What Smooth Talk

As the head of the Hyūga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi maintained a calm demeanor and showed no sign of panic even in the face of such a critical moment.

He stared coldly at Morui, his expression both dangerous and indifferent:

"Kumogakure, put my daughter down immediately, or you will not be able to bear the consequences."

The opposing Morui gave a cruel smile, truly displaying the aura of a ruthless, fearless individual.

"Hyuga clan leader, are you trying to scare me? Do you think I'm easily frightened? Now that things have come to this, do you think I'll back down?"

At this point, Morui tightened his grip, holding Hinata Hyuga's neck even tighter, his strength seemingly increasing.

Because of the Byakugan, even at night, the subtle changes in Morui's hands could not escape Hyuga Hiashi's eyes. Hyuga Hiashi immediately realized that the situation was dire, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he spoke righteously:

"You, Kumogakure, have dared to kidnap my Hyuga Hiashi daughter, Kumogakure, right here in my Konoha! You are far too arrogant."

"To commit such a despicable act, especially during the negotiations between Kumogakure and Konoha, do you intend to start a war right now!?"

When he heard the word "war," Morui was momentarily dazed.

Goodness, as far as I can remember, it seems like only the Kumogakure is always talking about war and using it to threaten others, right?

Times have really changed. Even cowardly Konoha Ninja dare to threaten me with something like this? That's outrageous!

Morui then laughed angrily, his threat quite pronounced:

"War? Fine, let's start a war then. Our Kumogakure and your Konoha will clash, fighting to the death until one side is completely destroyed. How about that?"

Seeing this guy's crazy behavior, Hyuga Hiashi fell silent.

Morui continued to laugh wildly:

"Things have progressed to this point, I'm not afraid of anything anymore, why would you threaten me with war?"

Heh, Hyūga Clan leader, to tell you the truth, when I carried out this mission today, I had already prepared for the worst—that I would simply die here!

But, as long as it's for the sake of our Kumogakure, and for my success, even if I die a gruesome death and my body is used by you after death, what does it matter? I'm still willing and glad!

Listen, things have come to this point, I have no other choice.

As the head of the Hyūga Clan, you must know how to leave the Konoha barrier, right?

Upon hearing Morui's words, Hyuga Hiashi sensed something was amiss, but cautiously continued to ask:

"What are you up to?"

Morui gave a dangerous smile:

Isn't it obvious what I'm going to do?

"Clan Chief Hyuga clan, I would like to ask you to accompany me out of Konoha's barrier. With your help, I will be able to pass through Konoha barrier silently and without being detected by the other Konoha ninjas."

Hyuga Hiashi's expression was cold and stern.

"Dream on, I would never betray the village."

Morui's expression grew increasingly frenzied and deranged, displaying an almost reckless and irrational demeanor.

"Is that so? The Hyuga clan head doesn't intend to listen to me? He doesn't intend to cooperate with me?"

That's such a pity. It seems your daughter will die by my hand today. It's a shame she has to suffer such a misfortune at such a young age and say goodbye to this world.

Hyuga Hiashi's heart tightened, his expression became urgent, and he shouted sharply:

"You dare! If you really dare to lay a hand on my daughter, I will fight with all my might to kill you! I will make sure you suffer the most agonizing torment before you die!"

Morui wasn't afraid at all; on the contrary, he seemed eager and even somewhat provocative.

"Oh? Is that so? I'm really looking forward to it."

Unfortunately, the Hyuga clan leader miscalculated. As I just said, when I came here to carry out this mission, I was already prepared for the worst. So the Hyuga clan leader didn't need to threaten me with death. I'm really not afraid and don't care.

I promise I will end my life before the Hyuga clan leader can make a move against me.

Even if I am tortured in every way by you, Hyuga clan leader, before I die, so what? I will definitely kill your daughter before you can even make Hyuga clan move!

Hahaha... With the eldest daughter of the Hyūga Clan's Main Family buried with me, I, a nobody, have really struck gold! Hyuga clan leader, don't you agree!?"

