Chapter Text
“Neji-nii-san.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Do you still have the scroll I gave you?”
“Of course.”
“May I have it back?”
“…Why?”
“I am going to confront Grandfather at the Council of Clans meeting tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?!”
“Why wait?”
“Because you’re fourteen, Hinata! Even if you somehow win, they won’t let you lead the Clan.”
A blink.
“I don’t need to be Clan Head, nii-san. I only need to remove Grandfather from the position.”
“And then what? You think that the years of discrimination and resentment between the Houses will magically disappear?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then what?!”
“I want you to start unsealing the Branch House members you trust. Slowly, so as not to raise suspicion. Tell them how, tell them why. Then, if I manage to remove Grandfather, I plan to name Elder Junpei regent until I make jounin. That should be a start in the right direction.”
A pause.
“…Junpei-san is from the Branch House.”
“I am aware.”
“The Main House Elders won’t allow you.”
“Then I will remind them what happened to Elder Hideki and Elder Asahi.”
“You-! You cannot kill all the Main House Elders.”
“Hopefully, I will not need to.”
“But you would. If it meant getting your way.”
“…Yes. I would rather avoid that, but…yes, I would.”
“I feel like I don’t know you anymore.”
A flinch.
“The Caged Bird seal-keys were meant to be limited to the ruling family. Only Father and Grandfather should have had them. But Elder Hideki had been able to torture you – who is to say that other Main House Elders haven’t been given the seal-keys too?”
“And that is enough for you to consider killing five, ten members of our Clan?”
A sigh.
“There is a reason why Clan Heads stop taking missions upon becoming Head. The Caged Bird seal is destroyed with the death of the carrier of the seal-keys.”
“…Which is why you think that Grandfather split the seal-keys between the Elders. Why he sealed the keys into you. Insurance.”
A nod.
“I believe so.”
“And why you would consider killing the Elders. The death of a handful, for the freedom of dozens.”
“Yes.”
“And what about the keys you carry? Would you kill yourself, too?”
A breath.
“If that’s what it took.”
“What is the meaning of this?”
Tsunade reckoned that in any other situation, Hotaru’s disbelieving, outraged demand would’ve been comical. But as it was, between the man’s granddaughter standing at the front of the room, and the flash of utter fear that had passed over Shikaku’s face when she’d walked in, Tsunade had little presence of mind for humour.
“I apologise for the imposition, Tsunade-sama, Honoured Clan Heads, but I find myself in need of your wisdom.” The Hyuuga greeted quietly, bowing politely, though the expression in her eyes was hard. “Will you grant me the privilege of hearing me out?”
And- this, Tsunade reckoned, this was the difference between the Noble Clans’ upbringing and the regular shinobi force.
Because the kunoichi before her was a child, a girl who had proven herself time and time again to be blunt and uncompromising and far from fit for diplomacy, yet was now speaking like she belonged in the daimyo’s courts.
“We will.” Tsunade confirmed, getting agreeing nods from some of the gathered Clan Heads.
“Thank you.” The Hyuuga replied, and though neither her posture nor her expression changed, Tsunade had the distinct impression that the girl had fully been prepared to be turned away.
“I come to you with concerns of treason.” She continued, and Tsunade saw the way most of the room snapped to attention at the frank declaration, “Treason against my Clan, yes, but more importantly, against the Village itself.”
“Treason on what counts?” Aburame Shibi inquired, and Tsunade didn’t miss the way the Hyuuga’s breath stuttered a little at the man’s voice, though she seemed relieved more than alarmed.
Yet nothing, not Shikaku’s warnings, not Jiraiya’s sporadic updates, not even Hatake’s continued interest in the girl could have prepared Tsunade for the next words out of the Hyuuga’s mouth:
“Betrayal of Village defences, kidnapping, dissemination of Clan juinjutsu to non-Clan individuals, disproportionate use of force, and unlawful juinjutsu application.”
“…That’s quite an accusation.” Kurama Kaoru whistled, the first one to break the stunned silence that had fallen over the room, throwing the Hyuuga a measured look. “Are those your charges?”
“Yes.” The girl confirmed, then seemed to steel herself, and Tsunade soon understood why.
