Konoha's gate had never been this crowded.
It had been only a day since Troy, the Cloud's envoy leader, was strung up there for all to see.
Now a fresh delegation from the Cloud galloped into Konoha.
The Raikage had warned them again and again: bring Troy back alive—no matter the price.
If they wasted time on the road, the corpse would be cold by the time they arrived. Whether Troy ended up hanged or not, the Cloud's shame would be absolute.
The new envoy at the head was a pale middle-aged ninja with sweat beading on his brow. Behind him wasn't an elite strike squad, but a line of wagons so long it disappeared down the road, packed to the brim with supplies.
Villagers lined both sides of the street. No boos. No thrown stones. Just a chill, judging silence as they watched the procession pass.
Contempt can cut deeper than any insult—and it kills the heart.
It was a wordless declaration: Konoha was no longer a village others could push around. Konoha had a temper. Friends would be welcomed warmly. Enemies? They'd be greeted by iron fists.
Guided by Konoha shinobi, the Cloud envoy didn't dare lift his head to meet the villagers' eyes. He headed straight for the Hokage Building—only to be told that the one accepting reparations wasn't the Hokage, but the master of the Namikaze household.
The envoy bent even lower at that.
He understood: this wasn't just compensation—it was an apology.
At the gates of the Namikaze estate—grand enough to shame any noble manor—Hiashi, head of the Hyuga, had already been waiting with several core members of the main family.
He watched with his own eyes as that seemingly endless convoy, under the servants' direction, carried crate after crate into the vast storehouses.
With a single night and a single sentence, Minato had made a great nation bow its proud head.
That sort of power went beyond the realm of a "Kage."
When the trembling Cloud envoy presented a thick compensation ledger to Minato, Hiashi—fortunate enough to stand beside him—caught a glimpse of the contents.
The very first page made his breath hitch. So much?
[Cloud Secret Technique Scroll: Raiton no Yoroi (Lightning Release Armour) – Third Raikage Revised Version]
[A-Rank Lightning Release Ninjutsu Scrolls – Twenty-Seven in total]
[Special-Grade Chakra-Conductive Metal – One hundred tons]
[Strategic Supplies – Soldier Pills, medical stock, Explosive Tags sufficient to outfit a three-thousand-man ninja corps]
[War Indemnity – 150 million ryo]
…
And the list went on. Any one line was enough to send a mid-sized shinobi village into a frenzy. And now, all of it belonged to the Namikaze household.
Minato leafed through the ledger with unruffled calm, as if it were a grocery list rather than astronomical wealth.
He handed it to Kushina. She skimmed, nodded with satisfaction, then looked to the Cloud envoy.
"We'll take the goods," Kushina said lazily, though her tone left no room for argument. "Go tell your Raikage this: my son Naruto, and Shinju, both hate the sound of thunder. If Cloud shinobi do anything in the Land of Fire that displeases us again… the sky above your village may never hear thunder again."
Cold sweat poured off the envoy's back. He didn't dare utter a word of protest—only bowed lower and lower.
"Y-yes! Yes! I'll deliver the message! I'll deliver it!"
He fled with his people in a panicked rush, afraid that lingering a moment longer, a single wrong word might see them wiped out on the spot.
The vast reception hall fell quiet, leaving only the Namikaze family and the uneasy Hyuga delegation.
Shinju had sat on the corner sofa from the start, sipping a drink with lazy indifference, as if none of it had anything to do with him. The calmer he seemed, the deeper Hiashi's awe grew.
He knew: the boy had already come into his own—and he was the source of all this.
Only after settling the Cloud affair did Minato turn to Hiashi with a gentle smile.
"Thanks for waiting, Hiashi."
Hiashi drew a long breath. It was time to choose.
He remembered last night's terror.
If not for Lady Kushina's timely arrival, Hinata's fate would have been unspeakable.
And by old precedent, the Cloud would have brazened it out—twisting the incident into "the envoy was attacked," then pressuring Konoha.
For "peace," to soothe the Cloud's "anger," the sacrifice would assuredly have been the Hyuga.
He had even prepared for the worst—sending his own younger brother, Hizashi, to die for the main family and the village, his body offered up to the Cloud.
The thought was nothing but grief and humiliation.
But now, everything had changed.
The Namikaze had not only saved Hinata—they'd turned a bucket of filth flung at the Hyuga into a tidal wave that crashed down on the Cloud.
The Hyuga lost nothing. On the contrary, the Namikaze's strike restored their honor and washed away the main family's reputation for weakness.
A debt higher than the heavens and deeper than the sea.
"Fourth…" Hiashi's voice was hoarse. He no longer addressed Minato as "Lord Hokage," but as "Fourth"—closer, and with a shade of allegiance.
He bowed to Minato and Kushina.
Every Hyuga present stared, wide-eyed.
This wasn't a bow.
The famously proud, stiff Hyuga patriarch dropped to both knees with a heavy thud.
"Hiashi, you—" Minato frowned, stepping forward to help him up.
But Hiashi shook his head and pressed his forehead to the cold floor.
A perfect, formal dogeza.
Behind him, the core elders of the Hyuga main family, stunned for only a heartbeat, understood. They, too, knelt in unison, foreheads to the floor.
The hall fell perfectly silent.
Only the steady rhythm of brows meeting wood could be heard.
"Fourth. Lady Kushina," Hiashi said from the floor, his voice carrying relief and an iron resolve. "This grace—the Hyuga will never forget."
"Had Lady Kushina not acted, a century of Hyuga honor would have been ruined in a night; my daughter Hinata's fate—unthinkable. I would have shamed my ancestors."
"And you, Fourth—by thunderous might, you reclaimed justice for the Hyuga and raised Konoha's banner high. Words cannot repay such debt."
He paused, then spoke even firmer.
"From this day forward, should the Namikaze household require anything—the Hyuga, from clan head to branch family—will go through fire and water without hesitation."
"The Hyuga's Byakugan (White Eye) will pierce all darkness for the Namikaze."
"The Hyuga's Juken (Gentle Fist) will sweep aside every obstacle for the Namikaze."
This was no mere gratitude. It was fealty.
Konoha's foremost dōjutsu clan pledging absolute loyalty to a new house already towering over all others.
Minato and Kushina shared a look, satisfaction glinting in both pairs of eyes.
Everything was just as Shinju had foreseen.
Minato stepped forward and raised Hiashi with his own hands.
"You overpraise us, Hiashi. We're all family in Konoha—protecting Hinata is what Kushina and I should do." His voice was gentle but carried undeniable force. "From now on, the Namikaze and the Hyuga will breathe as one—shoulder to shoulder in defense of Konoha."
"Understood! We heed the Fourth's command!" Hiashi answered, full of respect.
He understood what "breathe as one" meant: the Hyuga had formally entered the Namikaze camp. It was honor—and opportunity.
After a round of courtesies, Hiashi departed with his people, content.
In his heart, a new plan had already taken shape.
The debt was too great for mere words. There had to be a concrete gesture.
And his shy, introverted daughter Hinata seemed unusually curious about the Namikaze's two young masters—especially the elder, Shinju, hailed as their savior.
Perhaps the children should spend more time together.
After all, to clasp this towering Namikaze tree tight, the surest way was to bind their bloodlines.
Resolute, Hiashi decided he would bring Hinata to call again tomorrow—this time to formally thank Namikaze Shinju, their "life-saving benefactor."
(End of Chapter)
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