Hizashi: Hyuga Hiashi, you are too arrogant.
"..."
Hearing the solution proposed by Hyuga Hiago, the eyes of the other Main Family elders flickered as they all contemplated the feasibility of this method.
It seemed that this method could really break the deadlock.
Regardless of whether the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning misunderstood what Kumogakure wanted, what they had said very clearly was that they wanted the "corpse" of the murderer.
So what if Kumogakure discovered that the "corpse" had no eyes? Would they dare to righteously demand the Byakugan?
There was no such logic.
Even if Kumogakure wanted to start a war, they needed a legitimate reason. Without a legitimate reason, the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning would not agree.
If they couldn't stand on the moral high ground, it would not only affect the reputation of the Land of Lightning in the ninja world but also affect the economic situation of Kumogakure, as the number of missions in the village would become very small.
Apart from a portion of the missions coming from the people within the Land of Lightning, the rest came from the people of other small countries without ninja villages.
Unless they were like Sunagakure, kneeling at the Daimyo's feet like a dog, where they would have to lay off ninja if the Daimyo cut off funding, mission requests could be said to be the foundation of a ninja village's existence.
It could only be said that the rules of the ninja world were truly distorted. Ninja villages and nobles were interdependent yet wary of each other. Ninja brought slaughter and trouble to the people, and the people could only entrust ninja to solve their troubles. Ninja who did not engage in production needed the people's commissions to live.
The entire ninja world was in a strange and fragile balance.
Although the elders of the Hyuga Main Family couldn't think this deeply, they also knew that Kumogakure needed a reason to start a war.
"Hiashi, it's time to face reality. Our ancestors also preserved the Hyuga clan's Kekkei Genkai in this way."
Hyuga Hiago looked at the conflicted Hyuga Hiashi and said in a deep voice, "For the sake of the Hyuga clan, even if it's your brother, you must be ruthless and abandon them. This is the destiny of the Hyuga Main Family, and also the fate of the Hyuga clan!"
"..."
It was very quiet, so quiet that one could hear the hissing of the burning candle. The melting wax flowed silently, reflecting the firelight that was close at hand.
No one present spoke. They were all quietly waiting for Hiashi to make a decision.
In fact, given Hyuga Hizashi's previous personality, since he had already decided to die in his brother's place, he would not have let Hiashi be the villain. He should have spoken up at this time to settle the matter.
But at this moment, he was in a complicated mood, watching his brother without saying a word, as if the words that person had left before leaving were echoing in his ears.
"It seems you are not ready yet. In that case, let's make a bet."
That person had chuckled lightly, his tone teasing. "You have already chosen to be a father. Then let's bet on whether Hyuga Hiashi will choose to be a brother, or choose to continue being a Main Family head who puts the 'greater good' first."
It was because of this sentence that Hyuga Hizashi chose to remain silent.
Everything that had happened so far was developing exactly as that person had said.
The Land of Lightning, Kumogakure, the Konoha leadership, the Hyuga Main Family, and even himself...
It was as if they were all pieces on that person's chessboard, to be manipulated and moved to their designated positions.
This ability to strategize and manipulate people's hearts also made Hyuga Hizashi respect him even more.
He just wanted to see now, if things developed as they were originally supposed to, without that person's intervention, whether his own death would be worth it.
"..."
The atmosphere in the reception hall dropped lower and lower, making people feel as if they were trying to breathe in a swamp, with only thick mud filling their lungs.
Hyuga Hiashi only felt his mind was in a chaos. He looked at the calm expression on Hyuga Hizashi's face but couldn't see through his thoughts. The conflicted look on his face gradually turned to pain.
The fear of death, the guilt towards Hizashi, the responsibility for the family, the reluctance to part with Hinata, the anger towards Kumogakure...
He wasn't really cold and ruthless. Just like with Hinata, he had feelings for Hizashi, but these feelings were hidden, deeply hidden beneath a cold exterior.
At this moment, countless emotions intertwined into a large net, like a ball of yarn with no end, tying his heart so tightly that the blood in his body stagnated.
"Hiashi!" Hyuga Hiago shouted in a low voice. "I..."
Hyuga Hiashi's body suddenly trembled, his chest heaving violently, like a broken bellows. His voice was hoarse as he said, "I, I am the head of the Main Family, I..."
He couldn't say the rest of the words. His whole body hunched over, his head lowered, not daring to look at Hizashi. A deep sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.
For the first time, he felt such self-loathing. For the first time, he felt how heavy and disgusting the word "destiny," which he used to say so lightly, really was.
At the same time, on Hyuga Hizashi's calm face, a look of relief appeared.
After Hiashi said those words, all hesitation and doubt were cut away in his heart.
He had lost.
Hyuga Hiashi had lost too.
"Brother."
Hyuga Hizashi even managed a smile. He looked at Hyuga Hiashi, whose figure was hunched over as if he were about to humble himself into the dirt, and said, "I have some last words, concerning the two children, Neji and Kumo. Can I speak with you alone?"
Hyuga Hiashi's body trembled again before he slowly nodded. The others, including Hyuga Hiago, naturally had no reason to stop them.
Hyuga Kumo just stood there without any movement, watching the "ugly" side of this so-called great clan.
Click.
With Hizashi in front and Hiashi behind, the two walked into another soundproof room.
The sound of the rain outside was suddenly cut off. Only the sound of disordered, heavy breathing could be heard.
Hyuga Hiashi, who had been keeping his head down, seemed to have regained a trace of courage. He looked up at Hyuga Hizashi standing in front of him and pursed his lips. "Hizashi, I'm sorry. I will definitely take good care of Neji and that child named Kumo for you."
But after he said this, he saw Hyuga Hizashi slowly shake his head, a relieved smile still on his face.
"Lord Hiashi."
Hizashi no longer called him brother, but used the former respectful title. His tone was calm as he said, "Did you know, even now, you are still arrogant."
"..." Hyuga Hiashi was stunned. "What?"
"Actually, in the solution that Hyuga Hiago proposed, there was another choice that you all ignored."
Not paying attention to his astonishment, Hyuga Hizashi slowly began to speak. "If you were truly determined to die, if you truly had the courage to pay the price for your impulsiveness, you could have gouged out your own eyes and then committed suicide. The effect would have been the same. You wouldn't lose the Byakugan, and you wouldn't start a war."
"But, from beginning to end, you never thought of that. How arrogant."
Looking at Hyuga Hizashi's strangely calm expression, Hyuga Hiashi suddenly felt a sense of unease. He subconsciously opened his mouth to say something.
But, the next moment.
Splurt!
A blurry black shadow appeared behind him. Hyuga Hiashi only felt a sudden coldness in his chest.
All the strength in his body seemed to have been drained in an instant. He stiffly lowered his head to look at the source of the coldness.
A hand, loosely clenched, was protruding from his chest. There was no blood, but ripples like water spread across his chest.
Hyuga Hiashi's body became stiff, and a trace of bewilderment appeared on his face.
What... is this?