"Understood! You two—please come with me…"
Takashi sensed that the ANBU's voice sounded somewhat familiar, but he had no time to think it through. He pointed to the branch-family members beside him and instructed, "You two, go report to the clan head!"
The branch-family guards at the gate carried out the order without a word, moving like puppets.
'Is the main house going to lead the way for me?'
Watching Takashi's face filled with smiles, as if he were trying to leave a good impression, a hard-to-describe feeling welled up in Hizashi's heart.
This appearance—truly ugly to the extreme…
He had no desire to be inexplicably superior like the main house. He only wanted to live as an independent individual.
Only—
Seeing Takashi, who in the past had strutted arrogantly through the clan grounds, now reveal this side of himself, a faint sense of satisfaction inevitably surfaced in Hizashi's heart.
This scene proved it.
—The main house—at least a considerable portion of it—was merely showing off in front of the branch family by relying on the Caged Bird Cursed Seal!
Out in the wider world, if one lacked real ability, this layer of identity meant nothing at all!
...
The clan compound's reception hall.
The head of the Hyūga clan, and Hyūga Hizashi's biological father, Hyūga Tenzō, sat upright in the seat of honor, waiting for Sakumo and Hizashi to arrive.
Below him sat several members of the main house who were discussing the situation, as well as the branch-family members who, as usual, accompanied them and served as guards.
Seeing the two of them step through the reception hall's main doors, Tenzō slowly rose to his feet. His smile was official and friendly as he walked over. "You two—why have you come to my Hyūga clan grounds today?"
"Does the Third Hokage have some instruction?"
Hizashi stared fixedly at his father.
Watching the way his father rose from his seat, the movements as he walked up before him—
And that smile…
These were all things he had never seen before.
And at this moment, Tenzō was also weighing the ANBU's purpose.
What happened?
He had seen the scene of Hiruzen trading blows with Orochimaru.
As clan head, he naturally was not a good-for-nothing like Takashi; his use of the Byakugan ranked among the very best within the clan.
Having one or two useless main-house members who held their posts while doing nothing was no big deal.
The Hyūga clan had a vast household and deep resources; it could afford to keep them.
As long as the successor was chosen strictly, that was enough.
Tenzō felt quite astonished.
Although the Hyūga clan, in order to avoid suspicion, rarely used the Byakugan at full strength within the village, there were always some opportunities that allowed Tenzō to catch the condition of important figures.
For example, today.
In his Byakugan, the vitality of Hiruzen's chakra pathways and the fullness of his chakra were as if he had become more than ten years younger…
How did that old man do it?
That was why he had been rather anxiously waiting for Hizashi's report, repeatedly asking Takashi whether Hizashi had returned or not.
Wanting to maintain neutrality—so that the Hyūga could, within the village, both enjoy the protection of a hidden village and avoid having to spill blood with full effort…
—required maintaining a crystal-clear grasp of the village's overall situation.
Riding the fence was not so easy.
"I voluntarily joined the ANBU."
Suppressing his excitement and his trembling hands, Hizashi slowly lifted his mask. "There are matters the Hyūga clan needs to communicate with the Hokage-sama. If there are things that are difficult to say…"
"You can relay them to me. I will write a report and promptly submit it to the Third Hokage!"
At the moment Hizashi spoke, Tenzō had already sensed that something was wrong.
Although, in order to maintain the ruling and management system of the main house and the branch house, Tenzō had, all along, strictly enforced Hizashi's status and treatment according to branch-family standards, because his own younger son had gone off to serve like a beast of burden, then the other clan members naturally were not permitted to raise objections!
This was the best justification Tenzō had devised for the clan rules, and the results had been striking.
It only meant making the younger son suffer a bit, yet in exchange it raised both the branch family's tolerance and the main house's evaluation of him by a large margin.
Such methods could be described as those of a battle-hardened Caged Bird warrior.
But after all, Hizashi was still his son—the voice was unmistakable.
Tenzō's heart lurched. His pale eyes slowly widened!
His younger son had actually joined the ANBU without informing him beforehand?
"Hizashi—why is it you!"
Takashi's eyes went wide as a nameless fury surged up within him. He barked loudly, "Why are you only back now?! I told you to check and then return immediately to report—are you deaf?!"
