After Hyuga Hiashi finished speaking, he lifted his teacup, took a sip, then fell silent and simply stared at Aoba sitting across from him.
Aoba, knowing full well that the other man was hinting at him, couldn't help looking a little embarrassed as he spoke.
"I'll try to persuade Hinata and Hanabi a bit."
"How do you plan on persuading them?", Hiashi countered expressionlessly.
The main family elders had long wanted Hinata to be designated as the clan head successor.
For some time now, they had been pressuring him to brand Hanabi with the caged bird seal. After all, Hanabi had already reached the proper age for it.
That was why he had let Aoba take Hanabi as his student.
But now, not only did Hinata want to voluntarily give up her position as heir, Hanabi also showed little to no interest in becoming clan head.
As for the reason, there was no need to even think about it.
Sometimes he wondered if, in his past life, he owed Aoba some great debt, because now he had come to collect. Having one wasn't enough, now he wanted to steal both.
"This...", Truth be told, Aoba didn't know how to persuade them either.
"I have an idea," Hiashi suddenly spoke again.
"What idea?"
"At my age, if I push myself, I can still hold on for another decade or so. What I hope is that once you reach marriageable age, you can marry Hinata as soon as possible, and the first child born after that will take the Hyuga surname."
"?"
Aoba looked at Hiashi in shock, only to find the man's expression utterly serious, not joking in the slightest.
'I am... being urged to get married?'
Hiashi had already recognized a fact: he couldn't rely on his daughters. Whether Hinata or Hanabi, both were the same.
Now he was stretched thin, powerless. He could only pin his hopes on someday having a grandson. Skipping a generation, inheriting and carrying on the vast Hyuga estate.
"This way, Hinata can marry you, and Hanabi can be freed from the status of main family successor," Hiashi laid out the pros and cons.
"If Hinata doesn't object, then I have no problem," Aoba agreed readily. After all, Hinata reaching marriageable age would still take several years.
By then, the Otsutsuki problem would be resolved. Maybe he'd have even researched some method of extending lifespan. Hiashi would still be young enough to push a little harder.
Not knowing what Aoba was really thinking, Hiashi felt satisfied when he heard the agreement and nodded slightly.
"As for the caged bird matter, I'm powerless for now. We'll wait until the next head of the main family is confirmed before speaking of it again."
With that, their conversation ended, and the two left the reception room.
Hyuga Ayako and Natsu Hyuga had already finished preparing dinner and set the food on the table.
"Aoba-nii, quick, come sit here!"
Hanabi, seeing Aoba come out, immediately patted the spot beside her and beckoned him over.
Aoba didn't think much of it and just sat down.
But as soon as he did, Hanabi jumped into his lap.
"Hanabi, doing that will make it hard for Aoba-kun to eat," Hinata said unhappily.
"Aoba-nii, does Hanabi bother you?", Hanabi tilted her head up slightly, looking at him with expectant eyes.
Faced with such a cute little sister-in-law acting spoiled, Aoba couldn't find it in himself to refuse, "No."
He even squeezed Hanabi's round little cheeks.
"Aoba-kun, if you keep spoiling Hanabi like this, she'll only get worse," Hinata said with clear worry.
Hanabi retorted in dissatisfaction, "No I won't, Hanabi's very well-behaved."
"Little Hanabi really is attached to Aoba."
Hyuga Ayako looked at the close relationship between the three and felt deeply comforted.
But Hiashi, coming out from the reception room, did not feel that way at all.
Forcing down the pain in his heart, he sat at the head seat.
"Let's eat."
As a traditional clan, the Hyuga family had each portion served separately, everyone eating their own share.
With Hanabi sitting in Aoba's lap, it was hard for her to reach her own plate, so she was basically fed by Aoba.
Which made Hinata a little jealous.
Fortunately, thanks to Aoba's "balanced service" habits, he occasionally fed her as well, which smoothed her mood again.
But even so, watching his elder daughter sit pressed close against the boy, while his younger daughter sat right on his lap, Hiashi's eye kept twitching nonstop, his Byakugan nearly turning into Sharingan.
"By the way, Hinata, we just received a mission. Tomorrow we have to go to Sunagakure," Aoba finally remembered the purpose of his visit.
"Sunagakure? I understand," Hinata nodded. Thinking about being able to spend time with him again for a while, her mood brightened.
"Aoba-nii and Nee-chan are going out again...", A lonely expression showed on Hanabi's face.
Aoba popped a little meatball into her mouth, "We'll bring you back a gift when we return."
"Sunagakure, huh... I've heard the environment there isn't very good," Hyuga Ayako looked a bit worried.
"We'll prepare ahead of time."
"What kind of mission is it? Will it be dangerous?", Hiashi also joined in the conversation.
Aoba explained, "Some people in Sunagakure have been acting a little unruly. We're just going over to intimidate them a bit."
Hiashi, thinking of Aoba's strength, judged that the danger was minimal.
Dinner passed quickly. Aoba played with Hanabi for a while longer, then left the Hyuga compound.
He still had to go satisfy a certain person who had been resting nearly half a month. Weak, but still loved to play.
Though this time, no awkward situations like last time occurred.
Isaribi had long returned to her own room. As for what she was doing in there, that was left to the imagination.
———
[The Next Day]
Aoba and Temari sat together on a bench at the village gates.
This was the place they had agreed to meet, though clearly the two of them had come early.
"Want to lean on my shoulder and sleep a bit? When everyone's here, I'll wake you," Hearing the soft yawns coming from beside him from time to time, Aoba offered.
Temari obediently leaned against his shoulder, though she didn't actually fall asleep. Instead, she asked somewhat blankly, "Aoba, if Sunagakure really does something that violates the treaty, what will you do?"
"..."
Aoba stayed silent for a while, "Temari, I can't promise you anything. I can only stand on Konoha's side, and do my best to minimize your losses."
"But I think the extremists in Sunagakure must only be a very small group. As long as we deal with them, that will be enough."
"After that, once your younger brother becomes Kazekage, then the conflict between the two villages will disappear completely."
Aoba's explanation finally steadied Temari's emotions somewhat.
She held his hand tightly, as if that could give her more of a sense of security.
"Thank you, Aoba."
Aoba clasped her hand in return, speaking softly, "Between you and me, there's no need for thanks. Sleep a little first."
"Mm."
It seemed she really hadn't rested well the night before, her eyes had barely closed when her breathing grew long and even.
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