasingly arrogant lately, and I've noticed that Konoha High Command Uchiha Clan is also growing increasingly displeased with them. If this continues, the situation will not be good."

"That's right, that's right. Our Hyūga Clan and the Uchiha Clan have always been at odds, so we absolutely cannot follow their example. We can't be so high-profile; we must make a fortune quietly so that we can protect our clan."

"Speaking of the Baoquan family, this year..."

Seeing that the conversation was about to veer off course, and that the elders were going off on a tangent, Hyuga Hiashi, exasperated, couldn't help but add:

"What I'm saying is, strictly speaking, I didn't kill the people from the Kumogakure delegation who went missing."

But ultimately, the death of that missing person from the Kumogakure delegation was indeed largely due to me; I was even the one who buried that person's body."

Upon hearing this, the elders were speechless, dumbfounded, and felt a deep sense of foreboding.

They were just relieved that this messy trouble had nothing to do with the Hyūga Clan, but now, in the blink of an eye, you're telling them it is.

This is... so disturbing!

An elder of the Hyūga Clan, his face marked with age spots, angrily and even impatiently rebuked Hyuga Hiashi.

"Hiashi, can you please stop pausing when you speak? Can you just state the situation clearly and directly?"

Other elders immediately chimed in:

"Yeah, such a big change in your tone, and you're talking so heavily, it's too much for us old folks to handle."

Seeing their reactions, Hyuga Hiashi couldn't help but roll his Byakugan... Ah, no, their clan doesn't need to roll their eyes, they just roll their Byakugan all the time, anyway, that's the gist of it.

Seeing the chaotic scene before him, and witnessing the elders inexplicably blaming their elder brother, Hizashi Hyuga, sitting nearby, couldn't help but speak up:

"Elders, please be quiet and listen carefully to what my brother has to say. We need to figure out what really happened."

As soon as Hizashi Hyuga finished speaking, an elder sternly rebuked him:

"Shut up! What business is this of yours? You're just a member of a branch family. It's already a favor that you're allowed to participate in this meeting. You have no right to speak here!"

Hizashi Hyuga's face stiffened. A hint of helplessness and resentment flashed across his face, but in the end he pursed his lips and sat there helplessly and somewhat humiliated, without saying a word.

This situation also angered Hyuga Hiashi.

No matter what, even though Hizashi was a member of a branch family, he was still his own younger brother!

Just because she was born a few minutes later than me, she was destined to be separated from the family, with Caged Bird Seal tattooed on her forehead, never to be free for the rest of her life, and forced to serve my Main Family for the rest of her life, even to the point of dying for the Main Family.

How outrageous! Is this the fate of families that have split up? This is so unfair!

Even though Hyuga Hiashi was a beneficiary of the existing Main Family, he couldn't help but feel indignant for his younger brother and angry about the family's distorted rules for dividing the Main Family.

But that's all just talk. Even if he's angry, what can he do if the family splits into a Main Family? Although he's the patriarch now, he can't do anything about the rules that have been passed down for thousands of years. He can only silently endure it.

Looking at his younger brother with a pained expression, Hyuga Hiashi compelled to speak well of him, so he addressed the elders:

"Everyone, no matter what, Hizashi is still my younger brother. He's just showing concern for me. You don't need to do this."

As the clan leader, even if the elders didn't agree with what Hyuga Hiashi said, they still had to maintain appearances.

Therefore, at least openly, no elder refuted Hyuga Hiashi's statement. They simply pursed their lips, whether in acquiescence or defiance, and remained silent.

It was one of the elders who broke the silence, finally inquiring about the important matter:

"Alright, clan leader, may I ask what exactly happened? If you didn't kill that Kumogakure ninja, then why do you say his death was largely your doing? What exactly happened?"

Upon hearing this, the other elders around also looked at Hyuga Hiashi with puzzled and worried eyes; they too needed to know the truth.

Looking at the elders, and then at his younger brother Hizashi, who was genuinely worried about him, Hyuga Hiashi sighed and recounted the whole story:

"Originally, the Lord Hokage n't want me to talk about this; he wanted it to be kept secret."

But since this matter has been leaked, I have no other choice but to tell you the whole story and hope that you can give me some advice and see if there is a way out.

Here's what happened, it all started that night...