Damn it—he had actually been smiling at him just now!
I am main house!
Takashi was unusually furious. As a main-house member with no real ability, his sense of superiority came entirely from this absolute control over the branch family.
That control had lasted for more than twenty years and had never failed.
And this anger did not represent only himself; many of the main-house members present felt indignant as well.
You, a mere branch family member, actually dared to privately negotiate cooperation with the Hokage?
If there was to be any negotiation, it had to be the main house who did it. You were only to carry out the work—mere bargaining chips!
You even put yourself at the table?
This was a shameful betrayal!
Takashi's gaze swiftly swept over the reactions of the other main-house members. With his mind set, he was about to continue his outburst.
This was his real duty.
—As a main-house member without strength, he could only serve as the loudspeaker to say the unpleasant things.
Lacking both strength and diplomatic skill, this was the only ecological niche he could occupy.
"What's his name?" The silent Sakumo pointed at Takashi and suddenly spoke.
Takashi's expression stiffened, and a whole basket of words was forced back down his throat.
"Hyūga Takashi." No one spoke; after a moment, Hizashi answered with a smile.
"I'll remember you." Sakumo nodded. "I've worked in the ANBU for a long time, and this is the first time someone has demanded, face to face, that the Hokage's ANBU report to a ninja clan…"
"Since I heard it, I can't pretend it didn't happen."
Sakumo's tone was even, yet carried a trace of coldness. "Hyūga Takashi—are you demanding that the ANBU serve you? Are you dissatisfied with Hizashi joining the ANBU?"
Takashi, who had been flaring with anger just moments ago, went soft the instant he met Sakumo's gaze.
"No! That's not what I meant…" Takashi stammered. "I just—"
He spoke incoherently for several seconds, yet failed to say anything at all.
Tenzō took the entire scene in and gave a slight shake of his head.
Closed-off management was indeed beneficial to the continuation of the Hyūga clan, but it truly did cause clan members to become lacking in perspective and social interaction—one could even say immature.
'But this shortcoming is unavoidable. The Hyūga must establish a main house and a branch house; the ancestral rules must never be changed!'
'As long as Hiashi is properly trained, that will be enough. For the sake of the clan's continuation, all of this is necessary!'
Such thoughts flashed through Tenzō's mind as he stepped in to smooth things over for Takashi.
"I sincerely apologize. Takashi absolutely has no other intentions. He rarely ever leaves the clan grounds and has no concept of the ANBU."
"He is immature. Please, I ask that you forgive him. I will certainly discipline him strictly."
At this moment, Tenzō noticed the White Fang short blade at Hatake Sakumo's waist, and his expression turned solemn.
So it was that man.
It seemed his younger son had truly sold himself at a very good price…
"Is that so?" Sakumo nodded. "I understand."
Sakumo was very satisfied with Hizashi's performance, and that was precisely why he was willing to step forward on his behalf.
Hizashi had not said that Hiruzen invited him. Instead, in front of the clansmen, he emphasized that he had entered the ANBU of his own initiative.
This was a "pledge of allegiance."
It left room for maneuver in the contest between the Hokage and the main house, and it took the matter upon himself in the open.
Very well done.
"Hizashi, perform well from now on. I think highly of you." Sakumo patted Hizashi on the shoulder, and his figure vanished from the spot like a ghost.
"So fast!" The Hyūga present cried out inwardly.
With that kind of speed, even with the Byakugan active, it would probably be difficult to keep up, right?
Even if one could see it clearly, the body likely would not be able to react in time…
Hizashi stood in the center of the reception hall. At this moment, he swept his gaze across the expressions of the Hyūga ninja present.
No longer lowering his head, no longer humble.
As for the main-house Hyūga whose eyes met his, they naturally harbored anger in their hearts, but Sakumo's questioning of Takashi still rang in their ears.
And the ANBU mask hanging on Hizashi's face was still before their eyes.
For a time, wherever Hizashi's gaze reached, the main house instead merely snorted coldly and turned their heads aside.
At this moment, in the eyes of the branch-family Hyūga present, a deeply envious light was hidden…
What a degree of prestige and freedom was this?
In the end, Hizashi and Tenzō, father and son, looked at each other.
