To give or not to give?
This is a tough question.
If Uchiha Sougen hadn't stirred up this trouble, the Third Hokage and his council had indeed planned to use the pressure from the Mist Village to weaken the Uchiha clan, forcing them to cut off their own wings. Even though they couldn't harm Uchiha Sougen himself, taking down Uchiha Shisui wouldn't have been a wasted effort.
Aburame Ryoma, one of Danzo's closest aides, couldn't gain the upper hand against Uchiha Shisui. Clearly, the danger in the Uchiha clan didn't only stem from Uchiha Sougen; Uchiha Shisui was also an unstable and dangerous element.
However, with Uchiha Sougen making a scene with the Mist emissaries, they could no longer proceed with their original plan. If they pressured the Uchiha clan to hand over Shisui, it would mean bowing to the Mist Village's threats, which would deal a severe blow to the Third Hokage's prestige — even a fool could see that!
Uchiha Sougen would never agree to such a demand. The original plan was to use the threat of war to unite the other clans against the Uchiha, but now those clans would likely refuse to cooperate. Being forced by the Mist Village to fight among themselves, even if the target was the Uchiha, was unacceptable!
But if they abandoned the original plan,
how would they face the Hyuga clan? Fresh chapters posted on Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
When faced with the Cloud Village's threat, the Third Hokage himself had persuaded the Hyuga clan to prioritize the bigger picture, resulting in the sacrifice of Hyuga Hizashi, the younger brother of Hyuga Hiashi, as a scapegoat. Although Hiashi hadn't shown any animosity toward the Third Hokage afterward, the seed of resentment had clearly been planted.
It just hadn't been touched upon in the past two years, so nothing had changed.
today, that wound had been found and cruelly pressed.
If the village refused to yield to the Mist Village's threat this time, what would the Hyuga clan think?
Koharu Utatane's face turned pale. Faced with Sougen's questioning, she opened her mouth but couldn't utter a single word. Her mind was in complete disarray, unsure how to handle this unforeseen situation. She wasn't the only one — Homura Mitokado's face was just as grim.
The decision to have the Hyuga clan sacrifice one of their own to avoid war with the Cloud Village had been made by the Third Hokage and these two elders. Due to the suddenness of the situation, they hadn't had time to involve Danzo to share the blame. Hiruzen Sarutobi had even personally gone to the Hyuga clan, so now they couldn't push the responsibility onto Danzo!
Hiashi Hyuga wasn't an idiot!
He wasn't emotionless, either!
If they treated him like a fool, as someone with no emotions, it would only backfire.
As for delaying the decision,
that would be the dumbest choice, as it would only make them seem weak and incompetent.
Caught in this dilemma, the Third Hokage hesitated for a moment before finally declaring with righteous conviction, "Konoha does not like war, but we do not fear it. Since the Mist Village has no sincerity for peaceful coexistence, we won't hesitate to show them that Konoha cannot be bullied!"
The moment the Third Hokage finished speaking—
Hiashi Hyuga slammed his chair to the floor, stood up, and left without looking back, tossing out a cryptic "ridiculous" as he stormed off.
No one stopped the Hyuga clan leader's rude behavior, nor did anyone criticize his discourtesy. The other clan heads didn't mock the Hyuga clan's situation. Instead, they shared a sense of sadness and deep disappointment.
The Third Hokage was no longer the formidable leader he once was!
He seemed willing to swallow his pride in front of external enemies while tirelessly targeting his allies within the village. Everyone knew what today's meeting was really about — it wasn't about dealing with the Mist Village's threat; it was about suppressing the Uchiha clan. If some had been swayed by the Third Hokage's warnings about the Uchiha threat before, they were now completely disinterested in getting involved in such a petty matter.
So what if the Uchiha were arrogant and looked down on others?
No matter how proud they were, they were still comrades from the same village. They were certainly better than those scoundrels from the Cloud and Mist Villages.
The meeting room was filled with an unbearable tension.
Only Sougen sat back in his chair with a relaxed, satisfied smile. His goal had been achieved — the Hyuga clan had broken with the Third Hokage. It was a spectacular show, truly a delight to watch!
The only regret was that Hiashi hadn't lost control and directly clashed with the Third Hokage. Instead, he had simply chosen to leave.
"Today's meeting is over. We'll discuss the Mist Village issue at another time,"
the Third Hokage announced wearily. With Hiashi Hyuga's departure, there was no point in continuing the meeting. In truth, the real purpose of this gathering wasn't to address the Mist Village threat but to find an excuse to suppress the Uchiha clan.
With the plan completely falling apart, there was no need to continue the discussion.
As the saying goes, small meetings are for big issues, and big meetings are for small ones. There was no need for such a large group to decide on something as critical as war with the Mist Village. Five to seven people would be more than enough to work out a general strategy.
The meeting adjourned.
The clan heads left the Hokage building in silence, each deep in thought.
The village now faced hostility from the Mist Village, threatening war from the outside, while internally, it was far from united. The conflict between the Third Hokage's faction and the Uchiha clan had become increasingly obvious, and now even the Hyuga clan seemed to be drifting away from the Hokage…
These worries weighed heavily on everyone's minds.
"Uchiha Clan Leader!"
An unexpected figure stopped Sougen as he left the Hokage building.
"Hyuga Clan Leader, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Sougen looked at Hiashi Hyuga standing in front of him, surprised and unsure what the Hyuga leader wanted. Could it be that Hiashi was here to cause trouble because of the wound that had been reopened during the meeting?
"This isn't the place to talk. The food at Matsutake Pavilion is quite good. I wonder if the Uchiha Clan Leader has time to join me for a drink?" Hiashi extended a gesture of friendship.
"Though I'm not of drinking age yet, if the Hyuga Clan Leader doesn't mind me substituting tea for wine, I'd be honored to try the food at Matsutake Pavilion. I must admit, I've never been there before!"
Sougen smiled as he spoke.
"Tea is fine! Too much wine is bad for the body anyway," Hiashi agreed smoothly.
The sight of Uchiha Sougen and Hiashi Hyuga chatting in front of the Hokage building caught the attention of the other clan leaders as they exited. The scene sent shockwaves through their minds, causing wild speculation about what this could mean.
If those two clans joined forces… It was unimaginable, unthinkable! Was this the beginning of… a new era?
Choza Akimichi looked up at the clear, blue sky, his heart heavy with worry, even losing his appetite. He sighed deeply, "How did it come to this? Shikaku, you've got a sharp mind — what do you think is going on?"
Shikaku Nara's smile was bitter in the extreme.
It all boiled down to the fact that the Third Hokage had planted the seeds of disaster long ago, and today, they were coming to fruition. If the Third Hokage had remained in complete control, the Hyuga clan would have continued to weigh the pros and cons and tolerate the situation. But the Uchiha clan's sudden assertiveness had shaken the Hokage's authority, giving the Hyuga clan an opportunity. It was no surprise that the Hyuga, unwilling to accept their fate, were now making moves!
In his memory, Hiashi Hyuga and his brother Hizashi had been very close.
Even the divide between the Hyuga's main and branch families hadn't broken the bond between the brothers!