Chapter 10: An Enviable Freedom; The Uchiha and the Ghost of the Second Hokage
"Understood! Gentlemen, please follow me..."
Takashi Hyūga felt the Anbu operative's voice was strangely familiar, but he didn't have the time to ponder it. He gestured to the Branch House guards. "You two! Go and notify the Clan Head immediately!"
The guards performed the order without a word, moving like clockwork puppets.
A member of the Main House is leading the way for me?
Watching Takashi's eager, fawning smile as he tried to leave a good impression on the "Anbu," Hizashi felt a bitter taste in his mouth. This man... he looks pathetic.
Hizashi didn't want to be "superior" like the Sōke; he just wanted to be an independent human being. However, seeing the man who usually treated him like dirt acting so subservient provided a sharp, undeniable surge of satisfaction.
It proved one thing: the Sōke's power only existed within the walls of this compound. Out in the real world, without their "God-given" birthright, they were nothing but average shinobi.
The Hyūga Reception Hall.
Tenzo Hyūga, the Clan Head and Hizashi's biological father, sat at the head of the room. Several high-ranking Sōke elders sat below him, protected by their usual cadre of silent Branch House guards.
As Sakumo and Hizashi stepped into the room, Tenzo stood up. His smile was professional and diplomat-perfect. "Gentlemen, what brings the Anbu to our gates today? Does Lord Hiruzen have a new directive for us?"
Hizashi stared at his father. He watched the way the man stood, the way he moved, the way he smiled... these were all things Hizashi had never seen directed at him.
Tenzo was also calculating. What is this about?
He had seen the shockwaves from the training field earlier. Unlike the arrogant Takashi, Tenzo was a master of the Byakugan. He had seen Hiruzen's chakra levels through the village walls. The Third Hokage's chakra pathways looked like those of a man twenty years younger.
Konoha's "neutrality" was a delicate balancing act. To keep the Hyūga safe and prosperous without "bleeding" for the village, Tenzo had to be an expert at reading the political winds. And right now, the wind was blowing hard in Hiruzen's direction.
"I have officially joined the Anbu," the Bull-masked ninja said. His hands trembled slightly as he reached up and unlatched his mask. "Lord Hiruzen believes there may be things the Hyūga wish to communicate to the office—things that might be difficult to say in public."
"He has appointed me as your official liaison. You may report any 'private concerns' to me, and I will ensure the Hokage receives them."
The room went deathly silent.
Tenzo's eyes widened. He had spent years strictly enforcing the Sōke/Bunke divide. He had even used his own younger son, Hizashi, as the "ultimate example" of servitude. If even the Clan Head's son serves the Main House, no one else has an excuse to complain. It was a brutal but effective masterstroke of clan management.
But he knew his son's voice.
"Hizashi? Is that you?!"
Takashi, who had been standing by the door, felt a surge of murderous rage. He realized he had been bowing and scraping to a "slave."
"Why are you only returning now?!" Takashi roared. "You were ordered to report back immediately! Are you deaf? Or has your brother Hiashi's favor gone to your head?!"
Takashi's anger represented the entire Sōke. A Branch member... making a private deal with the Hokage? That was a seat at the table they didn't authorize. It was a betrayal of a thousand years of tradition.
"What is his name?"
The silent White Fang finally spoke, pointing a gloved finger at Takashi.
Takashi froze, the air in his lungs vanishing under Sakumo's cold pressure.
"His name is Takashi Hyūga," Hizashi replied with a calm smile.
"I'll remember that," Sakumo nodded. "I've worked in the Anbu for a long time, and this is the first time I've heard a minor clan member demand that a direct agent of the Hokage report to him first."
Sakumo's voice was flat, but it carried a lethal chill. "Takashi, are you demanding that the Anbu serve you? Are you implying that the Hokage's appointments are subject to your approval?"
Takashi's bravado collapsed instantly. "No! I... I didn't mean... I just..." He stammered for several seconds, unable to find his voice.
Tenzo Hyūga watched this with a slight shake of his head. This is the problem with isolation, he thought. It breeds arrogance, but it also breeds stupidity.
"My apologies, Lord Sakumo," Tenzo said, stepping in. "Takashi rarely leaves the compound. He has no concept of Anbu protocols. He is young and foolish. I will ensure he is disciplined."
Tenzo looked at the White Light Chakra Saber on Sakumo's hip. So, Hiruzen sent the White Fang to personally escort my son home? He really did buy his way into the inner circle.
"Is that so?" Sakumo nodded. "Very well."
Sakumo was pleased with Hizashi's performance. Hizashi hadn't said "Hiruzen made me do it." He had claimed he volunteered. He had taken the political heat onto himself, protecting the Hokage's reputation while asserting his own power.
"Hizashi, do good work. I'm expecting big things from you." Sakumo patted his shoulder and vanished in a flicker of speed.
So fast! The Hyūga in the room were stunned. Even with the Byakugan, tracking that level of Shunshin was nearly impossible.
Hizashi stood in the center of the hall, scanning the faces of his clansmen. He didn't bow. He didn't lower his gaze.