“How do you plead-” the Hyuuga asked, eyes briefly meeting Tsunade’s before she turned away and added, “-Grandfather?”
“-Grandfather?”
Asuma wished Kurenai could’ve been present to see the wave of incredulous disbelief that swept over the meeting room, with her kunoichi student at the epicentre.
“You stupid girl.” Hotaru spat, recovering quicker than Asuma had expected, derision and disgust evident on his face and voice.
Asuma was distantly pleased by the disapproving glances Chouza and the Kurama Head shot the Hyuuga Head, but his focus was stolen by the man’s next words:
“I had thought you smarter than your sister, but clearly, I was mistaken.”
Despite what Hotaru had clearly been hoping for with his words, and despite what most would have likely expected from the teenager, Hinata didn’t rise to the bait.
“Your answer, Grandfather?” she asked instead, still in that soft, quiet tone, but only an idiot would have missed the steel in her gaze.
“This is a farce.” Hotaru snapped, and Asuma wondered when the last time had been that someone had challenged the man quite so directly.
Probably when Kurenai had waltzed into his Compound and accused him of filicide, ten years before.
“I am your Clan Head, child; you have no right.” Hotaru continued, and Kurenai’s student gave a minute shake of her head, giving voice to the disagreeing frowns on some of the other Heads’ faces.
“Your status as Clan Head does not mean that you are spared from taking responsibility.” Hinata replied evenly, and Asuma both envied and feared the girl’s composure.
“Responsibility for what?” Hotaru demanded, sneering at his granddaughter. “You have yet to say.”
And then, instead of verbally replying, Hinata raised her fringe.
If not for the fact that Kurenai had briefed him on everything that had happened that day, Asuma would’ve been among those shocked mute by the seal on the Hyuuga’s forehead.
The Caged Bird seal.
On the Hyuuga heiress’s forehead.
“Elder Hideki put it on me.” Hinata murmured, her words perfectly audible in the sudden silence of the room. “He said it was a-a graduation present from you.”
“You lie.” Hotaru shot back, sounding too confident for Asuma’s tastes.
“I am not too familiar with your sealing customs.” The Kurama Head began thoughtfully, glancing between Hotaru and Hinata, “But I was under the impression that the seal was only for Branch House members.”
“Branch House, and the spare.” The blind, elderly kunoichi on Hotaru’s left confirmed, her voice wispy yet easily commanding the attention of the room, “Until recently, that spare was going to be Hinata-sama.”
“But Hizashi had only been sealed when Hiashi had been named Head.” Tsume argued, and Asuma wasn’t able to hold back his flinch in time, not having expected the reminder. “Hinata’s sister is still in the Academy. It makes no sense for the Elder to have sealed her now.”
“Because he did not.” Hotaru replied, almost smug now. “Hideki knew better.”
“You seem awfully certain of that, Hyuuga-sama.” Chouza pointed out amiably, tilting his head, though Asuma knew not to fall for that easy-going mien. “Care to explain why?”
Hotaru, it seemed, did not see the trap.
“Hideki knew not to seal Hinata, despite her less than stellar performance as heir for the first thirteen years of her life, because he knew that it would not be wise for her to be sealed and be in possession of the seal-keys at the same time.” He explained haughtily, and Asuma briefly wondered how Hinata could just stand there while Hotaru talked about her like that.
“Seal-keys?” Tsume growled, and Asuma was reminded of Kurenai's account of how the Inuzuka Head had helped her with her students, prividing a safe-space on neutral ground for them all to escape to.
It was no surprise, then, that the Inuzuka matriarch was protective of the little Hyuuga.
But Hotaru, it seemed, had said his piece, and Asuma watched as the man settled back against his chair, arms crossed over his chest and chin visibly raised at the room.
“These are Clan matters.” He announced sharply, as clear an end to the discussion as Asuma had ever heard.
But Hinata disagreed.
“The Caged Bird seal doesn’t just seal the Byakugan at the moment of death.” She explained quietly, addressing the room at large, her gaze focused on the table before she raised her eyes and made eye-contact with each of the Heads already looking back at her. “It also allows the person who carries the seal-key to cause the those sealed pain at will.”