"I'll go down and rest first. From now on, please don't send anyone to clean my room," Hizashi said slowly. "If you feel that I've caused trouble for the clan, I can move out and live elsewhere."
"How could that be, Hizashi…" Tenzō's knuckles bulged beneath his sleeves, yet he maintained his composure on his face.
"The family supports you—how could these requests not be met? Hahaha!"
Hizashi gave a light nod. "Thank you for your understanding."
That gesture, in turn, caused the anger of the main-house members present to surge once more…
What did that mean?
That was the clan head—or your father!
What was this posture of treating him as an equal?
Stepping out through the doors of the reception hall—
"Hahahahahahaha!" Hizashi suddenly burst into loud laughter.
The laughter was resounding and unrestrained, yet faintly carried a trace of a sob.
Laughing as he strode out beneath the open sky—today, no longer a Caged Bird…
The laughter echoed throughout the Hyūga clan grounds.
It stoked the fury of the main house, yet also etched itself firmly into the hearts of every branch-family member.
Hizashi lifted his gaze. In the distance, atop the Hokage Rock, the statue of the Third Hokage, under the afterglow of the setting sun, seemed as though it had been gilded with a layer of gold.
"Third Hokage-sama…"
Hizashi bowed reverently toward the Hokage Rock.
"Thank you for your grace! Hizashi has nothing with which to repay it—save this body alone!"
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the village...
Uchiha Fugaku, together with members of the Police Force, was also reporting the full course of today's events to the current clan head, Uchiha Isshin.
Uchiha Isshin puffed steadily on his smoking pipe, smoke curling about as his brows knit tightly.
As Uchiha Setsuna's younger brother, he was the spokesperson of the Uchiha hawkish faction.
The news brought back by Fugaku left him feeling deeply displeased.
How could that decrepit old man have rejuvenated again?
"Did he use the Second Hokage's forbidden technique?"
Isshin angrily exhaled a puff of smoke and cursed aloud, "Damn it—damn Senju Tobirama. Even dead, he still can't stay quiet!"
Fugaku chuckled softly.
Within the Uchiha clan grounds, among the older members of the hawkish faction, that line could practically be heard every few sentences.
If their dōjutsu power declined, they cursed him.
If a child's ninjutsu training wasn't going well, they cursed him too…
At times, Fugaku even suspected that these old men would blame the Second Hokage even when they were constipated.
"Clan Head Isshin, let's set Senju Tobirama aside for now—we need to face the problem head-on!"
Fugaku's expression turned solemn. "The strength displayed by the Third Hokage—do you think there's anyone within our clan who can contend with it?"
"And his disciple, that Orochimaru fellow, is hiding techniques that even the Three-Tomoe Sharingan can't see through."
At the thought of the abilities Orochimaru had displayed, Fugaku's expression grew strange.
It wasn't that he lacked tact and deliberately commented on the spot that Orochimaru was 'like a monster.'
That bearing… was simply far too grotesque.
A snake spits at me, I spit at the snake, then the snake spits out a sword?
After being burned by fire release at the Third Hokage's level, he opens his mouth and spits out a snake; the snake spits him back out—and his condition is refreshed?
No—aren't you basically using a miniature Izanagi?
As the current power holder of the Uchiha clan and the deputy head of the Police Force, Fugaku was well aware of the forbidden technique capable of rewriting yin and yang—of altering reality itself…
Izanagi, once praised as the Uchiha clan's second life.
This was also one of the sources of Fugaku's pride.
After all, such powerful and mysterious dōjutsu truly had no equal in the shinobi world—you could search with a lantern and still not find a second one…
But after seeing Orochimaru's performance, Fugaku could no longer keep his composure.
"Tricks and petty skills—hardly worth mentioning!"
Isshin snorted coldly.
"They could never be as profound as Izanagi! As for Sarutobi Hiruzen… after all, he's the son of that Sarutobi Sasuke. Having some talent is nothing out of the ordinary."
"Sure, they're not comparable—but Orochimaru doesn't need to be blind either…"
Fugaku rubbed his forehead and sighed. "You keep saying we must remain hardline, but we can't just be stubbornly reckless, can we?"
"You know it as well as I do—there aren't many Three-Tomoe members in our clan right now… and among the younger generation, there aren't any real prodigies."
"That Shisui is passable, but he's a descendant of Uchiha Kagami…"
Hearing this, Isshin fell silent.
