Konoha.
This day is like an earthquake, but upon reflection, everyone will realize that the Hyuga clan has split in this turmoil, the Uchiha clan has had some of its territory taken, and Danzo has been suspended.
For the village, the second prominent family of Konoha has officially disintegrated into two groups, falling from the top to the level of the Ino-Shika-Cho.
Although the divided Hyuga clan, whether the main or branch family, is stronger than the single-family Ino-Shika-Cho, they are no longer as overwhelmingly strong as before.
Now the top family in Konoha is only the Uchiha clan, but they are constantly being marginalized.
The only beneficiaries seem to be the upper echelons of the village. The splitting of the Hyuga clan signifies that the rulers have greater control over the village.
Hokage's Office.
Sarutobi is smoking his pipe. By noon, the turmoil has temporarily subsided under his control, and all the parties involved have been summoned.
Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga main family, and the elders have arrived, as well as Hyuga Hizashi from the branch family. Also present is Uchiha Yoru, the captain of Police Seventh Department who was ordered to act in this upheaval.
Everyone sits in front, but the Hyuga main and branch families are clearly separated, sitting on either side. In the middle are Uchiha Yoru, representing Orochimaru, and the clan head of the Uchiha.
Behind them are the heads of the major families and the Jonin within Konoha. This time, almost all the upper echelons of Konoha are present.
Konoha's top F4 is missing the important Shimura Danzo. Uchiha Yoru keeps his head low, not revealing what he's thinking.
"Everyone is here, so let's talk about how to resolve this matter."
After exhaling a cloud of smoke, the Third Hokage looks solemnly at everyone. His peak aura is still extremely intimidating, pressuring everyone.
In the oppressive atmosphere, when no one speaks for a while, Uchiha Yoru finally breaks the silence.
"Third Hokage, I only received orders from Orochimaru, and these orders were issued in the name of the Root. As a member of Konoha, I executed them without much thought. That was my mistake!"
First, he sincerely apologizes. Then Uchiha Yoru seriously says, "From today, I will definitely learn from this lesson. Even if an order comes from Root and is in Orochimaru's name, I will consider it carefully. If I can't make a decision, I'll notify the Hokage immediately."
Uchiha Yoru's voice echoes in the conference room. This is the first time Konoha's upper echelon has met this rising star. Although he looks handsome in a unique Uchiha way, he lacks some arrogance but seems more approachable. However, those who understand see him as sly.
What apology? You're clearly shirking responsibility and implicating Root.
After Uchiha Yoru speaks, Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head, also says sternly, "Indeed, Uchiha's territory is large. Some people seem to be envious. Even after we moved to the edge of the village forest, some still sent the Hyuga branch family to monitor us."
"The Uchiha territory welcomes all Konoha ninjas to live. After all, Danzo personally allocated us a large piece of land!"
Uchiha Fugaku's words are loaded and directly point out the Hokage's distrust and bias.
Upon hearing this, the Third Hokage coughs lightly, looks at Fugaku discreetly, and thinks to himself that perhaps this time Danzo's Root has really done a good job by dividing the Hyuga clan and planting a thorn in the Uchiha clan. It's killing two birds with one stone.
The Hyuga branch family seeks shelter from Orochimaru? In his eyes, Orochimaru is his own disciple. Isn't this also a knife he can use?
"Cough, cough, I understand the anger of the Uchiha clan leader. After all, this matter is indeed a bit too presumptuous. On behalf of Danzo, I apologize to the Uchiha clan and am willing to compensate them."
The Third Hokage is a political veteran. With just one sentence, he calmed the Uchiha without giving anything, perfectly demonstrating how to get something for nothing.
Hyuga Hizashi coughed lightly at this moment, immediately attracting everyone's attention. This time everyone was curious because he is the protagonist.
Hizashi calmly met everyone's gaze and began to speak in a calm and peaceful tone.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I won't go into detail about how long the Caged Bird Curse has plagued our branch family. It has troubled us for many years, with members from each generation unwilling to accept this fate, secretly accumulating strength to resist..."
Hizashi seemed to be telling a story, slowly revealing the tragic fate of the branch family, making everyone frown. The branch family's fate is indeed quite miserable.
"Finally! Recently, we of the branch family have made a breakthrough in a hundred years of resistance against fate. We broke the Caged Bird Curse and were ecstatic! But also fearful; how can our branch family get along with the main family? Should we go to war? Will the Hyuga decline or be destroyed?"
"Although the grudges between the main and branch families have lasted for hundreds of years, we are all Hyugas! We are all of the same bloodline. So we chose to break free and sought help from Root. You all know what happened next; Orochimaru, the Root deputy leader imbued with the Will of Fire, enthusiastically helped us."
Listening to Hizashi's grateful expression, everyone thought, "What nonsense, this is obviously problematic."
