Chapter 130: The Facts I Had Deliberately Ignored
The wheels of Hyūga reform began to turn.
The clan—long stagnant and rigid—was now being cleaned, rebuilt, and reignited. Where once there had been only order and silence, there was now motion. Energy. Change.
Hinata's proposal had become the catalyst.
With Hiashi officially leading the implementation, and the support of the clan's elders and key administrators, the Hyūga clan threw itself into the reform with a passion rarely seen. It was a collective movement—one that shook even the long-settled stones beneath the clan's foundation.
But in the midst of all this activity… Ryosuke remained untouched.
Ever since arriving in this world, no one had ever ordered him to do anything—not even once.
Those aware of his talent and strength only encouraged him to grow. None wished to distract him with politics or responsibility. Not even Hiashi. Unless Ryosuke approached first, he was left to his own devices.
This time was no different.
Despite the clan-wide transformation, Ryosuke hadn't volunteered to participate. So Hiashi hadn't assigned him a role. The elders—perhaps already briefed by the Grand Elder—voiced no objection to his non-involvement.
And so, Ryosuke, of all people, became the most idle man in the Hyūga clan.
While others rushed to reorganize, draft policy, and rebuild the clan's structure, he stayed tucked away at home, quietly immersed in the ongoing development of his Yang Release secret technique.
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"Lord Ryosuke. We've received confirmation from our intelligence network outside the village—Jiraiya-sama has left Konoha."
Hyūga Hoshicai arrived swiftly at the training ground, his tone serious but respectful.
Though Hyūga's internal reform was meant to be a family matter, the political ripple it caused throughout Konoha was not small.
Many clans had taken notice.
Still, wary as they were, they had no right—or power—to interfere. And the village's leadership, distracted by larger issues like resource reallocation after the Land of Wave alliance and the looming selection of the next Hokage, had little time to worry about Hyūga.
"Jiraiya left already?" Ryosuke opened his eyes mid-meditation.
"Yes. Our agents in the capital reported sightings of him. It appears he's been wandering through the major gambling dens across the Land of Fire—likely searching for someone."
Ryosuke gave a quiet hum of understanding. "Tsunade…"
Of course. There was only one person Jiraiya would chase through casinos across the country.
Tsunade. One of the Legendary Sannin. The final member of the trio.
Despite all the twists of fate, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't died.
Instead, he'd decided to pass the Hokage's mantle to Tsunade—if he could convince her to return.
That alone would be no easy feat.
She hated the position even more than Jiraiya did.
"…Sarutobi is stepping down. Danzo's been hiding his ambitions in the shadows. Tsunade is strong, but unwilling to rule..."
Ryosuke muttered beneath his breath, eyes following the slow drift of clouds overhead.
He hadn't had any visions lately—no glimpses of the future through his strange precognitive state.
But still, something stirred uneasily inside him.
A tension.
Something's going to happen in the village… soon.
Not just politically. Not just symbolically.
Something real. Something dangerous.
And someone I care about… might get caught in the fallout.
"…Come to think of it, I haven't seen Naruto in a while," Ryosuke mused. "I wonder how he's getting along with Uchiha Sasuke."
He stood slowly, brushing dirt from his robes.
According to the latest reports, Naruto had finally recovered from the trauma of losing his teammate. Sarutobi Hiruzen had removed the ANBU surveillance. And now that Sasuke had officially joined their team, they were back under Kakashi's leadership, running missions again.
The new addition to their squad—a rookie—was less experienced than Sarutobi Rin, whom they'd lost.
But Naruto had the Nine-Tails.
And with that power backing them, Team 7 had completed three B-ranked missions without issue.
There were even rumors that Naruto was planning to apply for the upcoming Chūnin Exams.
Still… the power of a tailed beast isn't something one just borrows.
Ryosuke returned to the center of the training ground.
He wasn't about to chase Naruto down or check in.
He already knew enough.
He received regular updates from his clan's intelligence network. He knew what Naruto was doing—where he was training, what missions he'd completed.
And right now?
Watching someone else's life unfold isn't the same as living your own.
Ryosuke had goals. He had a vision.
If he could finalize the Yang Release secret technique he was developing before the age of nine—and successfully apply it to himself—then the technique's potential would rise exponentially with age.
It was like unlocking a limiter.
The stronger his body, the more powerful the technique would become.
So while Konoha bustled outside and his friend began chasing the Chūnin title, Ryosuke stayed immersed in something far quieter… and far more dangerous.
And yet, while he trained—calm, focused, and resolute—Naruto, the friend he'd been thinking of, was walking a very different path.
. . .
Konoha Park was almost empty.
The sun was dipping low behind the trees, casting long shadows across the swings and jungle gyms.
One by one, the other children had left—chased home by the evening chill. The adults who had come with them gathered their things and followed.
