Escape From Konoha

Chapter 250: 243: Suspicion

In the huge conference room, there were about a dozen Jōnin gathered. 

Sitting at the front were four people facing the dozens of Jōnin: The Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen; advisors Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura; and Root leader Shimura Danzō. 

Due to occurrence of this emergency and Danzō deciding to act first, Hiruzen had no choice but to hurriedly return from the Hyūga clan as acting Hokage to preside over this Jōnin meeting. 

However, hosting the meeting now went against Hiruzen's original intentions. He saw the Hyūga had already come to an agreement. As long as Hyuga Hiashi's body was replaced with that of Hyuga Hizashi, further deterioration in relations between Konoha and Kumo could be avoided along with war. 

According to the news brought back by Anbu, while on routine patrol a Konoha Jōnin team on the eastern Land of Fire border had clashed with a Kumo team. At this critical juncture of signing an armistice agreement with Kumo, all sorts of conflicts kept arising, constantly disturbing Hiruzen's state of mind. 

He sat there, intentionally or not glancing at Danzō beside him, sighing softly in his heart. Although there was no concrete evidence, Danzō's shadow probably lay behind this incident. 

As the main battle faction in Konoha, while Danzō made no suggestions at previous meetings, he must have been dissatisfied with resolving the war through peace talks with Kumo. If his dissatisfaction led him to attack now to achieve some purpose, his timing was indeed perfect. 

"Regarding the death of the Jonin Mizuno's team at the hands of Kumo ninja, this is no longer an issue of whether we're willing to negotiate peace, but of Kumo having no sincerity. Not only are they shamelessly persecuting the Hyga clan, now they're harassing the Land of Fire's border and attacking and killing our ninjas. In response, I suggest abolishing the previous proposed peace negotiation meeting solution instantly. If they won't sign the agreement, then we'll fight Kumo to the bitter end until they're willing to sign!" said Danzō coldly from his front row seat, strongly advocating an attitude of resolute combat. 

The team Danzō referred to were Konoha team led by a Jōnin Mizuno killed by Kumo at the border. There were three accompanying Chūnin who had also unfortunately died in the line of duty. 

Kumo was being too aggressive, not only were the shamelessly trying to coerce the Hyūga clan, but now tht had started harassing their border, resulting in the deaths of one Konoha Jōnin and three Chūnin. Those Jōnin who'd originally disagreed with the peace talks now had an even firmer, stronger desire to fight Kumo to the bitter end. 

Death was nothing. They didn't believe every single Kumo ninjas wasn't afraid to die. Konoha would not shirk making trouble.

And the long-standing soft policy had also stirred frustration in their hearts. Even their view of the Third Hokage's leadership began to feel dissatisfied. If the Fourth Hokage were still alive, he would have led them to directly attack the village in the Land of Lightning, forcing their Kage to sign an armistice himself.

"I agree with Danzō-sama's suggestion. Regardless of the Hyūga situation, it was originally Kumo who wanted to steal the Byakugan, then insisted on hitting us. Now that Mizuno's team has been killed on their duty, we can't let Kumo get away with it,"

"Yes, Kumo is too deceitful. Now it won't be them holding us accountable, but us holding them accountable," echoed several other Jōnin. 

Kumo's continuous persecution had made the ninja's anger intolerable, and they worried they'd have no outlet for it. 

"There are many doubts about this matter. Why was Mizuno's team in conflict with ninjas from Kumo? We need need to investigate carefully before making judgments,"

Hiruzen said, expressing his own opinion. He really didn't want to see someone secretly looking smug now. 

"That is, does Hokage-sama still plan to resolve this incident through peace talks?" A Jōnin asked.

It was clearly meant to be a heart-breaking question. 

"No, I just mean that since the incident has already occurred, finding out the truth behind it is also important. As for peace talks with Kumo..."

Hiruzen knew that saying he would continue dealing with Kumo through peaceful diplomacy and compromise after this incident would likely lead to a sharp increase in the number of Jōnin supporting Danzō. 

This was something he didn't want to see. Danzō's Root faction was already getting bolder. If its underground tendrils reached into the visible forces on the surface, it would be enough to fatally threaten the Hokage's power. But Danzō had lived in seclusion for several years now, never giving Hiruzen the chance to make an issue of it. 

The real reason he wanted to investigate this matter was not to compromise with Kumo, but to uncover evidence of Danzō's secret behind the scenes actions. Including looking into personnel transfers within Root. 