Hyuga Hiashi was speechless. He realized that this Kumogakure ninja was truly reckless and fearless now, meaning he was capable of anything, and his daughter was in grave danger.

But should we just listen to this guy and cooperate with him to help him leave the Konoha's barrier?

That's impossible; Hyuga Hiashi.

Even in such a critical situation, Hyuga Hiashi managed to maintain a reasonably calm mind.

He knew that helping Morui break free of the barrier was essentially tantamount to betraying the village, and even as the head of the Hyūga Clan, his fate would certainly not be good.

Even if he does help Morui leave the barrier, will Morui abandon his daughter Hinata afterwards?

That's impossible. The best outcome would be that this guy would take his daughter and leave, using her to threaten me into stopping the pursuit, and eventually escape my chase.

The worst-case scenario is that after leaving the barrier, I can kill him, but before he dies, he will kill Hinata, resulting in both of us perishing together.

Either outcome would be terrible, absolutely awful, leaving Hyuga Hiashi trembling with utter helplessness.

Morui, on the other side, seemed to have also noticed the change in Hyuga Hiashi's mindset. He knew that he couldn't push Hyuga Hiashi any further under these circumstances. If he really angered the other party, he wouldn't be able to control how things would develop.

You know, a cornered dog will jump over a wall, a cornered rabbit will bite, and a cornered ninja can cause unpredictable consequences.

Therefore, at this moment, what Morui needs to do is to step back slightly and let Hyuga Hiashi see a glimmer of hope, even if it is just a faint and impossible hope.

So Morui stopped being so mad, and his tone even softened slightly, which was quite rare.

"Hyuga clan leader, make a choice quickly: will you help me leave Konoha's barrier, or watch your daughter die before your eyes?"

Hyuga clan leader, there's no need to be so resentful. I can also show my sincerity.

To tell you the truth, my orders were not to acquire members of the Hyūga Clan, but to obtain a pair of Byakugan that had not been damaged. I'm sure the Hyuga clan leader can guess that.

Therefore, I don't care about your daughter's life at all; it's not something I value.

The thing I value most is your daughter's Byakugan roll.

I might as well make a promise now, a promise based on my own ninja way: as long as you send me out of the barrier, and let me out of the Konoha Ninja's detection range to a safe place, I will not harm your daughter's life.

Of course, I'll still take your daughter's Byakugan; I'll only take her eyes, I won't kill her.

After I remove the Byakugan from your daughter, I will put her in a safe place and tell you the location so you can find her successfully.

By then, you will have a daughter who has lost the Byakugan but is safe from harm. Although it sounds terrible, it is a blessing in disguise.

Upon hearing Morui's words, Hyuga Hiashi felt another surge of barely concealed anger.

What utter nonsense about "a stroke of luck amidst misfortune"! My daughter is so young and frail, and she's about to suffer the pain of losing her eyes—and eyes are the most important thing for the Hyūga Clan! You're telling me this is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune?!

You know what, losing the Byakugan and surviving seems like a stroke of luck amidst misfortune, and it even makes a strange sense.

Seeing Hyuga Hiashi's reaction, Morui continued to choke Hinata Hyuga, threatening her while trying to persuade her:

"Hyuga clan Head, as the head of the Hyūga Clan, you must wield considerable power within the clan, right? You might even receive Byakugan from other clan members, such as those who have already sacrificed themselves but were left with Byakugan by the clan. Such things certainly happen, so you don't need to hide it from me."

So, although your daughter lost one pair of Byakugan afterward, with your ability and power, you could easily give her another pair of Byakugan later.

Even if things go to the worst possible point, even if you lose your position as the head of the Hyuga clan because you lost your Byakugan, at the very least, you can ask other medical-nin to give your daughter a pair of normal eyes.

Although your daughter will never be able to use her Byakugan ability again, at least she can see the world, at least she isn't blind, right? It's a case of choosing the lesser of two evils."

"Damn it, the saying 'choose the lesser of two evils' actually applies here?"

But you know what, this theory is similar to the stroke of luck in misfortune just now. At first glance, it actually makes a strange sense of logic, as if it really is true.