- I'll be right with you," nodded the jonin, and after catching a couple of nearby chunin, he began to give out instructions.
Hizashi headed for the small two-story mansion of the head, which had once been his home before the cursed seal had been applied and the side branch had been moved to the common house.
As he crossed the threshold, the jonin sadly surveyed the signs of the fight inside, the torn down paper walls, the broken wooden floor, and the traces of blood. It was a good thing that the bodies had already been removed, both the dead attackers and the owners, otherwise the bitterness of loss would have overwhelmed him.
Now was not the time to let his feelings get the better of him, he had to get the clan's life back on track, make the promised changes, audit the finances, and strategize how to behave at the next village meeting. He could mourn the death of his brother and father later.
The reward of a full clan alliance, the clan treasurer, Iiro Hyuga, had been fully aware of Hishi-sama's plan and had supported the coup, so he had survived and could take care of that part of it, as he was much more financially savvy.
As for the couple of kunoichi promised to the lazy men, Hizashi already had several suitable candidates in mind, all that remained was to talk to them, explain the need for such a sacrifice and get their consent before all the clan techniques were freely available. Allies were allies, but the new head was not going to breed competitors for the clan.
No less important was the task of researching the archives and finding a way to remove the Hyuga Soke no Juinjutsu (the cursed seal technique of the Hyuga clan's main branch) - Hizashi refused to believe that the method didn't exist and that the ability to remove it hadn't been built into the seal's design.
Like many members of the side branch, he dreamed of one day getting rid of the shameful drawing on his forehead and no longer hiding his hitai-te from others.
***
- Hokage-sama, what should we do? - The nearest Captain Anbu asked the frowning Sarutobi as the gates to the Hyuga Quarter closed.
- Nothing, Kot," the Konoha leader shook his head, "something very significant has happened at Hyuga, but we can't find out what it is without invading the territory. Cancel the alarm and get the men out of here.
- Yes, Hokage-sama.
While the Anbu fighters removed the cordon of the clan quarter, the elderly shinobi lit a flame from his finger with a filled pipe and smoked, inhaling deeply and exhaling the fragrant smoke in several rings. His favorite habit was soothing, relaxing his strained nerves.
- 'Among the Hyuga who came out to join us, there was not one with an open forehead, Hokage-sama,' one of the personal bodyguards who remained in place addressed Sarutobi.
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