"Hyūga Hiashi, what do you mean?!"
"What are you doing?"
"Don't you think..."
...
After Uchiha Kaze left, the Hyūga elders finally couldn't hold back anymore.
The clamor of these elders solidified Hyūga Hiashi's choice.
"Sigh..."
"I really, really wanted to give you a chance to live..."
"But..."
"Please, elders... go on your way."
After a long sigh, Hyūga Hiashi opened his eyes, only determination remaining in his Byakugan.
Under Hyūga Hiashi's lead, those so-called elders were raided and killed even while they were still maintaining their fierce clamoring appearances.
The screams had just sounded when they quickly fell into silence again.
In the courtyard, over a dozen corpses lay scattered.
Those Main House elders who used to be high and mighty, able to decide the life and death of the Branch House with a single sentence.
Now lay on the ground, their pure white eyes wide open, dying with grievances.
The Branch House ninjas looked at this scene with complex expressions.
There was pleasure, there was relief...
"Clean up."
"Then gather all clansmen, I have important things to announce."
Hyūga Hiashi turned around, no longer looking at those corpses.
"Yes!"
The execution ability of the Branch House ninjas was very strong.
They immediately began to act...
Uchiha Clan Grounds.
Kaze sat on the tatami in his room, a tea tray in front of him.
The tea was cold, but he didn't move.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the result from the Hyūga side.
Also waiting... for another piece of news.
"Lord Kaze."
"The Hyūga side... finished cleaning up."
"Sixteen core elders of the Main House, all executed."
"Hyūga Hiashi is convening a full clan meeting."
After Uchiha Nagasawa finished speaking, his expression was also somewhat strange.
He didn't expect the most stubborn Hyūga would undergo such... changes.
"Not low efficiency."
"It seems Hyūga Hiashi is not completely stupid."
Kaze picked up the teacup and took a sip of the cold tea.
"There is one more thing..."
"Naruto woke up."
Nagasawa hesitated for a moment but still spoke to remind him.
"Naruto woke up? Bring him over."
Uchiha Kaze put down the teacup and spoke deeply.
A few minutes later.
Uzumaki Naruto was brought to the room.
A child of over five years old, wearing old clothes that didn't fit.
His blond hair was messy, and his blue eyes were full of confusion.
Seeing Kaze, Naruto instinctively took a step back.
"Sit."
Kaze pointed to the cushion opposite.
Naruto sat down timidly, his hands tightly gripping the hem of his clothes.
"Do you know who I am?"
Looking at Naruto in this state, a trace of helplessness and disgust for the Konoha higher-ups flashed in Uchiha Kaze's eyes.
"Don't know."
Naruto had a strange sense of familiarity with the person in front of him.
But... he really didn't know Uchiha Kaze.
"I am Yondaime Hokage Namikaze Minato's friend, Uchiha Kaze."
"Also, the Godaime Hokage."
Kaze formally introduced himself.
Naruto was stunned.
The Yondaime's friend, the current Godaime Hokage?
Then... what about Grandpa Sandaime?
Is the old grandpa no longer Hokage now?
"Hmph, I am the man who is going to be Hokage. The old grandpa lied to me, he clearly said he would let me be Hokage in the future."
Naruto spoke angrily.
Although Naruto wasn't familiar with Kaze, the other party was a friend of the Yondaime Hokage and was himself the Godaime Hokage.
In little Naruto's heart, he had a special filter for Hokage.
However, Naruto's mood quickly dropped.
Because he remembered something...
He was the demon fox brat, the demon fox brat who killed the Yondaime Hokage.
From the time he could remember, everyone told him he was a "demon fox", a monster who killed the Yondaime Hokage.
Everyone hated him, ostracized him, and felt disgusted even getting close to him.
"You... don't hate me?"
Seeing Kaze smiling at him all the time, Naruto summoned up courage and spoke carefully.
"Why should I hate you?"
"You are my good friend's son."
Kaze tried hard to pull a smile that shouldn't look too scary.
"But... but they say I'm a monster..."
"Say I'm a demon fox..."
"Wait, you said... I am your good friend's son?"
Naruto spoke subconsciously... but soon he noticed the key information in Kaze's words.
"Yes, you are... the son of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato."
"Your mother was named Uzumaki Kushina, the previous Kyūbi Jinchūriki."
"By the way, what's inside your body isn't a monster, it's the Kyūbi..."
Kaze wasn't impatient and slowly told Naruto some content that was difficult for him to access.
At the same time, he also revealed how the Konoha higher-ups allowed and indulged the village to impose all hatred on a child.
The amount of information was too huge; little Naruto was about to crash at this moment.
But...
Tears slid uncontrollably from his eyes.
Since he had memories, this was the first time he heard these words.
First time knowing he wasn't a monster, but the child of a Hokage.
First time knowing that he... should also be loved and respected.
"I... Lord Hokage, you..."
Naruto choked with sobs, somewhat unsure of what to say.
"Naruto, I promised Minato to take good care of you."
"At the same time, I also know you are a good child."
"Do you want to become my disciple?"
Kaze stood up, walked in front of little Naruto, and slowly extended his hand.
Naruto looked at that hand.
He remembered every night all this time, curling up alone on the cold bed, listening to the laughter of children outside.
He remembered every time stones were thrown at him, every time he was driven out by shop owners, every time he watched others eat ramen with an empty stomach.
Then, he remembered Kaze's words.
You are not a monster.
You are the son of a hero.
Tears welled up again.
But this time, they weren't tears of grievance.
But... tears of hope.
"I... I am willing!"
Naruto extended his trembling small hand and held Kaze's hand.
"Very good."
"Then starting tomorrow, come here for training every morning at five."
A genuine smile appeared at the corner of Kaze's mouth for the first time.
"Yes!"
Naruto also nodded excitedly.
Kaze summoned a guard to take Naruto down to eat.
This child, the biggest problem now is malnutrition...
[Ding, host interfered with the Child of Destiny, judged as Crazy Behavior.]
[Reward: Void Body—Can adapt to any attribute, any level of Chakra.]
Just as Naruto left, the system's prompt rang.
"Uh... wiped out a Hyūga elder council with no reward, accepted a disciple... and the reward came."
"Void Body?"
Kaze opened his eyes, feeling the changes in his body.
At the same time, a special energy began to actively gather towards him. Although still very weak, it was indeed happening.
"Is this... that energy? Interesting..."
Even Kaze was somewhat surprised when sensing this Chakra.
"Knock knock."
The knock on the door sounded again.
"Come in."
This time it was Uchiha Roy—he was Uchiha Nagasawa's younger brother, responsible for intelligence transmission between the Uchiha and the outside world.
"Lord Kaze, a letter from Orochimaru."
Uchiha Roy respectfully handed over a scroll.