1400 PS
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Daimyo Manor, study.
Arashi listened to the messenger's report, and his expression froze for a moment.
His hand, holding the teacup, stopped midair.
Gen standing by, immediately noticed the sudden silence in the air.
Arashi blinked, his mind moving for a moment before he connected these two unrelated matters.
Then, he felt a sense of absurdity.
An indescribable sense of absurdity almost made him spit out his tea.
"You mean…" Arashi's tone turned a bit strange, "those people from Konoha, including their Fourth Hokage, all thought that my previous pressure on the Hyuga was to make their clan hand over a woman?"
The messenger lowered his head, not daring to reply, but silence itself was an answer.
Arashi was completely speechless and raised his hand to rub his temples.
He remembered very clearly that the edict for concubine selection was issued to the entire Land of Fire.
The true purpose was to take the opportunity to pressure and screen the old nobility, to see who was loyal and who had ulterior motives, and to carry out a power reshuffle.
As for Konoha… what he had prepared for Konoha, from the beginning, were only two choices.
One concerned the future, the Genius Cultivation Program.
The other concerned the present, the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
These two choices were his means to subdue Konoha.
Concubine selection?
That was, at best, a political reality show, meant for mortals to watch.
When had he ever considered this minor matter as a standard for testing Konoha's loyalty?
Did he need to use such a low method to covet a pair of Byakugan?
Ridiculous.
Now it seemed that the Uchiha Clan's overzealous attitude was probably the beginning of this huge misunderstanding.
They moved, the Hyuga moved, other clans followed, and as a result, the entire Konoha was plunged into a strange atmosphere where the Daimyo wanted to snatch the beauties of the ninja world.
Thinking of this, Arashi could not help but laugh out loud.
"Haha…"
The laughter was not loud, but it made Gen and the messenger feel their scalps tingle.
"It seems I overestimated them."
Arashi muttered to himself, his tone tinged with helpless self-mockery.
"I thought they really had backbone, but I did not expect their thinking to still be in the primitive stage of snatching people and territories."
Ninja were ninja after all.
Their worldview was firmly confined by Bloodline Limits, Ninjutsu, and clan legacy.
It was indeed a bit difficult for them to understand higher-level political games.
In the future, when issuing edicts, the wording must be rigorous, every word must be broken down and explained clearly, and there must be no phrases that could cause misunderstanding.
Arashi reflected on himself.
Although this misunderstanding was harmless, and he even got to watch a good show, it did slow down the progress of the plan.
He did not like this feeling of inefficiency.
"Never mind."
He waved his hand, regaining his regal demeanor. "Go back and tell Minato to relay my exact words to the Hyuga, word for word."
"Tell them to stop pondering over useless things."
"I am not interested in watching their tragic drama. I only want to see results."
"Yes, Daimyo-sama."
The messenger bowed and withdrew as if granted a great pardon.
Arashi picked up his teacup and took a light sip, his gaze deep.
A bunch of fools…
Hyuga Clan residence.
The atmosphere was oppressive.
Hiashi knelt in the main seat, his eyes bloodshot.
Several elders of the main family sat on either side, all with solemn expressions.
When Minato stepped into the room, everyone inside looked at him.
"Hokage-sama."
Hiashi's voice carried the resolute tone of someone who had given up.
"If you are still here for that matter, then please leave."
He thought this was the final ultimatum sent by the Daimyo Manor.
However, Minato simply looked at him silently, his expression complicated, carrying both sympathy and embarrassment.
"Hiashi," Minato said, "I am not here for the concubine selection."
Hiashi's tone was still stiff. "Then Fourth Hokage, what are you here for?"
Minato ignored Hiashi's bold declaration and stated the Daimyo's original intention.
He finally added, "If the Daimyo Manor does not receive your reply within three days…"
"Officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will personally visit."
As his words fell, the room went silent.
Everyone was stunned.
They had anticipated countless possibilities, coercion, inducement, or even direct military encirclement.
But they had never expected such a message.
Hiashi's mouth opened slightly, and he subconsciously asked, "Just… this?"
"What about the concubine selection?" an elder could not help but press. "Hokage-sama… no longer wants our clan's Byakugan?"
This question immediately made Minato's expression turn strange.
He looked at the Hyuga, who were on high alert, and finally let out a long sigh.
"I think we all got it wrong."
Minato said somewhat helplessly, "From beginning to end, Daimyo-sama never linked the concubine selection with your Hyuga Clan."
"He does not care whether you send someone or not, and he certainly does not care about your Byakugan."
"That edict was for the whole country to see."
"Whether Konoha participates or not is simply not important to him."
Uh…
The Hyuga present felt a buzzing in their heads, speechless and choked.
Hiashi's face, taut with resolve, instantly froze.
What… did he say?
Does not care about the Byakugan?
Not important?
Then their struggle, which they had staked the lives of their entire clan on… their Bloodline Limit, which they wanted to protect at all costs… the clan-annihilation crisis that kept them awake at night… he said it was all a misunderstanding?
Hiashi's head buzzed, and the world spun.
Immediately after, what surged in his heart was not humiliation, but a burst of ecstasy.
The sword hanging over the Hyuga's head just… disappeared?
No.
That sword had never existed from beginning to end.
All this time, they had been scaring themselves.
This relief was so intense that Hiashi's tense muscles instantly relaxed, and cold sweat soaked his clothes.
But what followed was endless fear and shame.
He had almost, because of a foolish misunderstanding, personally buried the entire Hyuga Clan.
Hyuga's proud insight, that caution ingrained in their bones, now became a joke.
The Daimyo had never even coveted their Byakugan.
And they, for this, had almost sacrificed everything.
Just thinking about how his misjudgment had almost led them to a dead end, Hiashi's knees went weak.
His usually dignified face was now pale and ashamed.
He finally understood.
The Genius Cultivation Program… the Twelve Guardian Ninja… these were what the Daimyo truly wanted.
He did not want a woman, or a pair of eyes.
He wanted the Hyuga's unreserved loyalty.
That afternoon, Hiashi sent two lists to the Hokage's office.
One was the application for the Hyuga's Genius Cultivation Program, on which were prominently written the names of almost all the younger generation of Hyuga.
If he had children already, and if his brother's children were older, he would have wanted to include them as well.
The other was the candidate list for the Twelve Guardian Ninja, on which Hiashi had written his brother's name, Hyuga Hizashi.
The Hyuga Clan, with the most thorough gesture, offered their loyalty.
(To be continued.)