Mist Front. Konoha command tent.
"Iwagakure has conceded," Orochimaru said, eyes sweeping across the gathered jōnin. His voice was calm as ever. "Reinforcements will arrive within days. The end of the war is not far."
He paused, gaze sharpening slightly.
"At this final moment, you must not relax."
The jōnin's faces visibly loosened anyway, relief seeping through the cracks. Still, they answered in unison.
"Yes!"
"Mhm." Orochimaru nodded. "Dismissed."
Once the jōnin filed out, Orochimaru unfolded a map and studied it for a time. Then his expression shifted.
Puff.
White smoke burst in the tent. A pale viper appeared before him, tongue flicking.
It opened its mouth and spat out a scroll.
Orochimaru smiled, picked it up, and unrolled it.
Inside were Hyuga Yuu's speculations about chakra. Not priceless, but useful—very useful—for Orochimaru's research.
"So formal, Yuu-kun," Orochimaru said with a soft chuckle. "All I did was send sensei a letter recommending Namikaze Minato."
Minato's greatest obstacle in becoming Hokage had always been the Sannin.
Their seniority—and political weight—was above his.
But Tsunade and Jiraiya had no desire to take the position.
The only one who hadn't clearly rejected it… was Orochimaru.
So when Orochimaru, at Yuu's request, delivered that recommendation letter to the Third Hokage…
Certain outcomes had become inevitable.
"Sensei has been weighing my stance," Orochimaru murmured, eyes half-lidded. "But in your heart, you had already chosen Minato, hadn't you?"
He let out a quiet breath through his nose, almost amused.
"You've been building Minato's momentum for a long time."
"And you even helped him accumulate political capital—this generation of Ino–Shika–Chō's young members are Minato's comrades-in-arms. The Sarutobi have always been close to them."
"So much effort."
"Though you likely didn't want to step down so soon. You did it because circumstances forced your hand."
Orochimaru shook his head and set the scroll alight, reducing it to ash.
This time, the Main House hadn't won.
Their secret art—the Caged Bird—had fallen into too many hands. And they'd lost a measure of control over the Branch House.
But the Branch House hadn't won either.
They still hadn't truly eliminated the Caged Bird.
And sensei…
He looked like he'd resolved the crisis cleanly. But in stepping down so hastily, he'd chosen to smear himself—shouldering blame publicly.
That cost would linger.
On the surface, it looked like Minato gained the most: the Hokage's seat, plus the authority of the Mist front to stabilize his position.
But…
Was that really true?
Orochimaru's smile thinned.
"Letting Minato become Hokage…"
"What are you trying to do, Yuu-kun?"
…
"This world has no such thing as coincidence," Hyuga Yuu said quietly. "Only inevitability—made from variables too hard to observe."
"It's like you not knowing what I'll say next."
He rose and walked toward his front door.
"But it's only you who doesn't know."
"I know."
"If I tell you," Yuu continued, "then that variable becomes a constant."
"And then you gain a small glimpse of the future."
Unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—
For Yuu, most "variables" in this world were already constants.
A future already written.
"The Branch House has been given hope," he said, voice mild. "But when that hope—so slightly false—gets ripped to pieces…"
He glanced back at Hyuga MeiYuu.
MeiYuu's face was swallowed by shadow, unreadable.
Was it anticipation?
Not quite.
Yuu's eyes narrowed slightly.
How similar.
The Uchiha were dreaming right now too—just like the Hyuga were today.
The Uchiha clan head and the new Hokage were friends.
The clan head's wife and the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki were close.
The Uchiha finally had a foundation to step into the upper ranks.
Too bad.
That dream would end.
And become a nightmare.
So what would the Hyuga become?
Yuu turned to leave—
Then stopped.
His gaze slid toward the shadow by the wall.
"What is it?"
A boy stepped out.
Hyuga Yuuki lowered his head and spoke as if the words were too heavy to lift.
"Yuu-semp—no…"
"Yuu-sama."
"Please help me. I need power."
Yuu studied him briefly.
"Come in."
He didn't wait for a reply. He opened the door and walked back inside.
From behind, MeiYuu used his Byakugan to watch, then slipped into concealment again.
"Yes!"
Yuuki followed, barely containing his excitement.
They stopped in the living room. Only then did Yuu turn.
"Why did you come to me?"
"Because you're the strongest Branch House shinobi!" Yuuki said immediately.
Someone who could discover the Hokage was researching ways to break the Caged Bird. Someone who could move through the Main House's core area as if it were empty air.
To Yuuki, Yuu was the strongest he knew.
After a breath, he added through gritted teeth—
"And because I think you're trustworthy."
"Those people—so many Branch House clansmen—are nothing but Caged Birds."
The last three words were spat out like poison.
Slaves in the mind.
Even if the seal vanished, they still wouldn't be free.
"Oh?" Yuu smiled faintly. "And you think you're different?"
He tilted his head.
"If I hadn't told you what I know… would you even have formed the desire to break the Caged Bird completely?"
"You wouldn't."
Yuuki fell silent.
Then his eyes hardened again.
"But I'll keep resisting," he said. "I'll find the solution. And I'll take every clansman willing to resist with me."
Yuu watched that stubborn light, eyelids lowering.
"Barely passable," he murmured.
Hot-blooded, but not mindless.
Bold enough to act.
And most importantly…
Not a dreamer.
"Huh—passable?"
Before Yuuki could understand, Yuu pulled out a scroll and tossed it to him.
"This is the power you want."
"The power that can make the Branch House stand up completely…"
"…and even the power to break the Hyuga away from Konoha."
Yuuki stared at him, stunned. Then stared at the scroll.
Make the Hyuga leave Konoha…?
How could that even be possible?
"Don't believe it?" Yuu asked calmly.
"N-no—" Yuuki shook his head hard. "It just… doesn't feel real."
In his imagination, Yuu was at most a powerhouse just below the Hokage. To claim something like this so casually… was beyond absurd.
"Believe it or don't," Yuu said. "If there's nothing else, go."
"Wait—Yuu-sama."
Yuuki drew in a deep breath and bowed sharply.
"My companions and I started an organization. The goal is for the Branch House to stand up completely."
"Please… join us."
"..."
Silence settled over the room.
Yuuki froze, unsure whether he should look up.
Then Yuu's voice came, even and unreadable.
"What's the organization called?"
Yuuki's face lit up.
Then he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
"We haven't decided."
"But since the goal is freedom, and revenge on the Main House…"
"How about… Avengers…?"
"You can leave."
Yuu didn't even wait for the word to finish. He shoved Yuuki out with a cold finality.
Outside the door, Yuuki stood there, baffled.
What was wrong with the name?
He scratched his head, couldn't figure it out, and finally left with the scroll in hand.
But when the thirteen-year-old returned home and read every line inside—
He froze in place.
His emotions turned into something tangled and hard to breathe around.
It was history.
The history of the Hyuga's distant kin—
The Ōtsutsuki Main House…
being slaughtered to the last by their Branch House.
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