Arriving at the Hyuga family.
Unfortunately, the gatekeeper today was Hyuga Kazuhiko, a member of the Branch Family who wasn't particularly outstanding. After graduation, he indeed spent most of his time training and working within the clan.
Of course, this probably had something to do with the failure of the previous banquet.
So when he saw Sakuma Akaba, his gaze was filled with resentment.
The scene was somewhat awkward.
Sakuma Akaba coughed lightly and patted his waist pouch, realizing those Manga volumes had been returned to the shop. He reluctantly pulled out the Third's personal seal instead, saying, "I come on the Hokage's orders to discuss some matters with the Hyuga Clan Leader."
"..."
Hyuga Kazuhiko remained silent for a moment, then simply pointed inward, too lazy to even respond.
"All right, thank you."
Without provoking him further, Sakuma Akaba politely nodded and proceeded inside alone.
Unable to help himself, Hyuga Kazuhiko turned to the senior standing beside him, "Senior, why am I just guarding the gate while others are already running errands for the Hokage? I'm not satisfied!"
They were peers—why was he so exceptional?
That was a good question.
The other gatekeeping Hyuga elder fell silent. He had stood at this post for seven or eight years already. At first, he'd had similar questions too, but now...
"Just get used to it."
What originally seemed fine suddenly became unbearable. Upon hearing these words, Hyuga Kazuhiko nearly burst into tears.
That stabbed right through his heart!
The Hyūga clan was ancient; its architectural style differed greatly from what was outside.
Their leadership wasn't elected but inherited matrilineally, so identifying the leader's residence was straightforward.
After walking through the compound a bit, he soon met a Hyuga ninja.
"Sakuma Akaba? What business do you have with our clan?"
"On the Hokage's orders, to discuss something with the Hyuga Clan Leader."
Sakuma Akaba took out the seal token.
The man glanced at it, then nodded, stepping forward to lead the way as he said, "The Clan Leader is in the library with Tsunade. Not at home. Follow me."
"Thanks."
Sakuma Akaba figured the man must've spotted him with Byakugan earlier. He'd come here on purpose to wait.
After walking some distance, he saw Tsunade and the Hyuga Clan Leader exiting from ahead. Tsunade carried a large pile of books — likely all borrowed from the library.
"What do you want?"
Tsunade hesitated slightly, initially thinking Sakuma Akaba had come especially for her, feeling puzzled deep down.
"Cough cough, actually I'm looking for Clan Leader Hyuga Zuo."
Sakuma Akaba retrieved the seal and handed it to Hyuga Zuo.
Hyuga Zuo was the current Hyuga Clan Leader, possessing formidable power and having contributed significantly during the wars.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stand against the Uchiha clan.
Zuo took it, glanced at it briefly, then handed it back, addressing Tsunade, "You may read whatever materials you wish, but no copying or sharing. Please return them tomorrow."
"Understood, thank you very much."
Tsunade bowed gratefully.
"No need. With more powerful Medical Ninjutsu, our chances of survival when injured as shinobi also increase."
Zuo gave a slight smile.
"In that case, I'll be taking my leave first."
Tsunade didn't linger.
She only had one day to return these books—a tight schedule. She needed to memorize quickly and extract anything useful immediately.
Besides, she still had plenty of things awaiting attention later. Who had time to waste here?
"Let's go."
"Leave it to me," Akaba said, not even waiting for his companion to speak. He turned and started walking ahead.
Hyūga Zuo knew perfectly well why the Third Hokage had summoned him.
The village needed balance. Even with the Uchiha now aligned with the Hokage's faction, another clan still needed to step forward as a counterweight.
And the Hyūga were the ideal choice.
"I don't need to go, right? This has nothing to do with me anyway."
Akaba handed over the Daimyo's sealed document, hoping Hyūga Zuo would return it on his behalf.
He knew full well that as soon as he showed up, more trouble was sure to follow.
Hyūga Zuo didn't take it, replying coolly, "Not related to you? What's meant for you to handle, you can't escape from."
Who's coordinating with the caravan?
Sakuma Akaba.
Whose goods are being sold in the Land of River?
Still his.
Fine then.
Akaba sighed. If he really thought this had nothing to do with him, he'd be fooling himself.
So he followed along.
The two walked with one ahead of the other, slowly heading toward the Hokage Tower.
When they arrived at the office, the Third wasn't reading manga anymore—probably because his earlier scare had temporarily dulled his interest.
"Hokage-sama, Clan Leader Zuo has arrived," Akaba announced respectfully.
"Good. Let's move to the next room."
The Third stood up, taking some documents with him as they moved next door.
The meeting room sat right next to the Hokage's office, with the Elders' rooms further down the hall.
Soon enough, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado arrived too.
"Let's begin the meeting."
The Third coughed once, then distributed the documents.
The first page showed a map of the Land of River, marked with various symbols indicating key strategic locations.
Hyūga Zuo glanced at it before asking, "How is coordination with the caravan going?"
"They'll fully cooperate."
The Third held up the blank letter sealed with the Daimyo's stamp—it was obvious what he meant without needing to explain.
Hyūga Zuo simply nodded, saying nothing more.
"Akaba, you've been to the Land of River before, and worked directly with the caravan. Please share what you know about the situation there."
Koharu spoke up.
Just as expected.
Exactly as Hyūga Zuo had predicted—if it was work meant for him, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it, he couldn't escape it.
Akaba inwardly sighed, thinking carefully about what to say.
