"What?!!"
"They are going too far!!"
"This is absolutely unacceptable!!"
As the words of Hyuga's Grand Elder fell, the surrounding Hyuga Ninjas erupted in angry protests. However, the central figure in this incident, Hyuga Hiashi, remained silent upon hearing the remarks.
"It seems we have no choice..."
After a moment of silence, Hyuga Hiashi spoke with a determined tone, "If sacrificing me can save the entire village..."
"Don't be hasty, Hiashi."
Hyuga Hiashi was interrupted by the Grand Elder, "Don't act recklessly. The Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga is a crucial asset for this village. The main family's duty is to forever protect this bloodline."
"I understand its importance, but do we have to let the village plunge back into war?"
Hyuga Hiashi, who had been instilled with the mission of the family and village since childhood, spoke passionately.
"I understand. Of course, we cannot let the village be dragged into war again..."
Hyuga's Grand Elder spoke, shifting his gaze to Hyuga Hizashi behind him, "That's why we have the branch family... Let Hizashi go and deal with those people for you!"
"What?! This..."
Upon hearing the Grand Elder's words, Hyuga Hiashi looked at his silent brother, Hyuga Hizashi, in shock.
"Hizashi has already agreed to it..."
The Grand Elder spoke slowly, as if the person to be sacrificed was not his own son but just an insignificant name.
"But don't they want the secrets of the Byakugan?!"
"If Hizashi dies, the Byakugan will be sealed. I'm afraid the Land of Lightning won't agree so easily, will they?"
Hyuga Hiashi hesitated, "And demanding the body of the Hidden Cloud's Third Raikage, the disciple of Third Hokage-sama, probably won't accept it either, right?"
"Hmph, they must be playing this trick, which is why they're making such demands..."
Hyuga Elder snorted and spoke in a deep voice, "So as long as we pretend to agree, hand over someone who looks like you, Hyuga Hizashi, they'll have nothing to say."
"As for the body of the Third Raikage... Hokage-sama will naturally persuade Scarlet Yu."
"But..." Hiashi seemed to still hesitate. After all, Hizashi was his biological brother, and moreover, he was the one who killed the Cloud Ninja envoy, not Hizashi.
"Don't hesitate any longer, Hiashi."
Hyuga Elder stared at the hesitant Hiashi and said again, "Our ancestors did the same to preserve the Hyuga bloodline. Even if they are brothers, when necessary, one must be ruthless and sacrifice! This is the fate of the Hyuga Clan!"
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"Damn it..."
Hiashi clenched his fist, feeling a deep sense of resentment and powerlessness.
The scene fell into silence for a moment, and finally, Hyuga Hizashi, standing behind Hyuga Elder, walked out.
"Where did the usually tough Hiashi-sama go?"
Hizashi's face seemed to carry a deliberately light-hearted smile as he looked at his brother, whose destiny had been different from his since birth. "Why are you so hesitant today..."
"This matter is of great importance, how can we take it lightly..."
Hiashi, halfway through his sentence, suddenly widened his eyes and clutched his stomach, collapsing to the floor. It turned out that Hizashi had taken advantage of the moment he was speaking to suddenly strike, delivering a punch to his stomach.
"Let me handle this."
Having knocked down his own twin brother Hiashi with a surprise attack, Hizashi calmly spoke.
"What are you saying, Hizashi? You still have a son, Neji... How can you choose death for the sake of the main family?!"
This sudden turn of events shocked everyone present, and the fallen Hiashi's face revealed a hint of disbelief.
"It's not like that."
Hizashi glanced at the people present and continued, "Honestly, up until today, I have always harbored resentment towards the main family... But what I'm doing today is not to protect the main family. It's to protect my brother and the village I love."
"For me, this is the first time I have the freedom to choose, even if it means choosing death."
"From birth, my destiny has never been my own to choose. Neji has always seen me as someone powerless."
Hizashi continued with calmness, "So I've come to understand. After I'm gone, please tell Neji for me. His father chose death not to protect the main family, but to protect Neji, his brother, loved ones, and the entire Konoha. It was a voluntary choice."
Upon hearing Hizashi's words, everyone present was moved, and even the Third fell into a deep silence.
"No, I don't agree."
Just then, a clear voice broke the silence in the room.
Everyone looked up, and a white-haired youth in black clothes had appeared in the meeting room of the Hyuga Clan's main family, cradling a sleeping little girl in his arms.
"Hinata?!"
Seeing Yu suddenly appear with his daughter Hinata in his arms, the fallen Hyuga Hiashi widened his eyes in pleasant surprise. Earlier, he had dispatched numerous individuals to search, but there was no sign of Hinata. He had thought she might have been taken out of the village by Cloud Ninja, but he hadn't expected her to be rescued and brought back by Yakushi Yu, the disciple of the Third Hokage.
When did this guy appear?
Third, who was sitting in his seat, was stunned to see Yu completely avoiding his detection and appearing out of nowhere while holding a little girl. This sudden appearance without any signs reminded him of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who had already sacrificed himself.
"Since when..."
"Has Konoha become so weak and helpless that it can only rely on sacrificing its own innocent ninjas for the so-called peace?"
Ignoring the gazes of everyone in the room, Yu, holding Hinata horizontally, suddenly appeared and stared directly at the Third.
Yu's words instantly aroused the anger of all the people from Konoha present, especially Utatane Koharu, one of the Konoha Elders sitting next to the Third, who sternly exclaimed "What did you say?!"
"Yakushi Yu! How dare you speak to Hokage-sama like this!" Before the Third could speak, Homura Mitokado, the other advisor, couldn't help but furrow his brow and seak as well.
Facing the questioning of the two Konoha Elders, Yu didn't even lift an eyelid, still staring directly at the Third.
"Yu, you are unaware."
"Although we repelled the Land of Lightning this time, the accumulated losses from the Third Great Ninja War, and the events three years ago, our village really cannot withstand the impact of another war..."
Hearing Yu's questioning, the Third did not get angry but instead sighed lightly and began to explain.
"But I cannot accept such a approach!"
"If we cannot even protect our own village's ninjas for the sake of so-called peace, then what was the point of us risking our lives on the battlefield? What meaning does such peace have?"
With a sharp gaze fixed directly on the Third's eyes, Yu's attitude remained uncompromising.
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