"Let's do this for now: Continue sending 2,000 more ninkas to reinforce the eastern border against Kumo's attack. At the same time, I'll also contact Kumo's Fourth Raikage asking him to hand over the offending ni kas to Konoha for justice,"

At present, with the battle faction so powerful, controlling their emotions was the Hokage's job. Although continuing to fight Kumo could effectively vent the ninja's frustrations... what about after that?

Simply venting anger was utterly meaningless. Konoha had already been fighting continuously for years, with resource consumption and casualties both critical imminent issues. The daimyō was also urging an end to the war as soon as possible - the village budget could sustain no more. 

This was something the ninjas could ignore, but not he as Hokage. This was why he hoped the Hyūga could compromise.

With internal consumption so dire and Root already overextended, the daimyō had sent multiple warnings that the war efforts must not continue. Balancing all points was what he, the Third Hokage, strove to do to the utmost. 

So to a certain extent, the battle faction's desire to fight had to be satisfied, but he couldn't let them talk as if wanting an all-out death match with Kumo. That was the crux. 

Sure enough, upon hearing Hiruzen's arrangement, the Jōnin calmed down somewhat as they thought about the gains and losses. Of course they understood wars weren't so simple to wage. In the heat of the moment they had just wanted to vent their pent-up frustrations, unable to stomach Kumo's ugly behavior.

"How should we address the matter concerning the Hyuga clan?" A Jōnin inquired once again.

"To counter the unreasonable demand, Konoha is now holding Kumo accountable, not the other way around," Hiruzen replied succinctly.

At this juncture, any compromise would signify the failure of the Hokage. Hiruzen understood this clearly.

The main fighters were unwilling to let the Hyuga clan bear the brunt of this. The Hyuga clan's significance in Konoha was evident. On the battlefield, they served as Konoha's keenest eyes, allowing ninjas to navigate the dangers without falling victim to plots and calculations of their enemies.

If Kumo sought to hold the Hyuga clan responsible, Konoha could reciprocate by holding Kumo accountable for the killing of a Konoha Jonin, creating delays and muddling the issue entirely.

A calm voice interjected among the Jōnin: "If that's the case, we should swiftly capture the international public opinion and amplify this issue to gain an advantage."

Bearing two scars on his face, the Jōnin, Nara Shikaku spoke with wisdom in his eyes.

Nara Shikaku's words were a wake-up call. Publicizing this matter would allow Konoha to seize the high ground in public opinion and condemn Kumo.

The reason Kumo could manipulate the Hyuga clan was that, while Konoha deliberated its response, they had already spun a narrative that painted Konoha in a negative light, creating an unfavorable public opinion that even some villagers in Konoha embraced.

Making a proactive move was crucial, dealing with the situation on their own terms.

As Hiruzen was about to respond, Danzo beside him spoke first, "I've asked someone to deal with this matter before the meeting. Any objections?"

"There are none," Shikaku replied with his expression unchanged.

At the beginning, he was curious about who among the Konoha had the audacity to secretly orchestrate this, Shikaku now had no doubt.

Mizuno, who died in the line of duty, was likely a hidden ninjas from the Root. He was sacrificed without hesitation.

But the actual facts were no longer relevant now, the focus was on how Konoha would present and manipulate this information to exert public opinion pressure on Kumo.

Despite his dislike for Danzo's usual behavior, Shikaku had to admit that Danzo handled this situation skillfully.

This problem seemed unsolvable.

.....

"Damn Konoha, they actually used such a despicable method!"

The Fourth Raikage raged. His iron fist smashed the solid wood desk to splinters, sending documents scattering to every corner of the room.

The Fourth's body had condensed a thick layer of Lightning Armor, crackling with lightning. The hair on his head stood on end. He was clearly extremely angry. 

Secretary Mabui helplessly surveyed the scene and sighed lightly. This was the eighth desk replacement just this month. At this rate, the damages would come out of the Raikage's salary.

Honestly, as a village leader, it was extremely problematic to get angry so easily. But considering the Fourth Raikage's past behavior and most Kumo ninjas being brash fighters... Mabui sighed even more heavily. 

"Go to war! Wage war on Konoha immediately! I want to lead the front myself!" The Fourth Raikage shouted, in a precarious state of losing self-control. 

Mabui could stand it no longer and quickly interjected, "Please don't do this, Raikage-sama! Rumors are already widely circulating that we in Kumo killed those Konoha ninjas for no reason. It makes us appear much too aggressive. If our reputation drops, it will impact the regular volume of entrusted missions."

