The Final Negotiations Begin
Thinking this, Hyuga Hiashi shook his head helplessly, cruelly telling the elders this fact:
"Gentlemen, this matter is not so simple."
You may not know this, but I had already told the Lord Hokage about these things before, Lord Hokage instructed me to keep it a secret.
When I told the Lord Hokage about these things, I also asked him who the person who Hinata Lord Hokage.
I was observing the Lord Hokage's expression at the time, and I noticed that Lord Hokage looked somewhat helpless.
It's clear that the Lord Hokage knows this person, and it seems he can't handle him, which is quite alarming.
Later, the Lord Hokage didn't tell me who this person was, only that I should keep it a secret, and he didn't tell me anything else.
Therefore, elders, this person's identity is definitely extraordinary. You might want to think carefully: what kind of powerful figure could someone be who even the Lord Hokage finds difficult to deal with?
Can we handle someone like that? Let's not even talk about whether you dare to or can even capture him; even if you were to respectfully invite him over, could you actually manage to do so?
Thinking even deeper, could he be involved in something else entirely? Could he be facing even bigger trouble?
Hyuga Hiashi made things mysterious, especially by exaggerating the seriousness of the matter, and the elders were immediately intimidated.
What? This person is not only exceptionally strong, but even the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, couldn't defeat him? Just who is this person? This is terrifying to think about.
Let's not even talk about whether they can capture or bring these people over; even if they could, how would the Hyūga Clan deal with them?
Just as Hiashi feared, what if inviting this person dragged the Hyūga Clan into even bigger trouble?
Therefore, the elders, who were hesitant and indecisive, did indeed hesitate and had no other options for the time being.
Hizashi Hyuga, who had been mostly silent and observing coldly, couldn't help but sneer inwardly at the obvious change in the elders' attitudes, while simultaneously trying to smooth things over on the surface:
"Gentlemen, no matter what, we don't know who this person is, do we?"
We don't even know who this person is, let alone find him and invite him over, so this is clearly impossible for the time being. We might as well think of other solutions."
Hyuga Hiashi wholeheartedly agreed with his younger brother's words, nodding earnestly:
"That's right, it seems this path won't work for now; we need to think of other solutions."
One of the elders, utterly helpless, simply shrugged:
"But what other options are there? Right now Kumogakure delegation and all the villagers of Konoha believe that you, Ashina, killed the Kumogakure delegation's ninja."
That's what people think; you can't clear your name even if you jump into the river.
"Or we could spread rumors and declare that you didn't kill the Kumogakure ninjas, and that someone else killed them?"
Elders immediately voiced their opposition:
"That sounds like an excuse. If I were an outsider, I would never believe it. I would only think that it's the Hyūga Clan denying something."
Other elders also expressed their concerns at appropriate times:
"That's right. Not only that, haven't you figured out what the Lord Hokage is thinking? The Lord Hokage wants to downplay this and make it go away. He doesn't want this matter to be exposed, nor does he want the person who killed the Kumogakure delegation to appear in public."
If we were to reveal that the murderer is someone else, let alone whether the villagers and the Kumogakure delegation would believe it, the Lord Hokage would definitely be unhappy first.
"If we offend the Lord Hokage, do you think our Hyūga Clan will come out unscathed?"
Upon hearing this, the elders all agreed, realizing that they indeed couldn't afford to offend the Lord Hokage.
But the problem is, nothing works, so how should this be resolved? We can't just let their clan leader take the blame, can we? Their clan leader didn't kill anyone; he was just involved in this matter.
In their extreme helplessness and distress, the elders could only continue to rack their brains, searching for a solution.
A solution is never easy to find, so the clan meeting had to continue, and they could only continue to suffer from hair loss.
Actually, for the Hyūga Clan, this situation is already quite good; it's just hair loss, not head loss.
If the situation were as depicted in the original story, and the person who killed the Kumogakure ninja was indeed Hyuga Hiashi, then the Hyūga Clan would be facing a major headache.
The solution they ultimately devised was to have Hizashi Hyuga die in place of Hyuga Hiashi.