Only Naruto Uzumaki could turn a bustling Konoha park into a place this empty.
He didn't yell.
He didn't threaten.
He didn't need to.
His presence alone was enough to slowly, quietly push people away—without ever raising a hand.
The chains of the swing creaked with each slow sway of his body. He sat alone, back slightly hunched, feet dragging at the dirt. His eyes, half-lidded with exhaustion, stared into the distance—fixed on the towering figures of the Hokage Rock.
The wind ruffled his golden hair. The sunlight dimmed. The shadows stretched.
Konoha was still bright.
But Naruto… felt empty.
"…Hokage, huh?" he muttered, barely audible.
That name used to fill him with hope. With fire.
Now, it just tasted bitter in his mouth.
Naruto had long grown used to the rejection. To the sneers. To the quiet whispers and turned backs. But after becoming a shinobi and stepping beyond the village's walls, he realized something important—not everyone treated him that way.
Other villages, other people… they were kinder. They didn't recoil from his presence. They didn't glare when he smiled.
It made him realize—maybe there was never anything wrong with him.
Even the Nine-Tails inside his body... he had learned to live with it.
But what still haunted him—what still ate away at him—was the question of the Hokage.
The symbol he once admired.
The man who once raised him.
"Boy… don't you want to know the truth?"
A voice, deep and primal, echoed through his consciousness. It slithered into his thoughts with poisonous calm, thick with temptation.
Naruto's body stilled.
"…Shut up," he said, his voice cold.
But the voice didn't stop.
"You're still looking for your parents, aren't you?"
"I can tell you everything. I know the truth, Naruto."
"All I ask is a small favor… a very, very simple favor."
"…Don't bother. I'll find it out myself."
He didn't flinch.
He didn't even raise his voice.
His gaze remained locked on the Hokage Rock as a gust of wind swept through the park.
The once-bright light in his eyes had faded. That goofy smile he always wore—it was gone now.
It had been fading for a while.
He didn't know when exactly the darkness started creeping in… but it had been there longer than he wanted to admit.
"You've been using your chakra to influence my emotions," Naruto said flatly. "I figured that out a while ago."
The fox stirred.
Naruto's voice lowered, calm but sharp like a blade unsheathed.
"Trying to inject your consciousness into mine, aren't you?"
To anyone watching from afar, Naruto would've looked insane—talking to himself, expression hard and distant. But there were no watchers today. No children. No parents.
And the Nine-Tails never spoke when others were near.
"Tch. You've borrowed my chakra before. You know your body can't withstand it."
"If we fought for control, your body would tear itself apart before either of us won."
Naruto nodded slowly. "That's right."
"And when that happens, we both die."
"You might re-form eventually. Tailed Beasts don't stay dead. But will you still be you when you come back?"
A pause.
Even the fox had nothing to say to that.
"I don't need your help," Naruto muttered. "Everything I'm dealing with now is because of you in the first place."
"That's not true."
The voice turned sharp. Rough. Feral.
"Do you really think this is all my fault?"
"The one who sealed me in you… don't you think he deserves your anger just as much?"
The roar that followed shook Naruto's mindscape.
In the depths of his soul, a pair of massive claws slammed into the bars of the cage. The air rattled with suppressed rage.
"Don't you want to know who it was?"
As the echo died down, red chakra began to leak from Naruto's body.
A faint shimmer of the Nine-Tails' cloak flickered across his skin.
"Shut. Up."
Naruto stood, fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white.
The chakra vanished in an instant. He moved in a blur, vanishing from the swing set and hiding himself in a patch of trees.
He couldn't let anyone see him like this.
If they did, ANBU would start tailing him again. He knew how this worked.
He knew the signs.
Knowing the Nine-Tails was influencing his emotions was one thing.
Controlling them was another.
And lately… it was getting harder.
The deeper he dug into his own origins—the closer he got to the truth—the more unstable his emotions became. It was like his body was rejecting the reality that his heart already understood.
"…What should I do, Ryosuke?" he whispered, hidden in the shadows.
His fists trembled. Veins bulged under the strain of suppressing the beast within.
There was only one person he truly trusted now.
Not even the Third Hokage—his "grandfather"—felt safe anymore.
Ryosuke had told him once: "Hide yourself."
"Watch everything. Speak little. Never show your full hand."
He hadn't understood back then.
But now?
Now it was all becoming clear.
The Anbu surveillance. The whispered orders. The missing documents. The subtle lies.
One by one, the things Naruto had willfully ignored began connecting—strings tying together in the silence left behind by the Nine-Tails' fading growl.
He wanted to see Ryosuke.
He needed to ask.
What to do.
What to choose.
Who to believe.
But the Hyūga clan had gone silent.
They'd shut themselves in after the reforms. No outsiders allowed.
No exceptions.
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