As Keisuke departed, Hyuga Satoru stepped forward, faced Uchiha Fugaku, and bowed with proper Main Family etiquette.
"Clan Head Fugaku, thank you for your assistance.
If it weren't for you, we Hyuga might not have apprehended the assassin so quickly.
I originally thought the matter would end once he was captured… but now it seems there's someone behind him.
Clan Head Fugaku — did you discover anything else?"
Satoru wasn't just being polite — he was probing.
If the Uchiha had been able to pinpoint the intruder this fast, then either the Police Force had been watching him in advance, or someone inside the village had already passed the Uchiha a name.
But Fugaku clearly didn't intend to say more.
Kurama Unkai had no Root curse formula on his body. If Fugaku carelessly connected this assassin to Shimura Danzo or Root without conclusive proof, it would only bring trouble on the Uchiha. They were already being kept at arm's length inside the village — if they openly tied an assassination attempt on the Hyuga Main Family to Danzo, it would look like they were throwing mud for political gain, and everyone would turn it back on them.
Besides, Fugaku had just heard that the Hyuga intended to invite the Yamanaka Clan to help.
The Yamanaka could extract memories from the dead; once they made contact, the truth would be dug out anyway. In that situation, the less the Uchiha said, the safer they were.
"Apologies," Fugaku said mildly. "We don't have further intel on this man's origin.
But I don't think you need to worry — once the Yamanaka arrive, they'll find out who sent him.
When the time comes, we Uchiha will also lend our strength. We won't let someone who targets the Hyuga walk away."
Whether the mastermind was from outside the village… or someone inside Konoha… as long as evidence was in their hands, it would be handled. And once the Hyuga and Uchiha moved together, there would be nowhere to run.
While the two clan heirs spoke, a faint whistle of wind swept past the Hyuga compound gates. A moment later, several Konoha shinobi arrived — patrol squads, and then ANBU who had sensed the disturbance.
They saw the corpse sprawled before the Hyuga compound entrance.
One ANBU — the leader — stepped forward first. His tone carried thinly veiled arrogance, and his mask pattern was clearly not that of the Hokage's personal ANBU.
"Who did this? What happened here? Give your report."
Hyuga guards — already alerted — formed a circle. Hyuga Hizashi arrived just then, taking position beside Satoru like a shield.
He had already been briefed. So when the ANBU spoke, he replied levelly:
"This man infiltrated the Hyuga compound to assassinate the Main Family. After we subdued him, a special curse seal on his body activated and killed him instantly.
We Hyuga will investigate this matter ourselves and report directly to the Hokage when it is complete."
Hizashi didn't like the ANBU's tone — but he kept his temper in check.
The ANBU captain, however, didn't back down. He waved his hand and walked straight toward Kurama Unkai's corpse.
"What are you doing?"
Hizashi's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward to block — and in response, a blade flashed.
The ANBU captain drew the short tantō from his back and leveled the tip toward Hizashi.
"An intruder appears inside Konoha — that is not a 'private clan matter,'" he said coldly.
"This will be handled by ANBU. The corpse will be taken into custody for interrogation.
You will be informed when the results are ready."
As he spoke, two ANBU flanked him and moved for the body. One ANBU in a death-god mask even reached out to lift it —
Thud!
A kunai whistled past and struck the ground right between the man's legs.
"Don't touch it," Satoru said, arm still extended, voice like ice. "Or the next one won't be aimed at the ground.
This matter will be handled by the Hyuga. Your interference is unnecessary."
He didn't know whose ANBU these were — Hokage's, an elder's, or Root men borrowing ANBU masks.
He didn't care.
What mattered was that this corpse might be the only thread leading back to the one who'd dared target the Hyuga Main Family.
He would not let it leave Hyuga hands.
"You dare obstruct ANBU operations?" the captain's tone dropped, as if he'd been waiting to use that line. "Do you intend to betray the village?"
He was trying to force the frame.
