Even though it was clearly still winter and snow piled across Konoha's open grounds,
beads of sweat began to form on Hyuga Shinkyō's brow.
Uchiha Makoto's request to "send Main House members of the Hyuga to study in Akatsuki Village" was not something Hyuga Shinkyō could decide alone.
Not even as clan head.
This concerned the safety of the White Eye bloodline. The Main House elders would certainly intervene, and those old men would never accept it. The White Eye's safety outweighed everything; it was the Hyuga's very foundation.
And the Hyuga had already refused Uchiha Makoto once back when Akatsuki Village was first founded.
That could still be excused as "everyone had their difficulties back then."
But just now, Makoto had represented the Uchiha and extended goodwill from both Akatsuki and the Uchiha by ceding considerable Police power and benefits to the Hyuga.
If they rejected him again at this moment,
they would truly offend the Uchiha—and the Light Shadow of Akatsuki.
Makoto's proposal now was like putting Hyuga Shinkyō on a spit over the fire.
A dilemma with no way forward or back.
"What is it, Clan Head Hyuga—do you still look down on Akatsuki Village?"
"If that's the case..."
Seeing Hyuga Shinkyō hesitate, Makoto's smile vanished. His hand clenched on the arm of his chair, and the fine wood groaned under the strain.
"Of course not!"
"Lord Light Shadow, the Hyuga hold absolute respect for Akatsuki Village."
"It's just that this involves the Main House. The Main House elders won't agree. If it were Branch House members..."
Sensing Makoto was on the edge of anger, Hyuga Shinkyō hurried to explain, offering a new plan. Main House members could not leave the clan grounds, but Branch House members could go to Akatsuki Village to study in their stead.
Only then did Makoto loosen his grip. The creaking ceased, and his smile returned.
He knew his negotiation tactic had worked again.
Yes.
Makoto had been acting.
He'd known from the start how precious the Hyuga deemed the White Eye. He had never intended to take Main House students. From beginning to end, his target was the Branch House. But had he begun by asking only for Branch House members, Hyuga Shinkyō would not have agreed so easily.
People like to split the difference.
Even with the plan succeeding, Makoto still kept his posture high, pressing Hyuga Shinkyō further.
"Branch House members... they carry too little weight. That hardly reflects the friendship between Akatsuki and the Hyuga."
"Lord Light Shadow, our apologies. It's not a slight or distrust of Akatsuki. It's ancestral rules. The White Eye is too precious."
"In that case, send more Branch House members to Akatsuki Village."
"No problem. No problem."
Faced with Makoto's "inch-by-inch" push, Hyuga Shinkyō agreed at once. Branch House could never compare to Main House. If Makoto only wanted to increase the number of Branch House students, that was perfectly reasonable.
The matter was settled quickly.
Makoto then walked out of the reception hall with Hyuga Shinkyō accompanying him, heading toward the edge of the compound.
Along the way came those same mechanical, respectful greetings.
Makoto saw the same girl he'd noticed earlier. Now she had a forehead protector pulled down to hide her brow.
He could only sigh softly. Caged Bird. When will the cage break?
Hyuga Shinkyō followed Makoto's gaze... and another train of thought rose in his heart.
"The Hyuga are essentially settled."
"If Akatsuki wants access to the White Eye, snatching it won't work. The best way is to resolve the Caged Bird... but breaking it involves very advanced sealing arts, even rare Yin–Yang Release woven into it. Otherwise it wouldn't have survived a thousand years without being cracked."
"Yin–Yang Release... recently..."
"If it were only sealing, the Uzumaki are masters. But digging at the Hyuga's very roots can't see the light of day."
"The Uzumaki might not be willing... no, it's impossible they'd be willing."
"As for borrowing seed... how would I launder the children's identities..."
Makoto had barely stepped beyond the Hyuga grounds
before he was already pondering how to take the Hyuga bloodline—cough—how to liberate the Branch House from human-rights oppression.
The best way was to break the Caged Bird. But if it could be broken easily, it wouldn't have endured a millennium.
Borrowing seed from the Hyuga wasn't impossible.
But the children's identities... that telltale White Eye was too conspicuous.
They couldn't live in the dark forever. Whitening their identities would be difficult.
As Makoto turned these ideas over, he suddenly felt eyes on him.
The feeling flashed and vanished.
As a shinobi, Makoto was sensitive to such things. He turned and asked the elders beside him.
"Just now—indeed..."
"You felt it too?"
"I thought it was my imagination."
In less than three seconds, Makoto had the case solved.
Damn it.
Konoha Anbu for sure.
That innately malicious Senju Tobirama had sent Anbu to tail them.
"Senju Tobirama is overstepping. He actually dared to send Anbu to follow us in broad daylight."
"Makoto, now you see how overbearing he is in Konoha. He even dares to put you under surveillance."
"Let's settle accounts with him."
"Enough—do you have proof?"
Makoto admitted Tobirama was bold, sending Anbu to shadow him and the Uchiha elders. It was provocation.
But he raised a hand and cut off the elders' argument. In truth, he and Tobirama were two of a kind. He was boldly meddling in Konoha's internal affairs, sowing division.
