Outside the Hyuga Clan's compound, the gate was so dark red it looked like a congealed blood scab standing on Konoha's land.
Danzo stared at the ancient bronze rings on the door panel, his exposed single eye narrowed to a slit.
He tilted his head slightly to the side. The Root's members beside him understood immediately and charged forward, his foot carrying a whooshing sound as he kicked the center of the gate.
Bang…
The gate was instantly kicked open. Danzo's cane knocked on the bluestone, each sound seeming to smash against the Hyuga Clan's face.
'What level of clan was this, to make the Darkness of the Shinobi World wait? Did they really think their Hyuga clan was like those inherently evil Uchiha?'
The set of Will of Fire unique to Danzo was playing on loop in his mind.
'Everything I do is for Konoha! These pampered good-for-nothings in the Hyuga, if we don't show some severity and discipline them heavily, they'll sooner or later ride roughshod over the village.'
The Hyuga Clan's Branch Family member on guard duty, seeing the gate forcibly kicked open and Danzo and the Root's members striding in, didn't dare even breathe heavily.
But thinking of the living-death agony when the Caged Bird Seal activated, he gritted his teeth and blocked Danzo's path, saying:
"Hokage Advisor-sama, please wait here for a moment, allow me to inform the Main Family..."
Hearing this, Danzo didn't even lift an eyelid. The Root's member beside him had already pinned the man to the ground like handling a chick, the arm-twisting motion so fast it stirred the air.
Danzo didn't even glance at him, raising his foot to continue inward.
Any Hyuga clansmen encountered along the way who dared obstruct were swiftly suppressed by the Root's members.
Danzo's cane knocked on the stone path, his demeanor calm and unhurried. The 'tok, tok, tok' sound was like a countdown. Today, he would make these arrogant Hyuga Clan know who truly called the shots in Konoha!
Meanwhile…
Several Main Family's elders practically dragged Hiashi, who had just returned from the Hokage Tower, and the Branch Family's representative, Hizashi, to the Great Elder's residence.
The two brothers completely didn't want to get involved in this mess, and they were purely dragged here by these elders.
As the group approached the Great Elder's house with its white jade floor tiles, a faint fishy-sweet smell drifted into their noses.
It was like the smell of raw meat soaking in water, clinging stickily to the back of the throat.
The Main Family's elders' steps faltered. They swallowed hard and pushed open the wooden door carved with crane patterns.
Creak…
The sound of the turning hinge amplified infinitely in the silence. Everyone's gaze instantly gathered towards the corner of the room.
The Main Family's Great Elder was crouched in the corner, clutching a blood-stained white cloth. On a straw mat beside him lay the cold, stiff corpse of the Kumogakure's envoy leader...
The air instantly froze.
Hiashi's fingers clenched sharply, nails digging into his palms. The worst had happened.
The Kumogakure's envoy leader was dead in the Hyuga Clan's Main Family's residence...
The Main Family's Great Elder, seeing the group barging in, jerked his hand violently. The white cloth fell to the ground. The color drained from his face faster than from the corpse.
He first panicked like a rat with its tail stepped on, not knowing where to put his hands and feet.
In an instant, he suddenly slapped his thigh, his voice shrill as a strangled chicken.
"This is a trap! Someone is framing us! Our Hyuga Clan has been set up!!"
"This Kumogakure's Shinobi, who knows who killed him, was dumped in my room... I had no idea at all!"
Before he could finish, the surrounding elders, including the Hyuga brothers, all retreated several steps.
The few exchanged glances and instantly reached a consensus.
This blame was too big, and their Hyuga Clan couldn't shoulder it either. So they could only let the Main Family's Great Elder suffer.
Let him go out and take the fall. With his status, it was sufficient as an explanation.
Thinking this, everyone's eyes couldn't help but turn towards the Main Family's Great Elder.
Cold sweat trickled down the Great Elder's neck, soaking his collar, clinging to his aged back like a piece of ice.
He instantly grasped the meaning in their eyes. He suddenly straightened his hunched back, beat his chest like a drum, striking a pose as if marching to the execution ground, and said with righteous indignation:
"For the clan, I can die!"
"But think about it! If you hand me over today, and the real culprit strikes again to frame someone else, the next one handed over will be you!"
"The most important thing right now is still to find the real culprit, to cut off the root of the problem."
These words were like a stone thrown into a stagnant pond, stirring up ripples.
Everyone hung their heads, the shadows at their feet pulled askew by the sun, all trembling… they all knew this old fogey wasn't the murderer.
This old guy only knew how to throw his weight around within the clan, always acting like the clan's supreme leader, rarely even leaving the Main Family's gates, and cherished his life dearly.
He simply didn't have the guts to touch the Kumogakure's envoy.
Just as they were pondering how to find the real culprit, a Main Family's youth came scrambling into the room, his pants cuffs stained with mud, his voice hoarse as if sandpapered.
"The Hokage Advisor is here! He's arresting anyone he sees! He'll be here any moment!"
As soon as the words fell, his peripheral glance accidentally swept over the corpse of Kumogakure's Shinobi in the corner. His pupils turned as wide as copper bells as he let out a cold gasp,
He then fainted straight away, the back of his head hitting the floor. Who knows if he really fainted or was just afraid of being saddled with the blame...
The Main Family's Second Elder's legs turned to jelly, nearly plopping down on the floor. He flustered for a while before standing up, sweating profusely.
Hiashi suddenly looked up, his gaze meeting Hizashi's. The same words appeared in both brothers' pupils, 'This matter was in big trouble.'
If Sandaime came, this could be discussed.
But it was Danzo who came... He never gave the Hyuga Clan any respect, or to be accurate, he didn't give any major clan respect, and this even included the Shimura Clan...
The sound of a cane knocking on the ground grew closer, like knocking on everyone's heartstrings, making their temples throb, even the air seemed to tremble.
Meanwhile…
Makoto, who had just been about to go home and pack, ready to slip out of Konoha at any time, saw that it was Danzo, wrapped in his black cloak, who had come to the Hyuga Clan.
And he had brought a large group of Root's members, surrounding the entire Hyuga Clan's compound.
The corner of his mouth couldn't help but lift slightly.
In the original work, when this happened, it was Sandaime who came to the Hyuga Clan's compound, indicating the matter could still be discussed.
Now, Hiruzen sent Danzo, clearly showing there was no discussion to be had. The Hokage's leadership was going to strike hard against the Hyuga Clan.
And they sent the strongest dark hand, the Darkness of the Shinobi World...
Makoto looked on with interest for a few more moments, then went home to pack. The rest was none of his business.
When Konoha fell into chaos, he would take advantage of the confusion to slip away.
Once he returned with increased strength, he would play properly with these clans.