Shikaku Nara lounged in a heavy wooden chair, which was a permanent fixture in the Hokage's tower conference room. The atmosphere was predictably dull, a blend of freshly brewed tea steaming in a cup in his hands. Beside him, Chōza Akimichi was determined to work his way through a massive bag of potato chips. The sound of his constant rhythmic eating had become comforting to him over the years.
Chōza consumed the contents of the bag with his usual singleminded focus. Shikaku felt an annoying rumble in his own stomach. He remembered the single instance in his youth when he had made the grave error of simply reaching out to take a chip without permission. That incident had been instructive. Since then, he had made it a point of honor and survival to pass down a firm, clan-wide decree: never attempt to take food from an actively eating Akimichi member unless you had formally asked first.
Shikaku leaned over and delicately tapped Chōza’s broad shoulder. He waited patiently, tapping a few more times on the feasting man’s body until the Akimichi clan leader finally registered that his friend and comrade in arms was trying to get his attention. Shikaku then employed a set of subtle hand signals, conveying his desire for a few of his friend’s prized salty snacks. A complex range of emotions played across Chōza’s face. Memories of shared battles, sworn camaraderie, and decades of friendship flashed through the Akimichi’s mind. With a heavy sigh, he reluctantly yielded and decided to share his precious food with his longtime friend.
Shikaku, who had initially planned to take a modest two or three chips, saw the opportunity and changed his mind instantly. He plunged his hand deep into the bag and extracted a generously large handful. The raw look of intense betrayal etched onto Chōza’s features nearly caused the Nara clan leader to chuckle aloud, but he restrained himself. Instead, he offered his friend a slight shrug of apology and began to savor his pilfered prize. Chōza opened his mouth as if to voice a protest, but a light tap on his opposite shoulder made him pivot in his chair. Inoichi Yamanaka was now seated there, signaling his own request for chips.
Looking back and forth between his two lifelong teammates, Chōza’s resolve crumbled completely. He sighed again and offered the bag to Inoichi. Inoichi flashed his friend a sincere, heartfelt smile of gratitude before, like his other friend, he swiftly grabbed another large portion of chips. With enduring, though reluctant, resolution, Chōza allowed this to happen. His acceptance turned to genuine astonishment, however, when he saw Inoichi immediately go in for a second handful. He was so utterly taken aback by the sheer audacity of this double dip that he was rendered speechless and allowed the second raid to occur.
The conference room door swung inward, and the formal entrance of Hizashi Hyuga, accompanied by one of his personal aids, drew the attention of the growing assembly. Hizashi observed the Ino Shika Cho trio and gave them a deep, respectful nod. Inoichi and Shikaku returned the gesture of respect with a simple dip of their heads. Chōza, meanwhile, still visibly distraught by the loss of his snack, simply looked like he was intensely reevaluating every single decision he had ever made in his life, starting with his attendance at this meeting.
Soon after, more and more representatives from the various shinobi clans began to file in. Historically, it had been customary for the actual clan heads to make an appearance, but over time, practicality and sheer convenience retired that cumbersome tradition. Thanks to the continually growing size and success of the village, there were quite a few clans being represented in the meeting. Shikaku recognized most of them, and he possessed the necessary skill to lie convincingly and say he recognized the rest.
The nature of today’s meeting would, thankfully, help refresh his memory as the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, would be formally restructuring the village’s clan territories layout. Though the village had been minimally functional only a few weeks after the attack, with the anniversary of the Nine-Tailed Fox attack quickly approaching, it had been decided to move swiftly rather than slowly when it came to properly rebuilding the less mandatory social and political functions of the village. The key decision was this: to project strength and promote healing, the village needed to look as close to its previous state as possible.
This was a difficult undertaking, but Shikaku fully grasped the deep reasoning behind the policy decision. People had lost loved ones, homes, and entire livelihoods, yet they possessed an incredible resilience. Shikaku had watched individuals bounce back from far worse simply by focusing their energy on something else. The healing property of sheer denial, of just walking it off and pretending things were normal, was potent.
Shikaku did not personally love the idea of simple pretense, but any other proposal he had considered would require significant time and vast amounts of money. Time was the one commodity the village did not have. Unsettling rumors were spreading like wildfire. Spies had managed to infiltrate the village despite the diligent actions of ANBU. Ultimately, it was a game of sheer numbers. Foreign spies had been attempting to sneak into the village since the attack, sent by every major nation, minor region, and independent rogue shinobi groups.
ANBU had been employing increasingly lethal methods of dissuading these intrusion attempts, but numbers were numbers, and time made total security impossible. No village worth worrying about would take military action based on the fragmented, insignificant information they had managed to collect so far, but they would eventually gain enough. Therefore, the information the spies brought back must be misleading: that the Leaf Village was entirely back to normal, and that you could barely tell there was ever an attack at all.
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Shikaku was so immersed in his deep thoughts that he almost did not notice the conference door opening a second time. Danzō Shimura strode in, flanked by two bodyguards who were heavily wrapped in concealing robes. Everyone could instantly tell the men beneath the cloth were fully dressed in heavy combat gear. Entering a room filled with clan heads and representatives with visibly armed bodyguards would typically be viewed as a gross insult, but the fact that the two men had cloaks covering their gear softened the blow just slightly enough to still be socially acceptable.
“Hiruzen will not be joining us today. I will be heading this meeting,” Danzō announced, his voice devoid of warmth.
