Konoha Medical Recovery Room.
The door creaked open, and Hyūga Hiashi slowly walked inside.
He looked at the young man lying on the hospital bed—his body covered in wounds—Hyūga Neji, who, by blood, should be considered his nephew. Hiashi spoke slowly:
"Neji… I want to speak to you alone."
"Hiashi-sama, is there something you wish to discuss?"
Neji's voice sounded respectful, but carried an indescribable flatness—like he was asking, "Have you eaten yet?"
"I came here to tell you… the truth about that day."
Neji simply looked at him silently, saying nothing.
A rare hint of guilt flickered across Hiashi's face before he continued:
"At the time… I had already resolved to die."
He closed his eyes as he finished, prepared to endure whatever venting Neji might unleash—whether it be verbal abuse or physical blows.
But after a long while, the medical room remained silent.
Neji was still just staring at him quietly, as if to say, "If you haven't eaten, go home and eat."
"You might not believe it if I simply tell you," Hiashi said as he reached into the inside of his sleeve and took out a scroll, handing it to Neji. "This was left for you by your father—my younger brother."
One glance at the handwriting on the scroll was enough for Neji to recognize it as his father's, Hyūga Hizashi.
Taking the scroll, Neji gave Hiashi a sideways glance and asked in a probing tone:
"So… you came here just to give me this?"
Hiashi was caught off guard by the question, then nodded slightly.
"Yes. I want you to know the truth of that year."
After receiving his confirmation, Neji's lips curled into a strange smile—three parts sorrow, seven parts mockery.
"So that's all it is. Is this the only dull little trick your Main House can manage?"
"Hoping that with something like this—"
Without even glancing at the contents, Neji tossed the scroll upward. In the same instant, his right index finger shot out with lightning speed, tapping several times in midair.
The scroll disintegrated into a cloud of tiny fragments, drifting down around the room—like snow.
Except it was June.
"You—!" Hiashi froze for a moment before anger overtook him, pointing at Neji, his whole body trembling.
"Hiashi-sama, getting angry over this?" Neji looked at him with undisguised disdain. "Weren't you here to dissolve my hatred? Weren't you hoping I'd understand this so-called 'truth'?"
"And yet something so trivial sets you off?"
Neji's words were openly provocative, deliberately prodding at Hiashi's nerves.
"So this is the extent of the Main House's magnanimity."
A flash of anger crossed Hiashi's face, but it quickly faded. Then, unexpectedly, he did something no one would have predicted—
He pressed both hands to the floor in an inward-turned shape, leaned forward, and lowered his forehead toward Neji's position until it touched the ground.
"Neji, I hope you can forgive me. I hope you'll listen to the truth of that year."
A dogeza—full prostration. A gesture said to be the most sincere form of apology.
"Though I have my grievances against you, you've at least been a somewhat competent clan head," Neji said, shaking his head slightly with a faint sigh. His gaze flicked toward the powdered remains of the scroll, and for a split second, a trace of pain appeared in his eyes.
"Hiashi-sama… I've never blamed you."
"But I have no interest in the 'truth' you speak of. What I've seen with my own eyes is enough for me."
The implication was obvious: I don't blame you, Hiashi—but I don't care for your explanations. My quarrel with the Main House isn't over.
If apologies solved everything, what need was there for the Security Force?
Besides, dogeza was most often used to show respect toward someone of high status. "High status," indeed…
There was more than a little of the attitude: 'I've apologized—what more do you want?'—a subtle form of moral coercion.
"Go, Hiashi-sama. Return to the Hyūga compound. It's about time you spoke to those decrepit old men."
>"Neji, don't be stubborn!" Hiashi's tone was truly concerned for once. The other Main House elders were not as easygoing as him—they would never tolerate being mocked by a Branch member like this. As long as the Caged Bird Seal existed, even if Neji's strength rivaled the clan's founder, it would all be meaningless.
Unfortunately, that concern came too late. For years, he hadn't acted—and now, suddenly, after seeing Neji's power?
"If you won't go, then I'll go myself."
Neji stood, heading for the door without looking back.
I can't let him go back like this. Hiashi's mind raced. In his current state, he'll definitely clash with the clan elders—and then they'll activate the Caged Bird Seal on him.
He extended his right hand, forming his index and middle fingers to perform the seal activation, intending to restrain Neji's movements.
Forgive me, Neji. Don't blame me for this. At least this way… I can keep you safe.
Neji suddenly stopped walking. Without turning his head, he said:
"What's this, Hiashi-sama? Losing your temper? Planning to use the Caged Bird on me?"
Never try to pull a fast one in front of the Byakugan—it's pointless.
"I'm doing this for your own good."
Hiashi was just about to speak the incantation—
When a hand suddenly appeared, pressing down on his raised fingers, cutting off the words before they could be spoken.
"I suggest you don't do that."
A cold voice full of killing intent whispered in Hiashi's ear, as the chill of a blade touched his neck.
"Otherwise, I'll kill you before you can even activate the Caged Bird."
Somehow, several figures now stood in the recovery room.
When—?! Shock spread across Hiashi's face.
As a Hyūga, famed for peerless perception, he should have noticed—but he hadn't sensed a thing. Yes, his Byakugan wasn't active and he'd been distracted, but for them to appear silently without a trace… their skill was terrifying.
ANBU? …No. His first instinct upon seeing their masks was to think they were ANBU—but he quickly realized they weren't.
"Congratulations, Clan Head—you guessed right."
Perched on the windowsill, one leg crossed over the other, wearing an animal mask unlike the others—a spiral-patterned one—was Naruto.
"We're not ANBU. We're Root."
"The Root of Konoha."
The moment Hiashi heard that word—Root—he understood. He'd had little direct contact with them, but he knew the unit existed.
Konoha's Root.
The personal force of Danzō Shimura.
What is Danzō planning?
"We'll trouble you to lead us to the Hyūga compound," Naruto said lazily.
"What do you want?" Hiashi's voice was cold. "What is Danzō trying to do?"
Naruto ignored the question and replied:
"What you should be thinking about right now… is how the Hyūga will choose their side next."
"One wrong move, and you might find yourselves in a disaster you can never recover from."
"…What do you mean by that?"
Naruto made an exaggerated gesture and said, with words that dripped with meaning:
"Exactly what it sounds like."
"Konoha is about to change."
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