“This…”
Everyone present couldn’t help but fall silent.
One main branch elder couldn’t help but sigh: “If Hiashi had captured that Hidden Cloud ninja alive, the situation might have been a bit better.”
“It wouldn’t have.” Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, breaking his naive fantasy.
“According to previously gathered intelligence, the Fourth Raikage has a new secretary named Mabui.
Not only is she one of the few female Jonin, but she is also calm, full of wisdom and talent.”
“I figure this plan came from her hands.
Before coming, the Hidden Cloud delegation had already made up their minds to either successfully take Hinata Hyuga away, or die at the hands of the main branch.
This is an undisguised, overt scheme.”
This time, Konoha had indeed stumbled.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t expect that the Hidden Cloud Village, which had always been rough and reckless, would also play dirty now.
Just based on the sentence Yurui shouted before escaping, plus the fact that so many villagers witnessed it with their own eyes at the time, and finally Yurui dying at Hiashi Hyuga’s hands—the situation was already completely “yellow mud dropping into one’s pants” (impossible to tell if it’s mud or poop).
Except for the people present who knew all the details, no one would believe this matter wasn’t Konoha’s doing.
Even Konoha’s villagers wouldn’t believe it at all.
Konoha was forced to shoulder this blame completely.
Right now, Konoha only had two choices.
Either protect Hiashi Hyuga to the death and go to war with the Hidden Cloud Village, or sacrifice Hiashi Hyuga and compromise with the Hidden Cloud Village.
“…”
Hiashi Hyuga and the six main branch elders also understood this.
Besides Higo Hyuga, the expressions of the other six involuntarily sank.
Since Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, handed the “choice” to them, it meant that their Hyuga clan actually had no opportunity to choose anymore.
War kills people, many, many people.
The Land of Lightning specifically named Hiashi Hyuga as the murderer.
What position did they have to make the village risk starting a war to protect him to the death?
One could imagine that once the war flared up again, Konoha, which was extremely weak right now, would definitely be the target of concentrated attacks from other ninja villages.
Anyone could die in the war.
Human nature is selfish, no one is willing to die for the Hyuga clan.
“In that case.”
After a long silence, Hiashi Hyuga finally spoke.
His voice, trying its best to be calm, was still somewhat hoarse: “If saving the village with my life alone is possible…”
“Wait.”
Before Hiashi Hyuga could finish speaking, Higo Hyuga suddenly interrupted, shook his head, and said: “Hiashi, don’t be so impulsive.”
“The Hyuga’s Byakugan belongs not only to the Hyuga clan, but it is also extremely important to the village.
It absolutely cannot be obtained by the Land of Lightning’s Hidden Cloud Village.”
When saying this sentence, Higo Hyuga’s gaze glanced slightly at Hiruzen Sarutobi sitting in the prime seat.
Hiruzen Sarutobi merely remained silent about this.
Although he felt somewhat dissatisfied with the Hyuga clan in his heart, and although he wanted to shift the responsibility to the Hyuga clan, he also had to admit that this statement was not wrong.
The Hyuga clan’s Byakugan played tremendous strategic roles in the previous two Great Ninja Wars.
If it were obtained by the Hidden Cloud Village, which excels at researching ninjutsu, and they deciphered some secrets from it, it would definitely be a disastrous loss for Konoha.
Of course, even if Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed with this remark, it was impossible for him to speak out and express his opinion.
Now the blame for invoking the war rested on the Hyuga clan.
If he took the initiative to shoulder the blame, then he would have to choose between abandoning a “comrade” or starting a war, and the resulting deaths would be counted on his head.
This was fundamentally a “trolley problem”; no matter which one was chosen, lives would be burdened.
Even he didn’t know how to choose, so he was rather curious about what this old geezer Higo intended by saying this now.
“But we can’t let Konoha be dragged into a desperate war again because of this,” Hiashi Hyuga frowned.
If one insisted on how much he cared about Konoha, that might not be true.
He cared more about the future of the Hyuga clan in Konoha.
Sacrificing one person, avoiding a war, saving tens of thousands.
This was not only a choice from Konoha’s higher-ups, but also the pressure of the entire village’s public sentiment, and a choice the Hyuga clan couldn’t refuse.
If Hiashi Hyuga really chose to escape, he would definitely become the target of public criticism in Konoha, and the Hyuga clan would struggle to move forward in Konoha.
Because for every person who died in the war, it would be counted against them.
Therefore, while there seemingly were two choices, in reality, from beginning to end, there was only one.
“Of course I know this kind of thing.”
Higo Hyuga’s face was indistinct under the candlelight, and his tone was cold: “So, aren’t the people of the branch family meant to exist precisely for this?”
“…”
Hiashi Hyuga slowly raised his head, looked at this main branch elder in front of him, and asked blankly: “What?”
Higo Hyuga ignored his gaze, turned his head toward the closed door, and said: “Come in.”
Click.
The cold wind carrying rain blew into the room as the door opened, like someone uncovering a reality they didn’t want to admit.
The candlelight in front of them flickered and dimmed, the swaying light scattering shadows on the wall.
“Hizashi?”
Hiashi Hyuga stared blankly at the person walking into the room, and then at the unfamiliar face following closely behind.
The former was naturally Hizashi Hyuga with a complex expression, but the latter was a boy with red, teary eyes.
“Yun Chuan Hyuga?”
Seeing the person who walked into the room following Hizashi Hyuga, the calm expression on Higo Hyuga’s face finally changed.
He frowned and scolded: “Get out!
Who let you in…”
“I told him to follow.”
Before Higo Hyuga could finish speaking, Hizashi Hyuga interrupted, darkening Higo Hyuga’s old face.
In the past, how would Hizashi dare to interrupt him?
He must feel that he’s about to die, so he’s lost his reverence.
Everyone present set their sights on Hizashi and the boy behind him.
And facing these heavy, scrutinizing gazes, Yun Chuan Hyuga raised his head without any hesitation or burden.
Yun Chuan Hyuga’s eye sockets were red, clearly having cried.
His pure white eyes were bloodshot, and his gaze swept over everyone present.
“I’m here to see Lord Hizashi off for his final journey.”
Seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi’s astonished look, he gave him an apologetic glance, and then looked at the other main branch members, saying coldly: “I assume the ‘highly respected’ main branch head and elders wouldn’t even deny a dying man his final dignity, would you?”
He emphasized the words “highly respected” very heavily, his tone clearly carrying a harsh, sharp sarcasm, stopping just short of pointing at their noses and calling them shameless old geezers.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn’t feel offended.
Because of the apologetic glance he was given, he naturally knew Yun Chuan wasn’t scolding him.
Instead, he was surprised by Yun Chuan’s audacity.
Is this child crying out against the injustice done to Hizashi Hyuga?
Is he so resentful that he doesn’t even care about the gap in status and position?
Sure enough, the faces of the six main branch elders turned black, and Higo Hyuga’s eyes glinted with cold malice.
Hizashi Hyuga was one thing, overstepping was overstepping, he was a dead man anyway.
But what the hell are you, Yun Chuan Hyuga, to dare be so insolent in front of me?