Shikaku, along with many of the experienced heads, knew better than to take the bait of that declaration, but a younger representative from a minor clan did not. “What happened?” he blurted out.
A surge of potent killing intent shot out, fast and precise. Danzō’s glacial glare instantly froze the boy where he stood, his mouth half open to ask the follow-up question that Shikaku was quite confident the boy had now entirely forgotten. “Is there a problem, young man?” Shikaku inwardly cheered, realizing Danzō also did not know the young man’s name; he was not the only one. “Are you second-guessing the decision of the Hokage? Do you believe you could perform better?” One of Danzō’s bodyguards made an obvious, calculated move toward their weapon, and the boy produced an audible gulp.
Not wanting to waste any more time than necessary, Shikaku prepared to speak to save the boy, but Hizashi Hyuga beat him to the chance. “I’m sure the young master of the Kurama clan was simply expressing a polite concern for the Hokage’s welfare,” Hizashi spoke, stepping subtly into the boy’s defense.
“Is that right?” Danzō asked in a chilling voice.
“Y-yes, I-I was. I was just thinking of the best way to help the village,” the young man stammered. “The Kurama clan is always ready to assist the village in any way needed.” The young man bowed his head low and quickly sank back into his seat.
“Well, if you are so desperately curious, there was a minor incident on the main road leading from the capital. Hiruzen went personally to resolve any possible problems,” Danzō stated.
“My clan has heard nothing about this,” Fugaku Uchiha spoke up. Unlike Danzō, Shikaku had not noticed the precise moment the Uchiha clan head, who also commanded the village’s police force, had entered the room. The expressions of a few other people, including Inoichi, their team’s dedicated sensor ninja, confirmed the Uchiha’s silent approach had been missed by everyone in the room.
“The incident is recent, and the decision to go was made decisively. By the time the village’s police would be notified, organized, and then reach the destination, the matter would already be handled,” Danzō replied with dismissive certainty.
The displeasure on Fugaku’s face was obvious to see, but he made the careful decision to let the matter drop. Danzō scanned the rest of the room to see if anyone else had comments to make on the matter before he proceeded. “Very well. We are here today to go over the village’s revitalization after the Demon Fox’s attack. We have a rare opportunity to improve some minor flaws in the layout of the village, and I have taken immediate steps to fix them.”
“Before we begin, I was hoping to take a moment to make an announcement,” Hizashi spoke up.
“Please make it quick; we have much to discuss today.” Danzō made a hand motion, giving the Hyuga the floor.
Hizashi stood up and bowed his head to Danzo. “Thank you, hounded village elder, and to the clan heads and representatives, thank you for allowing me this chance to speak with you all.” Hizashi raised his head and looked towards the ceiling while taking a deep breath.
“For many generations, the Hyuga clan has had to fight day and night for our place in this world. We have been hunted, slaughtered, taken advantage of, and deceived. We have fought, killed, and died on countless battlefields across the shinobi world. But fifty years ago, that all changed.”
The other members in the room shifted in their seats. The contents of Hizashi's speech alluded to a big decision that had been made. “Fifty years ago, the first Hokage, Lord Hashirama Senju, reached out to us. We heard his words and saw his dream, and although we were skeptical at first, we couldn’t help but be moved by his actions. On that day, the Hyuga clan decided to take a risk like we had never taken before. We clasped hands and took our first steps on a journey never before seen.”
Shikaku had to stop himself from interrupting. Marida Uchiha was the one who reached out to the Hyuga clan, and it took months to convince them. Not to mention the tantrum they threw on a failed marriage proposal between the Senju clan and, later on, the Sarutobi clan as well. A few minor clans and a few financially influential clans managed to pick up the slack.
“And although we have gone through tough times, it has only strengthened are resolve. Now, walk up to any member of the Hyuga clan and ask how they feel about the Leaf village, and they will respond that it is like a second family to them. Many members struggle to comprehend the notion that there was ever a separation between the two. And looking out to you here today, I know my clan is not alone in that belief.”
Hizashi took a moment, real emotions struggled to remain in place. He swallowed hard to get out the next words. “Which is why, after the attack of the demon fox, we took time to self-reflect. We wished to re-examine are place in this village, and we asked ourselves challenging questions. Are we doing everything we can to protect our new home, protecting our shared dream, and do we dare to dream for more? Should we be content with what we have, or, like our ancestors, clasp hands with our trusted allies, and continue to take the next step in our journey?”
Hizashi swallowed and straightened his back, and spoke like he was making a formal declaration. “After much deliberation, discussions with lord third, and detailed planning, Clan Head Hiashi Hyuga has made a decision. Although the cage bird seal has kept our clan safe, it has, in turn, also trapped us. It has protected and sheltered us in many storms and times of strife, but we now believe that it is stifling our growth. For the betterment of our clan, our village, and our nation, the cage must be opened in order for us to fly high and free.”
Hizashi raised his hands to his Leaf headband and untied the knot, securing it in place. Shikaku couldn’t remember a time he had seen the man without a headband. Branch members of the Hyuga clan always wore it to hide the shame of their branding. But Hizashi took his headband off, and everyone in the room could see the unblemished skin underneath. Hizashi Hyuga, the head of the branch family’s cage bird seal, was gone. “By the end of the week, all members of the Hyuga branch family will have their seals removed. We believe in the dream this village represents; we hope the village will believe in us the same.”