She took a breath, and Asuma was sure he wasn’t the only one who noticed that it shuddered on the exhale.
“But the seal-keys are heavy. They interface with the carrier’s chakra network. As I suspect, Grandfather has split them among our family and the Main House Elders to lessen the load.”
“You sealed your juinjutsu keys into Hinata?” Tsume concluded, the first to piece together the puzzle of Hinata’s explanation, looking pale and horrified. “Already?”
And Hotaru, for all that he had seemed keen to end the discussion earlier, was also too prideful to remain silent.
“All ninety-two seal-keys for the Caged Bird seal that Hideki had had on him when she was born.” The man sniffed, and this time, it was Tsunade who spoke.
“Ninety-two seals into a newborn?” The Senju demanded, and Asuma reckoned that if anybody had needed a hint of just how f*cked Hyuuga Hotaru was, the Godaime’s disturbed tone more than provided it.
“The side-effects were unfortunate, but she seems to have mostly overcome them.” The Hyuuga Head replied bluntly, not in the least repentant.
Then, he smiled, a mean, vicious grimace, and his eyes held no warmth as they swept over the room and settled on his granddaughter.
“But, more importantly, because Hideki had been present at the time of the sealing, he also knew that Hinata was not to be marked with the Branch House seal, even upon her sister’s likely ascension to Head.” He explained, the sharp, mean line of his lips gaining teeth. “She may not be much of a shinobi, but completely crippling her would not have been...wise.”
“She is on track to make jounin within the year.” Kakashi suddenly spoke, and Asuma wasn't the only one to jump at the interruption. More importantly, however, he could see the effect the reveal had on the room’s perception of the shy Hyuuga before them, more than one Clan representative regarding the girl with new eyes. “That is hardly the mark of a failed shinobi.”
Privately, Asuma agreed, but what was more shocking than the words themselves was who they had come from. Kakashi, after all, was not exactly known for his praise of others.
Perhaps, Asuma mused as he watched Hinata’s reaction to Kakashi’s words, the girl’s carefully-neutral mask cracking with open surprise, Kurenai had reason to worry about what her student was learning from Kakashi. Genin-to-jounin in under three years was not exactly common, after all, and those who'd made it before even being allowed to drink in the civilian bars were all rather infamous at this point.
“That is beside the point.” Hotaru eventually dismissed, though Asuma could see that the man hadn’t known thatabout his granddaughter. “More importantly, Hideki is dead.”
Hotaru’s smile returned then, an ugly, mean thing that made Asuma want to look away, but he forced himself to pay attention.
“If he were indeed the one to have placed the seal on her, it would have disappeared with his death.” Asuma barely had time to process the implications of that reveal before the Hyuuga Head finished, smug and sly; “Which means that my granddaughter is lying.”
Silence fell again as everyone seemed to weight Hotaru’s words against Hinata’s accusations, the narratives presented worryingly conflicting, before Hinata finally spoke:
“I-I am willing to submit myself to a Mind Walk.” She murmured, and if it had been quiet earlier, now, Asuma was sure that he would’ve been able to hear a pin drop with how everyone collectively held their breath.
Asuma himself was trying to keep his expression even and not let his surprise show because he knew, he’d had Kurenai tell him herself, that it had been Jiraiya, not the Elder, who had put the juinjutsu on her student.
So for the Hyuuga to ask for a Mind Walk now, when her memories would betray her lie-?
“If you’re sure, Hyuuga-chan, I would be willing to-” Inoichi began cautiously, the first to recover, rising from his seat, but Hotaru cut him off mid-word.
“No.” The Hyuuga Head denied, and Inoichi froze, shocked and visibly insulted, but Hotaru didn’t even flinch as he met Inoichi’s gaze. “Your faction has never hidden your distaste for my Clan.”
“Be very careful of your next words, Hotaru.” Inojou murmured, and even though Asuma wasn’t too familiar with Ino’s grandfather, he didn’t miss the implied threat in the man’s calm voice.
Hotaru didn’t either, it seemed.
“You can do it.” He replied, managing to somehow sound gracious and imperial at once. “But not your son.”
