The Oriole Behind

Hokage's Office.

"Sarutobi! Root is short on manpower. Assign a few people to me."

Danzo pushed open the door and got straight to the point.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hurriedly put his things away and casually asked,

"Who do you want?"

A trace of contempt flashed through Danzo's eyes as he said,

"Itachi Uchiha and Doichi Hyuga."

"Impossible!"

"Then give Doichi Hyuga to me."

Danzo finally showed his true colors, speaking expressionlessly.

"You can't touch either of them."

"I understand why Itachi Uchiha is in the ANBU. But why not Doichi Hyuga?"

"Director Hanfang has taken a liking to Doichi Hyuga and plans to train him as the future director of the hospital."

"So what? Have him train someone else. Is there no one else but him?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi faltered.

Danzo was not wrong.

Ninjas with medical talent were scarce, but every class of graduates still had several promising candidates.

"No! He belongs to the Hyuga branch family. What use is he to you? The Uchiha Clan is already restless, and now you want to provoke the Hyuga Clan too? Do you want to see Konoha split apart? Or are you trying to drive me from the Hokage's seat and take over yourself?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi demanded harshly, his voice hoarse.

"You!... Hiruzen, you'll regret this."

Danzo had nothing left to say. His "application" had ended in a war of words.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage."

Hiruzen Sarutobi delivered the final blow, settling the matter.

It had been nearly a month already! Itachi Uchiha should be making his move soon, right?

Doichi Hyuga lay sprawled across the sofa, reading a scroll on sealing arts in his hand.

Hyuga Hiashi had asked Hinata Hyuga to bring him this scroll. Most of its contents were common sealing arts available on the market. It did not contain Uzumaki Sealing Arts, but it was still quite interesting.

"Dao Yi!"

A crow hopped into the hall and vanished, while Itachi Uchiha appeared before him.

"Have a seat."

Doichi Hyuga put away the scroll and sat upright.

"I came to confirm something. I heard Danzo visited the Hyuga Clan a few days ago."

"I want to know how many Sharingan he has on him."

"Six Three-Tomoe Sharingan on his right arm, and a Mangekyo Sharingan in his right eye."

At such close range, Doichi Hyuga could easily sense the energy reactions within the other person's body.

After all, the Byakugan could not be activated whenever he pleased, especially not in the Hyuga Clan District!

Just like now, in Doichi Hyuga's perception, Itachi Uchiha's eyes were brighter and more terrifying than a cat's eyes at night.

"When are you acting?"

"After waiting a little longer."

Itachi Uchiha hesitated. He had to be sufficiently cautious.

"Let me know when you act. I'm going too."

Doichi Hyuga said calmly.

"Weren't you afraid of drawing trouble?"

"Trouble has already come to my door."

"How could that be? I'm certain no one discovered our meeting."

Though the Uchiha Clan was under close surveillance, Itachi Uchiha had never truly regarded those watchers as a threat.

"Izumi probably led them here. Tell her to be more careful in the future. Danzo has likely set his sights on her too."

"Sorry. I still dragged you into this."

Itachi Uchiha lowered his head, looking somewhat guilty.

"I was mentally prepared from the moment I interfered in your affairs."

Doichi Hyuga had been deeply influenced by Daoism. He had always followed nature and gone with the flow. Since he had done it, he naturally had no regrets.

During this period, Danzo had pulled one little trick after another. Since the other man refused to let things go, all they could do was act directly and settle the karmic debt.

"We've already grasped Danzo's routine. We plan to move tomorrow night."

Since Doichi Hyuga wanted to join the operation, Itachi Uchiha had nothing left to hide.

Doichi Hyuga was immensely strong. His participation would greatly increase their odds of success. That also eased Itachi Uchiha's mind; recently, the pressure on him had been far too great.

Itachi Uchiha took out a map and pointed to a spot.

"At three tomorrow morning, the four of us will meet here."

"The target is only seven or eight kilometers from the village, so the village's reinforcements will arrive very quickly. Once the battle begins, we must end it swiftly and leave as soon as possible!"

