As Hiruzen rushed through the village, he reached the Hyuga compound quickly in his hurry. He almost didn't stop at the gate, but some last remnants of sense managed to stop him before he committed a faux pas to end all faux pases.
That would not go well if he entered the supposed 'trials' while being chased by the Hyuga gate guards.
Surprisingly, the gate guards did not make too much, or any, really, trouble for him. It was strange because, as far as he knew, Hyugas were defined by their posturing. There was always some kind of problem every time he visited the compound in the past. Always some small issue that had him wait for at least half an hour before he was granted an entry, all to satisfy the ego and power play of the Hyugas in command, which would allow them to tell themselves they are important because they made even the Hokage wait!
But today, the guards just silently shuffled out of his way after he presented them the invitation scroll Tsunade threw at him. They were oddly subdued and looking as if their whole reality had just upended, while they still had a hard time believing they were not dreaming.
Hiruzen glanced at their unblemished foreheads, which did not sport the Caged Bird Seal, and he instantly understood what was the cause of this oddity.
He should have felt elated. He was one of the biggest proponents for changing that particular tradition. Regrettably, he could never have truly said or done something out loud. Clan matters were not for him to meddle with as the Hokage, but he had his own biases. Yet, now that it actually happened, and because of how it happened, Hiruzen felt conflicted. He couldn't muster much happiness for them.
With a conflicted and concerned frown, Hiruzen hurried deeper into the compound until he reached a sort of town square full of Hyuga people. Hundreds of them, yet a quick glance told Hiruzen that not all of them were present. Children were almost non-existent in the crowd, and there were fewer females than males. Hiruzen concluded that many of them probably stayed at home with the children.
For a moment, Hiruzen thought he would need to go around them, but then some men noticed him and, with a quick whisper, they beckoned others, and the crowd silently parted before him, letting him through.
Trying to give them a grateful nod, Hiruzen donned a dignified yet kind expression as he strode forward, but he couldn't help the small twitches in his cheek as he noticed that none of the Hyuga present sported the Cage Bird Seal despite all of them being definitely from the branch house.
Unfortunately, Hyugas were exactly the observant sort that even the non-combatants could notice even these small twitches as long as they paid a tiny bit of attention to him and had their Byakugan open. Sadly, everybody had their Byakugan open, and as a former Hokage, he was very attention-catching whether he wanted it or not.
Reaching the other side of the crowd quickly, Hiruzen stepped out of it into an open place and instantly spotted a few things. At the front of the town square, Hinata comfortably sat on an elevated platform with her father, looking defeated but also proud, sitting on her right side, with his shoulders slightly slumped.
Hinata's seat was definitely one that should belong to the clan head, and Hiruzen inwardly sighed. His cautious eyes roamed further, and he winced when he noticed a small wooden table to the side with five chopped-off heads, a trail of blood leading up to the said table from a nearby chopping block to the right.
To the left, in front of Hinata, stood a small gathering of twenty-ish people, clearly prisoners, who were obviously main branch Hyuga members. They looked worried and fearful. Only a few of them managed to look defiant, but Hiruzen reckoned it was hard to gather courage when an S-rank kunoichi stares at you with a hostile intent from the front and an entire crowd of angry no-longer-slaves stares at you with a murderous intent from behind.
Hinata's presence was most likely the only thing that kept the more radical and angry members of the branch house from absolutely lynching every main house member.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi. You are not who I expected. But so be it. Welcome. Please approach and be seated." Hinata spotted him and, with a short greeting, she motioned to an empty seat near her, giving Hiruzen a pause.
That was definitely a way less regard than he was usually used to getting from a supposed clan head, but he was an adult. He could deal with it.
"I see. Thank you." He nodded but didn't move from his spot, standing straight directly in front of Hinata, "Could I ask what exactly is going on?"
His unimpressed gaze strayed back to the chopping block to properly show what he meant, and his eyes met the man held by two strong-looking Hyugas near it, pleading with his eyes to save him.
Hiruzen would normally take a 'clan business is not my business' approach, but unfortunately, he instantly recognized the man as Hyuga Hiroto, one of the more influential members of the Hyuga elders who held sway over many businesses in Konoha.
He was also the main supporter of Hiruzen in the Hyuga clan, and somehow, Hiruzen highly doubted that the man had nearly found himself on the chopping block just as Hiruzen entered the town square. He knew how bullshit Byakugan could be, and Hinata definitely saw him coming all the way from the Hokage Tower.
No. This was a power play.
Hinata's lips twitched in amusement. "Have you read the message scroll you are holding?" She casually asked.
"Yes." Hiruzen answered, his expression becoming disapproving. "By what right do you claim yourself as the new Hyuga clan head, girl?" He gravely said, trying to unsettle Hinata, who only raised her eyebrow at him with a small chuckle as her father spoke.
"I handed my daughter the mantle of the clan head willingly."
"And I reckon the clan elders agreed on you taking up the mantle as is the Hyuga clan tradition?" Hiruzen asked, trying not to sound too sarcastic as he aimed a pointed look at the prisoners.
"Traditions are overrated." Hinata said to Hiruzen's face, shrugging. "I decided to make things more fair now that the Caged Bird Seal is no longer in use. I am sure the majority of my fine clan will support me."
Hiruzen opened his mouth, a retort on his tongue, but the cheer from close to two hundred Hyugas in the crowd was positively deafening. Realizing that he would not be getting the necessary support to overturn her appointment, Hiruzen furrowed his eyebrows in frustration and decided to change his angle.