“You have no power over me.” Inojou replied calmly, and Asuma reckoned there were layers to the conversation he was missing, but there was little he could do about it.
“And you have no agenda against me.” Hotaru shot back.
“Then we understand one another.” Inojou confirmed after a long few seconds of silence where the two men just stared at each other. Then, he turned to Hinata, expression softening infinitesimally, though Asuma wasn’t certain whether the girl could tell. “Hyuuga-chan, do you consent?”
And Hinata didn’t hesitate, her back straight, her head held high, even as her voice shook on the reply: “Y-yes.”
Nobody spoke during the time it took Inojou to make it over to the Hyuuga, coach her through the process of the Mind Walk, and actually perform the technique, but the room was almost vibrating with tension once Inojou finally pulled his hand away, a thoughtful frown on his face.
“She is telling the truth.” He addressed the room, giving Hinata a moment to compose herself. “The Elder’s exact words were ‘a graduation gift from your grandfather’.”
Asuma froze.
There was only one thing that could’ve allowed Hinata to fool the Mind Walk, but Asuma almost didn’t want to consider the possibility.
Then, Hinata clutched her head, tears springing to her eyes, and Inoichi paled, gaze flickering from Hinata, to his father, then landing on Asuma, the expression in his eyes almostpleading Asuma to prove him wrong.
And Asuma realised that he could not.
No matter the result of this Council, Kurenai was in big trouble. Asuma only hoped he’d have enough time to warn her of the storm she'd have coming her way.
“So, as we stand now, either it is you who is lying, Hotaru, or your Clan’s Elder acted against your direct orders.” Inojou concluded, moving back to his seat, and Hotaru clenched his jaw, though remained wisely silent.
“I assume this was the charge of unlawful juinjutsu application?” Shibi prompted, nodding at Hinata when the girl glanced at him curiously. “What is the next?”
“Not so fast. There is more.” Inojou replied, and Asuma held his breath, expecting the worst. “While Hyuuga-chan is telling the truth, it is not the full truth.”
The room’s attention was firmly back on the old Yamanaka Head, but Hinata was still calm and composed, eyes dry now, looking almost like she’d expected the interruption.
“The first seal was indeed put on her by the Elder. But the one she currently bears was not.” Inojou elaborated, studying Hinata thoughtfully before he regarded the room at large. “This one was put on her by Jiraiya of the Sannin. At her request, at that.”
This time, the reaction was far louder, with Tsume, the Kurama Head, and the Akimichi representative each vocalising their shock, but it was Hotaru’s voice that cut across the noise.
“You foolish child.” He murmured, regarding Hinata with enough disdain that Asuma had to fight back a wince. “It is you who betrayed the Clan.”
“No, Grandfather.” Hinata denied, and where Asuma had initially envied her composure, now he couldn’t help but be concerned over it. “Konoha has laws about fuinjutsu use. Consent is an integral part of those laws. Should consent not be granted, an individual has the right to commission the seal’s removal.”
Asuma blinked, but it was Tsume who voiced his confusion: “Then why have other Branch House members not done so?”
And Hinata smiled, a small, wry thing that should have looked out of place on her youthful face yet somehow did not.
“Because the Hyuuga Clan juinjutsu laws predate the Village’s consent laws.” She replied evenly, nodding when Tsume reared back in shock. “But I was able to commission for my seal to removed because the way I was sealed was not in accordance with Clan law.”
“You dare accuse me of disseminating Clan property to non-Clan individuals, yet you do the same?” Hotaru sneered, reminding the room of his presence in a way that made it clear just who Hiashi had gotten his social grace from. “Not just a fool, but a hypocrite too.”
“Jiraiya-sama is not a Konoha shinobi.” Hinata rebutted, calm but firm in a way that someone her age should not have been able to be in this situation. “He bears the hitai-ate of Mount Myobuku, not Konohagakure.”
And this- this was not something Hinata should’ve been able to say like it was a well-known fact.
“Is that true?” Hotaru demanded, turning to Tsunade with a frown.
“Yes.” Tsunade confirmed, but her eyes were on Hinata, an unreadable expression on her face. “He is a consultant. The Village pays him for his services in its name.”
