Shimizu... Kantsuki, was it?
Konoha Hospital.
Hyūga Hiashi, the leader of the Hyūga clan, an elite Jonin specializing in Taijutsu and wielder of the Byakugan, formed his first impression of the new upstart.
The Third Hokage's confidant.
The money bag of the high command.
A future figure of real power.
Interesting...
Expressionless, he led his daughter, Hyūga Hinata, out of the hospital.
His second daughter, Hyūga Hanabi, had been born.
But he wasn't happy at all.
Because the Hyūga clan was cursed with the cruel system of Main Family and Branch Family.
Five-year-old Hinata hadn't yet become the disappointment she was in the original story; it wasn't that time yet. So for now, she was being raised as the heir of the Main Family.
Since she was the Main House heir, the second daughter, Hanabi, would eventually have to…
Hiashi had an idea.
In the days that followed, Shimizu Kantsuki often saw the adorable little Hinata playing in the hospital.
Kantsuki naturally understood what Hiashi meant.
It was time to turn the page on the incident from two years ago.
It was time to thaw the relationship with the Hokage's faction.
After all.
The Hyūga clan couldn't survive forever squeezed in the cracks of political isolation.
Little Hinata was the signal Hiashi was sending.
Tsk.
Worthy of a clan head.
Even willing to use such a cute little Hinata as a bridge.
"Big Brother, w-what's wrong?"
Hinata's voice was soft and sweet, like glutinous rice.
Her small body was soft too; holding her felt like hugging a ball of cotton.
She was just too shy.
Big Brother isn't a bad guy!
Since no one was watching in the office, Kantsuki naturally teased the little lolita.
"Nothing. Is Hinata here to see Hanabi again today?"
"Mmh… Mmh."
Being held by Kantsuki, Hinata was too shy to speak properly. Her face turned beet red.
She held it in for a long time before squeezing out a simple "Mmh."
Big Brother is very nice. And very handsome. But… but…
She didn't know how to say it.
"Want a lollipop?"
Don't misunderstand. It was a serious lollipop.
As the legitimate daughter of a major clan, little Hinata had rarely eaten snacks.
Currently, as the Main Family heir, she had to be responsible for her words and deeds. She had to be a model for the clan.
So, Hinata loved coming here to play.
Because she could eat until she was full, and she could eat lots of snacks.
Hanabi?
What Hanabi?
Hinata was having so much fun she forgot her home.
She peeked cautiously at the Big Brother and found him smiling warmly. She quickly lowered her head.
Her small fingers twiddled together nervously.
"I want it."
Then, with a face full of happiness, she licked the lollipop.
It was just that sitting on Big Brother's lap made it easy to get distracted.
On the other side.
The Third Hokage received the report submitted by the ANBU, hand-written by his loyal lad, Kantsuki.
Oh?
The Hyūga Clan...
The Third Hokage's expression became complicated.
After all, he had played a less-than-honorable role in that matter.
Two years ago.
The Third Great Ninja War had just ended, and Konoha was on the verge of fragmentation.
Konoha was so weak that a mere Cloud Village dared to stir up trouble right inside the village.
In the end, they pressed the heads of the Konoha high command down and forced the death of Hyūga Hiashi's own twin brother—Hyūga Hizashi.
The more Hiruzen thought about it, the more humiliation welled up in his heart.
A mouthful of stagnant blood he could neither spit out nor swallow.
In fact.
Since then, the Konoha high command had gone a bit mad.
The Third Hokage began frantically searching for talent, vigorously developing the Academy.
Shimura Danzo was frantically expanding his Root organization. Even Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu stopped their usual obstructions and watched him expand.
Sigh…
The Hyūga Clan...
Shaking his head, the Third Hokage stopped thinking about that utterly humiliating event.
But his eyes grew so gloomy they seemed about to drip water.
The desire to ruthlessly develop Konoha became even stronger.
Name after name of talented individuals floated through his mind.
My vast Konoha... when did we fall to such a state?
He took a fierce drag on his pipe.
Hiruzen rubbed his brow.
Kantsuki is a good lad.
Then leaving the Hyūga matter to him isn't a bad idea.
Because Shimizu Kantsuki was his, the Third's, confidant.
His faction was a bit weak on personnel, so finding some political allies was necessary.
The Hyūga clan was a good choice.
Easing the relationship between the Hokage faction and the Hyūga.
Shimizu Kantsuki was perfectly suited to be this buffer—this middleman.
However, certain things cannot be touched by the Hyūga.
The Third Hokage decided he had to guard against one thing.
My lad has the ability to make money, but that money cannot be shared with the Hyūga.
We old bones don't even have enough to divide among ourselves.
Several days passed.
Hyūga Hiashi was surprised to find that the high command had no reaction to his contact with the Hokage's confidant.
No.
No reaction is the biggest reaction.
He sighed in relief secretly.
He knew the high command intended to re-accept the Hyūga clan.
Thus, Shimizu Kantsuki became a crucially important figure.
Sure enough...
A slight smile touched his lips.
Shimizu Kantsuki's weight is heavier than I thought...
Then that matter can be put on the agenda.
When little Hinata returned home.
Hyūga Hiashi rarely didn't criticize her.
It felt like a burden he had carried for a long time was finally lifted, allowing him to breathe.
"Hinata, what do you think of Mister Shimizu?"
"Eh?"
Is it Big Brother?
"Big Brother is very nice."
"Is that so..."
Then interact with him more.
Hinata didn't quite understand.
But she understood that her father didn't seem to object to her playing with Big Brother anymore.
The tiny Hinata longed for companionship.
Seeing that his daughter didn't reject the idea, Hiashi's smile deepened.
There was no rush.
There was plenty of time to build the relationship.
He didn't just want to ease tensions with the Hokage faction.
Another thing.
The Hyūga Clan has no surplus grain either...
Building a good relationship with the God of Wealth—wasn't that the right thing to do?
He had heard how arrogant Konoha Hospital was these days.
Salaries doubled directly.
Damn it! Bonuses for holidays! Benefits at year-end!
Anyone who saw it would be jealous.
He didn't think too much.
Just leaking a little from between your fingers for the Hyūga Clan shouldn't be a problem, right?
The clothing empire—who didn't want a piece of that pie?
He didn't have the guts to try and eat from that bowl directly.
But he had the guts to cry poverty to the God of Wealth.
And his guts were big.
The Hyūga clan was big.
So many clansmen opened their mouths waiting to eat.
Coupled with the incident two years ago, the relationship between the Hyūga and the high command had dropped to freezing point.
It got so bad that people dodged them when they tried to take missions.
This had caused the Hyūga clan's reserves to be ground down to almost nothing.
Two whole years...