"Ha… the so-called noble clans are truly ugly."
"Captain Hizashi, do you know why I could set out later yet intercept the Kirigakure shinobi first?"
"Do you know why I have the confidence to say all this to you?"
"Do you know why I've survived this war to this day?"
Seeing Kageyama Kokugetsu so fearless, Hyuga Hizashi felt a jolt of dread and shouted, "Move!"
Together with two Hyuga, Hizashi struck from three angles at full speed.
"Ha… too late."
Before they reached him, Kageyama burst with a pop—white smoke flared—and vanished.
"Shadow clone! Cunning beyond his years," Hizashi growled, face dark.
"What now, Captain Hizashi?"
The two Hyuga looked just as sour.
An adult jonin and two tokubetsu jonin, toyed with by a minor chunin—shameful.
"Take the bodies back to Lord Hiashi at once," Hizashi ordered.
"Right. If it's Lord Hiashi, he'll surely reclaim the Byakugan."
"Exactly."
Hizashi shook his head inwardly. If only it were that simple.
If it were just Kageyama, the odds of getting the eye back were high. But what if others stepped in?
Rival Uchiha Fugaku would love to meddle.
Advisor Elder Mitokado Homura might act as well.
Even if the Hyuga couldn't move openly now, someone could still stir the waters in secret.
If the village learned of it, Shimura Danzo would certainly move, and Koharu Utatane might too.
As for the Third Hokage—he might not act, but he would likely be pleased to see it.
A Byakugan outside Hyuga control—what faction inside or outside the village wouldn't covet it?
This was getting messy.
"Back to the village at top speed. Go!"
"Yes, Captain Hizashi."
The three gathered the bodies and the head and left at speed.
…
High in the air, Kageyama stood on a golden eagle with a wingspan of over two meters, hands clasped behind his back, black hair and red ribbon streaming in the wind.
He had slipped away and used the Rinnegan to control the eagle—there had to be a reason he'd arrived first despite leaving later.
A swift avian summon was a perfectly plausible story; the Hyuga only had a rough fix on Ao's position anyway.
When the shadow clone burst, its intel flowed back. Kageyama received it with ease.
"Once the first shot is fired, the right opponents come knocking on their own."
"Heh. If you disappoint me, then I'll…"
His murmur vanished into the high wind as the eagle shot toward the Konoha camp like a loosed golden arrow.
He set it down right at the gate for the sentries to see.
Canceling the summoning, Kageyama headed straight for Mitokado Homura's command tent.
In accusations and reports alike, earlier is better—before others fix the narrative or turn black into white.
Announced, Kageyama entered, bowed. "Elder Homura."
"What's so important?" Homura asked, offhand.
Strictly speaking, a shinobi of Kageyama's rank wasn't entitled to report directly. This was jumping the chain.
"Here's what happened…"
He ran through the affair quickly, adjusting the details.
He credited a golden eagle summon for his travel, luck for finding the enemy, and the enemy's carelessness for their deaths.
He stressed that the Hyuga had moved against him and asked Homura to decide.
Homura's expression shifted from indifferent, to surprised, to pleased, and finally approving.
"Well done."
"You not only saved the Hyuga's face—you removed a potential threat to Konoha now and in the future."
"Hizashi's approach was a bit narrow."
"Leave this to me. I'll handle it."
"Thank you, Elder Homura," Kageyama said gratefully.
"Go on. Get some rest," Homura said with a kindly smile.
The change was all about value.
Once, Kageyama had been merely an excellent chunin; with a transplanted Byakugan, he was close to unique.
There were things Hyuga shinobi would never do at the village's order—like watching their own leaders.
"Yes."
Kageyama bowed and withdrew.
In the tent, Homura thought a moment, then summoned a trusted shinobi and whispered instructions.
After he left, Homura penned a letter and sent another aide racing back to Konoha.
The messenger used shadow clones and Earth Release to slip secretly to Uchiha Fugaku's camp.
Hearing of the Hyuga's predicament, Fugaku couldn't help gloating.
They were rivals already, and with Homura's incentives he agreed without hesitation.
He did not yet know the Uchiha's Sharingan would soon be leaking too.
…
Elsewhere, not long after Kageyama returned to his own tent, a Hyuga shinobi arrived.
Under that cold stare—and the chill looks and sneers of other Hyuga—Kageyama stepped calmly into Hiashi's tent.
"Lord Hiashi," he said, bowing properly.
"Heh. Kokugetsu, a promising young man," Hiashi said with a smile that could be praise or a barb.
Kageyama suspected the latter; Hizashi had surely reported already.
"You flatter me, Lord Hiashi. I'm not so accomplished—war has only made me bolder."
Hiashi's face cooled. "I'll make terms. Refuse, and we'll see."
"Surrender the Byakugan. Money, promotion, techniques—whatever you want."
"I can even marry you to a woman of the clan."
Kageyama blinked. "Hyuga women don't marry out, do they?"
"Correct."
So—matrilocal marriage. Kageyama almost laughed out of sheer irritation.
What fantasy was Hiashi chasing?
His current bloodline stood far above the Hyuga's—what a joke.
Hiashi, unaware, naturally assumed a "common" shinobi would be honored to marry into the great Hyuga.
But even ordinary shinobi rarely accepted matrilocal marriage; men here valued their surnames.
"What are you laughing at?" Hiashi said, displeased, flaring a touch of pressure.
To Kageyama it was a spring breeze—nothing.
"Lord Hiashi, I value my name."
"As for money, techniques, promotion—I'll earn them myself."
Hiashi stared at him for a long beat, then flicked a hand. "Then you may go."
"By your leave," Kageyama said, bowing with flawless etiquette before turning to go.
After he left, Hizashi stepped out from the inner room.
"Brother, don't go too far."
"He did take the Byakugan back from Kirigakure, and we're in the wrong besides."
Hiashi nodded slightly. "Relax. He won't die, or be crippled. He'll still be a shinobi."
"Alright, I'll get to work."
"Mm."
Hizashi was about to step out when a voice called from outside.
"Lord Hiashi, Elder Homura and Lord Fugaku request your presence at a meeting."
Hiashi and Hizashi traded a glance, the same thought flashing through both minds.
That was fast.