Asuma suddenly had to fight a bizarre desire to laugh out loud, because Kurenai’s little kunoichi student was somehow, against all odds, winning this argument.
“When I commissioned Jiraiya-sama, it was more like… commissioning a contractor.” Hinata added, as if worried someone might have needed to have the loophole she’d so cleverly utilised spelled out for them.
“Why the second seal, though?” The Kurama Head asked suddenly, regarding Hinata with an almost scientific curiosity. “If you were able to get the one that had been unlawfully placed on you, why keep the second one?”
“Because my Chunin Exams were in Kumo.” Hinata replied flatly, and Asuma winced, abruptly reminded of Kurenai’s own panic about that very fact. “And protecting our dojutsu is important. I just don’t believe that it should also be a means of subjugation.”
Asuma choked on his breath, and, it seemed, he wasn’t the only one briefly startled by the Hyuuga’s bluntness.
“You removed the torture element?” Shikaku asked, the first one to dare voicing his conclusion, and Asuma only realised that the man had been keeping conspicuously silent since Hinata’s arrival once he finally spoke up.
“Yes.” Hinata confirmed, something in her countenance simultaneously softening and growing more brittle at the Nara Head’s voice. “And according to Village policy on public domain, I will be able to use my design when I become Clan Head.”
Asuma sucked in a breath when the full implication of the Hyuuga’s words hit him, and he suddenly understood Kurenai’s fears for her students’ futures:
An Inuzuka poison user with a documented personal connection to three jinchuuriki. An Aburame bukijutsu specialist with intricate knowledge of the backdoors into the Village’s administrative system. A well-rounded Hyuuga with enough cunning to singlehandedly revolutionise her own Clan through a legal loophole.
Asuma had the Nara genius, and his team had literally been forged when his students had still been in the womb. Kakashi had the valuable kids, the big names, the type of team that, even if they didn’t work as a team, was capable enough individually to compensate for the lacking teamwork. Kurenai’s team, meanwhile, had been formed from the leftovers. Leftovers that gelled well, with complementary talents, but leftovers nonetheless.
And yet it was Kurenai’s team that people whispered about. Kurenai’s team that made chunin first, as a team, and in Kumogakure, at that. Kurenai’s team that was somehow the epitome of the teamwork that Konoha was renowned for.
Kurenai's team that seemed destined for the worst sort of missions shinobi could get.
Kurenai’s team that Asuma could admit, in the privacy of his own mind, should be watched.
This was but one reason.
“You will bring the Clan to its knees.” Hotaru murmured at last, and for once, he did not sound smug or sly or snide.
In fact, if Asuma were pressured to say what the Hyuuga Head sounded like, he’d have said afraid.
“No, Grandfather.” Hinata replied, her voice still soft, her expression calm, but the look in her eyes harder than steel as she met Hotaru’s gaze. “I will unite it.”
“The other charges against your grandfather?” Tsunade asked when it seemed like nobody would break the tense silence that had settled after the Hyuuga's declaration, and Hinata tilted her head, blinking slowly.
“Betrayal of Village defences, kidnapping, and dissemination of Clan property to non-Clan individuals are all connected.”
“Enlighten us.” Tsunade drawled, waving a hand at the girl, but Kakashi didn't miss the wary glint in her eyes, the way her attention never wavered from the little Hyuuga.
“My Father has been in the hospital for the last month.” Hinata murmured, and Kakashi was intimately familiar with the mix of grief and resentment in her voice. “But, before he ended up there, when I was in Kirigakure, he left me a scroll.”
“In that scroll, he talked about fourteen missing Hyuuga children. Shinobi children, but ones who had been orphaned, and despite being of the right age, they either never completed the Academy or were never signed up in the first place.” Hinata glanced at Tsunade then, expression tightening. “In the scroll, he says he brought this matter to you, Tsunade-sama, but was dismissed.”
“I was made aware of your father’s concerns.” Tsunade confirmed, which much closer to an acknowledgement of blame than Kakashi had ever expected to hear from the woman. “What is your reason for bringing it up now?”
