Chapter 166: Hyuga Neji

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Hyuga Neji

Hearing Hyuga Kagami voice his doubts, Kakashi and the others all frowned.

There had, after all, been a precedent in history. The Second Hokage had once traveled to Kumogakure to sign a peace treaty, only for the Gold and Silver Brothers of Kumogakure to launch a coup. The tragedy ultimately resulted in both the Second Raikage and the Second Hokage losing their lives.

But regardless of what had happened in the past, signing a peace treaty was still a major affair concerning both nations.

Even if the Fourth Raikage did not personally attend, Kumogakure should at the very least have dispatched a powerful elite jonin to serve as the leader of the delegation to Konoha.

Guy, as straightforward as ever, said, "Looking at it this way, it seems like Kumogakure doesn’t trust us very much."

Kakashi nodded.

Kumogakure’s arrangement clearly showed that they were worried any elite ninja they sent might end up trapped in Konoha. From that alone, it was obvious that Kumogakure did not trust Konoha.

Shisui sighed. "I wonder just how sincere they really are about signing this peace treaty."

As he listened to Shisui’s words, Kagami’s expression gradually turned solemn.

In the original timeline, it was none other than the chief of this Kumogakure delegation who, after arriving in Konoha and signing the peace treaty, took the opportunity to sneak into the Hyuga Clan’s compound and attempt to abduct Hinata, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main Family.

The head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi, quickly discovered the uninvited intruder and killed him with a single palm strike.

This sudden incident triggered a series of diplomatic disputes between Konoha and Kumogakure, despite the two sides having only just signed a peace treaty.

Using the death of one of their diplomatic envoys in Konoha as an excuse, Kumogakure turned the matter against Konoha. Threatening them with war, they demanded that Konoha hand over Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga Clan who had killed Kumogakure’s chief envoy.

Under Kumogakure’s threat, Konoha ultimately chose to yield. Hyuga Hiashi’s younger brother, Hyuga Hizashi, was sacrificed to appease the Kumogakure’s anger and prevent another war from breaking out.

As Kagami went over these memories, however, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something didn’t add up.

If Kumogakure had truly chosen peace, then their delegation shouldn’t have tried to kidnap Hinata.

Destroying the hard-won peace between the two nations for the sake of a single pair of Byakugan was clearly not a rational choice. Moreover, the chances of successfully kidnapping the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main Family from inside Konoha and escaping all the way back to Kumogakure were hardly high.

The risk was enormous, while the chances of actually gaining anything were extremely low. Logically speaking, no normal person would make such a choice.

But if Kumogakure had never intended to make peace in the first place, and the peace treaty was merely a pretext to allow them to infiltrate Konoha and kidnap the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main Family...

Then Kumogakure shouldn’t have signed the peace treaty at all. And they certainly shouldn’t have chosen to let the dispute end after receiving Hyuga Hizashi’s corpse, allowing that fragile peace to continue.

"Perhaps there are internal divisions within Kumogakure as well."

Unable to make sense of it no matter how much he thought about it, Kagami could only conclude that Kumogakure itself was divided into a pro-war faction and a pro-peace faction.

Only that could explain why the Kumogakure delegation’s actions had been so contradictory.

Contrary to what everyone in Team 11 had expected, the escort mission went exceptionally smoothly. Several weeks later, the Kumogakure delegation arrived safely in Konoha.

Upon their arrival, the village organized a grand welcoming ceremony. Many villagers spontaneously took to the streets to express their goodwill toward the Kumogakure delegation.

They might dislike Kumogakure, but they did not dislike peace!

The Third Shinobi World War had simply made the village shed far too much blood. Taking Kagami’s own graduating class as an example, eight or nine out of every ten of his classmates had died in the war.

Thus, even though Kumogakure had been the one to provoke the latest conflict, the villagers still showed goodwill toward their delegation.

Everyone was simply tired of war.

After completing their escort mission, ANBU Team 11 was rewarded by the Third Hokage with a short leave.

Once he returned home, Kagami thought for a moment before changing into casual clothes. Then, strolling along at a leisurely pace, he made his way to the Hyuga Clan compound.

Along the way, he exchanged greetings with fellow clansmen, some familiar and some not, until he eventually arrived outside Hyuga Hizashi’s residence.

As the Clan Head’s younger brother and one of the few elite jonin within the clan, Hizashi’s residence was naturally much larger and far more impressive than Kagami’s modest courtyard home.

After knocking on the door, Kagami suddenly realized, somewhat belatedly, that he had actually forgotten to bring a gift on his first visit.

Just then, the front door opened a crack.

A little boy of three or four poked his tiny head through the gap. After sizing Kagami up for a moment, he asked, "Big Brother, are you here to see my father?"

Before Kagami could answer, the door swung fully open.

Standing behind it, Hyuga Hizashi smiled.

"Kagami! Come in."

After taking a seat, Kagami glanced at the little boy sitting properly beside Hyuga Hizashi, looking every bit like a tiny adult, and asked, "That’s Neji, right?"

Hizashi, sitting with his arms folded across his chest, smiled and nodded.

Little Neji gave Kagami a proper bow and introduced himself with perfect seriousness. "Brother Kagami, I am Hyuga Neji."

Kagami carefully looked Neji over before his gaze finally settled on the boy’s smooth, unblemished forehead.

Without a doubt, Neji had yet to be branded with the ’Caged Bird’ seal.

Noticing where Kagami was looking, Hizashi’s expression instantly darkened.

According to the rules passed down within the Hyuga Clan since ancient times, once the heir of the Main Family turned three years old, the Branch Family children of the same generation would all be branded with the ’Caged Bird’ Cursed Seal.

And the heir of the Main Family in this generation—the eldest daughter, Hyuga Hinata—would turn three in another month.

In other words, one month from now, Neji would be branded with the ’Caged Bird’ Cursed Seal.

Reaching up and touching the ’Caged Bird’ seal on his own forehead, Hizashi asked in a low voice, "Kagami... do you hate it?"

Kagami didn’t answer.

Instead, he chose to remain silent.

He knew perfectly well that the ’Caged Bird’ had always been a thorn in Hizashi’s heart. Whenever the subject came up, Hizashi’s mood would inevitably sink.

But truthfully, Kagami’s own attitude toward the ’Caged Bird’ was rather neutral.

In Kagami’s view, the existence of the ’Caged Bird’ had both advantages and disadvantages for the Branch Family. After all, not every member of the Branch Family possessed strength comparable to Hyuga Hizashi.

Without the ’Caged Bird,’ many mediocre members of the Branch Family would have to spend their lives constantly fearing for their safety.

Simply put, the geniuses of the Branch Family resented the ’Caged Bird’ for placing their very lives under someone else’s control, while the mediocre members were grateful for its protection, as it spared them from the grim fate of having their eyes gouged out.

And as it happened, Kagami himself belonged to the latter group—the ’mediocre’ ones.

During the Third Shinobi World War, he had deliberately exposed the ’Caged Bird’ Cursed Seal on his forehead more than once to discourage enemies from coveting his Byakugan.

It could be said that the ’Caged Bird’ had saved his life several times.

Hizashi turned his gaze toward Neji beside him and said sorrowfully, "Neji’s talent is the finest among his generation. It’s just a pity... that he was born into the Branch Family."

Seeing his father’s sorrowful expression, Neji hurriedly asked, "Father, what’s wrong?"

Hizashi seemingly had no intention of telling Neji what the ’Caged Bird’ truly meant just yet, so he merely gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

"It’s nothing."