The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi received the report, the warmth that had lingered on his face vanished like smoke in the wind. The gentle smile, the relaxed posture, the indulgent gaze,all of it remained intact on the surface. And yet, something had shifted irrevocably beneath that carefully maintained exterior.
The Hyuga clan.
Hiruzen still appeared to be the same Hokage he had always been: the patient grandfather who governed the village with soft words and measured decisions, the old man who spoke of peace while holding a pipe between aged fingers. But behind that mask, honed over decades, his thoughts were already operating on far colder ground,where trust did not exist, and loyalty was never more than temporary.
The Hyuga were no ordinary clan. At that moment, they were the largest and most dangerous asset within Konoha.
In military strength, intelligence capabilities, and,most importantly,internal cohesion, the Hyuga represented a power that no great village dared to underestimate. The Byakugan was nothing like the Sharingan,unstable, dependent on trauma or emotional extremes. It awakened cleanly, predictably, passed directly through bloodline without failure, generation after generation. A weapon that always functioned.
More than that, its value on the battlefield was absolute. Long-range vision, complete penetration, three-dimensional perception, total spatial awareness. These were not flashy abilities, but decisive ones. Powers that did not shine,they simply won. On a strategic level, even the Sharingan, perhaps even the Rinnegan, could not truly replace the Byakugan's role.
That was why Ao of Kirigakure treated the stolen Byakugan as a national treasure. Why Kumogakure had never abandoned its covetous gaze, repeatedly probing the Hyuga, waiting patiently for the right moment to seize their secrets.
And unlike the Uchiha clan,brilliant at the top but dangerously shallow beneath,the Hyuga were vast. They produced capable shinobi with almost merciless consistency. In Hyuga Hiashi's generation alone, there were Hizashi, Tokuma, Ko, Iroha, Himawari… names that, individually, could have upheld an entire clan. Together, they formed an unbreakable wall.
A stable kekkei genkai.
Irreplaceable strategic value.
A continuous source of military strength.
The Hyuga were not merely a pillar of Konoha.
They were leverage.
And Hiruzen Sarutobi had never trusted anything that could one day be turned against him.
Ever since the Kumogakure incident, he had known the truth: the Hyuga had been humiliated in the name of his diplomacy. Forced to accept Hyuga Hizashi's death to preserve a fragile political agreement. Clans did not forget such things. They pretended to accept them,until the day they decided to collect.
And after the destruction of the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen had learned an even crueler lesson: any power that existed beyond the Hokage's direct control would inevitably become a threat. It did not matter how loyal it appeared. It did not matter how useful it was.
That was why Hyuga Tetsu existed.
An exemplary shinobi. A discreet member of the clan. A man with pale eyes, neutral posture, and a presence easy to overlook. Hiruzen had not placed him among the Hyuga as a crude spy, but as a containment mechanism,a blade sheathed behind a respectful smile.
Hyuga Tetsu loved the clan. And precisely because of that, he would be capable of betraying it.
Not like an Uchiha consumed by hatred and tragedy, with red eyes and burning emotions.
But like a Hyuga,cold, silent, disciplined. White eyes that saw everything, yet revealed nothing.
Not even Hyuga Hiashi had perceived his true role. Not even Chiba, with all his cunning, had noticed him. Because Hyuga Tetsu did not spy. He simply existed. He observed. He waited.
Now, standing before Hiruzen, he kept his head slightly lowered, as he always did.
"Is the information reliable?" the Hokage asked, his voice gentle, almost affectionate.
"I saw it with my own eyes," Tetsu replied without hesitation. "It is absolutely reliable."
Hiruzen's smile did not fade, but a barely perceptible fragment of warmth left his eyes.
"And what did they discuss?" he asked, as though it were idle curiosity.
"I could not hear everything," Tetsu said after a brief, calculated pause. "It was Clan Head Hiashi and the Mizukage. I did not dare approach. But the Mizukage appeared… confident. He smiled like someone who already knew the outcome."