"Let's see who moves faster, who plays the better hand."
With that in mind,
he and the elders headed for other clans.
There were many clans in Konoha worthy of a personal visit. They had to get this done quickly today. That innately malicious old Senju would react soon.
They wasted no time and went straight to their next destination—the lands of the Ino–Shika–Cho alliance.
Because of their alliance, these three secret-arts clans had chosen adjoining plots within Konoha. Meeting one meant meeting all three.
"The Nara provide the brains, the Yamanaka wield mental arts, the Akimichi... The Uchiha are currently preparing the Konoha Military Police and hope you'll lend a hand."
At this time the Uchiha were not the weakened clan of Sarutobi Hiruzen's era.
Faced with Makoto and the Uchiha elders extending "goodwill,"
the Nara clan head, brain for the other two, thought a moment and agreed.
After the benefits were delivered,
Makoto used the same tactic and brought up the study-abroad program. The Nara leader's face tightened. To take the Uchiha's benefits and then refuse would be a slap in the face.
"The Uzumaki, the Hyuga, and many other Konoha clans... they've all agreed."
Makoto began to apply pressure.
He had only secured the Hyuga so far—but exaggeration cost nothing.
"Then... very well."
The Nara leader's expression changed, and he agreed at last.
With the Nara's assent, the Yamanaka and Akimichi clan heads nodded in turn.
Then
Makoto left the Ino–Shika–Cho satisfied and led the elders to the nearest next stop—the Inuzuka.
The Inuzuka specialized in breeding ninken and fighting alongside them. Their overall strength wasn't high, but they were still a secret-arts clan of sorts.
The Uchiha elders looked down on such a small clan—and the Uchiha were cat people.
Flattered by the Uchiha leadership's personal visit, the Inuzuka clan head was overjoyed.
"Inuzuka ninken are invaluable when pursuing fugitives and sniffing out contraband... The Konoha Police need your strength."
"Understood. We are willing to serve the Police."
"My Akatsuki Police also need ninken. Would the Inuzuka be willing... to part with some?"
"By the way, our police dogs are on the rolls. Each receives a monthly stipend of twenty thousand ryō, disbursed as food. I guarantee every ration goes into the police dogs' mouths."
Woof woof. Loyal.
Woof woof woof woof. Being an ordinary ninken in Konoha isn't bad, but life is broader as a police dog.
Sensing his partner's intent,
the Inuzuka clan head nodded.
Makoto then raised the study-abroad program.
The Inuzuka agreed quickly. As a lesser secret-arts clan, they rarely got to hug the Uchiha's thigh.
Makoto moved on to the next clan.
The process was the same.
Offer benefits first and set the hook, then place the demand. If they balked, apply pressure.
Makoto recited a long string of Konoha clan names. The further he went, the more names he spoke. In a village teeming with clans, the greatest taboo was being the first bird to stick its head up. One had to blend with light and dust.
And in this era of Konoha, while the Uchiha fell short of the Senju, they still shone at their zenith. Which clan would dare be blind before the Uchiha?
Of course, there were exceptions.
The Sarutobi and the Shimura.
These two clans had gone all-in on Senju Tobirama. They didn't even ask for Police slots.
After a few rushed words, Makoto and the elders were shown out.
Going all-in is a form of wisdom.
In the original storyline, those two clans bet right and took off.
In this world...
Makoto's opinion of them was poor.
The Uchiha elders' faces darkened. After a whole afternoon, they had visited nearly every notable Konoha clan, including some quite close to Tobirama, and yet all were sensible, accepting the Uchiha's goodwill.
A good start.
But those two clans...
"Don't look so grim. At the very least, we learned something useful."
"Although Senju Tobirama has the support of many Konoha clans, that support isn't unbreakable. When faced with the Uchiha's goodwill, Konoha's clans will accept it. Only a handful are truly Tobirama's diehards."
"You're right, Makoto. One day the Uchiha will make Tobirama pay."
"The future looks promising."
"Next comes our Uchiha..."
Makoto's words improved the elders' mood. They began to imagine the clan's future.
The Uchiha were indeed far behind Tobirama's hard-won prestige over the years, but it wasn't impossible to catch up.
"I've built the stage for you. Make the most of it."
Makoto spoke earnestly.
Compared to the authority Tobirama had earned in recent years, the Uchiha were still feeding off old medals.
Tobirama had both toil and merit.
Only some trivial stains.
The long-reigning shadow Hokage, a single pillar holding up Konoha's sky—was not an empty phrase.
Hokage's office.
He had spent the entire day urging his elder brother and Senju Senjian to hurry up and cancel that damned childhood betrothal with Uchiha Makoto.
His brother's granddaughter was his granddaughter, and his granddaughter was to be matched with Makoto's son. The child born would be...
In the future, the Senju bloodline would be impure.
Now, hearing that Makoto was running all over Konoha with the Uchiha elders,
Senju Tobirama exploded.
Flames of anger burned in his eyes, making him look like a beast ready to tear someone apart.
"This is too much."
"Uchiha Makoto—this is naked interference in Konoha's internal affairs."
"Shameless."
"I won't let this go."
"I'm reporting this to my brother. I'm going straight to the Hokage."
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