Gua was truly at a loss.
He could no longer go home. The Third Generation had screwed Danzo over and caught him in the crossfire.
After some discussion,
Dashan and Nai unanimously decided to stay in the Land of Grass for now.
They had not truly intended to defect. Danzo had simply left them no choice. If they had stayed and let things run their course...
Whether Danzo would attack the Hyuga was hard to say.
But he would definitely attack the Uchiha.
Still, there was no point saying more. They had already left Konoha, and returning would probably not be so easy.
What would they say when they got back?
That their family of three had gone sightseeing for the past two days?
Would anyone believe that?
After wrestling with the decision, staying in the Land of Grass for now still seemed the safest option.
Meanwhile,
Orochimaru was already frantic back in Konoha.
He had scoured every inch of the area around Konoha without finding a single trace of Gua!
That meant Gua was no longer in Konoha!
He had fled!
In a fit of frustration, Orochimaru fled too.
"I'm going to find Gua!"
At the same time,
inside the Hokage Office,
the Third Generation had not been idle either.
While he had been "unconscious," Danzo had resolved the Kumogakure affair by force. Once he resumed his position, he could still coexist peacefully with Kumogakure without having to hand over the Byakugan.
Then he visited the Hyuga and the Uchiha to make his stance clear. "We're all part of Konoha. There's no need for us to hurt each other, but the village has its limits too. The Hyuga and the Uchiha cannot form an alliance."
In the end, under a combination of pressure and reassurance, both the Hyuga and