Chapter 79: The Hyuga Clan’s Stance

Hiashi led Seiryu to the reception room in his house. As expected of the Hyuga clan, the most prestigious in the village after the Uchiha, their hospitality was impeccable.

After both Hiashi and Seiryu finished a cup of tea brought by the maids, Hiashi finally spoke slowly, "I wonder what brings Deputy Seriryu here today?"

Seiryu smiled knowingly at the question—it seemed Hiashi understood his intentions, saving him a lot of effort.

Seiryu took out several land deeds from a sealing scroll he carried and slid them in front of Hiashi.

"Deputy Seiryu, what are these?" Hiashi asked in confusion.

Seiryu then handed Hiashi a list with the names of several Hyuga branch members, and explained, "While investigating the matter of the village ninja colluding with the rogue ninja Orochimaru, the Police Force discovered that during the Third Shinobi World War, the village traitor Shimura Danzo colluded with Orochimaru to stage an accident on the battlefield, kidnapping several Hyuga branch family members to use in inhumane human experiments."

"Is that so?" Hiashi took the list and immediately frowned tightly. "Deputy Seiryu, please wait a moment."

Seiryu gestured for him to go ahead. He knew Hiashi needed to verify the authenticity of the list.

When Seiryu forged the list, he had carefully selected the names: all these Hyuga branch members had indeed died on the battlefield during the Third Shinobi World War, and all had perished while carrying out missions with members of three other clans, resulting in total annihilation. None of them had any direct relatives alive, so no matter how Hiashi checked, on the surface there would be nothing suspicious.

Seiryu sat quietly in the reception room drinking tea. Not long after, Hiashi returned.

"Thank you, Deputy Seiryu, for bringing this news," Hiashi said, his expression grave.

"These are the assets seized from the suspects. The Hokage and the Police Force intend to use them as compensation for the victims' families in this case." Seiryu pushed the land deeds toward Hiashi. "The other victims' families have already received compensation, but given the Hyuga clan's special situation, I'm delivering yours personally."

Hiashi nodded. Seiryu was right—these members were all from the branch family, and with no direct relatives, the compensation made sense even by the rules, even if the Police Force hadn't provided it. Moreover, the Hyuga clan hadn't even known about this matter before, but Seiryu still brought the compensation, showing the Police Force—and the Uchiha—were giving the Hyuga due respect.

Hiashi picked up the deeds and glanced over them; his expression shifted slightly.

The shops listed on the deeds were located in the village's commercial street center—extremely valuable. More importantly, they were very close to the Hyuga clan's own businesses in the village; one was even adjacent to Hyuga property. With these assets, the Hyuga could expand their business greatly. In other words, these shops would be even more valuable in their hands.

This far exceeded the normal compensation value for three special jonin.

Hiashi looked up at Seiryu. Seeing the smile on his face, Hiashi understood: these were the benefits given to the Hyuga for not involving themselves in the recent lockdown incident.

At the same time, Seiryu's visit as Police Force captain likely carried a hint of warning.

A warning not to pick a side between the two factions.

Hiashi saw the village's situation very clearly, but he had no interest in taking part in the power struggle.

The Hyuga's size guaranteed that, no matter who won, for the sake of village stability, they would always be offered benefits. But if they took sides and chose wrong, it would spell disaster for the clan.

Hiashi glanced at Seiryu and said, "Thank you, Deputy Seiryu, for coming all this way, and for you and the Lord Third's keen judgment in seeking justice for our wronged clan members."

Seiryu nodded with a smile. By thanking both him and Hiruzen, Hiashi was making his position clear: the Hyuga would not take sides.

This was exactly the answer Seiryu wanted most from his visit.

For Seiryu, the best outcome was for the Hyuga to remain neutral. Even if they wanted to fully back him, he'd have to think carefully before accepting their support.

With the Hyuga neutral, Seiryu would naturally have to offer them some benefits for the sake of village stability, even if they did nothing. But this was within his acceptable range. If the Hyuga fully supported him, while it would increase his chances of success, he'd have to give them much more—and afterward, the Hyuga might become the next power he'd have to contend with.

Hiashi was truly a clever man, saving Seiry a lot of trouble.

After leaving Hiashi, Seiryu strolled leisurely toward Yakiniku Q. Rounding a corner, he ran into Kakashi, who was waiting for him.

"Why wait here? Wouldn't it be better to go in early?" Seiryu laughed.

"The money-making method you mentioned—was it this?" Kakashi asked. "Forging a victim list and pocketing some of the compensation?"

"Did the people on our forged list die during the Third Shinobi World War, or disappear during Danzo's years in power?" Seiryu countered.

"Yes," Kakashi nodded.

"Did the criminals we interrogated admit to it?"

"They admitted it."

"Then that's it!" Seiryu clapped and spread his hands. "Who could object?"

"Or are you unhappy because you didn't get a share?" Seiryu raised an eyebrow, half-joking, "I'd like to give you a share, but your Hatake clan has always had only one heir per generation—even if I wanted to, you wouldn't have anyone to inherit it."

Kakashi: …