Konoha Hospital was quieter than usual today.
The hospital corridor was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. In the wards, only the faint electronic sounds of machinery could be heard, and the clock on the wall ticked away.
Hyuga Hiashi finally opened his eyes slowly from his long slumber.
'An unfamiliar ceiling.'
When those pure white eyes opened, this strange thought inexplicably popped into his mind.
But then, a sharp, stinging pain suddenly surfaced from the depths of his brain, as if a piece of his memory had been ripped out, causing him to instinctively put his hands to his forehead.
"He's already awake? Chief Rizu."
Upon hearing this, Hiashi Hyuga immediately suppressed the pain on his face and warily looked up in the direction from which the sound came.
However, the faces that came into view were somewhat unfamiliar:
"Who are you...?"
"Aizen Sousuke." The man before him smiled gently. "We met once not long ago, at the hospital."
"So it was Jonin Aizen."
Upon hearing this familiar name, Hiashi Hyuga subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
Although her memory was still a little hazy, since she was still in Konoha's hospital, the situation shouldn't be too bad.
But why did I end up in the hospital?
Assassination? Or combat?
Why is his memory so hazy?
The harder he tried to recall, the more confused his memories became.
"Please relax a little, Chief Rizu."
"Pain is a normal phenomenon."
Aizen comforted her gently, "This means you're already in the recovery process."
After all, he was the one who performed the surgery.
Breaking the kaleidoscope illusions didn't take much time; searching through memories took up more time, and I also performed some simple operations along the way.
Since we're already here...
We can't just send them away without leaving anything behind, can we?
Clearly, his impoverished backgrounds in two lifetimes made Aizen someone who cherishes resources.
Hearing that gentle and polite voice, Hiashi Hyuga's chaotic thoughts gradually calmed down.
He remembered the young man.
It seems... he's Kakashi's friend, and also a very polite, but somewhat naive, researcher.
Since that's the case, there's no need to be too wary.
Thinking this, Hiashi Hyuga continued, "Aizen-kun, what... happened to me?"
Why are my memories so confused?
Not only was he in a state of confusion, but his head was also throbbing painfully.
This is a side effect of memory cutting surgery.
However, Aizen clearly wouldn't tell him the truth.
He simply spoke in a doctor's tone, gently comforting her: "I don't know the specifics of the situation, but I do know that you were under a very serious illusion spell and were being manipulated for a long time... The pain you are experiencing now is just a side effect of the illusion being forcibly removed."
"However, you can rest assured."
Aizen Sousuke lowered his head, a subtle glint in his eyes behind his thick glasses, and spoke in a steady voice:
"The illusion has been completely dispelled."
"..."
"?!"
Hiashi Hyuga was silent for a moment.
Immediately afterwards, a strange emotion inexplicably appeared in those pure white pupils as she looked at him in astonishment.
I am the head of the Hyuga clan, a long-time practitioner of genjutsu.
The mere thought of these three words together was enough to completely baffle him.
Putting aside the fact that he, the owner of the Byakugan who can see through illusions, was under some kind of illusion, just considering the environment he was in, surrounded by countless Byakugan every day, no one should do something so foolish.
What kind of genius could come up with such a method?
With just a glance, Aizen seemed to understand his meaning, shaking his head with an enigmatic expression.
"The elders of the Hyuga main family are currently outside the hospital room. You can ask them about specific matters in the near future."
"You are familiar with the ninja secrecy regulations, so I won't go into detail."
Hiashi Hyuga finally calmed himself down and nodded slightly: "You've really had a hard time, Aizen-kun."
Aizen didn't say much, bowed to him, and strode out the door.
Soon, several elders of the Zong family with inscrutable expressions strode into the ward.
It's unclear what they've been through lately, but when they entered, everyone's face seemed deathly pale, and they looked unwell, as if they had been frightened.
Perhaps it was a situation of being at a loss due to the absence of a leader?
However, there's no need to worry so much.
Hyuga Hiyori subconsciously thought this, and her tone softened slightly:
"Elder Tiancheng."
"I already know about the illusion."
"Tell me about the battle I went through."
"My thoughts are still a little confused."
However, the elder, who was over seventy years old, was now displaying a look of fear, like a child just going into battle, and was trying hard to purse his lips, as if trying to suppress his emotions.
"No, the head of the Hizu clan."
"You haven't been in any battles recently."
"Um?"
Hiashi Hyuga's expression became even stranger.
Was he injured by illusion magic during battle?
We can't just let someone break into the center of our territory, which is surrounded by our own people, and forcibly perform a spell, can we?
This is not funny at all.
However, the elder's next words left him bewildered.
"You were attacked by an unknown force on the night of September 30th in the center of your clan's territory."
"From that day on, you launched a large-scale purge of the branch family members, executing, imprisoning, and stripping hundreds of people of their positions, which aroused great dissatisfaction among the branch family members."
Today is October 11th.