Then, pointing to a spot on the map, he began, "The caravan's final stop is here—Chaochuan Town. It's a major transit hub in the Land of River. Most rogue ninja end up going there too."
"Do we have anyone in Chaochuan Town from Sunagakure Village?"
Reconnaissance won't be simple. With such a mixed population, identifying enemy identities will be difficult, increasing exposure risks during infiltration missions.
"When we were there, there was a rogue ninja from Sunagakure, but someone took him out. The story goes he was killed using techniques associated with Kirigakure ninjas."
"Kirigakure?"
The Third slightly frowned. Mist shinobi operating overseas, yet these rogues made their way deep inland into Chaochuan. That was quite a strategic move.
But he didn't press further, letting Akaba continue.
Afterward, Akaba recounted his "experiences" in Chaochuan.
The Third and the two Elders remained silent for a moment before the Hokage finally asked again, "Hyūga Clan Leader Zuo, what's your take on this?"
"If I'm leading the reconnaissance mission," Hyūga Zuo replied, "I suggest we deploy members from the Inuzuka, Gekko, and Hatake clans to infiltrate Chaochuan Town alongside the caravan. Meanwhile, the Hyūga clan will secretly cross the border and monitor from the outskirts using the Byakugan."
Hyūga Zuo chose his words carefully, leaving no room for loopholes.
"The Anbu can't assist with this matter. Therefore, the reconnaissance work in the Land of River is assigned to you. Be sure to monitor Sunagakure's every move. Report any unusual activity immediately."
Sandaime's words essentially signaled approval of Hyūga Zuo's strategy.
Akaba kept his gaze lowered and remained silent, unwilling to get involved in these political affairs.
However—
Next, Sandaime lightly tapped the table. After a moment, he said, "Also, regarding your Preparatory Division, Akaba, we should establish it soon. It would be better to arrange the personnel in advance to avoid being caught off guard."
"Yes, rest assured. I already have a complete plan."
Akaba nodded.
"How exactly do you plan to handle this Preparatory Division?"
Homura Mitokado felt somewhat worried.
After all, he was still just a child being entrusted with so many responsibilities. It was truly difficult for him.
"Speak freely about your ideas without holding anything back."
Sandaime tapped the table with his pipe, clearly implying a warning.
"I intend to teach according to each student's aptitude. Besides training them together, I will form special groups focusing on Taijutsu and Genjutsu respectively, providing specialized guidance in both fields."
"Special groups?"
Koharu Utatane slightly frowned, appearing somewhat dissatisfied.
Sandaime raised his hand, signaling her to remain quiet, then nodded at Akaba and said, "Continue."
"Yes, sir. The Taijutsu group will mainly focus on training ninjas who lack talent in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. They'll undergo intensive training and, during missions, can be integrated into other teams based on their functional roles without disrupting normal operations."
Akaba explained, "As for the Genjutsu group, I'll personally guide them through various techniques."
He'd been considering the idea of forming a dedicated Genjutsu unit for some time now.
In battle, Genjutsu was generally considered quite mediocre as an ability unless referring to Kekkei Genkai Genjutsu from the Uchiha clan or Sakuma clan.
By offering concentrated instruction, he hoped more support personnel could emerge in the future.
"Hmm, very good suggestion."
Sandaime nodded.
He thought deeper than Akaba did. When it came to the inheritance of Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and other skills, commoners could never match clan apprentices.
But Taijutsu was different.
It was a path accessible to everyone. With enough dedication, anyone could hone exceptional Taijutsu skills.
If properly cultivated, they might even produce several remarkable Taijutsu specialists.
Therefore, after thinking for a while, Sandaime said, "I fully agree with establishing these special groups, but for certain students within them, I hope you don't limit your teaching strictly to Taijutsu or Genjutsu alone."
"Please rest assured."
Akaba agreed immediately.
Regarding these special groups, he hadn't planned to include anyone with talents outside of Taijutsu either.
Take the Taijutsu group, for example.
Among those who mastered the Eight Gates, the three shared one common trait: aside from Taijutsu, they possessed no other abilities whatsoever.
Precisely because of that, they devoted themselves entirely to Taijutsu training, constantly pushing their limits to become stronger.
Those specializing purely in Genjutsu were rare, but since their purpose was cultivating support personnel, requirements weren't particularly high. Once they were competent support personnel, they would've already fully mastered the basics of Genjutsu.
As for teaching issues, Shinku Yuhi had already grasped rough illusions. With further guidance, she would likely soon be ready to serve as an assistant instructor.
The Third had not yet reviewed the latest updates on the ninja world, so he couldn't guess Akaba's intentions. Therefore, he nodded in agreement.
Later, Koharu Utatane raised several other issues, all related to the Preparatory Division.
Hyuga Zuo stayed silent off to the side, offering no comments.
Only near the end did he finally speak up: "I've heard Akaba possesses a genjutsu named [Virtual Reality Games]. Could we establish a specialized class for reconnaissance training using it?"
Akaba turned green upon hearing this and quickly replied, "That would be quite difficult. I'll consider starting a reconnaissance class once the technology catches up."
Reconnaissance training naturally demanded full use of all five senses.
Therefore, establishing such a class would require Akaba to personally oversee the students' training—something he definitely didn't have time for.
"Hmm, then I have no further issues."
Hyuga Zuo wasn't very familiar with Akaba. Hearing this, he truly believed the current conditions simply weren't suitable for it.
The Third naturally understood Akaba well, but knew how far to push him. With all the chaos during the early days of the Preparatory Division, Akaba had no time to deal with setting up a reconnaissance class.
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