The moment Hyuga Hiashi found the antidote in Uchiha Souji's pocket, the atmosphere in the room shifted.
It wasn't a miracle cure, but its existence changed everything.
Even if the antidote itself didn't do much, the fact that Shi gave Souji an antidote before leaving meant one thing:
Shi had interacted with Souji privately.
That alone was enough to create doubt, confusion, and uncertainty.
And in politics, uncertainty was sometimes more valuable than truth.
If people became puzzled about what really happened, if the sequence of events became blurry, then Cloud Village would not be able to accuse Konoha so aggressively, and Konoha would not be able to blackmail Cloud Village either.
Everyone could step back.
Everyone could pretend to be satisfied.
And this war-like incident would fade into the past.
For Konoha, it was still a loss of face—but they gained compensation, avoided clan death, and prevented further escalation.
For the Hyuga clan, the internal chaos would settle.
For the Uchiha clan, and especially Souji, their prestige rose sharply.
Not only had Souji defeated a Cloud Jōnin, he protected a Hyuga child and survived poisoning.
His reputation soared.
But Uchiha Souji had no idea about any of this.
The only thing on his mind was simple:
He wanted to disgust Shi.
He didn't care about politics.
If someone stabbed him in the back, he would return the favor tenfold.
Meanwhile, Mizuki had completely misunderstood everything.
In Mizuki's imagination, Souji hadn't simply survived—he had strategized.
He had seen through Cloud's scheme, planned ahead, left evidence, and set the stage for negotiations.
Because of this delusion, Mizuki's admiration grew to religious levels.
Souji was teasing Hinata's tiny cheeks when he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
"...Someone's glaring at me."
He slowly turned his head.
Mizuki was staring directly at him, eyes sparkling with absolute devotion.
Souji nearly dropped Hinata.
What is wrong with this guy!?
I didn't even do anything yet! Why are you worshipping me!?
He squinted.
It really was Mizuki.
I wasn't even thinking about punishing you, Souji sighed internally.
But since you volunteered yourself by looking at me like that…
Souji glanced at the bandages wrapped all over Mizuki's body.
He would have to wait a few days. Sending him on a mission now would be too suspicious—and too easy.
No, Souji wanted something more… elegant.
You couldn't just send someone to die.
Even the Third Hokage would give a speech about the Will of Fire first.
Souji rested one hand under his chin thoughtfully.
He considered himself a man of taste.
If he was going to punish someone, it had to be done properly.
"Mizuki," Souji said lightly, "you've been injured for quite a while. When will you recover?"
Mizuki straightened immediately.
There it is! he thought.
Master Souji is clearly preparing a secret mission for me!
Mizuki's imagination instantly spun out of control.
He saw himself entering ANBU, becoming a squad leader, being promoted to Jōnin, marrying a beautiful woman, and reaching the peak of life—all because of Souji's trust.
He almost shed tears of joy.
"Thank you, Master Souji, for your concern!" Mizuki announced proudly.
"In a few more days, I'll make a full recovery. When that time comes, I will go through fire and water for you!"
Souji nearly fainted right there.
Every word made his skin crawl.
Mizuki wasn't embarrassing Souji—he was embarrassing the entire Uchiha clan.
No, Souji thought firmly.
Mizuki must suffer.
And it must be poetic.
"Hehe… good," Souji said with a forced smile, patting Mizuki's shoulder.
"Work hard. I won't treat you badly."
Translation:
You're doomed, kid.
---
A few hours later…
The afternoon sun blazed outside Konoha's conference hall.
The air felt heavy, almost suffocating.
Inside, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat calmly at the head of the long table.
Konoha's representatives sat on his left; Cloud Village's delegation sat on his right.
The negotiations had begun.
But "negotiations" was far too polite a word.
Hyuga Hiashi suddenly slammed the table and stood up.
His voice thundered through the hall.
"Cloud Shinobi! You bastards think you can kidnap our Hyuga clansmen and walk away!? I swear—"
Before he could finish, Shi stood up as well, his face twisted with anger.
"You say we kidnapped someone!? Where's your proof!?"
"We came here peacefully, and you lunatics attacked our mission!"
"Hyuga clan, open those cataract eyes of yours!"
The room exploded into shouting.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat silently.
He did not intervene.
Not because he didn't care—because he couldn't.
A Hokage arguing with a foreign Jōnin?
If he won, it looked petty.
If he lost, it was humiliating.
And more importantly—the outcome was already predetermined.
Konoha had already decided:
They could not hand over the "murderer."
They would pay compensation to Cloud.
And the matter would end here.
Anything else was political theatre.
The shouting continued.
Even the Cloud civilians who came with the delegation began shouting like scholars arguing in a town square.
To their credit… they were surprisingly eloquent.
Konoha's negotiators were red with embarrassment.
If Hiruzen hadn't been sitting silently—his presence alone keeping tempers from exploding—they would probably have started a physical fight by now.
Finally, Shi pulled out a sealed scroll and approached Hiruzen.
"Lord Hokage," he said sharply,
"This is Lord Raikage's personal letter. He is extremely angered by this incident."
He bowed and extended the scroll.
"Please consider carefully. We demand the murderer be handed over. Especially Uchiha Souji, who killed our Cloud Jōnin!"
Hiruzen accepted the scroll without opening it.
He knew without looking that the letter was written long before the delegation arrived.
Cloud Village had been prepared.
Cloud Village had been plotting.
Cloud Village was, in short… shameless.
Hiruzen had read the mission report.
The Cloud Jōnin had clearly been acting with ulterior motives.
A scheme gone wrong—and now Cloud Village tried to twist the story and act like victims.
Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
Just because he despised them didn't mean he could ignore them.
Politics had rules.
"Which of you supports or opposes Cloud Village's demand?" Hiruzen asked, voice steady.
Everyone understood the meaning:
They were not handing over Uchiha Souji.
But they had to formally reject the demand through procedure.
The room fell silent.
Then—
BANG!!!
A fist slammed onto the table.
A voice roared:
"I OBJECT!!!"