"..."
Hiashi Hyuga was taken aback at first.
Then, the pure white pupils suddenly trembled! A second tremor! A third tremor!
He raised his voice almost subconsciously:
"Twelve days!"
"Executed over a hundred people?!"
Even her voice has become shrill.
He looked at the group of elders standing in front of him with disbelief.
No, no, no.
The Second Elder wiped away his cold sweat and added, "You have only dealt with twenty-three dead people. The rest are just in the punishment period and are not in immediate danger."
"call--"
Hyuga Hiashi let out a long breath.
Compared to being tricked by illusions and killing hundreds of clansmen at once, this number of twenty-odd is much better.
But then he realized the crux of the other person's words:
"What do you mean by 'the dead in my hands'?"
Could there be other people involved?
Elder Tiancheng glanced at his fellow countrymen around him and saw their meek and submissive appearance, so he knew that only he could say these words.
He lowered his voice and said cautiously, "According to your arrangements, another group of thirty-six people, including three members of the main family, a delegation from the Fire Kingdom's capital, has disappeared."
"Suspected, all personnel killed in action."
"Knock knock knock—"
Hiashi Hyuga clutched his heart, almost able to clearly hear the drumming sound coming from his chest. His eyes were wide open, his lips were trembling slightly, and his face turned from white to red, then gradually to cyan.
He pointed a finger at the old man in front of him, almost choking on his breath:
"You...you guys...?"
This is another thirty-odd people.
Three members of the main family, which is six pure Byakugan, have also been lost.
How much loss is this?
How many main families and how many ninjas does the Hyuga clan actually have?
If he had woken up a few days later, would the Hyuga clan have been wiped out?!
The elders around him secretly gave him a thumbs up.
That's right.
Since the clan leader can't remember, then it was sent out according to your arrangement.
They can't exactly say that the group of envoys' original purpose was to ask the daimyo for help and then disappear, can they?
Who but the clan leader can take the blame for this?
"Huff...huff..."
Hiashi Hyuga struggled to calm his breathing and tried to sit up in bed.
But seeing their still hesitant expressions, his wildly beating heart clenched, and his voice trembled as he roared:
"What...what other bad news is there?!"
"Tell me everything!"
At this moment, he could no longer even maintain the dignity of the last remaining head of the family.
"well."
The one who spoke was the oldest elder, Elder Tiancheng.
He glanced at the door with a troubled expression, then scanned the area with his Byakugan to make sure there were no machines or chakra reactions around before leaning close to Hiashi Hyuga's ear and whispering in a barely audible voice:
"We have just confirmed it."
"The fact that you were under a spell must have been done by Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Do you still remember the details of the day you were under the illusion spell?"
Almost the instant he heard this last piece of bad news, Hiashi Hyuga's wildly beating heart stopped, and he felt as if he had fallen into a freezing hell, as if he were frozen on the bed.
If he hadn't been physically exhausted, he probably would have jumped up and punched the old man on the spot.
Do you even understand how serious a crime it is for a Hokage to attack the head of the Hyuga clan?
How dare you spout such nonsense?!
However, when Hyuga Hiashi subconsciously turned his head to seek the opinions of the clan heads around him, he saw a strange scene of them all nodding in unison.
"Gulp."
Hiashi Hyuga swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, his tone stiff:
"You have no evidence to support such divisive statements, so please don't make them."
Elder Hyuga Tensei lowered his head and sighed helplessly once again: "Originally, there was no evidence."
"But, just now..."
"We've seen it with our own eyes."
Damn it, you found evidence?!
Hiashi Hyuga clutched his forehead in pain. Compared to the intense pain in his heart, even the slight pain in his mind seemed insignificant.
What kind of illusion is he under?
Rather than let him face this situation now, it would have been better to just kill him back then!
"explain!"
Hiashi Hyuga spoke in a vicious tone, as if he wanted to devour them on the spot.
Hyuga Tensei immediately spoke up: "After Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura came to visit us, we activated our Byakugan and observed them for a while."
Seemingly recalling the scene he had just witnessed, the elder's expression turned somewhat fearful: "Danzo, his right arm... was covered with Sharingan eyes!"
"On the contrary, Hiruzen Sarutobi himself... was completely unaffected!"
"An arm? Sharingan?"
Hiashi Hyuga repeated it unconsciously, finding it hard to imagine such a scene.
How exactly did these two words come together?
However, he did understand.
It seemed that he had fallen under the Sharingan's genjutsu.
But what does this have to do with Hiruzen Sarutobi?
"That's not all."
The Second Elder quickly chimed in, "Although the reaction was very weak, when I focused my attention on Danzo's brain, I could still detect an extremely faint yet resilient chakra that was constantly influencing his thoughts!"
"After discovering that Hiruzen Sarutobi might target you, we originally wanted to have Danzo Shimura fight against him, thus using one tiger to devour another."
