Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent. Although he felt some dissatisfaction toward the Hyuga Clan and even wanted to shift the responsibility onto them, he had to admit that this statement was not wrong.
In the previous two Shinobi World Wars, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan had played an enormous strategic role. If Kumogakure, which excelled at researching Ninjutsu, obtained it and uncovered its secrets, it would be a disaster for Konoha.
Even so, it was impossible for Hiruzen Sarutobi to openly voice support for this view.
The blame for drawing war now lay with the Hyuga Clan. If he stepped forward to take that burden himself, he would be forced to choose between abandoning "allies" or starting a war, and every death would then be counted against him.
This was a true dilemma, and no matter the choice, lives would be lost.
Even he did not know how to choose, and he found himself curious about what this old man, Hizashi Hyuga, intended by saying all this.
"But even so, we cannot let Konoha be dragged into another hopeless war," Hiashi Hyuga said with a frown.
If one had to be honest, it was not that he cared deeply about Konoha itself. What he cared more about was the future of the Hyuga Clan within Konoha.
Sacrifice one person, avoid war, save tens of thousands.
This was not only a decision imposed by Konoha's leadership, but also pressure from the will of the entire village. It was a choice that the Hyuga Clan could not refuse.
If Hiashi Hyuga truly chose to evade it, he would become a target of blame in Konoha, and the Hyuga Clan would find it impossible to stand in the village.
Because every death in the war would be counted against them.
So while it seemed there were two choices, in truth, from beginning to end, there was only one.
"Of course I know that."
Hizashi Hyuga's face was hard to read under the candlelight, and his voice was cold. "That is precisely why the Branch Family exists, is it not?"
"..."
Hiashi Hyuga slowly raised his head and looked at Hizashi Hyuga before him, asking blankly, "What?"
Hizashi Hyuga ignored his gaze and turned toward the tightly closed door. "Come in."
Click.
The door opened, and cold wind mixed with rain blew into the room, like a truth no one wished to face being forced into the open. The candle flames wavered and dimmed, and the shifting light scattered shadows across the walls.
"Hizashi?"
Hiashi Hyuga stared in disbelief at the person who entered, then looked at the unfamiliar face that followed.
The first was, of course, Hizashi Hyuga with a complicated expression. The second was a young boy with red-rimmed eyes.
"Yunchuan Hyuga?"
Seeing the person who entered alongside Hizashi Hyuga, Hiashi Hyuga's calm expression finally changed. He frowned and barked, "Get out! Who allowed you to come in..."
"I told him to come."
Before Hiashi Hyuga could finish, Hizashi Hyuga interrupted him, darkening the old man's face.
In the past, Hizashi would never have dared to interrupt him. He likely felt he was about to die, and so he had lost all sense of reverence.
Everyone present turned their gaze to Hizashi and the boy behind him. Facing those heavy, judging looks, Yunchuan Hyuga raised his head without hesitation or burden.
Yunchuan Hyuga's eyes were red, clearly from crying. His pale eyes were streaked with bloodshot lines as he swept his gaze across those present.
"I am here to see Lord Hizashi off on his final journey."
Catching Hiruzen Sarutobi's surprised look, he gave him an apologetic glance before turning to the other Main Family members. In a cold voice he said, "Surely the 'highly respected' Main Family head and elders would not deny a dying man his last dignity."
He put heavy emphasis on the words "highly respected," and his tone carried sharp, biting sarcasm. It was only a step away from pointing at them and cursing them outright.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not feel offended. Having received that apologetic glance, he knew Yunchuan Hyuga was not directing this at him, and instead felt surprised by the boy's boldness.
Was this child speaking up for Hizashi Hyuga?
Had his resentment already grown to the point where he no longer cared about the difference in status?
As expected, the faces of the six Main Family Elders darkened, and Hiashi Hyuga's eyes turned cold.
Hizashi could be ignored. Overstepping or not, he was already a dead man.
But who did you think you were, Yunchuan Hyuga, to dare speak so rudely before him?
"Outrageous!"
Hizashi Hyuga looked over with cold eyes and fixed Yunchuan Hyuga in a hard stare as he scolded him in a low voice. "Byakugan concerns the century long foundation of the Hyuga Clan. This is a choice about the fate of the clan. How dare you speak out of turn!"
"So this is the fate of the clan."
Yunchuan Hyuga swept his gaze across the face of every elder present, the pale pupils reflecting candlelight and dark shadows as he let out a cold laugh. "Was my father being tortured to death by your Curse Seal also for the sake of the clan's fate?"
Several Main Family Elders present stiffened almost at once, their hands tightening slightly on their thighs as their eyes flicked toward the silent Hiruzen Sarutobi at the side. This kind of matter sounded ugly no matter how it was explained. Some things seemed light when left unspoken, but once placed on the scale they became unbearably heavy.
Yunchuan Hyuga's father had been a registered Jonin of Konoha, so the clan had always told outsiders that his death came from protecting the Main Family. That was also why Yunchuan Hyuga had been allowed to receive certain benefits. Now that Yunchuan Hyuga said it out loud in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi, several elders felt the anger of having an ugly truth exposed before an outsider.
"A Branch Family protecting his master is his duty. The Main Family are the Hyuga Clan's Root. Your father died where he should have died!"
Hizashi Hyuga's expression darkened to a frightening degree as he felt openly challenged, the arrogance of authority no longer concealed.
"Died where he should have?" Yunchuan Hyuga said coldly. "Me, my father, and Lord Hizashi Hyuga have the same blood flowing in our bodies as you, yet we cannot even obtain the clan's inherited Ninjutsu. Now you want us to die, and only then you remember that we share the same origin as the Root?"
"Outrageous!"
"Arrogant!"
Two hot tempered Main Family Elders rose in anger, and if not for Hiruzen Sarutobi being present, they would already have activated the Curse Seal to punish him. Facing their furious shouts, Yunchuan Hyuga held his ground without retreating, though his eyes flickered with hidden calculation. He was acting this scene not because he wanted to die, but because he knew that if his next plan succeeded, he would no longer be able to remain within the Hyuga Clan.
Even without today's outburst, he would have become someone the Main Family feared, and most likely would have been quietly eliminated. He could undo the Caged Bird Seal, but he could not reveal that yet. What he needed was to make the Hyuga Main Family afraid to touch him.