Hizashi wore the beige Anbu squad-leader trench coat as he walked, unhurried, toward the Hyuga compound.
Strictly speaking, Anbu didn't usually stay in uniform after clocking out.
One reason was secrecy. Not that it worked all that well. Once you joined Anbu, you stopped taking most ordinary missions anyway. At best, when you rotated off-duty, you'd pick up something light.
Your old teammates weren't idiots. They could piece it together.
And the pay from taking missions on your rest days wasn't the point, either. It was about bleeding off the pressure Anbu work piled on your head.
Escort duty, for example. You could chat on the road, take in the scenery, keep your body from going soft.
The second reason was simpler: Anbu were the Hokage's direct arm. A violent one, with oversight duties on top. Wearing that coat made people tense. Most civilians, and even plenty of shinobi, would rather keep their distance.
But Hizashi Hyuga was different.
The Hokage had personally invited him in public. Everyone in the village knew.
And honestly… he liked wearing it.
He didn't have many friends. The ones he could actually call close, he'd met in Anbu.
Hizashi looked at the Hyuga gates and let a small smile slip.
Every time he saw the clan crest set into the wood, the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead would turn faintly cold, like the ink itself had teeth.
But the Anbu coat on his shoulders gave off a strange warmth, enough to chase that chill away.
"Hizashi-niisan, it's been a long time…"
The Hyuga Branch House guard at the gate practically lit up when he spotted him.
"You look sharp. This off-white trench coat is different from the old one, huh?"
His name was Iroha Hyuga.
The main house had forbidden the branch from discussing Hizashi.
As if that would ever work.
The story of Sakumo Hatake escorting Hizashi back here and openly clashing with Tenzo Hyuga had spread like a banned book everyone somehow owned. It jumped from mouth to mouth through the entire Hyuga Branch House.
Back in the age of clans, the branch house couldn't even dream like that.
At most, they hoped the next clan head might show a little sympathy.
As for confronting the clan head, standing toe-to-toe, laughing as you walked out?
That was fantasy stacked on fantasy.
"Lucky the Hokage-sama thinks highly of me," Hizashi said, and he couldn't stop the corner of his mouth from lifting. He paused at the gate and chatted with them instead of walking straight in.
"How've things been? You know I don't come back often now. Village work."
"I've made a few friends in Anbu, so I've been neglecting the old brothers in the branch house."
He let just enough slip about his current situation: the Hokage valued him, and he was doing well in Anbu.
Sure, part of it was letting people see the shine.
But the real aim was simpler. He wanted the branch house to stop hesitating about joining.
If he, the first one through the door, could stand steady… then the road was real.
And it wasn't even an exaggeration.
"Hizashi-niisan, don't worry about us. Handle your real work outside first," Iroha said quickly.
Then he reflexively glanced around and lowered his voice.
"The main house has been talking about you a lot lately. They're saying this situation is something that hasn't happened in a hundred years. They've even been talking about Hokage-sama…"
Hizashi's eyes narrowed. "How are they talking?"
Iroha felt it instantly.
The tone coming from Hizashi-niisan was still calm, still even… but the air around him turned sharp.
With that Anbu coat on, it gave the impression he might draw a blade in the next breath.
Iroha forced himself to steady his heart and spoke quietly.
"They didn't say anything too outrageous. Mostly they're complaining. Saying Hokage-sama suddenly interfering in Hyuga affairs breaks the unspoken rules. Like… why didn't he discuss it with them first."
"More like resentment," he finished.
Hizashi let out a cold snort.
If it had been outright cursing, he wouldn't just report it to Hokage-sama. He'd go have a chat with Danzo too.
The Hokage's temperament was broad. He might not care about the main house muttering.
But Danzo would care.
Even so, resentment was still something Hizashi would report.
"Hizashi-niisan," another branch house guard cut in, eyes bright. "Do you think we'll get a chance too?"
This one was a teenager, blunt in that fearless way young people were.
His name was Kamon Hyuga.