Waiting for the crowd to calm down, he spoke when their cheers finally died down. "You removed the protections on Byakugan? Konoha can not allow an important bloodline like that to fall into the hands of-"
"We applied a new seal on every Hyuga in the clan." Hinata interrupted Hiruzen, who inwardly cursed. Because, of course, they did. It's not as if they could be anything but overly competent, right? "The seal schematics will be provided to the village, and the village seal masters can inspect it."
Hinata's lips turned into a small smirk. The seal was fairly useless to the village, so she didn't mind letting Konoha have it, too. And letting them check was going to make her look like the sensible party here.
Something Hiruzen clearly knew because his expression grew somewhat constipated as he was trying to think of a proper comeback that would not sound like him throwing a tantrum.
"I still can't condone these 'trials'. This is not the village's justice. This is a butchery." He eventually started, his expression darkening, but Hinata refused to back down.
"Hiruzen SARUTOBI." She put a heavy emphasis on his clan name, "You are here as the witness from Konoha's side. But you are not here to dictate terms. This is a HYUGA clan matter. So, either sit down on your prepared seat, and shut up, or leave."
She motioned with her hand to the men holding the prisoner, and Hiruzen gritted his teeth, almost taking a step forward. Only a small flare of Hinata's chakra stopped him in his place as his biggest supporter in the Hyuga clan was lowered on the chopping block, squirming and protesting all the way. The axe was raised... and the head rolled off the body. Hiruzen closed his eyes, almost physically feeling the blow of his power base diminishing as he let out a sigh.
"As you know, the clan has and always has had the privilege to deal with traitors as we see fit. This is just a small spring clearing of the clan. He," Hinata pointed with her chin at the headless corpse that was being carried off, "embezzled clan funds, accepted bribes, mistreated his fellow clansmen, and also had a hand in the poisoning of my mother while she was pregnant. Among other things."
Hinata barely held herself from sneering. Danzo's mind was a treasure trove of information, and Ino filled her in. Hyuga Hiroto also ensured the guards would be looking the other way during her kidnapping attempt by Kumo.
That cost them their lives, but the poor men were just obeying their orders.
Sadly, Hiruzen would definitely ask her for proof of that in an attempt to trip her up, so Hinata could only accuse the man of something she could properly prove.
Knowing that her mother died because of poison still made her furious. She probably wouldn't have been this ruthless and started a public, head-chopping spectacle, but when Ren procured a document from Danzo's stash that held proof of that... let's just say she was still holding back here. After all, some of the clan elders were still alive and breathing.
"You could have still handed him to Konoha with proof!" Hiruzen vehemently exclaimed, but Hinata sharply raised her hand in a stopping gesture.
"Sit, or leave." She gave Hiruzen a look that made him bristle, but after a while, he realized she was not joking, and he could not afford to push too hard here because, well, she was absolutely in the right according to the village's laws. Clans could dispense their own justice for traitors and clan members.
Hiruzen grudgingly walked to the pre-prepared seat, giving Hinata a disappointed look that was hiding a chilling fury as he sat down, thinking very hard about any loophole he could use to prevent the insolent, bratty child from legally enacting her mini-massacre.
"Next case." Hinata turned her head away from him. "Hyuga Ken, step forward, please."
A man walked out of the crowd with a nervous, unsure gait and stopped in front of the elevated platform. He gave Hinata a deep bow, "Hyuga Ken at your service, Young Lady."
Hinata idly nodded, almost boredly. "State your grievance."
Ken faltered for a moment, but then he seemed to regain his resolve, "Hyuga Hanataro...sama. Er, he... He..." Ken looked at the ground, "He forced himself on my wife." His hands balled in fists in a clear frustration.
Hinata rolled her eyes.
'He could have at least come up with something more original.' She exasperatedly thought, losing count of how many times she had heard that accusation today.
"You are lying." She deadpanned, making Ken flinch.
Seriously. It was as if these grown-up men who had had Byakugan their whole life suddenly forgot that it could be used as a fairly reliable lie detector. Adding to that, her medical skills and spotting lies were easy when she put a little effort into it.
It said a lot that so many branch house members risked punishment and came in front of her today, lying just to get this or that main house member executed. It put a new perspective on the divide within the clan. Now that the threat of the Caged Bird Seal no longer loomed over the branch house members, the only thing preventing them from outright murdering the main house members was, funnily enough, Hinata.
"He is the father of the man who forced himself on my daughter!" Ken furiously exclaimed, glaring at the man among the prisoners who wasn't even paying attention and was just blankly staring at one of the decapitated heads on the wooden table while tears streamed down his cheeks.
"And for that, his son was executed, while half of his family's fortune will be seized." Hinata sighed and gently shook her head. "Your daughter will be reimbursed, but I am not going to execute an innocent man just because he failed at properly raising his child." She said with finality, making Ken sputter, but as he realized he wouldn't get what he wanted, his shoulders slumped and he walked back into the crowd.
That ruling did not win her many friends, but Hinata had to uphold a certain level of fairness. If she started executing innocent people to appease the branch house members who felt slighted, her problems would never end.
She found the whole thing ridiculous. It hadn't even been a day yet, and she already regretted taking over the clan. She could already picture the future headaches her new position would give her, and it was going to be an absolute pain in the ass to stop her clansmen from murdering each other.
She had to rule with an iron hand because nothing else was going to work.
'Just a few years and then I can throw the responsibility at Hanabi.' Hinata glumly thought while outwardly she sternly spoke, "Next case!"