Hiruzen Sarutobi and Hiashi Hyuga entered the reception room and sat across from one another.
Neither spoke.
Hiruzen wasn’t sure how to begin what amounted to an apology and a demand in the same breath.
Hiashi, meanwhile, was still furious.
The silence stretched until even Hiruzen could no longer tolerate it.
He sighed.
“You were too reckless this time.”
Hiashi gave a cold laugh.
“Reckless? They came into my home and tried to take my son. Was I supposed to stand there and let them?”
“You know Konoha’s current situation,” Hiruzen said.
“The village cannot afford another upheaval. As Hokage, I have responsibilities beyond a single clan. I need you to consider that.”
Hiashi’s anger flared.
“Lord Hokage, Tenriki is the future of the Hyuga Clan. Kumogakure tried to abduct him, and you’re asking me to consider your position?”
His voice hardened.
“Did you ever consider mine?”
Hiruzen’s expression tightened.
“I admit that I failed you in this matter. But I am asking you to think of the village as a whole. Remember this, Hiashi: the village comes before the Hyuga Clan.”
“Then forgive me,” Hiashi replied, his voice ice-cold, “but the Hyuga cannot carry the blame for the village’s interests. Nor do we intend to.”
Hiruzen stared at him.
“So you refuse to compromise?”
“They came looking for death. Why should I be the one to compromise?”
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
Hiruzen’s patience was beginning to fray as well.
“Have you forgotten what war looks like?”
His voice grew heavier.
“Have you forgotten the Third Shinobi World War? How many Konoha shinobi died? How many families were destroyed? How many people lost husbands, wives, parents, children?”
Hiashi didn’t flinch.
“None of that gives us an excuse to bow our heads and beg for peace.”
“This isn’t begging.”
“Isn’t it?”
“It’s a temporary concession.”
Hiashi smiled without humor.
“Do you believe that yourself?”
Hiruzen’s eyes narrowed.
“Hiashi… you’ve changed.”
“No, Lord Hokage.”
Hiashi met his gaze without backing down.
“You’re the one who’s changed.”
Their hostility rose another level.
Outside the room, the Hyuga attendants could hear their voices carrying through the walls.
None of them dared move closer.
At last, Hiruzen slammed a hand against the armrest.
“Enough. If Konoha is to avoid another war, the Hyuga Clan will apologize to Kumogakure.”
Hiashi stared at him.
Then he laughed.
“Apologize?”
His anger finally broke through his restraint.
“Keep dreaming.”
They had tried to kidnap his son.
Now Konoha wanted him to apologize?
What kind of logic was that?
Hiruzen’s expression darkened.
“Then I am exercising my authority as Hokage. I am ordering you to issue an apology to Kumogakure.”
The room fell silent.
Hiashi’s eyes slowly turned cold.
“Lord Hokage… are you truly determined to do this?”
Tenriki was his bottom line.
On that matter, not even the Hokage would make him bend.
Hiruzen looked back at him with equal severity.
For a moment, the kindly old Hokage disappeared.
In his place stood the man who had ruled Konoha for decades—a shinobi who had survived wars, political struggles, assassinations, and enemies both inside and outside the village.
“I’ve already told you,” Hiashi said.
“The Hyuga will not take the blame for this.”
Hiruzen rose sharply.
“Then don’t blame me for what comes next.”
He turned and strode toward the door.
But just before leaving, he stopped.
Without turning around completely, he looked back at Hiashi.
“The Hyuga Clan has been very clever.”
Hiashi frowned.
Hiruzen’s voice was calm now, which somehow made it more dangerous.
“You think manipulating public opinion gives you leverage over me?”
A pause.
“Don’t forget who I am.”
His eyes hardened.
“I am the Third Hokage.”
With that, Hiruzen left.
Hiashi remained seated.
For the first time during the entire confrontation, genuine surprise crossed his face.
Did he discover what I did?
But after several seconds, Hiashi slowly shook his head.
Impossible.
Both times he had influenced public opinion, he’d used dormant contacts that had never been activated before.
There should have been no trail leading back to the Hyuga.
Which meant Hiruzen’s accusation wasn’t based on evidence.
Hiashi’s expression darkened.
