Chapter 209 Trust Is a Luxury
Hiruzen Sarutobi was drowning in impossible choices.
If he could manage it, he would save both the Main House and Branch House while using this crisis to consolidate the entire Hyuga clan under direct Hokage control. That would be perfect - no loss of strength, increased loyalty, centralized power.
But reality was never that accommodating.
The Main House was willing to surrender authority to him, but only if he protected their right to keep the Branch House enslaved. Their position was brutally simple We'll kneel to the Hokage, but we won't let slaves stand as our equals.
They had always been the Hokage's dogs anyway. A tighter leash from the Hokage's office wouldn't change much. But in exchange for that obedience, they demanded protection of their core interest maintaining their superior status over the Branch House.
You cannot allow slaves to believe they're equal to their masters.
This put Hiruzen in an impossible bind.
No one understood Konoha's current situation better than he did. Calling it dire straits would be generous. The village was barely functional.
Without the reinforcements sent by the Fire Daimyo and the monks from the Temple of Fire, Konoha's actual combat strength was barely above that of a minor village. The great Hidden Leaf had been reduced to this pathetic state.
Right now, Konoha genuinely could not afford to lose any more personnel.
For one brief moment, Hiruzen actually considered abandoning the Main House entirely.
A bunch of useless pigs who never fought on the front lines and only dragged the village down from the rear. Aside from their loyalty, they were practically worthless.
Selling out subordinates like this would certainly make the other clans nervous, but given the village's current weakness, with proper explanation he might be able to make them understand.
Politics was something Hiruzen Sarutobi excelled at.
But that thought flickered through his mind for only an instant before dying out. Because... he couldn't trust the rebellious Branch House.
If this coup were purely an internal Hyuga matter, a violent eruption of accumulated Main House and Branch House tensions, he could accept it completely. He wouldn't have any doubts about those Branch House members at all.
Just as he had accepted Kakashi Hatake despite the assassination attempt, he could accept a Branch House that had rebelled.
He had that much magnanimity.
But the problem was that this situation involved an enemy far too dangerous to ignore.
Uchiha Yasushi.
Originally, Hiruzen and his forces wouldn't have made it back in time for this crisis. It was Yasushi who had White Zetsu inform them, allowing them to use the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to return just in time.
Would that bastard really be so kind-hearted
Moreover, Hyuga Neji had already admitted that Uchiha Yasushi was involved in orchestrating today's events.
That changed everything.
Who could guarantee Yasushi hadn't planted hidden dangers within the Branch House ranks What if Hiruzen agreed to let the Branch House eliminate the Main House, only to have those same Branch House members turn around and stab him in the back at Yasushi's command
Then he would have lost everything. No Main House, a rebellious Branch House, angry clans questioning his judgment, and no way to unite the village's forces to hunt down the real threat.
How could he possibly rebuild Konoha then
Once suspicion took root, it could never be eliminated.
This possibility echoed through Hiruzen's mind, growing louder and more prominent with each passing moment until it became impossible to ignore.
If he supported the Main House instead, the losses would be severe, but at least he would ensure the purity of his forces. No one would stab him in the back.
In mere moments, all these factors cycled through Hiruzen's mind, pushing him toward a decision.
''Neji..."
Hiruzen said with a grave expression.
"Can you guarantee the Branch House's loyalty to Konoha Village after eliminating the Main House
Facing that deeply calculating look on the Hokage's face, Neji understood everything. A bitter laugh escaped his throat.
"Haha... Lord Hokage, even if I said yes, would you believe me?"
"Or are you planning to take control of the Caged Bird seal yourself!"
"We're fighting and bleeding for freedom. If the Caged Bird seal remains in place, what was all this struggle for?"
"Being controlled by the village's curse seal versus being controlled by the Main House's curse seal - what's the difference!"
"Are you saying that without the seal's restraint, you have no trust in the Branch House at all!?"
"Ah... " Hiruzen sighed heavily.
"You've allied yourself with Uchiha Yasushi. How can I trust you?"
"I understand."
Neji nodded, his laugh cold and sharp.
"It looks like Lord Hokage has already made his choice. What a pity. You didn't choose to stand with the Branch House."
" The village always stands with the Main House, doesn't it? Then there's nothing left to say. Let our blades do the talking!"
With those words, Neji raised his arm and led the rebellious Branch House members in a charge forward.