"Hiashi, on the other hand, was visibly shaken. In the end, he said nothing."
Hiruzen showed no outward reaction. Yet in his mind, the scene had already taken shape. Chiba did not threaten. He did not demand. He offered. He planted ideas, dismantled loyalties with logic and patience, making betrayal feel like nothing more than the natural next step.
A dangerous man.
"Summon Hyuga Hiashi," Hiruzen said,and then stopped himself.
No.
That would be a mistake.
If the Hyuga were truly wavering, pressuring them now would only drive them into silence or desperation. Hiruzen preferred something more refined. Something invisible.
"Tetsu," he said gently once more, "continue observing. Especially Hiashi. Any change, no matter how small, report it to me."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
When Hyuga Tetsu departed, the smile finally fell.
"Chiba…" Hiruzen murmured softly. "You are playing with forces you do not fully understand."
Elsewhere in the village, Hyuga Neji held his chūnin insignia between his fingers. He should have felt proud. He should have been satisfied. He had planned to visit his father's grave and quietly say that he had taken another step forward.
Then he saw Hyuga Tetsu leaving the Hokage's office.
In that instant, every word Chiba had spoken returned to his mind with brutal clarity. Neji understood before he even had time to think. The danger did not come from outside,it came from within.
He hated the Main House. Hated the system that had branded him a member of the Branch Clan from birth. Even so, he knew one thing with absolute certainty: if the Hyuga clan fell, there would be no Main House and no Branch House left. Only ashes.
Without hesitation, he changed direction and ran.
When they arrived at the clan head's residence, Hyuga Hiashi was visibly startled to see Neji returning so soon.
"Neji… you,"
Neji cut him off immediately, lowering his voice. "Inside. We need to talk."
The caution in Neji's expression made Hiashi's heart sink. He seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation even before a word was explained. Without another question, he motioned Neji inside and led him deep into the inner chambers, far from any prying eyes.
Once the doors were shut, Hiashi turned to him.
"What happened?"
"I just saw Hyuga Tetsu," Neji said quietly. "He was leaving the Hokage's office."
Hiashi's face changed instantly.
"What?"
"Tetsu… he,"
"This isn't a coincidence," Neji interrupted, his voice steady but tense. "You know as well as I do,he has no reason to have direct contact with the Hokage under normal circumstances. Especially not right after that happened."
Neji lifted his gaze, his pale eyes sharp.
"I'm almost certain he reported our meeting with the Mizukage to Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Hiashi felt his heart pound violently in his chest.
If that were true, then they were standing on the edge of a blade.
Even if he had no intention of acting yet, once suspicion took root, someone like Hiruzen,the old fox who had ruled Konoha for decades,would never show mercy. Not to him. Not to the Hyuga clan as a whole.
For the first time in a long while, even as clan head, Hiashi felt genuine unease creeping into his mind.
"The most important thing right now is deciding our response," he said, forcing himself to calm down.
"There are two options. First, we do nothing. At least now we know that Tetsu is a mole. If we play this carefully, we might even be able to use him to stabilize Hiruzen's suspicions."
"Second," he continued, "we take the initiative and report the meeting with the Mizukage ourselves. That might ease his doubts."
He paused, then shook his head slightly.
"But both options are dangerous. Either could just as easily deepen his suspicion instead."
Neji nodded. "Exactly. Someone like Sarutobi won't let you off just because you act cooperative or make a show of loyalty."
He fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.
"Instead, we should reverse the perspective. If we were Sarutobi Hiruzen, what would we do?"
Hiashi couldn't help but feel a flicker of admiration. Neji's composure, his clarity under pressure,it was rare. Too rare for someone his age.
Perhaps suffering had forced him to mature far too early.
"Well said," Hiashi replied.
"If I were Hiruzen, I wouldn't move openly yet. From his point of view, he holds the advantage. The Hyuga clan doesn't know there's a spy in its midst."
