Under normal circumstances, that Hyuga shinobi would never have believed such a rumor.
But this one was far too detailed.
Detailed enough to feel real.
"Back then, a main-family member really did die on the battlefield against Kirigakure."
"And because of that, our Hyuga Clan even apologized to the village and asked for forgiveness. We admitted it was our mistake that the Byakugan had been lost, and that it had brought trouble to the village."
"At the time, the village even blamed the Hyuga Clan for it."
"And now, Konoha has suddenly formed an alliance with Kirigakure."
"To begin with, I already found that alliance strange."
The Hyuga shinobi furrowed his brow deeply.
"Kirigakure's situation was terrible. An alliance with them could hardly bring Konoha much benefit. If anything, Kirigakure stood to gain much more."
"But if Konoha's higher-ups had already allied with Kirigakure long ago… then it all makes sense."
Over a dozen Hyuga shinobi gathered together.
"What do you all think? How likely is it?"
One younger Hyuga spoke first.
"I don't think the possibility is small."
"Otherwise, why would Konoha suddenly ally with Kirigakure out of nowhere?"
A middle-aged Hyuga added,
"The death of that main-family member was suspicious from the start."
"Ordinarily, Hyuga main-family members do not take missions or go to the battlefield."
"But that time, it was insisted that the main family send someone."
"It was almost as though without that one main-family member, the operation would fail."
"And then that main-family shinobi stepped onto the battlefield for the first time… only to walk straight into a Kirigakure ambush."
"It felt as though Kirigakure had already known in advance where he would be and had set the trap beforehand."
An elderly Hyuga, his eyes slightly red, spoke next.
"That time, it wasn't only that one main-family member who died. Once the nearby branch-family Hyuga learned of his situation, they all rushed over as well."
"And then… they all died at the hands of Kirigakure shinobi."
"In all these years, that was the single greatest loss the Hyuga Clan has ever suffered."
The Hyuga Clan's situation was a special one.
On the battlefield, they were typically positioned more as intelligence shinobi than frontline attackers.
It was not that the Hyuga lacked strength.
Rather, their capabilities in intelligence work were simply too exceptional.
No matter how many tricks the enemy used, the moment a Hyuga opened the Byakugan, their arrangements became meaningless. Everything would be laid bare in a single glance.
Add to that the unique nature of the Byakugan itself—lose one, and it was truly gone forever.
That had a far greater impact on Konoha's army than losing an ordinary shinobi.
Under those conditions, the Hyuga Clan's casualty rate had always been much lower than that of other shinobi clans.
But that one incident had been an exception.
As these Hyuga shinobi gathered together, outrage began to spread through the group.
Still, compared to the Uchiha Clan, the Hyuga had far more moderates.
"But this is still only a rumor. It may not be true. It could easily be a deliberate fabrication."
"After all, Konoha and Kirigakure have only just formed their alliance."
"Whether it's Iwagakure or Sunagakure, neither of them would want to see that happen."
"And Iwagakure is especially good at rumors. The flyers last time proved that."
A Hyuga across from him let out a cold snort.
"A fabrication? And who exactly can fabricate details so lifelike?"
"I don't believe it. And Konoha's alliance with Kirigakure came far too suddenly. If there's nothing behind it, I won't believe that either."
Then a middle-aged Hyuga raised another point.
"Doesn't the rumor also say that this was one of the reasons behind the Kaguya Clan rebellion? Whether it's true or false, all we need to do is verify it with the Kaguya Clan."
"The Kaguya and the Hyuga have been close for generations."
The others exchanged glances and felt that made sense.
"Though with the current situation, establishing contact with the Kaguya won't be easy. Under Kirigakure's pursuit, no one knows where they fled."
"That's not something for us to worry about. The clan head should have a way."
No matter what, the rumor had shaken the hearts of most Hyuga shinobi.
And that, one way or another, had already begun affecting the battlefield.
Especially those Hyuga shinobi Konoha had sent to the Kirigakure army as support.
Yagura frowned.
"What is wrong with these Hyuga shinobi?"
"They're all carrying themselves with their noses in the air, and everything they do is half-hearted."
"Do they look down on Kirigakure?"
"Do they think I won't report this to Konoha's higher-ups? If they're not afraid of Kirigakure, are they not even afraid of Konoha?"
"If not for the alliance with Konoha, and for Ao having been brought back to the village by Elder Gengetsu and thus being unfit to appear on the front lines, why would I need to rely on the Hyuga's eyes? Kirigakure has its own Byakugan."
Yagura was thoroughly displeased with those Hyuga shinobi.
At that moment—
An intelligence shinobi hurried over.
"Commander-sama!"
"What is it?"
The intelligence shinobi immediately relayed the rumor involving the Hyuga Clan.
Yagura's face turned pale.
Only now did he understand why those Hyuga shinobi had been behaving the way they were.
"Utter nonsense!"
This rumor did not actually hurt Kirigakure all that much.
But Yagura knew very well—if the Hyuga Clan believed it, then the alliance between Konoha and Kirigakure would inevitably run into serious trouble.
Not a small problem. A major one.
Either the Hyuga Clan would rebel just like the Uchiha had…
Or, even if they did not, the fracture it caused would still be severe.
Either way, for Kirigakure in its current state, neither outcome was acceptable.
"That Hyuga main-family shinobi was clearly killed by Kirigakure's own skill in battle. How did it suddenly become the credit of Konoha's higher-ups?"
The intelligence shinobi below could not help asking,
"Commander-sama, what should we do?"
Yagura came back to himself and glanced at him.
"Deny it. Absolutely."
"Yes, Commander-sama."
But Yagura knew that, in truth, there was not much Kirigakure could do here.
At its core, this was not really an issue between Kirigakure and the Hyuga Clan.
It was a matter between the Hyuga Clan and Konoha.
The key lay with Konoha's higher-ups.
More specifically—with how Hiruzen Sarutobi intended to handle it.
"And it even drags in the Kaguya Clan, saying they rebelled for the Hyuga's sake… Are the Kaguya and Hyuga really that close?"
"If they truly were, then what about all the Hyuga who died fighting Kirigakure before? Were those deaths fake?"
Yagura looked into the distance, toward Konoha's direction.
At that same time, Hiruzen Sarutobi also received word of the rumor.
His face darkened immediately.
"And this time, who is spouting nonsense?"
"When have I ever sold out the Hyuga Clan?"
"What does the death of that Hyuga main-family shinobi have to do with me?"
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