Satoru's face darkened. His Byakugan flared open — veins bulged at his temples — and he memorized every ANBU face and chakra signature present.
Seeing that Satoru didn't answer, the ANBU captain assumed he'd cowed them. He gestured again.
"I said," Satoru's voice cut through the air, "don't. Move."
Even before his words faded, Hizashi shot forward like lightning. He appeared among the ANBU like a white flash and struck in rapid succession. The ANBU, caught off guard, staggered back from the corpse.
"You—!"
They hadn't expected the Hyuga to actually attack ANBU. Even these elite masked shinobi were shaken.
"How dare you raise a hand against ANBU?! Do you understand what you're doing?!"
Hizashi's expression didn't change.
"I should be asking you that," he said coldly. "What are you ANBU trying to do?"
While the ANBU were arguing with Hizashi, the one who truly held the line was still Hyuga Satoru.
Uchiha Fugaku, from the instant the ANBU appeared, had gone quiet and simply watched. This was no longer an incident for the Police Force — he'd already done his part capturing the assassin. As for who got to dissect the corpse… that was a political storm he had no intention of stepping into. He could already smell the danger on this body — best to stay clear.
The ANBU captain, ignoring Satoru's words, repeated mechanically:
"Attacking ANBU is treason. If you continue to obstruct us, don't blame us for what happens next."
The more he insisted, the more Satoru was sure — this body must not leave the Hyuga.
"Hmph. You intend to stand against the Hyuga?" Satoru's tone dropped. "I speak for my clan. But you — do you speak for the village?"
He raised his hand.
At once, more than a dozen Hyuga guards stepped in, surrounding the ANBU in a tight ring. Hizashi stood in front, Byakugan active, ready to strike.
Dozens of pale eyes stared down the ANBU — cold, merciless, unblinking.
Even masked elites broke out in a sweat.
They understood: if they tried to take the corpse by force now, it would become a clan-level clash — and that would reach the Hokage Tower within minutes.
Just as the air was about to explode —
Tap… tap… tap…
A wooden cane struck the stone path.
"What's this?"
"Konoha's people… fighting each other?"
"Put away your weapons."
All eyes turned.
Shimura Danzo walked in slowly, cane in hand, two Root operatives behind him. Beside him, in his Hokage robes, was Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Lord Hokage!"
The ANBU immediately straightened, as if rescued.
The instant Satoru saw whose ANBU these were, his eyes grew even colder.
So.
The corpse really was that important.
The corpse represented information — and someone wanted that information to disappear.
Who would care this much about what was in Kurama Unkai's head?
Only the one who had sent him.
For the first time, Satoru truly entertained a thought he had always kept pushed down:
…that this time, the enemy might not be some foreign spy…
…it might be someone standing right here, smiling.
"All of you are Konoha shinobi," Hiruzen said with a kindly smile, as if he hadn't just arrived in the middle of a near-fight. "There's no need to harm our unity over something so small.
Satoru, I've heard what happened. These ANBU were only performing their duties — don't be too harsh on them.
Protecting the village and investigating assassins is their responsibility, after all.
Tell me, Hyuga Satoru — do you truly not trust the ANBU?"
Anyone else might have backed down there. To say "I don't trust the ANBU" in front of the Hokage was to slap the village itself.
But Satoru was not "anyone else."
He had already decided.
No one was taking this body.
Not even Hiruzen.
"Lord Third Hokage," Satoru answered, each word hard as steel,
"I don't trust the ANBU.
And today — no matter who it is — no one is taking this corpse from the Hyuga."
For a brief instant, even Hiruzen's smile froze.
And Danzo's single eye narrowed.
Up on a nearby rooftop, a hidden Root lookout tensed, as if waiting for an order.
Because tonight, for the first time…
…the Hyuga Main Family's "once-in-a-century genius" had bared his fangs —
…and they were aimed not at Konoha's enemies…
…but at Konoha's shadow.
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