"Right," Neji agreed.
"And then," Hiashi continued, his tone growing colder, "I would use subtle, invisible methods to test the clan's loyalty. Or, more ruthlessly, I would begin weakening the Hyuga,not through open extermination, but through gradual erosion. Strip away strength piece by piece, until even if they wanted to rebel, they no longer could."
Neji nodded slowly.
"That does sound exactly like him."
"Which means," Neji said, "he won't act immediately."
"But there will be dirty tricks," Hiashi replied. "Sooner or later."
Neji met his gaze.
"Then what do we do?"
Hiashi was no fool. He would not have survived in Konoha otherwise.
After a moment of thought, he spoke decisively.
"We take both paths."
"First, now that we know Tetsu's role, we use every opportunity to demonstrate loyalty to Konoha. We won't gain Hiruzen's trust completely,but we can dull his blade."
"Second, if he tests us, we respond with absolute obedience."
Hiashi's eyes hardened.
"But if he crosses the line,if he uses the same filthy methods he used on the Senju… on the Uchiha… then we will no longer owe him restraint."
A sharp resolve surfaced in his gaze.
The silent disappearance of the Senju stood as a warning.
The annihilation of the Uchiha followed as proof.
Hiashi had prepared for this outcome long ago.
Neji understood immediately.
"Then… if it comes to that," Neji said quietly, "do we fight,or do we leave?"
Hiashi knew exactly what he meant.
Open rebellion like the Uchiha?
Or total defection?
There was only one possible destination.
Chiba.
Kirigakure.
Sunagakure was allied with Konoha,impossible.
Kumogakure had murdered Hyuga Hizashi; their hatred ran too deep.
Iwagakure had no ties to them and kept its doors tightly shut.
Only Kirigakure remained.
Chiba had already shown goodwill. And more importantly,there was precedent. The Uchiha clan had survived under his protection.
Hiashi shook his head slowly.
"Fighting is not an option."
"The Uchiha proved that."
"And I refuse to let our people die for pride."
That left only one path.
On the surface,appease Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In secret,align with Chiba and Kirigakure.
"But this is extremely dangerous," Hiashi continued. "Getting the entire clan out safely will be incredibly difficult."
"For it to work, we'll need coordination from both sides."
"The Mizukage's help is essential."
Neji hesitated. "You mean… that incident?"
"Yes," Hiashi said softly. "The one where the Mizukage used ice birds to evacuate the entire Uchiha clan from the sky."
Neji nodded.
"Only he could pull off something like that."
"But with Sarutobi watching us so closely," Neji said, "contacting him directly is almost impossible."
"Not for me," Hiashi agreed. "I'm under constant surveillance."
He looked at Neji.
"But you are different."
"…Me?"
"In the end, Neji," Hiashi said gently, "you're still just a newly promoted shinobi. No matter how talented you are, no one would consider you a strategic threat."
Neji fell silent.
He knew Hiashi was right.
"I can handle placating Sarutobi," Hiashi said. "Public loyalty, empty gestures,I can play that role."
"But the other half of this plan," he continued, "depends entirely on you."
Neji's emotions churned.
"I know you still resent me. You resent the Main House. That's only natural," Hiashi said. "But you are still Hyuga."
"If this explodes, do you really think Sarutobi will spare you because you belong to the Branch?"
"And Hizashi," Hiashi added quietly, "would never want to see the clan he died for wiped out."
Neji thought of Hiruzen's coldness.
Of his father's sacrifice.
At last, he exhaled and nodded.
"I understand."
In that moment, two men who had once stood divided,by hierarchy, by resentment, by fate,found themselves aligned again.
For the sake of the Hyuga clan.
…
Thus, the All-Shinobi Chūnin Exams came to an official close.