The Sōke elders glared at him, but Sakumo's threat still hung in the air. The Bull mask in Hizashi's hand was a reminder: Touch me, and you touch the Hokage.
One by one, the Sōke elders looked away. But in the shadows, the Branch House guards were staring at Hizashi with eyes full of pure, burning envy.
He's free. He's actually free.
"I'm going to my room to rest," Hizashi said to his father. "And in the future, do not send servants to clean my quarters. If you feel that my presence is a 'burden' to the clan's reputation, I am more than happy to move into the Anbu barracks."
"Don't be ridiculous, Hizashi," Tenzo said, his knuckles turning white under his sleeves while his face remained a mask of calm. "The family supports you. Why wouldn't we accommodate such a small request? Haha!"
Hizashi nodded curtly. "I appreciate your understanding."
As he walked out of the hall, he could feel the rage of the Sōke elders behind him. Who does he think he is? Talking to the Clan Head like an equal?
But once he was outside the gates, Hizashi threw his head back and laughed.
It was a loud, wild, boisterous laugh that carried a hint of a sob. For the first time in his life, the Caged Bird had a sky to fly in.
Hizashi looked up at the Hokage Rock. The statue of the Third Hokage was bathed in the golden light of the setting sun, looking like a literal god.
"Lord Hiruzen..." Hizashi bowed deeply toward the stone face. "I will never forget this. My life belongs to you."
The Uchiha Estate.
On the other side of the village, Fugaku Uchiha was reporting to the Clan Head, Isshin Uchiha.
Isshin was the younger brother of the late Setsuna Uchiha and the leader of the clan's "Hawk" faction. He sat in a cloud of tobacco smoke, his brow furrowed into a permanent scowl.
"He... he looks younger?" Isshin spat out a cloud of smoke. "Dammit! That cursed Tobirama Senju... even from the grave, he's still causing trouble!"
Fugaku let out a tired sigh. To the clan elders, every problem—from a bad harvest to a case of constipation—was somehow the fault of the Second Hokage.
"Elder Isshin, forget Lord Tobirama for a moment. We need to face facts," Fugaku said seriously. "The Third Hokage has regained his prime. There is no one in our clan who can match his current power."
"And his student, Orochimaru... he's using jutsu that the Sharingan can barely decipher. It's monstrous." Fugaku recalled the way Orochimaru shed his skin to reset his injuries. It's like a biological version of Izanagi, but without the cost of an eye.
"Snake tricks! Nothing more!" Isshin huffed. "It could never match the divinity of Izanagi! As for Hiruzen... he is the son of Sarutobi Sasuke. It's no surprise he has some talent."
"But Elder, we only have a handful of three-tomoe users left," Fugaku argued. "And our youth... they lack the fire. Shisui is promising, but he's from Kagami Uchiha's line. He's too soft."
Isshin fell silent. After a long time, the old man sighed. "Fugaku, I am not a fool."
"Being a 'Hawk' doesn't mean we're suicidal. It's about preserving our heritage. It's about vigilance."
Isshin leaned forward. "This village was built by the Senju and the Uchiha. And yet, after Madara left, we were pushed to the edges. We stayed loyal! We bled for this village!"
"But I've heard the old stories," Fugaku countered. "The elders say when Madara left, he didn't even ask the clan to follow him. He just walked out the front gate, and everyone thought he was going for a stroll. No one followed him because they were tired of fighting."
Isshin smacked Fugaku upside the head. "Watch your mouth, brat! He did ask! But the clan was comfortable. They thought 'Hashirama is a good guy, how bad can it be?' They didn't realize that Tobirama was the one holding the leash."
Isshin's eyes burned with ancient resentment. "Tobirama Senju never trusted us. Since the Warring States, his hands have been stained with Uchiha blood. He studied our eyes like a scientist dissecting a bug. He spent his entire reign marginalizing us, turning the village against us, and ensuring we'd never have a seat at the top."
"He took Kagami—our greatest genius—and made him a 'bodyguard' just to split the clan's loyalty. And look what happened? Kagami is dead, and not one of his teammates—the people who run the village now—has ever lifted a finger to help us."
"That man, Danzo Shimura... his hatred for us is his only personality trait. He models himself after the worst parts of the Second Hokage. His Root agents watch our compound night and day."
Isshin shook his head. "I tell you to read the histories not to make you bitter, but to keep you alive. The students of the Second Hokage can never be trusted. If we don't maintain our strength, if we don't pass this vigilance to our children... the day will come when they decide they don't need the Uchiha anymore. And on that day, they will eat us alive."
"Do you understand?"
Fugaku nodded slowly. "Then what do we do? We can't stay like this forever."
"We wait," Isshin said slowly. "We endure. We wait for the next Madara. We wait for the next Izuna. Our blood holds infinite possibilities. One day, a savior will be born."
The Hokage's Office. The Next Morning.
Arata, now in the seat of the Third Hokage, sat staring at a stack of intelligence reports.
"The Second Hokage left behind a massive inheritance," Arata mused to himself, "but he also left behind a dumpster fire of a political legacy."
"A thousand years of clan grudges... this isn't going to be fixed in a day."