The cold morning mist was as thick as unmelting milky glue, tightly shrouding the Hyuga Estate in the northeast corner of Konoha. The air was filled with the damp, chilly smell of soil.
"Creeeak—"
Accompanied by the heavy, dry grinding of the hinges, the vermilion gates that symbolized the glory of Leaf Village's oldest noble clan slowly opened to either side.
Hyuga Hiashi stood inside the threshold, dressed in a dark gray clan head's kimono. Behind him, dozens of Branch House guards stood packed tightly throughout the courtyard, every body tense, palms slightly spread in the opening stance of the Gentle Fist.
The atmosphere was oppressive to the extreme.
Yet the four Root ANBU standing outside showed no intention of yielding. The fox-masked ANBU at their head dusted the frost from his black cloak. Behind the mask, his lifeless eyes stared straight at Hiashi.
"Lord Hiashi, sorry to trouble you into opening the gates yourself." The fox-masked ANBU's voice was hoarse, carrying the chill of someone who had not seen daylight for years. "By secret order of the higher-ups, Hinata Hyuga, eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main House, is suspected of secretly contacting the rogue ninja Hyuga Xiao. She must immediately report to ANBU for interrogation. Hand her over."
The instant those words fell, veins bulged at Hiashi's temples.
"Absurd!"
Hiashi let out a roar of utterly suppressed fury. His pure white eyes activated at once, and violent chakra exploded outward from him, cracking the hard bluestone beneath his feet. Stone fragments flew everywhere, striking the gateframe with sharp crackles.
"Hinata has not stepped outside the estate once in the past half month. How could she possibly have contacted a rogue ninja?!" Hiashi glared fixedly at the fox-masked ANBU, his chest heaving violently. He looked like a man suffering unbearable