You're saying the branch family broke free from the Caged Bird Curse? No one believes that.
Even some clever people started to connect the dots in their minds after hearing Hizashi's explanation.
Danzo devised this scheme to divide the Hyuga and take advantage of the Uchiha, a perfect spy.
Hizashi did not mention Danzo, but everyone attributed all this to him.
Darkness of the Leaf! Truly deserving of its reputation! At this moment, all the upper shinobi felt a chill, while the major clans became even more wary. Danzo is too dark; we must be cautious in the future.
When Hizashi finished speaking, he bowed deeply to Uchiha Fugaku, his forehead touching the ground.
"Uchiha clan leader! We are very sorry for this! But the Hyuga branch family really had no other option. Please forgive us, Lord Fugaku!"
You took over some of their territory and are now asking for their forgiveness?
At this moment, everyone looked at Uchiha Fugaku with sympathy. It was a lose-lose situation for him.
"Haha, in my opinion, Hizashi, you should have your clan members settle down for now, and we'll discuss the land issue later. As for the Uchiha, the village will definitely compensate."
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, seemed to want to peacefully resolve the matter but was cunningly maintaining surveillance over the Uchiha clan through the Hyuga branch family. Even he had to give a thumbs up to Danzo for his brilliant maneuver.
However, Uchiha Fugaku felt very aggrieved but chuckled coldly in his heart, "This time, we Uchihas might win."
Though reluctantly, he had to accept it. He thought of something else: Orochimaru now had the strength of the Hyuga branch family, aiming for the position of the Fifth Hokage.
Unbeknownst to Fugaku, a plan to deal with Orochimaru had already been devised by the higher-ups of the Leaf.
"Thank you, Lord Fugaku! Thank you, Lord Hokage!"
Hizashi respectfully thanked the two but sighed in relief internally, aligning his thoughts with Fugaku. This time, Root took the blame, and from now on, they could only rely on Orochimaru.
Everyone is plotting. The Uchiha and Hyuga branch families have the same intention, both hoping for Orochimaru to rise to power. The Hokage's line, however, thinks that after Orochimaru is out, the Hyuga branch family would be their weapon and eyes, able to both monitor and balance the Uchiha clan.
Finally, everyone's eyes turned to the Hyuga main family. The Third Hokage pretended to be distressed, saying, "This is originally a matter for the Hyuga family. I shouldn't intervene, but I don't want to see the Hyuga family fighting each other. What does the head of the Hyuga family think?"
The elders of the Hyuga family looked extremely displeased. Hyuga Hiashi was even holding back his anger, saying word by word, "The Hyuga main family and the branch family are connected by blood, and we don't want to see rivers of blood! But has the Root overstepped this time, Hokage-sama?"
Everyone was listening intently for the answer: would the upper echelons of Konoha truly interfere in family matters?
All the clans stared at the Third Hokage. If they didn't get a satisfying answer, they would unify against the higher-ups in the future.
The Third Hokage looked serious and said, "Everyone! I was unaware of the involvement of the Root in this Hyuga family matter. I've already suspended Danzo for investigation."
He continued, "As I said earlier, Konoha's higher-ups have never intervened in these issues, I can guarantee that."
The Third Hokage stood up, bowed to the main family, and said, "As for the Root's secret manipulation, I will investigate it fully and make Danzo accountable to the Hyuga family."
The Third Hokage was skillful in shifting the blame, making it look like Danzo was the bad guy, while he appeared noble and righteous.
"At this moment, let me make it clear!"
The Third Hokage radiated an impressive chakra, overwhelming everyone in the meeting room. "Even without my Hokage status, I am the leader of the Sarutobi clan. No one can intervene in family matters unless they violate village rules. Not even me."
Everyone understood that this was a guarantee. If the upper echelons interfered again, they would lose the trust of all the clans.
Hyuga Hiashi was still contemplating; either accept the Hokage's mediation or solve it their own way. They could start an internal war and face certain decline or swallow the bitter pill and maintain their strength for future recovery.
The Third Hokage thought to himself that Danzo had really messed things up this time, and if not for Danzo's past merits, he would severely punish him.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Yoru was very pleased with the situation, knowing that this would make it difficult for Konoha's higher-ups to deal with the Uchiha in the future.
The head elder of the Hyuga family seemed physically and emotionally drained but told Hiashi, "The future of the Hyuga family is in your hands; don't let the branch family surpass the main family."
The elder then stood up and said, "Hyuga main family! Branch family! We're connected by blood. The Caged Bird Seal was never a curse but a protection! If the branch family decides to leave today, we, the main family, will still remember our brotherly love!"
"Hyuga main family wishes the branch family a prosperous future!"
With that, the elder had exhausted his last bit of strength. Although humiliated, he had earned everyone's respect.
~~~
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