"Damn Konoha! This definitely isn't that Hiruzen's method!"

Though Mabui calmed him somewhat, The Fourth still felt furious. He didn't believe such sinister schemes could have come from the Third Hokage. That old man wasn't so sinister. 

"It doesn't matter whose means it was; what's important now is resolving this incident,"

Mabui said, rubbing her aching brows. She hadn't expected such a combative retaliation from Konoha. 

"What else can be done?! Tell the truth about the matter!" The Fourth Raikage still raged.

It was nonsense that Kumo had taken the initiative to attack and kill that Konoha Jōnin called Mizuno. In fact, it was the Konoha ninjas Mizuno who had led the three Chūnin to desperately rush towards the Kumo troops positions, killing dozens of unprepared Kumo. Among them, two Jōnins had died from this sudden manslaughter. 

"The effect would be minimal. Considering our previous publicity war against the Hyūga, winning people over first is crucial. Even if we reveal the truth later, most will only think we're covering faults and shirking responsibility, leaving a bad impression. Many villagers already appealed for the Kumo who killed those Konoha ninjas without cause to publicly apologize to Konoha to avoid war and have Raikage-sama write a review acknowledging his mistakes." 

Hearing this, the Fourth Raikage even go more furious. But because of it, he was finally able to calm down, though his expression remained extremely gloomy. 

Seeing the Fourth calm down, Mabui at last breathed easy.

The Raikage with a frown. "Then should we leave things to Konoha's discretion? Can we still make a fuss about the Hyūga affair?"

"Of course we can, but Konoha can also shrug it off. We'll need to hand over the Kumo ninja who killed the Konoha Jōnin in exchange for Konoha returning the Hyūga clan member to us."

Mabui felt sure Konoha would take this trade. Even the Third Hokage's tolerance had a limit. She didn't think it would be good for either side if things stayed mired in empty lip service with no end. After all the wrangling, Kumo would gain nothing. 

For now, Kumo could exert no more pressure on Konoha. More than the original truth, both villages had leverage over the other currently. With Kumo pinching the Hyūga and Konoha pinching the painful matter of their ninja killing Konoha ninjas, attacking the other's weakness would only hurt both sides.

"Immediately convene a Jōnin meeting. No matter the outcome, we must draft a reasonable charter," The Fourth Raikage declared with a helpless wave of his hand. 

"Yes," Mabui nodded. Arms full of documents, she exited the Raikage's office. 

....

"That is, I no longer need to sacrifice myself to now?"

At the Hyūga clan conference room, Hizashi's expression was slightly startled. 

The elder facing him gave a grave nod. "That's right, Hokage-sama made another decision after what happened with Kumo killing Mizuno's team. The outcome has spared your life, Hizashi."

The news of the Jōnin team being slain by Kumo was already spreading within Konoha, arousing righteous fury in many. The battle faction's voice grew steadily louder and more powerful. Even the Hokage couldn't suppress such sentiment, so he could only channel it slowly. 

Thanks to the majority, the Hyūga wouldn't have to account anything to Kumo, and Hizashi naturally wouldn't need to substitute his life for his brother Hiashi's to ease the Konoha-Kumo conflict. 

Hearing the elder's words, Hizashi didn't know how to feel at the moment - happy, fortunate, or both?

If he can survive, he wasn't willing to die. He still had family , his son Neji was just entering the academy and he had much life yet to live ahead. 

Yet sometimes, like when the main house encountered troubles, the branch house couldn't shirk the duty to protect the main house. So whether voluntary or coerced, giving his life to prevent war and shield the clan had been one path forward. 

But in the end, Hyuga was just a part of Konoha.

As his stand-in to pacify Kumo's wrath, there would be no silent oppression from the top village brass. After all, the village's leadership had only come to the Hyūga seeking someone from the main or branch houses. They couldn't make the decision just suggestions.

From a personal rights perspective, the branch members were also "slaves" whose freedoms were bound by the clan. The concept of branch families was precisely what the clan and village leadership were fundamentally unwilling to pay real attention towards. 

The branch ninjas couldn't be seen as complete "people". So, while rejoicing over his survival, Hizashi also felt a deep sadness. He now understood somewhat those branch members who had followed Hyuga Ayane in defecting the village for freedom. They wanted to be complete "people", not thoughtless decorated tools without freedom of thought. 

"You must feel quite fortunate now.."

The clan elder said with a smile. He had originally been unwilling to use such means to pacify Kumo's plot. In any case, Hizashi also bore the Hyuga name.