“Because he also left me another scroll.” Hinata replied, and Kakashi didn’t miss the way Tsunade’s eyes lit up in recognition of whatever it was she was able to gleam from the Hyuuga’s words. “One which was written by my Grandfather.”
“Ah. So that’s where that ended up.” Hotaru interrupted, laughter in his voice, and Kakashi reckoned that he had been far too harsh on Hiashi in his few dealings with the man; Hyuuga Hotaru far outclassed his son in the ‘asshole’ competition. “Unfortunate that you had no way of reading it.”
“The scroll details precisely where those children, and dozens of others over the last thirty years, have ended up.” Hinata continued, as if not having heard her grandfather’s comment, and Kakashi felt sweet, sweet satisfaction at the brief flicker of consternation that passed through Hotaru’s eyes.
“And where is that scroll now?” Chouza inquired, before the room’s attention was stolen by sudden movement next to Tsunade’s chair, and the scroll that mysteriously appeared in her hands.
Kuromaru, Kakashi realised with a start, eyes tracking the giant nindog as he stalked back over to Tsume’s side, his sudden presence startling those who had forgotten that Tsume never went anywhere without her partner.
Kakashi put the pieces together a few seconds quicker than the other Heads and so had a front row seat to the moment that realisation dawned on rest of the room: if Tsume never went anywhere without her partner, then that meant that Kuromaru had been in the room from the start. But if so, how-?
“I had wondered what that was.” Kurama Kaoru muttered, sounding torn between amused and impressed, eyes flickering from Kuromaru to Hinata. “That’s a strong notice-me-not you’ve got there.”
“Thank you.” Hinata murmured, ever polite, and the second shoe dropped.
Hinata had been allowed into the meeting room on Tsume’s invitation. She would have had both time and opportunity to hand Kuromaru the scroll, then hide him under a genjutsu.
A genjutsu strong enough to earn her praise from the Head of the Clan renowned for their genjutsu, at that.
But even more important than the skill this feat demonstrated was the sheer foresight it proved Hinata possessed. The very same foresight that had gotten her on Shikaku’s radar as a genin.
And then, Kakashi’s thoughts were brought back to the present when he watched as Tsunade paled, her sudden reaction more than enough to confirm the damning nature of the scroll’s contents. They watched in silence as the Godaime quickly rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into the inner pocket of her yukata, her expression smoothing out once more as she nodded at the room to resume the proceedings, evidence safely stowed away.
“The final charge I wish to bring up is detailed in the scroll, but I also have physical evidence.” Hinata began, pulling out a folded paper from her pocket and laying it out on the table before her.
“On the paper before you is the fuinjutsu blueprint of the Hyuuga Caged Bird seal. A practice which, as already established, predates the founding of Konohagakure.”
She dug into her other pocket and pulled out another folded paper, though this time, she hesitated before unfolding it.
“About four months ago, I was sent on a mission with Hatake-san.” she murmured, and Kakashi twitched at being named, though he didn’t need to think twice about just what mission the Hyuuga was referencing. “Our team was attacked. While searching the bodies, I found an individual bearing another seal on their body.”
She took a deep breath and unfolded the paper, using chakra to stick its edges to the tabletop so it would lay flat as she stepped back. “On the page in front of you, you will see the blueprint of that seal, too.”
Kakashi’s heart was in his throat, the three broken lines of the ROOT seal staring back at him from the page unmistakeable. But surely, the little Hyuuga wasn’t planning on-?
“My knowledge of the art is far from extensive,” Kaoru spoke up after a few seconds of silence, studying the blueprints intently, “but these seals are similar, no?”
“Yes.” Hinata confirmed, and Kakashi could only stare in mute horror as she carried on, “In fact, the Hyuuga Caged Bird seal was offered as the model for the second.”
“What is the second seal?” Tsume pressed, eyes flickering from Hinata, to Tsunade, to the conspicuously silent Ino-Shika-Cho.
But then, as Hinata opened her mouth to reply, Hotaru finally spoke up.
“Hinata.” He called, and his tone was different to the previous times he’d addressed his granddaughter. It also didn’t escape Kakashi’s notice that it was the first time he’d addressed the girl by name. “I told Hiashi not to do anything foolish, and he didn’t listen. If you do not wish to end up like him, you will stop. Now.”
