Hyuga Raiyo's reaction was identical to Hyuga Raita's initial assumption. In all of Konoha, the only clan bold enough to openly oppose the Hyuga clan was the Uchiha. Even the Sarutobi clan, to which Sarutobi Hiruzen belonged, wouldn't act in such a way. It wasn't that they didn't dare—it was that they simply wouldn't!
"It was Haruto Saito! That rogue ninja from the Land of Rain! He's the one who discovered the Meiji Treasure!" Hyuga Raita explained.
"Him?" Hyuga Raiyo frowned. He had only a vague impression of Haruto Saito. When the assassination attempt on him was ordered, it had been arranged by Hyuga Hizashi and Hyuga Hiashi. Raiyo had only been informed of it afterward.
"That little brat, Haruto Saito! Just capture him and bring him back alive!" Hyuga Raiyo ordered.
"Brother, that brat is quite troublesome now," Hyuga Raita quickly responded. "The Hokage has already decided to take him as a personal disciple and is protecting him heavily. Shortly after you entered seclusion, news came from the Land of Rain about the appearance of the 'Black Samurai'—and that 'Black Samurai' is Haruto Saito! After that…"
Hyuga Raita then proceeded to give a full account of what had transpired since Hyuga Raiyo's retreat into seclusion.
Hyuga Raiyo had chosen to seclude himself to avoid complications. When Hyuga Kyokoku's assassination attempt on Haruto Saito failed and he was killed in battle, his severed head was brought back to Konoha by the surviving Hyuga elite. Naturally, this news had reached Hyuga Raiyo.
Subsequently, all those involved in the assassination were executed on Hyuga Raiyo's orders, and the Hyuga clan officially declared that Hyuga Kyokoku and his men had acted insubordinately and were thus punished accordingly.
To avoid any potential retaliation from Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hyuga Raiyo had decided to enter seclusion and left the clan's affairs in the hands of his son, Hyuga Hiashi, and his brother, Hyuga Raita.
As a result, he had missed many significant events during his time away.
Hyuga Raita explained everything in detail, from Haruto Saito's discovery of the Black Samurai armor to Tsunade and the others encountering danger in the Land of Rain, their subsequent escape, and White Fang still being unaccounted for in Rain Country. He also described the Iron Country delegation's visit, their negotiations with Konoha, and the Hokage's decision to take Haruto Saito as a personal disciple.
"Not long ago, I went to confront Haruto Saito myself," Hyuga Raita said in conclusion. "The Hokage was also present. Haruto Saito admitted to discovering our lost clan techniques but claimed to have destroyed them. He said he did it deliberately—to get revenge on our clan for trying to assassinate him. The Hokage did nothing to punish him and even defended him."
"That damned brat! How reckless and arrogant!" Hyuga Raiyo's face darkened with fury.
"Brother!" Hyuga Raita raised his head again. "The scrolls weren't destroyed. I continued to monitor Haruto Saito and saw him take out five scrolls in front of Tsunade. Though the scrolls were unique and couldn't be seen through, they bore our clan's ancient markings. There's no doubt about it—those were our lost techniques!"
"Well! How audacious!" Hyuga Raiyo let out a cold laugh, his anger barely contained. "Hiding our clan's techniques and lying to our faces… Not even the Hokage can shield him from this!"
"Brother, he possesses space-time storage abilities!"
"What?"
"It's true! I saw it with my own eyes…"
Hyuga Raita then described the entire incident in full detail. He suspected Haruto Saito had a space-time storage technique. Given what had happened, that was the only logical explanation.
Such abilities weren't unheard of in the ninja world. There were specialized large-scale sealing scrolls with space-time properties that could store many objects. Since the space within those scrolls was limited, they had to utilize space-time techniques to function properly.
However, those large sealing scrolls were incredibly expensive, extremely rare, and had very few owners.
Haruto Saito's ability, on the other hand, was even more remarkable—he could store and retrieve objects without using any medium at all.
"That brat has such an ability… No wonder he even dared to deceive the Hokage!" Hyuga Raiyo's expression turned icy.
"Brother, if we go to the Hokage and formally accuse Haruto Saito, it won't work," Hyuga Raita continued. "First, the Hokage is clearly protecting him. Second, his ability makes it impossible to prove anything. He can hide the scrolls where no one can find them. If we can't retrieve them in one move, he'll become alert and might actually destroy the scrolls!"
Hyuga Raita's words carried a clear implication. If they couldn't resolve this through the Hokage… there were other means.
Hyuga Raiyo looked at his younger brother, whose eyes flashed with a dangerous, murderous intent.
"Let me think…" Hyuga Raiyo looked up at the sky, his gaze deep and unreadable. "The scrolls must be retrieved… but we need an opportunity."
One Day Later, Afternoon
Anbu Captain's assistant, Jinjo, arrived at Tsunade's residence with several subordinates, delivering a small box to Haruto Saito. The box was filled with money vouchers, ranging in denomination from ten thousand ryo to one million ryo, totaling three hundred and sixty million ryo—every single ryo accounted for.
With this transaction completed, Konoha still owed Haruto Saito seventy-five million ryo. This amount would only be paid once the negotiations between Konoha and the Land of Iron were finalized.
For the next two days, Haruto Saito barely left the house and didn't even go to find Minato Namikaze.
He was busy memorizing the techniques from the scrolls and transcribing copies. The thirteen scrolls from the Meiji Clan, as well as the five scrolls from the Hyuga Clan—he read and copied all of them.
Thus, three days passed since Haruto Saito first discovered the Meiji Treasure.
Noon, Tsunade's Mansion, Bedroom
"Damn it, they just won't leave me alone." Seated cross-legged with his eyes closed, Haruto Saito slowly opened them, frustration evident on his face. He was being watched. It had been going on for days. The Hyuga clan had assigned ninjas to keep tabs on him. He could sense it. Occasionally, he could even detect the distinct chakra fluctuations of the Byakugan outside the mansion.
It was making things difficult for him.
Whoosh!
A shadowy figure suddenly appeared in the room like a ghost, staring at Haruto Saito coldly.
A black-robed, masked man, exuding an eerie, oppressive presence. And he bore clear hostility toward Haruto Saito.
It was Danzo.
"Come with me," Danzo rasped.