For the clan to never before suffer such humiliation since its founding, now forced to sacrifice a clansman's life to quell the flames of war... But this was a new era of single village nations. No matter how prominent a ninjas clan was, they had to follow their village's dictates. Hyuga had retained some ancient traditions, which was already quite admirable. 

"It's impossible not to. No one wants to die if they can live," Hizashi replied with an awkward smile. 

The clan elder nodded and took out a letter. "Hiashi-sama asked me to pass this to you. With your death no longer imminent, we still don't know the letter's contents - Hiashi-sama himself didn't open it either. You may now dispose of it yourself as you desire."

"Brother...?"

Hizashi muttered. He took the envelope with complicated emotions and stuffed it into his clothes. He would find a chance to burn the now unnecessary letter after returning home. 

"There is one other thing. I want to request your verification on something," The elder said gravely after handing over the letter, gazing piercingly at Hizashi. 

"My verification?" Hizashi was confused by the elder's sudden solemn attitude over wanting his verification. What could the elder want him to verify about with such an intense stare?

"Yes, please verify."

The clan elder's look said it was a matter of life and death, leaving Hizashi to feel things weren't simple. "Please tell the elder, I will definitely speak all I know."

"Well then, let me be direct. Someone from the branch family contacted Danzō," The elder stated plainly. 

"The branch family...contacted Danzō?"

Hiashi stiffened upon hearing such explosive information revealed so suddenly. It took him a moment to react to the startling news.

"That's right. Hokage-sama already discovered one of Danzō's Root teams sneaking out of the village. Soon after, there was a border conflict where a Jōnin and three Chūnin from the village were killed by Kumo in a surprise attack."

"What do you make of this? Don't you think there's someone in the branch family who dared to act without the clan's orders?"

Hizashi felt a surge of anger but kept it off his face. Since joining Konoha, the Hyūga had never meddled in power struggle, completely prohibited by clan law. 

"The timing of Danzō's action was too coincidental. And from my understanding, that branch member... A while back, some of them suddenly disappeared for a period without explanation of their whereabouts or deeds..." The elder said, carefully observing Hiashi's angered reaction for any insights.

"The branch family would never do this without the main house's permission!"

Hizashi insisted on his viewpoint stubbornly. Although his life could be said to have been spared by Danzō's machinations alone, he in fact had zero connection to Danzō.

The branch members were still bound by clan restrictions. Even if they took initiative to contact Danzō, it would be impossible for Danzō to cut any deals with them.

But If it had been someone from the main house contacting Danzō, the implications would be different. The suspicions should be more focused on the clan than the branch family in comparison. 

"Then was Hyūga Hiyane's defection also ordered by the clan?"

The elder's expression turned dangerous. 

Hizashi was rendered speechless.

"However, Danzō represents the main battle faction in the village. It's reasonable he wouldn't want to negotiate peace with Kumo. But now Hokage-sama suspects our Hyūga clan is secretly supporting Root's growth, so Danzō rescued our clan to save the Hyūga's face." The elder's eyes pierced Hizashi like sharp knives. 

"That's nothing of the sort!" 

"It's not important. What matters is the Hyuga clan has already fallen under Hokage-sama's suspicion. Things will seriously turn against the Hyūga next. Go warn those branch elders not to make mistakes or do stupid things to disgrace the clan."

The elder took out a paper with over a dozen names - all Hyūga clan members, some high-ranking branch elders.

"Your next task is monitoring these people's movements. In exchange, your son Neji can come study the clan's more advanced Gentle Fist techniques." 

Hizashi's expression darkened, hands clenched tightly into fists. He desperately wanted to punch the damn elder in his face, but restrained himself in the end. Because he was out of time, neither the elder nor his brother would show him mercy or indulge such temper. It didn't matter if it was just himself, but Neji mustn't get implicated. 

"I will watch them, but if they show no problems, I demand an apology from the main house,"

Hizashi said sharply, the elder's aged face looking particularly disgusting now. 

The elder didn't care about Hizashi's glare. After brief consideration he nodded. "If they truly prove to be innocent, I will personally apologize to the entire branch family at the clan assembly. I should not doubt my clansmen so." 

With the elder's promise, Hizashi left his seat, an ugly look on his face as he strode out the building. The elder paid him no more mind.

Compared to any troublesome issues potentially involving the branch family and Danzō, the priority now was dispelling the Hokage's suspicions about the Hyūga. Among Konoha's forces, once the Hokage eyed one with suspicion, things would become quickly complicated.