The second day after the kidnapping incident, at the Konoha village gate.
"Let's go!" The second-in-command of the Cloud Village delegation glared fiercely at Konoha behind him, his face flushed with anger.
With that, the group of thirteen departed from Konoha, hurrying back to Cloud.
Just yesterday, Konoha's high-ranking officials had formally responded to the matter of their delegation leader Toro's death, refusing to hand over the murderer, Tatsuya Akimichi.
They had only imposed a symbolic punishment of one month's confinement!
Moreover, the Konoha Jonin Shikaku Nara, who had come to deliver the message, had also stated firmly that they would formally protest to Cloud Village about Toro's attempted kidnapping of the Hyuga clan's heiress.
Konoha was not afraid of war!
Faced with Konoha's stance, the Cloud Village delegation was both humiliated and frustrated. They could only leave in disgrace.
Secretly accompanying the Cloud Village delegation were two Konoha ANBU squads.
The village's high-ranking officials were also worried that something might happen to the Cloud Village delegation on their return journey. If another incident were to occur, war between the two villages would probably become unavoidable.
"Tch! Let's go. We should report back to the Third Hokage immediately!" Behind them, watching the departing Cloud Village delegation, Shiranui Genma, with a senbon clenched between his teeth, spat disdainfully and said softly.
With that, the several Konoha ninjas who had seen them off vanished in a blur.
Three days after the Cloud Village delegation left, Tatsuya, who had been imprisoned in the ANBU underground prison, was released.
Confinement, after all! It didn't matter where he was confined! Let Tatsuya be confined within the Akimichi clan compound for a month, forbidden from leaving!
Tatsuya wholeheartedly agreed to this!
Stepping out of the hidden entrance to the ANBU underground prison, Tatsuya was surprised to find that the group that had come to greet him was exceptionally large.
The Akimichi clan head Ryota Akimichi and Choji's father Choza Akimichi, the Yamanaka clan head Shuzo Yamanaka and Ino's father Inoichi Yamanaka, the Nara clan head Hiroki Nara and Shikaku Nara, and the Hyuga clan head Hiashi Hyuga and his brother Hizashi Hyuga.
For Tatsuya's sake, the clan heads and the next generation's heirs of the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans had all come. Such a gathering was truly unexpected and surprising to him.
It turned out that, without realizing it, he had already gained such a position within the three clans.
As for the arrival of Hiashi Hyuga and Hizashi Hyuga, it was to thank Tatsuya for saving Hinata's life. Of course, there was also an element of wanting to win over Tatsuya, a future powerhouse.
Many in the village now considered Tatsuya to be one of Konoha's top future combatants.
Previously, there hadn't been much interaction between them, and a top clan like the Hyuga clan wouldn't have deigned to befriend a junior like Tatsuya.
Now, with this connection, they could naturally interact openly. The Hyuga clan could also gain a good reputation for repaying kindness, so why not?
After receiving sincere thanks from Hiashi Hyuga and Hizashi Hyuga, Tatsuya followed clan head Ryota Akimichi and the others back home.
Back at the clan compound, they briefly explained the final decision of the village's high-ranking officials to Tatsuya.
Tatsuya wasn't too surprised by this.
However, it was still necessary to express his gratitude.
After all, the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka clans' support for him was genuine.
Moreover, if Ryota Akimichi hadn't agreed to let him enter the clan's secret grounds in the first place, Tatsuya wouldn't have grown so quickly. His feelings for the clan were also sincere.
Hiroki Nara also indirectly conveyed to him how much the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, valued him and how much pressure he had borne to protect him.
This included rejecting Danzo's proposal to place Tatsuya under Root's supervision, to prevent Tatsuya from appearing in public and provoking Cloud, which could lead to war. It was all in order to keep Tatsuya's official position on file; he was still the vice-captain of the Konoha Military Police Force's Combat Department, Third Division.
In a word, they wanted to win Tatsuya's loyalty.
Although Tatsuya responded to these words on the surface, he was inwardly scoffing. "Heh."
Perhaps another young person in the village would have been truly moved by the Third Hokage's actions.
But Tatsuya wouldn't be.
It wasn't because Tatsuya had a deep prejudice against the Third Hokage, but because he clearly understood the Third Hokage's true considerations.
Although Tatsuya harbored many secrets, he was still a true-born member of the Akimichi clan.
In Konoha, the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans had always been the core strength maintaining the Hokage's system of governance. At this delicate moment, when the village's high-ranking officials and the Uchiha were engaged in a covert struggle, how could the Third Hokage undermine his own foundation?
If the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans were to side with the Uchiha or remain neutral, the internal balance of the village would be broken, and the Uchiha might immediately launch a coup, overthrowing the Hokage's rule over the village.
This was something the Third Hokage absolutely did not want to see.
The Cloud Village delegation's threat of war was merely a game of mutual maneuvering between the two great ninja villages.
If Cloud Village was determined to start a war, Konoha's concessions might not guarantee peace.
But if Konoha itself were to fall into internal strife, then Cloud Village, Iwagakure, and other villages would definitely not miss the opportunity, and the village would also fall into war.
Therefore, the Third Hokage would never agree to the demands of the Cloud Village delegation.
In the original storyline, the reason why Hizashi Hyuga ended up sacrificing himself in place of Hiashi Hyuga was simply because Hizashi Hyuga's importance was insufficient, and because of the special relationship between the main and branch families of the Hyuga clan.
Moreover, although the Hyuga clan was known as the strongest clan in Konoha, they had always acted discreetly and had been lying low for far too long. It was not at all surprising that they would make the decision to let Hizashi Hyuga of the branch family die to avert the threat of war.
Most of the Third Hokage's thoughts and actions were for the sake of Konoha. Tatsuya could understand them, but he wouldn't be grateful.
After all, under this mode of operation, Tatsuya was just a pawn. A useful pawn!
This was not what Tatsuya wanted. He wanted to possess absolute strength to escape this chessboard and become the chess player himself.
That evening, the high-ranking members of the three clans had a rare dinner with Tatsuya, a member of the younger generation.
After a night's rest, Tatsuya did not report to the Konoha Military Police Force as usual the next day. Instead, he sent a message to Shisui via messenger hawk to request leave.
With the confinement order issued by the Hokage's office, Tatsuya didn't even need to find an excuse; he simply started immersing himself in his lab work.
When Tatsuya's long-term leave application reached the desk of Fugaku Uchiha, the head of the Konoha Military Police Force, he also chuckled. "Heh." He directly approved it with a stroke of his pen.
As long as Tatsuya wasn't causing him trouble in the Police Force, Fugaku Uchiha was satisfied. He didn't care at all whether Tatsuya came to work or not.
If Tatsuya could disappear completely from the Police Force from now on, Fugaku Uchiha would be even more pleased.
Just a few days after Tatsuya was confined, a small shop called "Tatsuya's Pet Shop" opened for business!
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