He knows the Uchiha and Danzo have been stirring public opinion…
Yet Hiruzen had deliberately placed the accusation on the Hyuga.
That wasn’t investigation.
It was positioning.
He’s preparing to force the blame onto us.
Hiashi exhaled slowly.
So the Third had truly made up his mind.
Part of him couldn’t help respecting Hiruzen’s resolve.
Another part felt nothing but cold disappointment.
The Hyuga Clan had supported Hiruzen for years.
Even ignoring their formal contributions, the amount of work and sacrifice the clan had given Konoha was beyond counting.
Yet when the village needed someone to sacrifice, Hiruzen was apparently prepared to discard them without hesitation.
Hiashi’s gaze sharpened.
He couldn’t afford to underestimate the man.
Hiruzen had remained at the center of Konoha’s power for nearly four decades.
Even Danzo—ruthless, suspicious, and endlessly ambitious—had spent most of his life losing political battles to him.
That alone said enough.
Hiashi called in several of his most trusted clansmen.
“Increase security.”
The men straightened.
“Quietly. No unnecessary movement, no public confrontation.”
Hiashi’s voice dropped.
“But from this moment onward, assume the worst.”
“Yes, Clan Head.”
The room emptied.
Hiashi remained behind, staring toward the doorway through which the Hokage had disappeared.
Whatever came next, the Hyuga would need to be ready.
At that same moment, Tenriki Hyuga stood atop a decorative rock formation in one of the clan compound’s smaller gardens.
Below him, Hinata was chasing a cat.
Not an ordinary house cat, either.
Tenriki had specifically found a particularly agile ninja cat for the exercise.
He’d borrowed the idea from something he remembered about Itachi training Sasuke when they were young—turning the pursuit of cats into a way to sharpen movement, reflexes, and hand-eye coordination.
The difficulty was perfect for Hinata.
Not hard enough to frustrate her.
More importantly, she loved it.
Hinata darted through the garden, cheeks flushed bright red as she chased the increasingly distressed cat between shrubs and stones.
“Brother! It’s too fast!”
The cat sprang over a low bush.
Hinata scrambled after it.
“Brother, help me catch it!”
Tenriki folded his arms.
“No.”
Hinata puffed out her cheeks.
The cat made the mistake of glancing backward.
Hinata lunged.
It barely escaped.
Her eyes widened.
“I almost got it!”
Tenriki smiled.
“Then get it next time.”
Hinata immediately resumed the chase.
Her excited voice echoed through the garden.
To Tenriki’s shamelessly doting-brother ears, it was practically music.
Some distance away, Hiruzen slowed to a stop.
He had been leaving the Hyuga compound when the sound of the children caught his attention.
His gaze shifted toward the garden.
A small boy stood atop an artificial rock formation.
The breeze tugged at his finely made robe, causing the fabric to flutter softly around his tiny frame.
Despite his age, there was something unusually composed about him.
Hiruzen studied him.
So that’s Tenriki Hyuga.
The child Kumogakure had tried so hard to obtain.
The prodigy at the center of the entire crisis.
Hiruzen’s eyes sharpened as he observed him.
Then Tenriki turned.
Directly toward him.
Their gazes met across the garden.
Hiruzen’s expression changed.
He noticed me?
He hadn’t released killing intent.
Hadn’t called out.
Hadn’t made any deliberate noise.
Yet the child had sensed his gaze almost immediately.
Hiruzen silently raised his assessment of Tenriki another level.
Remarkable perception.
Under normal circumstances, discovering such talent within Konoha would have been welcome news.
Right now, however, Hiruzen found it difficult to feel pleased.
He had just decided that the Hyuga needed to be restrained.
A clan producing a genius of this caliber was therefore anything but convenient.
His thoughts drifted toward another child.
Itachi Uchiha.
A genius among the Uchiha.
And now…
Tenriki Hyuga.
Hiruzen’s gaze lingered on the boy for several seconds.
First the Uchiha produce Itachi.
Now the Hyuga have Tenriki.
The old Hokage’s expression grew increasingly grave.
Konoha was producing extraordinary children.
Normally, that should have made him proud.
But given the tension within the village…
Hiruzen could only wonder what those geniuses would become.