After the meeting, Naraku and Hiashi returned to the Hyuga clan grounds.
"The Third Hokage is... quite refined," Naraku said thoughtfully.
The clan leaders, who moments earlier had been stirred by Naraku's words in the council chamber, now kept their distance.
Even Naraku had to admit—under these circumstances, stalling was undoubtedly the smartest move for the Hokage.
"I didn't expect them to stay silent," Hiashi said calmly.
After all, had they voiced support for the Hyuga clan, they risked sending their own clans to the battlefield.
"But still... I was surprised, Naraku. How did you turn the tide?" Hiashi asked, his expression stoic, but his eyes held a rare flicker of curiosity.
Before the meeting, he had expected Naraku to be resigned to death.Yet somehow, things had shifted. And in the end, it was the Third Hokage who had been put in an uncomfortable position.
"It's nothing special. Just wordplay. The ability to ask the right questions at the right time," Naraku replied with a casual wave.
Now, back in the conference room, only a handful of people likely understood the true implications of his rhetoric.
For the elders of Konoha, the simplest and cleanest outcome would have been Naraku's death. It would have been a convenient solution:A crisis avoided.A war prevented.A sacrificial lamb offered.
And if war did come?Well, someone would survive. Someone would still be there to carry the title of Hokage.
That was part of the reason the Third Hokage had once handed the role to the Fourth. Konoha had suffered too deeply during the three great wars.
But more importantly—the Hokage needed Naraku to make the decision himself.
Just like in the original timeline.
"Let the Hyuga choose to kill themselves."
That's what the Third Hokage had said.
He offered a vague but deliberate stance—one that pushed the responsibility back onto the Hyuga clan itself. In the original, the main family would then pressure Hiashi into compliance.
And this time, the message to Naraku was clear:
I support the village's decision—in my own way.But only if the village itself is brave enough to take that step.
The ball had been tossed back into the hands of the leadership.
As they neared the Hyuga clan estate, Hiashi stopped walking.
"I'm grateful for what you did today, Naraku." He turned to face him, then bowed deeply. "If not for you, Hinata would've been in danger."
The kidnapping attempt by the Cloud Village had targeted Hinata for one reason: the Byakugan.
But they didn't just want it for research...
Hinata was still a child.In the hands of the Cloud Shinobi, obsessed with bloodline inheritance, she wouldn't have been a captive—she would have been breeding stock, forced to bear children and strengthen their clan.
Hiashi shuddered at the thought.
"Since Hinata calls me 'big brother,' of course I would protect her," Naraku said simply.
"What nonsense are you speaking!?"
A harsh, cold voice echoed from the main gate.
Several elders of the Hyuga clan stood waiting. One had already spoken.
"And Hiashi, what are you doing bowing to a branch member?" the elder snapped.
"The branch family's duty is to protect the main family!" the second elder barked sternly.
"You—you allowed the clan head to bow to a subordinate!? Do you even understand what that means?" the third elder accused, pointing directly at Naraku.
"Enough!" Naraku remained silent, but Hiashi suddenly shouted, his voice sharp and loud.
"I bowed to Naraku because he saved my daughter—not because he demanded it, and not to show deference!"
"You..." The three elders stared, stunned.
In the moonlight, the veins near Hiashi's eyes pulsed—the clear sign of Byakugan activation.They hadn't expected this. Not from Hiashi. Not the quiet, composed patriarch.
The great elder, trying to maintain composure, interrupted casually, "What did the Hokage decide tonight?"
"This..." Hiashi hesitated.
"Speak!" the elder ordered, though there was an unmistakable glint of anticipation in his tone.
Reluctantly, Hiashi explained the outcome of the meeting.
"What did you say?" the second elder turned his glare toward Naraku, horror creeping across his face.
Though Hiashi tried to soften the recounting—changing interrogation of the Hokage to a polite discussion, and betraying the Will of Fire into offering a unique interpretation—the elders weren't fools.Well... not completely.
They could read between the lines.
"You insolent bastard! How dare you insult the Hokage!" the elder snapped.
The Hyuga were not the Uchiha. They didn't challenge the Hokage's authority on a whim.
Naraku, maintaining a respectful tone, asked, "Then tell me, Elder—how should I have responded?"
"You should've said you were ready to sacrifice yourself for the village!" the great elder barked, voice rising. "That would have preserved the peace!"
Naraku frowned. "But wasn't it the Cloud Village that attempted the kidnapping?"
"So what!?" the elder roared. "To preserve peace, you should find honor in your sacrifice!"
"As a branch member, this is your duty. This is your glory!"
All three elders now berated him in turn.
Naraku finally spoke—his voice filled with icy disdain.
"Of course. If the main family of the Hyuga clan wants a branch member to die, we must do so. Without hesitation. And with a smile on our face."
"Exactly!" the great elder shouted, missing the venom in Naraku's words.
But then, silence. The elder paused.
For the first time, he sensed something dangerous—contempt.Naraku wasn't just questioning the decision.He was questioning the foundation of the Hyuga traditions.
"You're just going to stand there!? Seize this ungrateful dog!" the elder ordered nearby guards.
They weren't sure if Naraku could still be made to submit before the Hokage found out.
"Yes, Elder!"
Two branch family members, each bearing the cursed mark—the bird cage seal—rushed toward Naraku.
But before they could even strike—
Naraku moved.
In a blur, both attackers found their bodies frozen, their collars in Naraku's grasp.
Boom!
Their heads collided with a sickening thud, then their bodies dropped limply to the ground like broken dolls.
Without pause, Naraku walked forward.
The elder stumbled back in horror, watching him advance under the pale moonlight.
He looked like a demon.
Naraku's cold eyes locked onto him.
Then—a hand to the throat. Lifted clean off the ground.
"You just said... if the main family wants me dead—I have to die?" Naraku said quietly.
The elder clawed at Naraku's wrist, his legs kicking in panic.
But no one moved to stop it.
No one could.
Because in that moment, the balance of power in the Hyuga clan—
had shifted.