Chapter 52: Stabbed in the Back by the Little Padded Jacket
"Still more?"
With his Byakugan active, Hyuga Hiashi sensed someone outside the wall, fleeing at high speed. He immediately leapt high into the air, spun once midair, and flung out an Eight Trigrams Air Palm.
The strike blew off one of the fleeing White Zetsu's arms.
Even so, White Zetsu managed to escape.
Hyuga Hiashi did not pursue it. After landing, he began inspecting the "corpses" on the ground.
"Are these things really human?"
When Hyuga Hiashi activated his Byakugan earlier, he had already felt that White Zetsu's body was strange. Now that he examined them more closely, it was indeed the case.
There were no internal organs, like plants rather than people.
"Father, what should we do? They seemed to have no hostility at first…"
Hanabi was a little frightened.
It felt like she might have harmed innocent people.
"It's fine. Whether these things are human or some kind of ninjutsu, they were wearing Amegakure forehead protectors. People from a small village like that wouldn't dare to..l"
"Clan Head, an ANBU has come to see you. He says it's on the Hokage's orders."
The maid, Hyūga Natsu, who had been assigned to watch over Hanabi, jogged over.
"Hm?"
Hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi didn't connect the two matters at all.
It had been less than ten minutes since he dealt with those Amegakure ninjas.
And how would they dare?
A small village coveting the Byakugan bloodline of Konoha's strongest clan, the Hyūga?
Could they really try to pull something like Kumogakure did back then, turning the tables and accusing the victim?
He had clearly confirmed their Amegakure forehead protectors before acting.
With past lessons in mind, how could he be careless?
"Hyūga Clan Head, please bring Miss Hanabi with you. Also, I will collect the bodies of the intruders."
A masked ANBU appeared in the courtyard. He took out a scroll from behind him and began sealing the White Zetsu remains into it one by one.
"What?"
Just moments ago, Hyuga Hiashi had confidently thought the two matters were unrelated. Had he misjudged?
Filled with confusion, Hyuga Hiashi went to the Hokage's office.
The moment he pushed open the door, he saw a familiar face.
"It's you!"
Half of the confusion in Hyuga Hiashi's heart instantly cleared.
What replaced it was anger.
Wasn't this the very man from yesterday, the one who had stared at Hanabi and said something suspicious like "Why is there no one around"?
So he was from Amegakure after all. No wonder.
Then the people who attacked Hanabi today must have been sent by him!
"Hyuga Hiashi, this representative from Amegakure claims that their village's ninja were brutally killed by the Hyūga clan. I specifically summoned you so the two sides could confront each other."
"But before that, I'd like to ask the Amegakure guest a question."
Sarutobi Hiruzen set down his pipe and spoke.
Hiruzen's thinking was the same as Hyuga Hiashi's.
What kind of capability could a small village like Amegakure possibly have?
Just based on the unconfirmed intelligence Kakashi brought back about 'Death Controlling Possessed Blood'?
Hiruzen's plan was to have Hyuga Hiashi come over, watch him handle the matter fairly, and make the Hyūga clan feel grateful.
So before Hyuga Hiashi arrived, Hiruzen hadn't mentioned anything to Shiromo.
"Please go ahead."
Shiromo spread his hands very naturally.
"According to the records, the list of Amegakure visitors only includes you and the village head of Amegakure. So if other Amegakure ninjas appear in Konoha, can I treat them as intruders?"
Hiruzen picked up a scroll he had prepared earlier, opened it, and displayed the list inside.
Hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi immediately relaxed. He even patted his daughter Hanabi on the shoulder, signaling that everything was fine.
"Who said there were only the two of us?"
Shiromo raised his hand and pointed at the one-armed White Zetsu standing to the side.
"Shiro." (his chinese name is Bai Mo = White Ink. So I used Shiro instead of White to create Shiromo)
Then he pointed at himself.
"Mo."
Finally, he pointed at Konan, who was sitting beside him.
"The Amegakure village head."
Sarutobi Hiruzen: "..."
Hyuga Hiashi: "..."
"This joke isn't funny…"
Hiruzen's mouth twitched.
"Why don't they have surnames? Are you taking us for fools?"
Hyuga Hiashi demanded.
Whoosh.
Shiromo suddenly appeared sitting on top of the Hokage's desk. He picked up the list and tossed it aside, then casually pointed at it.
"Other than you people who think about clan honor all day, isn't it perfectly normal for others to write only their given names?"
"The Sunagakure Village genin, Temari, Kankurō, Gaara, do they have surnames written down?"
"Uh…"
What Shiromo said actually made sense. They have nothing to say.
Hyuga Hiashi was left speechless for a moment.
"Is his name really Shiro?" (Shiro = White)
Hiruzen recovered from the shock of Shiromo's sudden movement and looked at White Zetsu.
"What, is he not white enough to be called 'White'?"
Shiromo shot back.
"Uh, fair enough, wait. His name is White, so what about the others who attacked the Hyūga clan? Are they also named White?"
Hiruzen suddenly realized a blind spot and slapped the desk.
Hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi's eyes lit up instantly. He looked at Shiromo, waiting for embarrassment and regret to appear on his face.
"Yes."
Shiromo nodded calmly.
"I…"
"What? The Raikage of Kumogakure is called A, their jinchūriki are called B. Our village's people here are identical-looking multiples, pitiful war orphans. What's wrong with them all being named Shiro?"
Hiruzen was about to speak, but Shiromo cut him off.
After hearing this, Hiruzen didn't know how to refute it for a moment.
It really did seem… reasonable.
"Wait, Third Hokage-sama!"
"Please have that ANBU display the bodies of those Ame ninja, their body structure is extremely strange. I suspect they aren't human at all, but some kind of ninjutsu used by one of them!"
Hyuga Hiashi grew anxious.
Why did it feel like a guaranteed win was about to be overturned?
Bang!!
Shiromo slammed his palm onto the Hokage's desk, startling Hiruzen, who had just been about to speak.
"This is too much, Hyūga Clan Head!"
"What are you misunderstanding? I can understand killing them, but claiming they aren't human, isn't that going too far?"
"They were my beloved family and brothers…"
Shiromo took a deep breath, then turned to Hiruzen.
"If being different in bodily structure makes someone 'not human,' then what about the ones in our village with five hearts, or those with only a heart, or those with gills? Couldn't they just be people who practice special secret techniques?"
"That's a valid point."
As the Professor of Ninjutsu, Hiruzen acknowledged Shiromo's reasoning.
"They should indeed be human."
"They really were people."
Hanabi suddenly spoke up softly.
The stab in the back from his "little padded jacket" made Hyuga Hiashi's eyes go wide. (Little padded jacket = "my caring daughter", "my sweet, considerate child")
"Hanabi, you…"
"I'm sorry, Father, but they really were people. The things they said before dying, those emotions…"
Hanabi shrank her head slightly and defended herself in a small voice.
"See? Children don't lie. And even if they did, would she have any reason to lie on our behalf?"
Shiromo's leisurely remark nearly sent Hyuga Hiashi into a rage-induced heart attack.
(End of this chapter)