Hyūga
Even though Hyūga Hiashi had brushed it off as a family matter earlier, Tōma knew exactly what had happened.
He had seen this story before. And to be honest, he'd never liked it.
During a training session between Hiashi and Hinata, Hizashi had watched from the side. Hinata's talent was mediocre at best. That alone wasn't the problem. The problem was comparison.
Hizashi's own son, Neji, was a once-in-a-generation prodigy. Yet Neji had been branded with the Caged Bird Seal from birth. Hinata, less gifted, would never bear it.
The only reason was timing.
Hizashi had been born a little later.
That single difference condemned his bloodline forever.
Resentment built. Guilt followed. And in that moment, twisted emotion crossed a line. Hizashi felt killing intent toward Hinata.
Hiashi sensed it instantly.
And in front of Neji, he activated the Caged Bird Seal.
Tōma never doubted the seal's effect. That pain wasn't something willpower alone could endure. Hizashi's screams, his contorted face, the way his body collapsed under agony. All of it burned itself into Neji's memory.
Back then, Neji didn't truly understand what the seal meant.
He learned later.
During sparring with Hinata, Neji injured her by going too far. The punishment came swiftly. The seal was activated again. And again.
Each time, resentment deepened.
From Tōma's perspective, Hiashi hadn't been wrong.
Killing intent toward one's niece was unacceptable. No justification erased that. Even without clan rules, even stripped of politics, any father would have acted the same way.
If you discovered your own brother wanted to kill your daughter, would you really ignore it?
A warning alone would've been merciful. Cutting ties entirely wouldn't have been unreasonable.
And despite all that, Hiashi still tried to protect Hizashi's dignity by refusing to explain the truth earlier.
That restraint alone told Tōma enough.
If Hizashi had been clan head instead, Tōma wouldn't have bothered with dialogue. He would've forced the issue outright as Hokage.
Hiashi, for all his flaws, was the better choice.
That didn't mean Hiashi was blameless.
He had made serious mistakes. Twice, both tied to his daughters.
The first was during the Kumo–Konoha alliance negotiations. The Hyūga clan didn't attend the celebration at all. Not even Hizashi stood in.
That wasn't normal.
From Tōma's reading, it was likely the Hyūga clan's relationship with Konoha had been tense at the time. Perhaps the elders had pressured Hiashi. Or perhaps it was a deliberate show of unity against the village leadership.
Either way, it had poured oil on a fire.
The second mistake came later. Hiashi killed the Kumo ninja who abducted Hinata.
That incident had been a setup.
Tōma was convinced the so-called "captain" had been disposable. If the abduction succeeded, Kumo gained a Byakugan. If it failed, the ninja died inside the Hyūga compound, giving Kumo leverage to demand Hiashi's body.
Either way, they expected to win.
What they hadn't expected was Hizashi stepping forward to die in his brother's place.
The Caged Bird Seal erased the Byakugan. Kumo gained nothing.
Those two incidents poisoned relations from every direction. Clan, village, and foreign powers collided all at once.
Tōma closed the scroll and rubbed his temples.
From the records alone, the truth was incomplete. Some stains had been deliberately erased. The Third Hokage had prioritized peace over pride, choosing compromise when Konoha was weak.
Tōma understood the logic.
But he didn't agree with it.
A village that won the Third Shinobi War shouldn't have bowed its head so easily.
Kumo wouldn't have dared a full war anyway. Their own strength was declining. At worst, it would've been a limited clash.
And if it escalated, Jiraiya would return. Tsunade would follow. Konoha wasn't helpless.
Still, that era had passed.
Tōma looked forward instead of back.
The Hyūga future no longer rested solely with the Main House.
It rested with Neji.
And with Hanabi.
Tōma stepped toward the window, gazing in the direction of Shikkotsu Forest, where his other self was stationed.
After days of work, progress had finally been made.
Things were moving again.