"Come with me to the Main House mansion—the head of the clan wants to see you."
After returning to the clan's territory, the two Branch House ninjas who had accompanied them vanished instantly using the body flicker technique. Just as Hyuga Soushu was about to leave as well, Hizashi Hyuga called out to him.
"The Main House?"
Hyuga Soushu frowned slightly, his impatience evident. "It's already evening—does the high and mighty one from the Main House not sleep anymore?"
"Regardless of how much discontent you hold inside, the clan's rules are still rules!"
Hizashi's face immediately darkened as he scolded sharply: "Disrespecting the Main House will certainly be punished! Soushu-kun, you're still young—don't walk down a path that violates the clan's laws!"
"Didn't the Academy teach that the Main House should be forgiving and generous? How come it can't even accept a simple concern about sleeping hours?"
Soushu scoffed, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "Oh right—people from the Main House neither need to go to dangerous battlefields nor execute stressful missions, so naturally they have plenty of energy to bother others at night!"
"Do you even know what time it is?!"
Hizashi grew even angrier.
But although the arguing continued, Soushu was only provoking verbally. In the end, he still followed Hizashi to the Main House mansion to meet the respected and dignified clan leader.
"Creak"
They arrived again at the Reception Hall of the Main House. After pushing open the door, Hizashi respectfully bowed ninety degrees and reported to his father and older brother, who were seated by the hearth drinking tea: "Clan Leader, the Branch House ninja Hyuga Soushu has arrived."
"Sit down."
The Hyuga Clan Leader pointed at two zabutons in front of the low table, indicating both should sit.
As the clan leader's son, Hizashi sat formally and somewhat stiffly before his father.
However, Soushu boldly stepped forward and directly sat cross-legged on the zabuton beside him.
"How was everything finally handled?"
Without acknowledging Hyuga Soushu at all, the Clan Leader asked his second son, Hizashi.
"The ANBU took those hyenas away."
Hizashi immediately straightened up and reported.
"Hmph!"
The Clan Leader expressed strong dissatisfaction with a cold snort.
This caused his son Hizashi to involuntarily tremble slightly.
That reaction also made Soushu glance sideways.
As the head of an entire clan, actually frightening one's own son like this—there were no words to describe what should be said.
"So—you were the one who defeated that hyena?"
The Clan Leader's gaze then turned toward Soushu.
"Yes."
Soushu answered plainly.
"You didn't kill him on the spot?"
There was obvious displeasure in the Clan Leader's eyes.
"The left scapula was shattered, a knee strike to the head caused a severe concussion and knocked him unconscious, plus the parting kunai from the Policing Department officer when he left."
Although somewhat confused, Soushu kept going, explaining what Hizashi hadn't had time to report yet.
"So you probably don't know this—that guy's underlings aren't even allowed in the village, right?"
The Hyuga Clan Leader frowned and then spoke to Soushu Hyuga, "Moreover, if those jackals with unknown origins appear within the village, especially when they openly claim themselves as Root members, our ninja are authorized to eliminate them on the spot without legal liability."
"Is that so?"
Soushu Hyuga couldn't help but feel astonished upon hearing this.
Wasn't this the same Root organization known for operating outside rules and laws?
"The very existence of Root is a mistake. This has been the consensus among all the ninja clans."
At the Clan Leader's signal, Hiashi Hyuga—who had remained quiet until now—spoke calmly, "Their background is murky, their movements secretive, and combined with their so-called counterintelligence privileges, they even caused a huge uproar within the village."
But how exactly did they fall into the universally condemned situation described by the Clan Leader? Soushu was actually unclear about this particular part.
Except for his memories from his past life, most details he knew about Root came from rumors circulating in Konoha's military camp in the Land of Rain—for instance, things like extremely high intelligence error rates, prioritizing missions over their own lives, and even tales about using fellow village ninja as bait. As for actually dealing with them directly, tonight's confrontation was his first encounter.
"However, Root's biggest problem lies in its privileges."
Hiashi continued, "Once Root gained these privileges by misleading Hokage-sama temporarily, instead of fulfilling their counterintelligence duties, they deliberately abducted certain clan members' children, even causing bloody conflicts and leaving a terrible impression on the village."
These accounts roughly matched what Soushu already thought of Danzo's ruthless effectiveness in internal conflicts.
Of course, this doesn't mean Shimura Danzo and his subordinates made no contributions during this Great Ninja World War. However, if we weigh their achievements against the damages they caused to Konoha, there was no doubt that Danzo personally had contributed more than the other four great ninja villages combined.
After all, the future destruction of the Uchiha Clan was practically orchestrated single-handedly by him.
But honestly, who acts like that—using the Uchiha while also keeping them under tight control? Even those wishy-washy leaders from his past life weren't any better!
But Soushu didn't voice anything; he gave no response at all.
"There was a scandal that broke out after the war began,"
Hiashi glanced at his father and continued, "An enemy spy pretended to be a Root member and actually took away one of the administrative staff right in broad daylight, along with critical logistical documents."
"Huh..."
Soushu scratched his head, at a loss for words.
Who was really to blame? Should they blame Root for being scary and untouchable, or criticize Konoha's security for being totally useless?
"Fortunately, before the spy could leave the village, he was captured by the Policing Department ninjas, so since then—"
Hiashi shrugged slightly, ending the conversation.
"You had already departed for the Land of Rain back then, so it's normal you don't know these things."
The Clan Leader slowly sipped tea before continuing composedly, "However! Since you are now a Jonin of the Hyuga Clan, you must understand that your true support comes from the family itself!"
In response, Soushu gave no indication whatsoever.
"Hmph!"
For Soushu's current behavior, the Hyuga Clan Leader made his displeasure clear.
And this cold snort caused Hizashi standing beside him to tremble slightly.
In contrast, Soushu remained as cool as a cucumber—at least not losing ground in terms of presence.
"Stop running around to the Uchiha side so often!"
The Hyuga Clan Leader said offhandedly, then looked at Hizashi. "[Ultimate Art of Gentle Fist] Starting tomorrow, you will begin teaching it to Soushu!"
"Yes!"
Hizashi immediately bowed respectfully, visible beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead.
"Soushu-kun, don't think the clan head is just trying to make things difficult for you—it's all for your own good!"
Hiashi quickly stepped in to mediate. "Hizashi's mastery of the Gentle Fist is quite commendable. It'll definitely benefit you to learn from him."
"Especially after returning to the battlefield, you can't keep pursuing wounded foes like before and tarnish the family's reputation!"
The Clan Leader continued playing the bad cop.
"I understand."
Soushu finally responded reluctantly.
"You may go now."
"Father."
After both Soushu and Hizashi had left, Hiashi looked toward his father with a hint of confusion.
"You're wondering why I'm being so lenient with that disobedient Branch House member, aren't you?"
The Hyuga Clan Leader poured himself a cup of tea and sipped it leisurely.
"Yes. And he's been getting too close to the Uchiha."
Hiashi whispered, "Shouldn't we stay away from the Uchiha no matter what?"
"Do you think," the Hyuga Clan Leader put down his teacup solemnly, "if there were no Uchiha anymore, where would our clan stand? Then we'd become everyone's target."
"As for the Ultimate Art of Gentle Fist—"
At this, the Hyuga Clan Leader gave a disdainful scoff. "[Caged Bird Seal] Don't tell me you've lost the courage to activate it?"