After several days of rest and quiet reorganization, Konoha began to empty. Delegations from the great villages, representatives of minor nations, and the countless shinobi who had come only to observe departed one after another, like a tide slowly retreating. What had once been a stage of tension, ambition, and barely contained hostility gradually returned to a carefully maintained calm.
On that day, the Kage themselves prepared to leave the Hidden Leaf, leading their respective forces home.
As host, Hiruzen Sarutobi personally saw them off. His demeanor was flawless,measured words, a tired but gentle smile, a posture that radiated ease. To any observer, he looked like nothing more than an aging leader satisfied with the successful conclusion of the event. Few would notice that behind that serenity stood a man who had never stopped calculating.
Chiba, accompanied by Kirigakure's delegation, exchanged formal farewells and set out on the road back to the Land of Water.
Hiruzen watched his departure in silence.
There was no hostility in his gaze, nor urgency. Only patience,the patience of someone accustomed to waiting for cracks to reveal themselves.
Throughout the entire process, however, his attention never truly left a single place.
The Hyūga clan.
From a distance, he observed Hyūga Hiashi, studying not only his words but the pauses between them, his posture, the way he reacted to matters both trivial and serious. He watched the other members of the clan as well, and with equal care, the younger generation. Even Hyūga Neji,whose talent naturally drew attention,behaved exactly as expected.
Nothing stood out.
Everything was almost too orderly.
Hiruzen allowed himself to relax slightly, though experience had long taught him better than to trust such a feeling. Absolute normalcy, more often than not, was the most dangerous disguise of all.
In the days that followed, Hyūga Tetsu continued to perform his role in silence, observing his own clan and reporting what needed to be reported. Yet nothing concrete surfaced. The Hyūga maintained their routine with unwavering discipline, accepting missions, executing orders, and remaining firmly within the boundaries expected of them.
As a deliberate test, Hiruzen began assigning them more taxing tasks,missions heavy in burden and light in reward. They were provocations disguised as duty. Even so, the Hyūga offered no complaints. They carried them out with the same cold efficiency that had always defined them.
Rather than easing his concerns, it deepened them.
Still, Hiruzen loosened his watch.
Not out of trust,but strategy.
It was under these circumstances that Team Three received a new assignment.
With Hyūga Neji's recent promotion to chūnin, he was now authorized to lead missions independently. For that reason, Might Guy's absence on this operation raised no suspicions.
Neji departed with Rock Lee and Tenten.
The task itself was simple: place a scroll containing confidential information inside a temple near the Fire Temple. Someone else would retrieve it later. Nothing more.
They reached the location without incident. Neji placed the scroll exactly where instructed and led his teammates away with the calm efficiency of someone merely fulfilling his duty.
Not long after, another presence entered the temple.
The figure moved cautiously, retrieved the scroll, and searched the area thoroughly. Finding nothing else, he opened the document and confirmed it was written in Hiruzen Sarutobi's own hand,unaltered, unmarked, and free of hidden codes.
An ANBU operative.
The mission had never been about the scroll itself.
Hiruzen had allowed Neji to leave the village precisely to see whether anything would slip through. But Neji made no mistakes. No suspicious actions. No attempt at contact. No hesitation.
That restraint was enough to ease the Hokage's vigilance further.
Enough for his attention to drift elsewhere.
It was only later, during a different mission, that Hyūga Neji finally moved.
Before acting, he activated the Byakugan to ensure no one was watching. Then, as team leader, he separated himself from Rock Lee and Tenten in a manner so natural it raised no suspicion.
The window was brief.
But it was sufficient.
The scroll changed hands cleanly, efficiently, without leaving a trace.
Chiba received it shortly thereafter.
Inside were no explanations, no rhetoric. Only two lines,direct, unadorned, and heavier than any formal declaration.
"The Hyūga clan seeks refuge under Kirigakure's protection."
"We request the Mizukage's assistance."
The calm had never been peace.
From the very beginning, it had only been the silence before the shift of the plates beneath Konoha's feet.
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