"I never imagined they were a den of snakes and rats!"
"What do you mean, 'a den of snakes and rats'?" The Third Elder was even more indignant. "Haven't you noticed yet? From the moment he appeared, Shimura Danzo hasn't uttered a single word. He's been following closely behind Sarutobi Hiruzen the whole time. It's clear he's already the leader!"
"Whenever we appeared together in public before, when had he ever acted so submissive?"
"He has clearly been firmly controlled by Sarutobi using the power of his Mangekyou Sharingan, and has become a complete tool for the Third Hokage!"
As the elders recounted their deductions of the 'facts' one after another, Hiashi Hyuga felt a dull ache in his head.
Until the very last moment, when the Third Elder coined the term 'Mangekyou Sharingan'.
His mind went blank for a moment.
It was as if some secret code had been triggered.
The memories surged violently, rushing into his mind at an incredible speed, instantly engulfing his entire consciousness.
Hiashi Hyuga subconsciously bent down and covered his head tightly.
"Gurgle..."
From the day he was hypnotized, to the malice he showed towards the family members over the past few days, to the scenes of executions of everyone, everything was clearly presented in a very short time.
Hiashi Hyuga's gaze grew increasingly incredulous.
A man in black, wearing a mask, with one eye.
Kaleidoscope Sharingan.
I remember now!
He remembered everything.
What has he been doing these past few days?!
"Master of the family?!"
Seemingly remembering that their patriarch was a patient who had only recently awakened, the elders present immediately supported him with tense expressions, their faces more serious than ever before.
If Chief Rizu falls at such a critical moment, who will be able to handle the affairs of the entire clan?
It's them!
So you absolutely mustn't fall down!
"Let go! Let go!"
"You bastards..."
Even in this state, he couldn't stop cursing, which shows just how indignant he was.
These old folks let him run wild for twelve whole days, and only now, after things have developed like this, have they brought him to see a doctor!?
It's obvious they've fallen back into their old habit of shirking responsibility!
As for him, who was under the illusion...
Sigh, never mind.
"No."
"wrong."
As Hiashi Hyuga was deep in thought, he suddenly realized that something seemed off between his memories and reality.
"The person who hypnotized me that day was not Danzo Shimura."
"He covered his arm and right eye."
"Moreover, we've all seen his exposed eyes, and there's nothing special about them."
"But what appeared before me that day was a left eye!"
"?"
The elders were taken aback at first.
Soon, the elder offered his opinion: "What's so strange about that? Although Uchiha Shisui had both eyes, he could simply cover one of them, couldn't he?"
"This can only mean that the one who attacked you, the head of the family, that night must have been Uchiha Shisui!"
"The Uchiha clan was able to survive not because of the conflict between the Hokage and us ninja clans."
"In fact, Uchiha Shisui had joined Hiruzen Sarutobi's ranks a long time ago!"
"As for his attire in front of the patriarch, it was probably just to mislead people."
"Only what we see with our own eyes, with disdain, can be considered the truth!"
Elder Hyuga Tensei's tone was one of absolute certainty.
"!!!"
"hiss--"
At this moment, all the elders opened their eyes wide and gasped.
It's connected!
The whole incident makes sense now!
Hiruzen Sarutobi first controlled Shisui Uchiha, and then used him to control Danzo Shimura and the clan head Hiashi!
I see!
What cunning! What a treacherous conspiracy!
Damn it, Hiruzen Sarutobi!
As for why the other party, knowing this, still allowed them to come for treatment... that is indeed impossible to explain.
However, it's probably because the other party didn't understand the level of detail that the Byakugan can see, and underestimated Aizen's medical skills.
The Byakugan is, after all, a secret of the Hyuga clan.
Moreover, given that both are eye techniques, it's not entirely incomprehensible that the other party would place more faith in the Mangekyou Sharingan, a more famous and powerful eye technique, compared to the Byakugan, which seems to be used primarily for reconnaissance.
Thinking of this, the Hyuga high-ranking members couldn't help but feel grateful to that young and gentle Jonin.
But now, they are facing not only the power of the Hokage lineage, but also an Uchiha with the Mangekyou Sharingan!
This situation is far too difficult.
"I have a general understanding."
As Hiashi Hyuga gradually recovered, he was forced to confront this harsh reality. His face was extremely grave, and his tone was incredibly serious:
"Gentlemen."
"I'm sure you already know that."
"Now, our Hyuga clan is once again on the brink of life and death."
"Although we don't know what Hiruzen Sarutobi's purpose is, we've already lost enough people."
"For the sake of the Hyuga clan's survival, and also to resolve this perilous situation."
"I have decided to bring out the heirloom."
At this point, almost the instant the 'inheritance token' was mentioned, all the elders of the main clan, including Hiashi Hyuga, became more serious.
Hiashi Hyuga's gaze swept across the faces of the crowd, his expression solemn:
"Gentlemen, does anyone have any objections?"