"I wasn't killed to protect the Main Family… I was killed to protect my brother and the village!"
The words of Hyūga Hizashi echoed inside the Raikage's office, carried on the parchment letter that had just been read aloud. Ay, the Fourth Raikage, sat back in his chair, broad arms folded, lightning scars twitching slightly as his sharp gaze studied the paper one last time. The weight of those words pressed against the atmosphere in the room like a storm about to break.
Even though the declaration was brief, its implications were immense. Hizashi, a man known for his pride as the Branch Family head, had supposedly left behind words that renounced anger at the Main Family, placing all blame on his own son, Hyūga Neji.
Ay's brow furrowed. He slowly handed the letter to Tsuchida, one of his most trusted advisors, whose face was carved with discipline and suspicion.
"Tsuchida," the Raikage rumbled, his voice like thunder rolling across distant mountains. "What are your thoughts?"
Tsuchida received the letter with both hands, eyes narrowing as he scanned the lines. His jaw tightened. "Strange…" he muttered at last. "Hyūga Hizashi… a man forced out as a scapegoat, condemned to die so that his clan could preserve face, yet—" His eyes flicked upward, piercing. "—he leaves behind no resentment toward the Main Family? Instead, he blames his own son for leaving Konoha? That is no ordinary contradiction. What a shallow father-son bond. The Hyūga Clan is truly… strange."
Ay nodded slowly, resting one massive hand against the desk. "What the eye sees is not always the truth, Tsuchida."
The words carried a warning.
Tsuchida raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Raikage-sama, do you mean to suggest that there is something false about these so-called last words?"
Ay's gaze hardened, the crackle of lightning chakra faintly shimmering around his shoulders. "It is uncertain whether Hyūga Hizashi was truly willing to die as he did. And it is equally uncertain whether those words were even spoken by him. But one thing is clear—Konoha benefits too greatly from such a convenient declaration. For the Hyūga Clan's reputation to remain spotless, and for the Hokage's authority to remain unshaken, these words serve perfectly. The chance of forgery… is very high."
Tsuchida exhaled, realization dawning. "That makes sense." His eyes sharpened with a dangerous light.
Hizashi had been more than a Branch Family member; he was a respected leader, admired for his integrity and skill. To force such a man into death, then twist his final words for political convenience—such an act was intolerable.
The Main Family had used Hizashi's sacrifice to strengthen their image, forging words that bound his death to clan loyalty and village pride. Whether Hizashi himself would have spoken them was irrelevant—the image now served as a shield for the Hyūga, and by extension, for Konoha.
But Tsuchida knew the darker implications.
If Hizashi's words were real, he was a fool beyond salvation. If forged, then Konoha's Hokage faction had committed a deliberate crime of manipulation.
Either way, the consequences fell on the boy—Hyūga Neji.
For Konoha, Neji's existence was now a liability. The boy had betrayed his homeland. Such betrayal could not be tolerated. The Hokage could not allow Neji to live as a stain upon their reputation.
Tsuchida's lips curved in a bitter smile. If I were Hokage, he thought grimly, I would have already eliminated the boy.
Because, in the end, the public forgets. Ten years from now, who would remember the suffering of a father and son? But Neji's blood, spilled quietly, could conceal the shame of the Hyūga and Konoha alike.
Tsuchida's voice cut through the silence. "Raikage-sama, how do you intend to deal with Hyūga Neji?"
Instead of answering, Ay leaned back, arms folded again. His gaze weighed Tsuchida like a hammer pressing down. "Tell me, Tsuchida. What would you do?"
A gleam passed through Tsuchida's eyes, cold and pragmatic. "The purpose of capturing the Hyūga boy was for his Byakugan bloodline. Therefore, I propose raising Neji as a breeder. Twenty years from now, Kumogakure would possess a thriving Byakugan family under our control. That is the lowest risk and the highest return."
The suggestion was spoken without hesitation, as if it were the most logical path.
Ay nodded once, acknowledging the merit. "Efficient. Profitable. Safe. A very good idea."
Tsuchida's lips curved in a thin smile. "Then you agree?"
But Ay's next words fell like an unexpected strike of lightning. "No. I refuse."
Tsuchida blinked, startled. "You refuse?"
The Raikage rarely dismissed the advice of his closest advisors. Ay was known as a strong yet pragmatic leader, willing to hear all counsel before deciding. His outright rejection was unusual.
"Why?" Tsuchida asked cautiously.
Ay's face darkened, his tone slow but unwavering. "Samui reported that the boy came to Kumogakure voluntarily, after losing his chance to return to Konoha. If I treat him as nothing more than a stallion and such rumors spread, what would others say of our village? They would call us intolerant, dishonorable, unworthy of trust."
Tsuchida's expression hardened. "Merely for appearances?"
Ay's lips twitched in a faint, dangerous smile. "No. That is just one reason."
Tsuchida narrowed his eyes, sensing more beneath the Raikage's words. "Is that so?"
Ay's reply was curt. "We will meet the child first. Then I will decide."
Without further explanation, Ay summoned an ANBU. A shadowy figure appeared silently by the window, kneeling.
"Bring Samui. Bring the Hyūga boy."
"…Understood."
The ANBU vanished in an instant.
---
Elsewhere in Kumogakure, Samui was just returning from errands. The blonde kunoichi placed a bag of groceries into her small home, sighing softly as she rolled her shoulders. Her sharp eyes flicked to the boy quietly sitting at her table.
"Samui. Raikage-sama has summoned Neji," the ANBU informed her, voice low.
Samui's brows twitched. She dismissed the ANBU with a nod, then turned toward Neji. The boy, only four years old, stood silently, his pale Byakugan eyes watching her with a calmness far beyond his years.
She closed the refrigerator, storing away the food, then reached down to take Neji's small hand. "Come, Neji. We're going to the Raikage Building."
The boy nodded softly, rising without protest.
Their journey through the mountain village was silent at first. High cliffs loomed on either side, jagged peaks stabbing into the clouds. The stone steps seemed endless, twisting upward toward the heart of Kumogakure.
Samui finally broke the silence, rubbing her sore shoulder. "Neji… Kumogakure's scenery is unique, isn't it?"
Neji's gaze lingered on the towering peaks. His voice was quiet, almost detached. "Yes… very unique."
But his mind was elsewhere. He wasn't here to admire the beauty of the mountains. His thoughts circled around the Raikage, the man who held his fate in his hands. Would he be treated as a prisoner? A weapon? Or something worse?
Samui studied him from the corner of her eye. For days she had been observing him, trying to understand the child. Despite being only four, Neji carried himself with a maturity that unsettled her. Speaking with him felt less like speaking to a child, and more like speaking to an equal.
At last, Samui spoke again, her tone uncharacteristically gentle. "Neji… from what I know of Raikage-sama, he will make proper arrangements for you. If things ever become difficult… I will look after you, like an older sister."
Neji lowered his head slightly, his eyes softening. "…Thank you, Sister."
Samui gave a small smile, tightening her grip on his hand.
High above, the Yotsuki Clan had lived in these mountains for generations, their strength etched into the very stone of Kumogakure. Ay, the Fourth Raikage, was one of their purest descendants—a man known for loyalty to his own people, uncompromising and fierce.
In that, he was nothing like Hiruzen Sarutobi, who smiled warmly toward outsiders but was ruthless toward his own.
But for Neji, that distinction mattered little. He was a stranger in this village, a foreigner whose bloodline was both treasure and curse.
As the Raikage's tower came into view, Neji's small hand clenched slightly in Samui's grasp.
Whatever awaited him inside, he knew one thing for certain—his fate was about to be decided.