"Anbu still needs people, right? And I heard the village just formed a Patrol Unit. If we can't get into Anbu, we could go there…"
Iroha froze for a beat. Kids really were bold, huh. Just saying it out loud like that.
Then he immediately latched on, voice quick. "Me too. Hizashi-niisan, I want to go!"
Hizashi smiled to himself.
Half his plan was already done.
Iroha and Kamon were both talented among the Hyuga Branch House.
And the more talent someone had, the more the idea of freedom burned in their chest.
"I'll remember what you said," Hizashi told them, voice light.
"Tell the branch house brothers: if anything comes up, come find me."
"If I'm not here, go to Sakumo-sama. If it's urgent enough…" His gaze lifted slightly. "You can even go straight to Hokage-sama."
He let that sit for a moment, then added, softer but firmer:
"We might be the Hyuga Branch House, but first, we're Konoha shinobi."
"Hokage-sama's Will of Fire treats every shinobi who wants to work for the village equally."
Hizashi's voice dipped, as if sharing a secret.
"You probably don't know this…"
"That Dai everyone used to laugh at? Hokage-sama dug out his potential too."
"He mastered an extremely powerful hidden technique. His Chakra is even tougher than mine. He's already a Special Jonin now."
"And right now, he's my colleague, serving as Anbu's physical conditioning instructor."
Iroha and Kamon stared at him.
Might Duy?
That guy?
Stronger than Hizashi-niisan?
The hunger in their eyes turned almost painful.
And in their hearts, Hiruzen Sarutobi's image grew larger and larger.
A Hokage who could turn stone into gold.
Hizashi watched their faces and smiled again, saying nothing more.
That was enough.
Done.
Iroha and Kamon opened the gate for him, hands quick and eager. Not as flattery, but because they meant it.
This was hope, for the Hyuga Branch House.
Hizashi stepped inside, and almost immediately spotted Ko Hyuga.
Ko had a branch house member trailing behind him, pointing here and there as if giving instructions.
Their eyes met.
Ko's smile froze solid.
Tenzo Hyuga had ordered him to seek Hizashi out today and bring him back for a talk.
Ko had been thinking that even if Hizashi had joined Anbu, he was still Hyuga main house. They didn't need to be enemies in public, but at least there should be some dignity kept.
Then he saw the beige squad-leader trench coat.
Ko's body reacted before his brain did.
That stiff, frozen expression softened into an automatic smile, and he greeted Hizashi with sudden warmth.
"Hizashi, long time no see!"
Like he'd forgotten entirely that when Hizashi had confronted Tenzo, Ko had been the first one to jump out and bark.
"Ko. So it's you." Hizashi's smile didn't touch his eyes. "Same as ever."
Ko's face twitched.
But he didn't argue.
As a main house Hyuga with little talent, the few scraps of presence he had came from bullying the branch house.
After doing it long enough, even he felt the emptiness.
Didn't he want respect too? Respect from shinobi outside the clan grounds?
A thought flickered through him, quick as a spark.
If he could… would he be willing to give up his main house status and trade places with the current Hizashi?
His instinct screamed no.
But somewhere deeper, another voice whispered.
I don't want this either…
Ko forced a thin smile.
"Hizashi, the clan head has something to discuss with you. I was just about to come find you."
He turned away, shoulders slumped, enthusiasm already gone.
Hizashi watched him go and filed it away.
The main house…
Maybe it wasn't a single solid wall after all.
And then, in the clan head's receiving room—
Hizashi sat across from his father, Tenzo Hyuga.
A board was set between them, pieces arranged neatly.
Neither spoke.
Both waited for the other to open their mouth first.
After a long stretch of silence, Tenzo finally broke.
"The Kaguya Clan sent a letter."
Hizashi didn't blink.
"Father," he said calmly, "so you've been secretly colluding with hostile forces outside the village this whole time…"
He leaned back slightly, voice mild, almost curious.
"Did you come here to turn yourself in to me?"
Tenzo Hyuga, a man who prided himself on balance and control, almost choked.
Starting with a hat that big?
Are you trying to kill your own father?