In that case, losing one person in the division of the family wouldn't be a big deal, and the head of the Main Family would be safe and sound.
Moreover, the Hizashi Hyuga they sent out had the Caged Bird Seal on his head. Even if Hizashi's body was handed over to Kumogakure, Kumogakure would not be able to obtain the Byakugan. The Byakugan of their Hyūga Clan could not be passed on.
The current situation is not as bad as in the original story, which is already quite good. Hizashi Hyuga, sitting next to Hyuga Hiashi, had no idea that he had escaped with his life because of Yun Yan.
Uh... I should have escaped with my life.
In short, the Hyūga Clan continues to suffer.
Similarly, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't have a good solution to this problem either, so he could only stall for the time being.
However, things wouldn't just be left unresolved. As time went on, the deadline given to Hiruzen Sarutobi by the Kumogakure delegation arrived. If Konoha still couldn't hand over the so-called culprit, Hyuga Hiashi, by this deadline, the delegation would completely turn against them.
Realizing that things were getting out of control, Hiruzen Sarutobi resorted to a desperate measure: he invited the entire Kumogakure delegation to the Hokage's office, hoping to calm them down and resolve the situation through negotiation.
Whether it was to bolster the negotiating momentum or to have more people to offer more assistance, this time, Hiruzen Sarutobi was no longer alone in negotiating with the Kumogakure delegation; all three other Konoha elders were present.
Although Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, those two old guys, might be more trouble than they're worth, given the current situation, let them handle it.
If all else fails, even if they resort to swearing and arguing, at least their two old voices can add some momentum, ensuring they don't lose the argument.
As for the other one, Shimura Danzō, this guy was gloomy throughout and gave off a very bad feeling. In the negotiation process, he was probably more useful than Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was really grasping at straws; he had no other choice but to call them all over, hoping they could offer some help.
Dodai, along with the delegation from Kumogakure, arrived at the Hokage's office to prepare for what he called the final negotiations.
When Dodai arrived at the office, he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi and the three elders of Konoha.
Dodai sneered at the other three besides Hiruzen Sarutobi, looking down on them with utter contempt.
Of the three elders, only Danzo; his Root is indeed of considerable use and prestige. The other two are not even worth mentioning.
How could someone like that become an elder of Konoha? In their Kumogakure, someone like that wouldn't even qualify for retirement benefits! He should have been swept into the trash heap long ago.
Ah, Konoha is truly decaying and weak; Konoha has no one left!
With this determined mindset, Dodai and the delegation from Kumogakure took their seats in the Hokage's office.
Opposite them were the three elders of Konoha. Hiruzen Sarutobi was still sitting behind his desk, looking as if he were presiding over today's meeting.
Everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived, and the atmosphere between the two sides was tense to the point of being on the verge of conflict. With a premonition that things might not end well today, and with mixed feelings of worry, Hiruzen Sarutobi finally spoke:
Everyone has arrived.
"That's good. Let's discuss a solution to this matter. To be honest, I don't have any good solutions either, so I can only ask you all to come and discuss it together."
"What's the point of negotiating? Is negotiation even useful?"
As expected, the Dodai was the first to fire, and it fired quite aggressively:
"As I said before, Konoha must hand over the murderer, Hyuga Hiashi, to our Kumogakure for punishment. We must bring him back to Kumogakure for trial. This is our bottom line, and it will not be changed!"
Seeing Dodai's predictable attitude, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He gave his three old companions a look, signaling them to prepare for the attack.
In terms of ability, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura are indeed debatable, but at least they have some courage. Faced with such an arrogant and straightforward Dodai, they at least dared to accept the challenge.
So Utatane Koharu, didn't stand on ceremony. The old lady said directly:
"Gentlemen of Kumogakure, please be careful with your words. Your demands are impossible. Hyuga Hiashi is the head of our Hyūga Clan. We cannot entrust such a person to you."
Mitokado Homura also nodded in agreement:
"That's right, and besides, you were in the wrong first. If it weren't for your Kumogakure ninjas coveting our Konoha's Byakugan and kidnapping Hyuga Hiashi's daughter, none of this would have happened."