An entire afternoon spent farming monsters.
An entire day spent picking things up.
Hyūga Akira looked at the several full stacks of kunai—each piled neatly to ninety-nine—in his inventory and finally let out a breath of relief.
What an ordeal.
"Still didn't manage to collect everything."
Quite a few kunai had flown off to who-knows-where. In the end, he only retrieved what he could still see on the mountain.
Throughout the entire cleanup—
The Hyūga brothers and Tsunade didn't lift a finger.
Tch. What kind of teammates were these?
Only after Akira finished did the three finally begin the journey back to Konoha.
There was no need to rush anymore.
Unlike during mission execution, when speed mattered, the return trip had no time constraints.
So they walked along the main road at a steady pace.
Under the shade of the trees—
Tsunade and Akira walked at the front.
She glanced sideways at him and lowered her voice.
"When we get back, the Hyūga clan won't let this go easily."
"I won't conceal anything."
Her voice was quiet enough that the two brothers behind them couldn't hear.
This mission itself had been the result of a deal between the Hyūga clan and the Hokage.
She had no authority to interfere in Hyūga internal affairs—she was just a jōnin.
And precisely because of the Hyūga clan's influence, she couldn't hide the details even if she wanted to.
The ones who would ultimately evaluate this mission were the Hyūga elders.
The Hyūga clan of today wasn't the restrained clan of later years.
Still competing with the Uchiha for the title of strongest ninja clan, their political power was far from small—
Even if most of it was wielded against branch family members.
"They can't kill me," Akira replied calmly. "And they don't dare cripple me either."
He grinned, baring white teeth.
Those were Konoha's rules.
And also one of the conditions under which the First Hokage had accepted the Hyūga clan:
Any ninja currently in service could not be executed or crippled by the clan.
Of course, accidents outside the village were another matter.
If the Hyūga clan wanted to make a move outside—
He'd gladly accept the experience points.
Tsunade fell silent.
This kid…
Did he really not fear death at all?
In her entire life, she had never met someone like this—reckless, unrestrained, utterly fearless.
It inevitably reminded her of a certain legendary figure.
Uchiha Madara.
At the very least, Madara's stories fit Akira disturbingly well.
A Hyūga Madara?
What kind of joke was that?
"The Caged Bird Seal," Tsunade said quietly, "can't be broken—even by a sealing squad."
As Konoha's princess, she held more prestige than real authority.
But she still knew the village's secrets.
Someone once known as the "Darkness of the Shinobi World" had attempted to破解 the Caged Bird Seal.
He failed.
And only because the Hyūga clan sensed something wrong did that experiment stop.
Without removing the seal, even if Akira truly became a "Hyūga Madara," he would never escape the clan's control.
"Is that so?" Akira replied indifferently, gazing toward the distant mountains.
Tsunade followed his line of sight.
She still couldn't tell what he was looking at—
Or what he saw.
Back in Konoha, Tsunade went to submit the mission report.
The three Hyūga headed toward their clan compound.
Like the Uchiha, the Hyūga lived in a clan district—but their internal structure was even more rigid.
The main house lived in the best area.
The branch families were ranked by strength.
Near the entrance, Hiashi stopped.
Watching Akira walk ahead, he paused, then said,
"You performed poorly on this mission."
Akira glanced at the bandages wrapped around Hiashi's hand and broke into a grin.
"What? Planning to settle accounts later?"
Hiashi took a deep breath. "I'm not that kind of person. But what you did can't be hidden."
Even if he stayed silent—
Hizashi wouldn't.
Neither would Tsunade.
Hiashi's ability to leave the village on missions had already drawn intense attention from the main house.
There was no way to cover this up.
"So?" Akira sneered.
He wasn't raised to be afraid.
Hiashi's gaze flickered. "Hyūga Akira—if one day I defeat you, I want you to submit to me completely. In exchange, I'll protect you once."
He knew his father had chosen Akira as his whetstone.
If Akira were punished without resistance, his father would also be disappointed in him.
This was his attempt at salvage.
In the Hyūga clan—
The branch family serving the main house was natural law.
Defiance was unforgivable.
Those were the rules.
Akira looked at Hiashi with a faint, unreadable smile.
The branch family only had Gentle Fist and the Byakugan.
Techniques like Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation were exclusive to the main house.
Even branch members with great merit were rarely taught them.
In fact, Akira had never heard of a branch member truly mastering Rotation or Sixty-Four Palms.
That would only change much later—
Likely because of Hyūga Neji.
Right now?
Akira could only laugh.
In theory, he would never be able to defeat Hiashi.
That was just theory.
He spoke slowly.
"What if you never defeat me?"
Impossible.
That thought flashed through Hiashi's mind instantly.
But meeting Akira's faint smile, he clenched his teeth.
"Then I'll grant you freedom. I'll never allow anyone to activate the Caged Bird Seal on you."
"Ha."
Akira laughed softly, shoved past Hiashi, and walked forward.
What a generous reward.
"Akira, you're back!"
Two Hyūga clan members guarding the gate greeted him with smiles.
"Uncle Kusane, Uncle Torimono," Akira replied cheerfully. "Just finished a mission."
Compared to the grin he gave Hiashi, this one was far less chilling.
The two men—both in their twenties—scratched their heads awkwardly.
"We're not that old, are we…?"
Kusane sighed. "Time really flies. You're a ninja already."
Before they could say more, Hiashi approached.
Both men immediately dropped to one knee.
"Young Master."
Akira's expression cooled slightly. "I'm heading back."
Without waiting for a response, he pushed open the door and entered.
Kusane and Torimono exchanged worried glances, wanting to say something in Akira's defense—
But Hiashi and Hizashi ignored them and went inside.
The two guards watched the three figures disappear and sighed.
Torimono touched the headband at his forehead.
A few green markings—
Enough to create an unbridgeable divide between branch and main house.
Akira returned to his room.
A modest one-bedroom apartment.
He had inherited it because both of his parents—now deceased—had been jōnin.
He sat cross-legged on a cushion and waited in silence.
Waiting for what was coming.
"Six more levels," he murmured softly.