"Humph... what do you have to say for yourselves now?!"
The Cloud ninja glared coldly at Hyuga Hiashi.
Hiashi's expression darkened slightly. He turned to the ninja inspecting the body and asked in a deep voice, "No signs of any kind of control? The chakra pathways are intact?"
The unusual condition of the Cloud ninja's leader made him highly suspicious that the man had been killed elsewhere and then puppeteered into their compound in order to kidnap Hinata.
It seemed like a deliberate setup to implicate the Hyuga clan.
As Hiashi questioned the examiner, he lifted his gaze and scanned the gathered crowd, Uchiha Fugaku of the Konoha Police Force, Nara Shikaku, and the others.
There were definitely people in the village capable of orchestrating something like this. The Uchiha clan, for instance, could pull it off with their genjutsu. The Nara clan could do it with their Shadow Imitation Technique.
But,
All Hiashi saw from the others were indifferent expressions. Uchiha Fugaku, in particular, stood with his hands behind his back, looking calm and detached.
"Clan Head Hiashi... you're not implying that we had a hand in this, are you?" Fugaku said coolly. "The Uchiha clan wouldn't stoop to such tactics... But it seems the Hyuga clan has been seeing itself as the foremost family in Konoha lately."
Indeed, the Uchiha had nothing to do with this. And true enough, they disdained this kind of underhanded trickery. But Fugaku was still displeased, none of the Hyuga attended the Uchiha's celebration yesterday. In his view, the Hyuga had grown too arrogant after the war, as if they no longer saw the other clans as equals.
Fugaku's casual remark instantly shifted the atmosphere. The Uchiha clan members turned cold eyes toward the Hyuga, and tension filled the air.
Seeing this,
The Cloud ninja smirked.
Yes, this was exactly the scene they wanted to see. The Hyuga clan isolated, alienated by the rest of Konoha. No one would stand with them.
They couldn't defeat Konoha in open conflict, not right now. But the Hyuga would pay a price, one way or another.
"I've never thought otherwise. The Hyuga clan is but one part of Konoha," Hiashi responded gravely.
Fugaku said nothing, folding his arms calmly.
As the two most powerful clans in the village, it was inevitable for there to be friction between the Hyuga and Uchiha. The Uchiha oversaw the Police Force; the Hyuga controlled the Internal Affairs Bureau. Their roles often overlapped. Still, both sides were careful not to escalate tensions.
After all, no one wanted to anger Kaede, doing so would only result in losses for everyone involved.
A few moments later, members of the Hokage Guard's Second Unit and the Interrogation Division reexamined the Cloud ninja leader's body. The verdict was confirmed: he had been killed by Hyuga Hiashi's Gentle Fist technique.
That was the last straw for the Cloud ninjas. Furious, they stepped forward and shouted,
"You killed our captain! The Hyuga clan must give us an explanation!"
"This so-called infiltration is pure fiction! You're trying to destroy the peace between Kumo and Konoha and start a war again!"
"You must take responsibility!"
Their furious outcries echoed across the courtyard.
Hiashi's face grew gloomier.
Fugaku continued to watch in silence, offering no help. Nara Shikaku also remained quiet, not uttering a single word. Hiashi felt a chill in his heart, this was serious trouble.
Behind him, little Hinata clung tightly to the hem of his robe, frightened by the loud, angry shouts. She looked on the verge of tears.
Just then,
A voice rang out.
"Oh? You want an explanation... or you'll start another war?"
Everyone, including Fugaku and Shikaku, immediately straightened up and turned toward the source of the voice, bowing in unison.
The crowd parted to both sides, allowing a figure to step forward.
"Hokage-sama."
Shikaku bowed and was about to report the situation.
Kaede raised a hand to stop him. "No need, I already know."
Rather than even glancing at the Cloud ninja, Kaede crouched down and looked gently at the trembling Hinata, who was still hiding behind Hiashi.
With a warm smile, he said, "Hinata, come here. Don't be afraid."
Hiashi immediately relaxed and turned to Hinata. "Hinata, greet the Hokage."
"H-Hokage-sama..." Hinata said nervously, peeking out at Kaede.
His gentle smile radiated like sunlight, and Hinata's fear slowly faded.
Kaede chuckled and said, "You weren't this shy when you were born. Back then, the moment you were handed to Hiashi, you started bawling."
"Mm..." Hinata didn't remember it, but she instinctively felt a strange warmth from Kaede. His sky-blue eyes, in particular, drew her in with a mysterious sense of familiarity, almost like a pull in her blood.
Hiashi smiled at her. "Go on, Hinata. Go to the Hokage."
Encouraged, Hinata timidly took a step, then scurried forward and hid behind Kaede.
Kaede smiled and patted her head gently, teasing her a little before lifting the three-year-old into his arms. Only then did he turn to face the Cloud ninja.
The Cloud ninjas all looked uneasy.
The one leading them hesitated before forcing himself to speak. "Hokage-sama... The Hyuga clan acted recklessly and killed our captain. Their actions threaten the hard-won peace between our villages. They must answer for this, "
His earlier talk of "giving us an explanation or we'll go to war" had been nothing more than emotional bluster. Now that Kaede had appeared, no one dared repeat such threats.
Starting a war?
They'd be lucky to make it out of Konoha alive. And even if they did, the Fourth Raikage might personally rip their heads off when they got back.
"An explanation, huh?"
Kaede's voice remained light and pleasant, his expression warm. Cradling Hinata in his right arm, he simply raised his left hand.
The speaker suddenly jerked into the air, pulled forward by an invisible force.
Crack!
Kaede's fingers tightened slightly around the man's throat before releasing him. A corpse dropped to the ground.
The remaining Cloud ninja were horrified.
Panic flickered in their eyes, and many instinctively took a step back.
"The Hyuga clan are shinobi of Konoha. And every Konoha shinobi is part of Konoha. If you want one of them to 'explain' themselves, then you want all of Konoha to explain. And this, " Kaede glanced at the corpse, smiling gently, ", this is Konoha's explanation. Any other questions?"
His tone was calm, even cheerful.
Those words didn't just startle the Hyuga. Even the Uchiha and the nearby civilian-born shinobi inhaled sharply.
This was the Fifth Hokage!
This was the current Konoha!
In the eyes of the Fifth Hokage, all clans and shinobi were equal. All were part of Konoha. And for the sake of its people, Konoha would never back down in the face of pressure from another village.
"This might really spark another war, Hokage-sama... But I suppose this is the attitude we should have."
Nara Shikaku let out a breath, closing his eyes briefly.
A faint smile tugged at his lips.
He felt a quiet pride in being a Konoha shinobi.
"Y-You... Hokage-sama... how could you..."
A Cloud ninja, sweating profusely, tried to speak in disbelief. But before he could finish his sentence, his body jerked forward and hit the ground, a second corpse.
Kaede turned his gaze on the rest of them and asked with a mild smile, "Any other questions?"
Silence.
"Good. Then this matter's settled."
Kaede glanced around the courtyard. Seeing no objections, he smiled again and carried Hinata into the house.
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Completed version available on Patreon.com/Veltoria