The so-called "making big matters small and small matters disappear" only works when the issue hasn't spread. But what if the Hyuga clan makes the matter so big that the entire village knows about it?
If the Hyuga clan simply handed Darui over to the Third Hokage, then Sarutobi Hiruzen would definitely secretly return him to the Kumogakure delegation. But what if that were no longer possible?
"Let's not even mention anything else. The two hawkish advisors definitely won't agree. In that case, the Sandaime will undoubtedly fall into a very tangled situation. He can neither hand Darui over like this, nor can he deal with him, reaching a deadlock."
"Exactly, there will be a deadlock. But this is enough. The longer this situation lasts, the better. The longer the hostage remains in our hands, the more nervous Kumogakure will become, so they will have to make concessions first."
At this moment, Yuki spoke in a decisive tone, seemingly paying no mind to Konoha's higher-ups or the Kumogakure envoys.
Yes, he was right. Even if they did nothing, as long as the Kumogakure ninja remained in their hands, the Kumogakure envoys would only grow more and more anxious.
As the head of a ninja clan, Hiashi knew all too well how terrible it was to have a living person left in the enemy's hands. He didn't even need to guess how anxious the Kumogakure envoys must feel.
"If they want to resolve this anxiety in the shortest time possible, and if the Sandaime doesn't release him, Kumogakure still has two methods available."
"One is to execute the hostage right in front of us, and the other is to directly assassinate the hostage. But no matter what they do, it's impossible for that guy to walk out of Konoha alive."
After listening to Yuki's words, Hiashi could immediately deduce Kumogakure's likely choices. But now, it seemed the probability of executing Darui right in front of Konoha would be much higher. After all, once Darui died, the matter would be over.
So, it was such a clever move—killing with a borrowed knife.
After thinking for two minutes, a smile appeared on Hiashi's face. He stood up and said, "It's getting late. You should go to bed early."
He didn't explicitly tell Yuki whether he would accept this plan, but Yuki knew his father would definitely go through with it.
At this critical juncture of negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure, what the Hyuga clan was doing was equivalent to putting the higher-ups of both ninja villages on the hot seat simultaneously, which must have made them particularly uncomfortable.
But even so, Hiashi wasn't worried at all that his actions would disrupt the Konoha-Kumogakure negotiations, because he knew the armistice agreement would inevitably be reached. After all, neither Konoha nor Kumogakure could afford to continue the war.
And Kumogakure's actions this time were somewhat of a dirty trick. Since everyone would have to cease fire anyway, they must try to extract some benefits from Konoha before the complete truce. This was the origin of the "Young Master Kidnapping Incident."
Get some benefits!
Thinking of this, Hiashi pushed open the sliding door of his son's room and walked out. He looked up at the stars in the sky, and the heroic ambition of his youth was rekindled in his heart.
"Not everyone can reap benefits from my Hyuga clan. Just watch tomorrow, you bastards."
As the head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi naturally had a temper. While he wasn't as extreme as the Uchiha clan, who would directly revolt, it wasn't a bad idea to give Konoha and Kumogakure a proper beating to let others know he wasn't easy to bully.
Heh, it seems Dad has figured it out.
Hearing Hiashi's quickly receding footsteps, Yuki knew his father must be going to arrange matters for tomorrow morning. In other words, there would be a good show tomorrow, with the lead role being the Jonin currently imprisoned in the Hyuga clan's stronghold.
"I'm so tired. Let's sleep first. The rest has nothing to do with me."
After sorting out all the matters that needed consideration, Yuki, who was already very tired, could finally lie down and sleep peacefully. This also marked his first day in this world.
What an interesting world.
When he thought that he, only three years old, could personally participate in such an exciting event, and that even more thrilling things awaited him in the future, Yuki was almost too excited to sleep.
...
Under the arrangements of the two generations of the Hyuga family heads, the entire Konoha Village learned of this "interesting story" early the next morning.
"Hey, boss, have you heard? It seems the Hyuga clan caught a traitor from Kumogakure who sneaked in disguised as an envoy yesterday."
"I've definitely heard about it. Isn't it causing a commotion now? Right when the Kumogakure envoys came for negotiations, I don't know what the hell those rebels are trying to do."
"Anyway, it serves them right! How dare they invade our Konoha? Hmph!"
Early in the morning, at Konoha's famous "Ichiraku Ramen," the owner, Teuchi, was making ramen while chatting with his customers about the incident that had spread throughout the village that morning.
With the organization, discipline, and scale of the Hyuga clan, the rumor that "the Hyuga clan has caught a rogue ninja" spread through Konoha like wildfire.
At the same time, in the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stood by the window with a pipe in his mouth, gazing at the streets of Konoha Village like an ordinary old man lost in thought.
The Sandaime today wasn't as aged as he would later become. Although he was already over fifty, his physical functions and demeanor were like those of a forty-year-old man. It could be said he was the sturdy trunk sufficiently supporting the people of Konoha.
"Sandaime, what happened today?"
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was looking at the street, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and two old men and women with unhappy expressions walked in.
As far as Sarutobi Hiruzen was concerned, he was all too familiar with these two. After all, both Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu were his former teammates and now served as Konoha's high-level advisors, very important figures in the village.
"What do you two mean?"
"It's about the Hyuga clan catching the rogue ninja! If it were a rogue ninja from another village, it would be fine. But it's a rogue ninja from Kumogakure, right? What is that guy Hiashi trying to do?"
When discussing this matter, Mitokado Homura's tone was clearly not very good. After all, this was a critical period for negotiations between Konoha and Kumogakure. What did it mean to catch a Kumogakure rogue ninja and publicize it at this time? Wasn't this provoking the other side?
"About that, I haven't quite figured it out yet. But Hiashi is on his way over. You might as well listen to his explanation."
At that moment, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded toward the window. On the other side of the street, the head of the Hyuga clan, Hyuga Hiashi, was already hurrying toward the Hokage's office with several subordinates.
...
"In short, that's what happened. I hope to use the abilities of the 'Interrogation Department' to extract some information from that rogue ninja."
A short while later, Hiashi sat on the reception sofa in the Hokage's office, facing the Third Hokage and the two advisors.
But even so, Hiashi paid no heed to their intentions at all. Instead, he "completely" explained the events of the previous night and then made his request.
A Kumogakure rogue ninja sneaked into the Hyuga compound and attempted to kidnap the next clan head. After being captured, the Hyuga clan requested the "Interrogation Department" to torture him. This wasn't a very strange request, but...
"About that, Hiashi, is the guy you caught really a rogue ninja?"
After taking a puff from his pipe, Sarutobi Hiruzen asked in a somewhat meaningful tone.
Having risen step by step from the war-torn era to his current position, and having served as the leader of a ninja village for so many years, if anyone defined Sarutobi Hiruzen as a magnanimous elder based on external comments, they would be greatly mistaken.
So, almost the moment Hiashi finished his report, the Sandaime Hokage raised this question. In his opinion, the so-called "rogue ninja" probably wasn't a rogue ninja at all. In all likelihood, he was from the Kumogakure delegation. Presumably, because they coveted the "Byakugan," they sent someone to sneak into the Hyuga compound.
"Of course he is a 'rogue ninja.' He must be a 'rogue ninja,' because only a 'rogue ninja' would cause trouble at this critical juncture of negotiations between the two villages. I believe the Kumogakure envoy will agree with this conclusion."
Even under Sarutobi Hiruzen's sharp gaze, Hiashi still stated firmly.