At this point, Hiruzen stopped hesitating. He raised the Adamantine Staff and shouted loudly
"All Konoha shinobi, hear my command! Hyuga Neji and his followers have colluded with the rogue ninja Uchiha Yasushi to stage this rebellion and murder their fellow village members - crimes of the highest order!"
"I now command you in the name of Hokage eliminate these traitors without exception!"
"Yes, sir!"
The assembled shinobi, whether willing or not, had no choice but to accept the order with a unified shout. They clashed once more with the Branch House rebels.
This time there would be no holding back, no tacit understanding to pull punches. This was genuine combat to the death.
The battlefield's intensity escalated instantly.
The rebellious Branch House members knew there was no reconciliation with the village now. Facing the village's overwhelming force, defeat seemed inevitable. So they threw away their lives, determined to drag at least one enemy down with them.
Itachi watched from the sidelines, his chakra fluctuating wildly with unstable emotions. Yet he didn't enter the battle.
He couldn't understand why. Accepting the Branch House was clearly the best outcome for the village. So why had Lord Hokage chosen...
Sensing Itachi's confusion, Hiruzen withdrew from the battlefield and came over to explain to his conflicted subordinate
"Itachi, it's not that the village won't accept the Branch House. It's just that betrayal is something that either happens zero times or infinite times."
"I'm deeply worried they'll turn around and betray the village after eliminating the Main House."
"You saw it yourself - they're entangled too deeply with Uchiha Yasushi. It's impossible for the village to continue trusting them."
"Right now, we have no choice. We can only stand with the Main House."
'Uchiha Yasushi!' Itachi's fists clenched tight, his teeth grinding audibly. That name had become poison in his mind.
"It's him again! Why is he behind everything."
"Itachi, the current situation demands we eliminate these Branch House rebels quickly, giving Uchiha Yasushi no further opportunities to throw the village into chaos."
"Please help me."
Hiruzen's tone carried a note of pleading.
Actually, Itachi's mind was still full of doubts. The village's actions conflicted severely with his rigid worldview. But after Hiruzen placed all the blame on Uchiha Yasushi, Itachi finally found justification for his internal conflict.
"I understand, Lord Hokage."
With his position solidified, Itachi buried all his doubts and joined the battle to eliminate the Hyuga Branch House.
Far in the distance, hidden in shadows, two figures watched everything unfold.
Through White Zetsu's network, every movement on the battlefield, every spoken word, reached Yasushi and Black Zetsu perfectly.
"Beautiful."
Yasushi murmured, a smile playing across his lips.
"Absolutely beautiful."
"The old man chose exactly as I predicted. Suspicion and fear over pragmatism and strength."
"Yasushi, you really are a monster," Zetsu said quietly.
"You engineered this so that no matter which side Hiruzen chose, Konoha loses."
"Of course. " Yasushi's smile widened, though his eyes remained cold and dead. If he chose the Branch House, the other clans would question whether he'd abandon them too when convenient. The Main House survivors would become martyrs, symbols of the Hokage's betrayal.
But by choosing the Main House, he slaughters the very shinobi who actually fight and bleed for this village. The Branch House were the Hyuga's real military strength. Now he's destroying them with his own hands.
Either way, Konoha bleeds. Either way, the village grows weaker.
"Either way, I win."
Yasushi turned his cold gaze toward the battlefield where Itachi had joined the slaughter.
"And Itachi gets to watch another massacre he helped enable. Tell me, Zetsu - how long before that cracks him completely?"
"You're not trying to turn Itachi into another Obito, are you?"
"Nothing so crude." Yasushi's smile turned predatory.
"Obito broke too quickly, too completely. Where's the fun in that?"
"No, I want Itachi to stay sane. I want him to fully comprehend every consequence of his choices. I want him to understand, with perfect clarity, that his beloved village is destroying itself."
"And I want him to know that every death tonight, every drop of blood spilled, leads directly back to the choice he made on the night of the Uchiha massacre."
"That's true revenge, Zetsu. Not killing someone. Making them wish they were dead."
On the battlefield, Itachi's Sharingan spun as he moved through the Branch House rebels with lethal efficiency. Each life he took added another weight to his conscience.
Each death was necessary, he told himself. For the village. For peace. For the greater good.
But somewhere deep inside, a voice whispered that he'd heard all these justifications before.
On another night of massacre.
In another clan compound.
When he'd made another choice he couldn't take back.