RNP Chapter 181 The Caged Bird: The World is a Giant Cage
Chapter 181 The Caged Bird: The World is a Giant Cage
The negotiation meeting began; it was a war without bloodshed.
After this war ends, the two great ninja villages will enjoy a period of peace.
However, before that happens, one side will inevitably suffer losses.
Night fell over Konoha, and Tetsuya went up to the balcony, standing on the high ground and looking into the distance.
"It's starting now. Tonight is the moment when Neji's fate will begin to turn."
In the Hyuga clan's territory, at the Hyuga branch family's residence, Hyuga Hizashi comforted his son Neji until he fell asleep.
Hyuga Hizashi felt heartbroken seeing his outstanding son branded as a caged bird.
Once bound by the Caged Bird Seal, Neji's Byakugan is no longer complete. Even though Neji is a genius, he cannot break free from the limitations imposed by the Caged Bird Seal.
"Neji, it is your father who has wronged you."
Hizashi sighed, turned around, and left Neji's room.
Living in a family like the Hyuga, who isn't a caged bird?
Not just the Hyuga, but the entire Hidden Leaf Village is also a larger birdcage.
After leaving Neji's room, Hizashi noticed something was wrong after taking only a few steps.
A dark figure carrying something in its arms was rushing outside.
"That's Hinata!"
The Cloud Village ninja holding Hinata stared wide-eyed at Hizashi.
"Damn it, why would anyone be here at this hour!"
He immediately wanted to turn around and run away.
"Don't even think about running!"
Hijiri flashed forward and struck his opponent's vital point with a single blow.
The Hyuga clan's taijutsu (body techniques) specializes in striking vital acupoints, making it incredibly easy to deliver a fatal blow.
The kidnapper of Hinata died just like that, but Hizashi didn't care. He thought he had only killed a robber who tried to kidnap the young lady of the Hyuga clan.
Little did they know that Hyuga Hizashi's life was also about to come to an end.
Soon, members of the Hyuga clan arrived at the scene and took Hinata and the guy who tried to kidnap her away.
But they soon discovered that things seemed to be much more serious than they had imagined.
Someone from the Hyuga clan recognized the dead man as a member of the Kumogakure delegation.
What could have been a simple qualitative problem has suddenly escalated to a whole new level.
After much hesitation, the Hyuga clan reported the news to Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At first, they thought it was a good thing, after all, the people from Kumogakure actually tried to kidnap the young lady of the Hyuga clan of Konoha on their way to negotiations.
This could perhaps be used as leverage in negotiations with Kumogakure. At the very least, in order to quell the anger of the Hyuga clan, Kumogakure would have to make some concessions.
Unexpectedly, the delegation from Kumogakure refused to admit their wrongdoing and even turned around and accused the people from Konoha of killing their Kumogakure ninjas, claiming that they had violated the alliance.
These things left the people of Konoha completely bewildered.
"You fart!"
Danzo, whose temper was as volatile as ever, slammed his fist on the table and roared.
"You bandits from Kumogakure, you want to rob our people from Konoha, fine, but you even dare to turn around and bite us! I don't think you have any intention of negotiating in good faith!"
Ruby snorted coldly, stood up, and exuded a chilling aura.
"I told you, we came here to negotiate. We comforted our companion, saying he had just gotten lost and accidentally wandered into your Hyuga clan in Konoha. Now that he has been killed by you, it is Konoha that has violated the alliance. I think you just don't want to negotiate properly!"
"Damn it! Are you trying to provoke us?!"
"I'm just stating the facts. The fact is, the people of our Hidden Cloud Village are dead. They were killed by the people of your Hidden Leaf Village!"
"We came here to negotiate, but you killed our men over a trivial matter. I think Konoha wants to declare war!"
"Declare war! Fine, declare war then. Do you think we, Konoha, are..."
"Enough, Danzo!"
Danzo wanted to say, "Do you think Konoha is afraid of you?"
But Hiruzen Sarutobi interrupted him directly.
Danzo must not be allowed to continue speaking; otherwise, the situation will become dire.
The current Konoha is simply not up to the task.
The Third Shinobi World War, the Battle of Kikyo Mountain, and the Nine-Tails' rampage—these battles have almost completely depleted Konoha's fighting strength, leaving the village with virtually no combat power.
If war were to break out again with Kumogakure, Konoha would truly be in crisis.
"Sun Slayer!"
Danzo Shimura stared at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his eyes brimming with anger and dissatisfaction.
"Danzo, you're getting a bit too emotional right now. Go outside and calm down."
"Sun Slayer!"
"I'll tell everyone! I'm the Hokage now!"
"Fine, fine, Hiruzen Sarutobi, you'll regret your weakness one day."
Danzo Shimura turned and left.
Seeing his old comrade's grief and indignation, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt helpless. Why, why couldn't they understand him? Being the Hokage was so difficult.
Danzo Shimura: You think being Hokage is so difficult? If it's so difficult, then why don't you lift your butt and roll off the Hokage position? Let me try and see just how difficult it really is!
"I'm sorry, Danzo is old and has a bad temper."
"So, Third Hokage, you have a very good temper, so what do you plan to do?"
Yeruka smiled sarcastically and looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi, who seemed much larger than Danzo.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't understand the meaning behind the other party's words at the time, and said...
Let's negotiate.
"Alright, the Third Hokage is a straightforward person."
Ruby started demanding exorbitant prices, going for the most outrageous possible rates.
Because he has now figured out that the once-powerful Ren Xiong has become a coward.
The final result was that, in order to avoid war with Kumogakure, Konoha offered a large sum of compensation and the life of the current head of the Hyuga clan.
This was originally something Ruby made up to test Konoha's bottom line, to see if the Third Hokage would sacrifice Konoha's humans for the sake of the village and his power.
It doesn't matter if he doesn't agree, but it would be interesting if he did. No matter how he handles it or how he tries to persuade the Hyuga clan, in the end, the Hyuga clan and he, the Hokage, will inevitably develop a grudge.
When the news reached the Hyuga clan, the elders were vehemently opposed to the idea of killing the clan head.
In the end, Hyuga Hizashi stepped forward; he never expected things to develop this way.
But it didn't matter anymore. He could no longer endure the suffocating feeling of living in this cage.
The elders of the main family were very satisfied to see Hyuga Hizashi step forward; this head of the branch family was quite enlightened.
The purpose of splitting up the family is simply to die for the main family members, isn't it?
You, Hyuga Hizashi, are like this, and so will your children and your descendants.
Hearing the cold words from the elders of the Hyuga main family, who didn't treat the branch family as their own, Hizashi clenched his fists, but then relaxed them.
"Father, am I going to die?!"
Neji, who was eavesdropping outside the door, covered his mouth tightly to keep himself from making a sound, but tears still rolled down his cheeks.
Tetsuya, who had led Neji to the door to eavesdrop, shook his head. This might be too cruel, but it was definitely the most effective method.
From this moment on, a seed of becoming stronger will be planted in Neji's heart, and his father's death will act as a catalyst, accelerating his growth.