And that- that single comment revealed much, much more than all of Hinata’s accusations and carefully-collected evidence, but Kakashi was far more concerned by the way the little Hyuuga’s expression completely smoothed out.
“You knew.” She whispered as realisation dawned, and the softness of the words did nothing to hide the devastation in her eyes.
“Of course I knew.” Hotaru dismissed, a hint of something more than scorn or derision in his gaze as he stared at Hinata. “It is because I knew that he is still alive.”
And Kakashi- Kakashi had a hint what the two Hyuuga were alluding to, but it took one glance at Shikaku to confirm his hypothesis, because the Nara Head looked a step away from stepping between Hotaru and Hinata and ending the exchange before it had the chance to venture into truly dangerous territory.
But instead of calming down, Hinata’s whole body began to tremble. Kakashi watched as the girl’s earlier blankness gave way to an expression of pure fury, and the change was all the more frightening when coupled with the way the Hyuuga’s chakra was completely stifled.
“And you think that is mercy?” Hinata murmured, closing her eyes even as her voice shook with barely-restrained rage, and Kakashi had no doubt that the girl’s KI in that moment would’ve been strong enough to actually kill.
Hinata continued before Hotaru could answer, the earlier question rhetorical.
“I have no desire to be Clan Head.” She told Hotaru frankly, and Kakashi wasn’t prepared for the look of pure hatred that shone in Hinata’s eyes when she finally opened them to glare at the man. “But I will become it, if only to remove you, Grandfather.”
Hinata didn’t give Hotaru the time to retaliate, turning instead to address the room at large.
“The second seal is the seal of ROOT.” She announced, her face still twisted with fury, and Kakashi thought he heard Shikaku sigh. “A clandestine organisation of black ops run by my Grandfather’s lifelong friend.”
Kakashi reckoned Hinata could’ve dropped an explosive tag in the room and it would’ve caused less chaos than her announcement.
But Hinata was not done.
“It was this friend that my Grandfather repeatedly betrayed the Clan for. This friend who gave him power and influence even after he gave Headship to my Father. This friend whom he gave the blueprint of the Hyuuga juinjutsu to use as a model for their own slavery seal.”
Hinata took a breath, but instead of calming her down, all it seemed to do was stoke the fire of her earlier fury, because her next words were practically a hiss. “It was this friend that he sent orphaned Hyuuga to as if they were cannon fodder!”
And suddenly, the room was struck by a wave of pure loathing, accompanied by a cold so potent that Kakashi’s fingers went numb, an all-consuming helplessness settling over his shoulders, stealing the breath right from his lungs.
It took him far longer than it should have to realise that the sudden overwhelming despair radiated from the little Hyuuga at the head of the table.
It took longer still to realise that what they were experiencing was the girl's unique form of KI; the result of Hinata's legendary, unflinching, iron-fisted control over her chakra finally slipping.
“Say his name,” Hotaru wheezed, fingers clenching the tabletop so hard his knuckles were white, but there was still a glint of challenge in his bloodshot eyes, “say his name if you’re so willing to throw your life away.”
And though Kakashi’s thoughts were sluggish, his whole being fighting against the hopelessness that weighed it down, there was a part of his mind that recognised Hotaru’s words as bait.
Numb fingers wrapped around a kunai, almost fumbling the grip, though muscle memory still allowed him to flip the knife and stab downwards, dig the blade into his thigh and gasp as the fog began to clear.
But by the time his strangled ‘Don’t-!’ made it out, Hinata had already opened her mouth, and the words that fell from it were impossible to take back:
“Shimura Danzo.”
The room exploded into pandemonium.
Neji stared at the seal on Tokuma’s forehead, unable to believe what he’d just seen.
Before he'd even laid down the first stroke of the unsealing matrix, the twin hooks on either side of the X on Tokuma's skin had faded away.
And as Neji stared, trying desperately to rationalise what he'd witnessed, his heart began to pound, tears springing to his eyes as his conversation with Hinata from the previous day flashed through his mind:
“The Caged Bird seal is destroyed with the death of the carrier of the seal-keys.”
