Inside the Medical Rest Room, the door slid open with a quiet scrape.
He looked at Neji, his nephew, lying on the bed, body covered in wounds. "Neji," he said quietly, "I'd like to talk to you alone."
"Hiashi-sama, what do you need?" Neji's voice was respectful, but carried flatness, as if he were merely acknowledging the weather.
"I'm here to tell you the truth about that day."
Neji stared at him in silence.
A trace of guilt flickered across Hiashi's face as he continued. "At that time... I had already decided to die." He closed his eyes as he finished, waiting for the outburst. Curses, accusations, blows, whatever Neji chose, he was prepared to endure it.
But the medical room remained silent.
Neji was still looking at him, his expression unreadable. He said nothing.
"You probably won't believe me just on my word," Hiashi went on. He reached into his sleeve, took out a sealed scroll, and held it out. "This is from your father."
One glance at the handwriting and Neji recognized it as his father's. He took the scroll but didn't unroll it. "So, you came here just to give this to me?" he asked, his tone probing.
Hiashi froze for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. I want you to know the truth."
Neji's face showed a bitter mix of sorrow and mockery. "So that's it? Is this the best your Main House can do? Another cheap trick wrapped in sentiment?"
Without opening it, he flicked the scroll into the air. As it spun, his right hand shot out, index finger a blur. He tapped it several times in midair with impossible speed.
*rip*
The scroll burst apart into tiny fragments that drifted down through the room like snow.
Hiashi stared, his shock turning into fury. At his brothers final words to be just thrown away.
"You're angry already, Hiashi-sama?" Neji looked at him with open contempt. "Weren't you here to dissolve my hatred? Didn't you want me to understand the 'truth'? And this is all it takes to make you lose your temper?"
Each word was a needle, pricking at Hiashi's pride.
"So this was all a ploy of the Main house after all."
A flash of controlled anger crossed Hiashi's face, but it faded as quickly as it came. Then he did something wholly unexpected. He knelt, set his hands on the floor before him, and lowered his forehead to the ground, prostrating himself in dogeza position before Neji as a form of apology.
"Neji, I hope you can forgive me," he said, his voice muffled. "Please, let me tell you what really happened."
Neji only shook his head and exhaled softly. "While I have plenty of complaints about you, you've at least been a barely competent clan head." His gaze flicked to the powdered remains of the scroll, a faint ache passing through his eyes. "Hiashi-sama, I never blamed you."
He paused, his voice hardening. "But I have absolutely no interest in the truth you're offering. What I saw with my own eyes is more than enough."
The implication was clear: 'I don't blame you, personally. But things are far from over between me and the Hyuga Main house.'
'If apologies could fix everything,' Neji thought with a sneer, 'what need would there be for shinobi?' Besides, a dogeza was most often used to show submission to someone of higher status. 'High status, huh? It reeks of moral blackmail. like saying I already apologized, what more do you want?'
"Let's go, Hiashi-sama," Neji said, his voice cutting through the silence. "Back to the Hyuga compound. It's time I had a little talk with those rotten old fossils."
"Neji, don't be so stubborn!" Hiashi looked up, genuine concern in his eyes. "The rest of the Main house won't be as tolerant as I am. As long as the Caged Bird Seal remains, your power is meaningless."
It was a shame this concern had come so late.
"If you won't go, then I'll go by myself." Neji stood, turned his back on Hiashi, and walked toward the door without looking back.
'I can't let him return like this,' Hiashi thought, scrambling to his feet. 'In his current state, he'll clash with the elders. They'll activate the seal and kill him.'
He extended his right hand, index and middle fingers pressed together, ready to form the sign that would trigger the curse mark and restrict Neji's movements. 'I'm sorry, Neji. Don't blame me. At least this way, I can keep you alive.'
Neji stopped, his back still to him. "What is it, Hiashi-sama? So furious you're going to use the Caged Bird Seal on me?"
Hiashi steeled himself. "I'm doing this for your own good. Atleast you will be alive."
Just as he was about to continue, a hand shot out of nowhere and clamped down on his wrist, forcibly cutting off the action.
"I strongly suggest you don't do that."
A cold voice, laced with killing intent, sounded at Hiashi's ear as the edge of a blade pressed against his neck.
"Otherwise, I'll kill you before you can activate it."
Several new presences had appeared in the room without warning.
'When?' Shock flashed across Hiashi's face. The Hyuga were masters of perception, yet he hadn't sensed their arrival. He hadn't activated his Byakugan, true, but to slip past his senses so completely spoke of terrifying skill.
His eyes darted to the figures, noting the masks on their faces. 'Anbu? No...'
"Congratulations, Hyuga Clan Head. You got it right."
Perched lazily on the windowsill, one leg crossed over the other, a man in a distinctive spiral mask spoke. The others wore simple animal masks.
"We're not Anbu," he said. "We are Root."
The man let the words hang in the air. "The Root of Konoha."
Root. The moment Hiashi heard the name, he understood. Danzo's personal force. 'What is Danzo planning?'
"If you would be so kind as to escort us to the Hyuga compound, Hiashi-sama," Naruto said with amused tone. "We'd like a word with your elders."
"What are you trying to do?" Hiashi's voice was low barely controlled. "What does Elder Danzo want?"
Naruto ignored the question. "What you should be considering right now is which side the Hyuga clan will stand on."
He leaned forward, his single visible eye glinting.
"One wrong move," he said, "and you might find yourselves buried in the ruins of your own pride."
Hiashi frowned. "What do you mean?"
Naruto spread his hands in an exaggerated gesture, then delivered the line like a actor on stage.
"Exactly what it sounds like," he said, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper.
"Konoha is about to change."
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