Standing behind him was Kaede, whose face showed clear displeasure at the scene before her.
"I left you for just a while, and you already caused this much trouble." Kaede placed her hand on her son's shoulder, uncertain what to do about the mess he had created.
She glanced at the police officer, who was struggling to stand and could barely move without support. "Hey, you were watching the whole thing without even stepping in to do your duties as an Anbu."
Kaede's words were directed at the shadow by the side of a house, though no one else could tell who she was speaking to until a man wearing a monkey mask and Anbu uniform emerged.
"Take him to the hospital," she ordered, her eyes still fixed on the broken Uchiha. "Sorry, officer. I will report him to the police station myself."
"Thank you," the police officer muttered. He did not fully understand what she meant, but at that moment, survival was the only thing that mattered.
Kaede grabbed Megumi by the ear and dragged him away from the scene. "Why did you do that?" she demanded, desperate to understand what could drive him to such an extreme.
"Those stupid white-eyed Hyuga clan members came to pick a fight with me. They even called you a dog who sleeps with the daimyo, which makes me a bastard," Megumi said calmly, showing no sign of pain despite his ear being pulled.
Kaede now understood the source of his hatred. She remembered how the Uchiha once threw a paper bomb at him.
"You cannot let your emotions become your weakness, Megumi."
Megumi stopped walking and stared at her. "You have been dragging my ear all this time. Why are we at the Hokage building?"
Kaede released his ear. "Today is the day you will choose. Either the Nara clan, or me."
Megumi remembered the decision that lay ahead, though unease settled in his stomach. "Alright, let's go."
They entered the building together. Kaede knew this was her son's first time here, so she intended to show him a few things about the place and explain the duties carried out within the village.
When they reached the front doors, two Anbu stood guard. Kaede ignored them completely, focusing only on her son. "Here we are."
Megumi walked in behind her. As he entered, he could feel everyone's eyes on him. Different types of pressure weighed down on him, but he paid it no mind.
"Good afternoon, Hokage. And greetings, Lord Third," Kaede said, addressing only Minato and Hiruzen. She did not acknowledge the other elders from the Nara clan, not even Shikaku, her brother-in-law, who to her did not deserve any respect.
"Kaede, why are you late when you knew the time of the meeting?" Koharu asked, unable to tolerate Kaede's attitude.
"Something happened, and I had to clean up," Kaede replied curtly, unwilling to waste words on a woman she despised.
The Third Hokage sighed, knowing the two women had always disliked each other. "Enough. Let us move on to the matter at hand," he said before continuing to smoke his pipe.
Megumi's eyes scanned every face in the room. "If Sarutobi and Minato are here, then where is that one-eyed Danzo?" he thought.
As if on cue, a man entered with his eye and arm covered, leaning on a walking stick.
"Kaede, why can't you control your son from attacking a shinobi of the village?" Danzo asked coldly, not even glancing at the Hokage. "And he has been spreading propaganda to civilians about not dreaming of becoming Hokage."
Megumi knew he did not have the power to challenge Danzo directly. The only advantage he had was the protection of his mother's presence.
"I don't remember spreading anything. I was just having a conversation with a friend," Megumi said, his voice steady but his eyes burning with hatred. Murderous intent filled his gaze.
"Stop that," Kaede warned sharply after sensing her son's killing intent.
"That is enough, Danzo. You are in front of the Hokage," Hiruzen said firmly.
"Kaede, you cannot raise this child properly. Hand him to the Nara clan for guidance," the Third Hokage suggested. He did not realize the killing intent had come from Megumi himself. "Your brother-in-law can look after his own cousin."
The Nara clan elders present were not Tsuyoshi or Tomonori, only the other two who had come to represent them.
"I believe my training will benefit him more than a clan that already tried to kill him. Even his uncle did nothing to stop it," Kaede replied. "And I thought the Hokage had said Megumi would be the one to decide his own future."
Shikaku remained silent, unable to deny Kaede's accusations.
The two Nara elders could not argue either. Without their true leaders present, they were powerless to push further.
"How can we be sure you have not influenced the boy already? We all know he stays with you," Hamuro said, noticing his friend's rising anger.
"Then let us hear from him directly," Hiruzen suggested.
All eyes turned to Megumi, waiting for his response.
He looked at Shikaku and the Nara elders. He could see that only Shikaku genuinely wanted him back, while the others saw him as nothing.
"I will follow my mother. I do not want to stay where I am not welcome. But I will keep my father's name," Megumi declared.
"For all the months I spent in a coma, my mother was neither acknowledged nor supported. Even though everyone knew my father was head of the Branch family, you still disrespected him. You did not even honor his memory." His voice was steady, but every word carried the weight of the resentment he had held in for so long.
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