Chapter 42: Hyuga Hiashi's Fury!  

By the time Yoru arrived at the Hyuga compound under cover of night— 

It was already too late. 

The Kumo envoy's ninja commander lay dead. 

His killer? None other than the leader of the Hyuga clan himself… 

Hyuga Hiashi. 

The man stood rigid, clutching his trembling three-year-old daughter— 

Hyuga Hinata. 

"Clan Leader… what do we do?" 

"This scum deserved death, but he was still Kumo's head envoy. If the Hokage learns—" 

Hiashi's jaw tightened. 

Did he understand the consequences? Of course. 

But this filth had kidnapped his child. 

Their goal? The Byakugan. Had they succeeded, Hinata's eyes would've been carved out—and worse. 

What father wouldn't burn the world for his daughter? 

Hiashi stroked Hinata's hair, his Byakugan veins pulsing with resolve. 

"I'll report the truth to the Hokage. Even he wouldn't condemn us for this." 

Behind him, Hyuga Hizashi's brow furrowed. 

"Do you truly believe the Hokage will side with us?" 

"After how he groveled to Kumo, surrendering land and rights—would he risk their wrath for the Hyuga?" 

Hiashi's grip on Hinata tightened. Logically, he knew Hizashi was right. 

But a sliver of hope remained. 

"The Hyuga have served Konoha since its founding. Would he sacrifice us for a child-thieving dog?" 

"I refuse to believe it." 

Hizashi said nothing, exhaling through his nose. 

— 

After securing Hinata with guards, Hiashi turned on his heel. 

"I go to the Hokage. Now." 

Watching silently from the shadows, Yoru didn't intervene. 

The Hyuga still trusted Hiruzen—for now. 

Earlier, Kakashi's report had forced the Hokage's hand, "officially" clearing Yoru's name. Not that the prison could've held him anyway. 

Hiruzen's options were dwindling. With Kumo's crisis, his own faction fracturing, and only Uchiha Shisui as a reliable weapon against Yoru… 

The old fox had no choice but to fold. 

— 

Hokage's Office – Emergency Council 

The gathered elites stared at the envoy's corpse in shock. 

As Hiashi recounted the events, outrage erupted. 

Nara Shikaku scowled. "To steal a bloodline… from a three-year-old ? Kumo's gone too far." 

Akimichi Choza cracked his knuckles. "You showed restraint, Hiashi. I'd have pounded him to paste." 

Even the other clan heads nodded approval—until all eyes shifted to Hiruzen. 

The Hokage looked… broken. 

His humiliating "peace" treaty—now meaningless with the envoy's death. War loomed again. Worse, his plans to purge the Uchiha were derailed. 

Damn the Hyuga! he seethed internally. Couldn't they think for once?! 

Exhaling pipe smoke, he feigned sorrow. 

"Hiashi… as a father, I understand." 

"But as clan leader, couldn't you have restrained him? Must you kill?" 

The room froze. 

Hiashi's blood turned to ice. 

Hiruzen pressed on, voice oozing faux grief: 

"This 'incident' endangers the truce. Must thousands die because you lost your temper?" 

Incident?! Hiashi's nails drew blood from his palms. 

If my daughter's abduction is an 'incident', was your son's death at Yoru's hands one too?! 

He yearned to unleash the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms on the Hokage—but the Hyuga's fate hung in the balance. 

Hiruzen sighed, sealing the verdict: 

"I'll negotiate with Kumo's envoys. Whatever their demand—even if it costs your life —we'll pay it. For peace ." 

The axe had fallen. 

Hiashi swayed, vision blurring. 

Betrayed. 

His sacrifice wouldn't be for Konoha—but for Hiruzen's cowardice. 

Around him, the clan leaders' silence screamed louder than any protest. 

Shame. Fury. Revolt brewing beneath bowed heads.