"Hinata Hyuga?"
Hiashi's hand stopped in midair as he took the urgent report, his grip creasing the corner of the paper. The Hyuga guards beside him activated their Byakugan at the same time, their gazes passing through the crowd at the intersection and converging on the border north of Konoha.
Tsunade had been heading to the hospital, but hearing that name stopped her too.
"Why would a child of the Hyuga Main Family appear on the Kumogakure delegation's list?"
Sasuke did not answer immediately. He turned the urgent report over, read the remnants of the writing copied by the Byakugan Team, then handed the paper to Yamada Naoto to seal away.
"Clan Head Hiashi, first confirm whether Hinata is in the clan compound."
Hiashi raised his hands to form hand seals, and the Hyuga ninja beside him immediately dispersed.
"I've already sent people to check."
Naruto was still clutching his medical examination ledger, burning with anger at what he heard.
"What are the people from Kumogakure trying to do? They dare come to Konoha to abduct someone?"
Shikaku took the urgent report, his expression darkening the more he read.
"This isn't a delegation list. It's an accompanying handover memorandum. Originally, it listed one observer slot for a hostage exchange, but that was later blotted out with ink."
Tsunade's expression grew uglier.
"A hostage exchange? When did Konoha ever agree to something like that?"
Sasuke straightened his collar.
"It did before."
Hiashi's face darkened on the spot.
There was no need to spell it out. Every Hyuga understood.
Back then, a Kumogakure envoy had died in Konoha, but the one ultimately forced to die had been Hizashi Hyuga.
That grievance had remained lodged in the Hyuga Clan's throat.
Koharu, held under guard at the rear, immediately tried to retreat when she