Once fighting broke out at Root, the ANBU on night patrol would discover it quickly.

At an ordinary Jonin's speed, covering seven or eight kilometers from the moment they noticed something and returned to the village would take only four or five minutes. At Hiruzen Sarutobi's speed, leading reinforcements to Root would take at most two or three minutes.

That meant they had no more than six or seven minutes.

"Pakkun! Did you find it?"

"That crow's scent entered the Hyuga Clan District. It stayed there for a while before returning to the Uchiha Clan."

To avoid being discovered, Kakashi did not have his dogs begin tracking until he had confirmed that Itachi Uchiha had returned home.

"Was there anyone else's scent?"

"Yes! After the crow left the Hyuga Clan, a scent that hadn't been there before appeared among the scents left along the road."

"Can you remember it?"

"Yes! That scent is rather unusual. I feel like I've smelled it somewhere before."

Pakkun nodded.

"Then I'm counting on you, Pakkun! Please make sure you find him."

Kakashi picked up the dog and held him before his face, inwardly guessing, Could it be Hyuga Hiashi?

Pakkun led Kakashi while hiding his tracks, and they leaped into Doichi Hyuga's small courtyard.

The moment he landed and steadied himself, Kakashi's back was struck by a dense barrage of chakra point attacks. Such powerful Gentle Fist. I can't move my hands or feet at all.

A voice came from behind him. Kakashi turned, wanting to see the other person clearly, but all he saw was a Byakugan.

Kakashi let out a breath of relief. Since he's from the Hyuga Clan, my life shouldn't be in danger.

"I am a member of Konoha's ANBU, Kakashi Hatake. I was tracking a spy and unknowingly followed the trail here. I had no intention of offending the Hyuga Clan."

"Sorry. I thought a thief had broken in."

Doichi Hyuga placed a hand on Kakashi's back and drew out the chakra lodged in his chakra points.

Doichi Hyuga turned to return to his room and continue sleeping, but from the corner of his eye, he spotted a dog in a dark corner. Pakkun? Did Kakashi come for Itachi Uchiha, or for me?

Seeing Doichi Hyuga return to his room, Pakkun sneaked over to Kakashi.

"Kakashi, that Hyuga is the source of the scent."

"Senior, that dog of yours looks pretty good. He'd surely be delicious cooked into a dish."

Kakashi's heart tightened as he looked up at the doorway. At some point, Doichi Hyuga had already appeared outside it.

"Kakashi, I'm leaving first."

Pakkun nearly pissed himself in fright. He swiftly released the Summoning Technique and fled.

"I know you, Doichi Hyuga."

They had met twice at Konoha Hospital, though they had never interacted. One was a doctor, while the other specialized in lying around as a patient receiving treatment.

A Hyuga Clan oddity with medical talent was a decent piece of gossip at Konoha Hospital. Kakashi had been quite interested and had heard plenty of information about Doichi Hyuga from other patients.

"I have something I want to ask you."

"Come in and talk."

The two entered the living room and sat facing each other.

"Did Itachi Uchiha obtain the information about my father from you?"

Doichi Hyuga's strength and bearing far surpassed those of ordinary people. Kakashi believed he had definitely found the right person.

"Since you already know about that information, why did you come to me?"

Doichi Hyuga did not deny it, instead responding with a question.

"I knew my father. He wasn't the kind of man who would give up his life because of rumors. I've thought about it for more than ten years, but I've never been able to understand why he committed suicide."

Kakashi would never forget that day. His father, whose face so often carried a warm smile, had been lying in a pool of blood the next day.

"You seem to know my father very well, so perhaps I can get an answer from you. That was what I thought."

Kakashi looked somewhat dejected. The light in his dead-fish eyes had dimmed.

"I do have a personal guess, but I can't prove that it's correct. After all, I'm not Senior White Fang. No one knows what he truly thought in his heart. Even if it's only speculation like this, do you still want to hear it?"

Doichi Hyuga asked.

"Yes. I want to hear it."

Kakashi nodded, his attitude resolute.