After a long while, the elderly Uchiha let out a sigh. "Fugaku, I'm not a fool."
"The hawkish faction doesn't mean rebellion—it's a legacy of thought. It means vigilance!"
Isshin spoke slowly. "The village was founded jointly by the Senju and the Uchiha clans…
"Granted, for reasons unknown, the Great Clan Head and Hashirama-sama fought to the death—but did we Uchiha ever fail to remain loyal?"
Fugaku chuckled. "I've heard the elders in the clan say that when the Great Clan Head left back then, he didn't call out to anyone—he simply walked out through Konoha's main gate. You all thought he was just going for a stroll…"
"Then, all of a sudden, fighting broke out at the Valley of the End. At the time, the clansmen didn't even have time to react…"
Isshin irritably knocked Fugaku on the head.
"You brat! How could he not have called out!"
As he spoke of the matter, Isshin's gaze also grew somewhat clouded.
"He did call out—but back then, everyone truly didn't want to keep living such an unsettled life. So they said they'd consider it further, and the enthusiasm really wasn't high…"
"Everyone was thinking: with the Great Clan Head there, and Hashirama-sama being a good man as well, even if that Senju Tobirama was awful, he couldn't possibly do anything to the clan, right?"
"No one expected that Madara and Hashirama-sama would suddenly fight to the death! Madara-sama fell, and Hashirama-sama was gravely wounded—leaving that Senju Tobirama to take up the position of Second Hokage, all while neither of them was present…"
"The Great Clan Head" was the Uchiha clan's specific title for Uchiha Madara.
As for Senju Hashirama, this elderly man who had lived through the Warring States Era still maintained a measure of respect.
But when Senju Tobirama was mentioned, it was entirely different.
A venomous light flickered in Isshin's eyes. "That man is absolutely not to be trusted…"
"Ever since the Warring States Era, his hands have been stained with the blood of who knows how many Uchiha. He also harbored a pathological desire to study the Sharingan and Uchiha bloodlines—no one knows how many of our clansmen he dissected…"
"After the village was founded, he constantly excluded the Uchiha, smeared the Great Clan Head's image, and made the village's children believe he was a murderous demon—all to pave the way for the next Hokage election!"
"After he became Hokage, his methods grew even more ruthless!"
"To divide the Uchiha, he took the most talented 'Kagami' into his personal guard, using that to split the clan…"
Fugaku frowned. "Taking him into the personal guard could also be seen as accepting a clansman into the upper ranks, couldn't it?"
"Judging by that point alone, of course it would seem so," Isshin snorted coldly. "But then why was it that when Senju Tobirama stayed behind back then, only Kagami died!"
"Among Kagami's teammates—who are now part of the upper echelons—has even a single one ever shown any consideration toward the Uchiha?"
"Can all of that really be explained away as coincidence?"
"And that Shimura Danzō—his malice toward the Uchiha has never faded… He even takes pride in it, boasting that he is the most like that damned Senju Tobirama."
"Those Root shinobi are openly monitoring the clan grounds!"
Isshin shook his head.
"I tell you to read more history books not to harm you, but because I'm afraid you'll be deceived! How could the disciples and descendants of Senju Tobirama possibly be good people?"
"If we don't maintain a hawkish stance and let the children inherit this will, then once all the elders are gone and no one remembers these things, that will be the day the Uchiha clan is eaten clean—exterminated!"
"Do you understand!"
Isshin looked at Fugaku with a mixture of anger and disappointment.
Fugaku nodded, half understanding, half confused. "Then when will we be able to restore our former glory? Are we really going to go on like this forever…?"
"Wait. Endure."
Isshin spoke slowly. "We haven't admitted defeat—we're waiting for a turning point!"
"Our bloodline contains limitless potential. That is the Uchiha's core advantage…"
"When the next Great Clan Head appears—when Young Clan Head Izuna emerges—everything will turn for the better!"
And on the following day.
Hiruzen, who arrived early at the Hokage's office, was also pondering the issue of the Uchiha in his own mind…
"The Second Hokage left behind assets—but he also left behind a mess…"
"And it's a historical grievance piled up over a thousand years. This won't be easy," Hiruzen murmured, narrowing his eyes as he fell into thought.
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