"Truly outstanding, Shinichi-sama!"
"Remarkable! Shinichi-sama's talent is simply extraordinary!"
The dojo was filled with the sound of the clan members' compliments. Hyūga Hiashi was clearly very satisfied with this internal family's "performance."
However, he suppressed the smile in his heart, maintaining a stern expression and pretending not to hear the surrounding compliments for his child. He even walked up to Shinichi, gently patted his shoulder, and earnestly instructed:
"Shinichi, you still have a very long road ahead of you on the path of a ninja."
"You must never become complacent because of a few praises."
"Train hard, and do not disgrace the name of the Hyūga Clan!"
In front of the clan members, Hiashi, the young Clan Head, used this manner to uphold his authority.
The fundamental purpose of today's trial was actually for the Main Family to deliberately set the stage for the young Hyūga Shinichi, allowing him to make an appearance before all the clan members.
Wherever there are people, there is intrigue. In a major clan like the Hyūga, the darkness and conflict concealed beneath the surface would only be far greater than in smaller families.
The greatest and most crucial conflict within the Hyūga Clan was naturally that between the Main Family (Sōke) and the Branch Family (Bunke). Although the Main Family controlled the lives and deaths of the Branch Family ninjas through the Caged Bird Curse Mark, if the Branch Family truly did not recognize the Main Family's leadership and only did things half-heartedly, it would become incredibly difficult for the Main Family to accomplish anything.
The relationship between the Main and Branch Families was both mutually dependent and one of rivalry.
Fortunately, the rules and logic of the Ninja World were relatively simple: generally, the stronger you were, the more influence you commanded. The Main Family maintained its superiority over the Branch Family by monopolizing a portion of the advanced nin-taijutsu related to the Byakugan bloodline, thus ensuring that the vast majority of Branch Family ninjas willingly accepted the Main Family's leadership.
Even so, the Main Family frequently needed to display its strength and potential to the Branch Family, continuously reinforcing their importance in the minds of the Branch Family ninjas. This made the Branch Family believe that only the Main Family heir could better inherit the Byakugan bloodline limit, which in turn guaranteed that the Branch Family ninjas would serve the clan wholeheartedly.
Therefore, the more outstanding the Main Family heir, the more prosperous and unified the Hyūga Clan tended to be in that generation.
The exceptionally talented Hyūga Shinichi, having achieved some success in his training, was naturally meant to find an opportunity to become the Main Family's "face" and "brand" to unite the clan's ninjas. This was akin to the succession of an imperial throne in ancient feudal dynasties: the more capable the Crown Prince, the more diligently the court nobles and ministers would perform their duties, preventing them from harboring any disruptive ideas.
However, for Hyūga Shinichi, this trial, which had these ulterior motives, was nothing more than his usual Taijutsu training.
After exchanging polite and brief greetings with the clan members, Shinichi planned to leave the dojo. His daily training schedule was extremely rigorous. Although the Taijutsu practice had consumed a great deal of his physical stamina, his chakra remained plentiful. The next step was to practice Chakra Shape Transformation. Shinichi avoided such meaningless social interactions whenever possible.
However, just as Shinichi said goodbye to Hiashi and was about to leave, the dojo doors were suddenly pushed open by a hurried clan member.
The man was rushed, and his face was full of excitement. It was only when the many clan members in the dojo turned to look at him that he realized his breach of decorum. He knelt on one knee at the doorway toward Hiashi and reported in a deep voice:
"Hiashi-sama, the Third Hokage-sama and the Fourth Hokage and his wife have come to the clan compound and wish to see you."
"Currently, the elders have gone out to welcome the three of them and have invited them to the front hall, where they await your presence."
The ninja who came to report did not hesitate to speak in front of the other clan members present. The Branch Family members "observing" Hyūga Shinichi's training today were all senior figures within the clan, so there was no need to hide or conceal the matter of the Hokage visiting the Hyūga compound.
Hyūga Shinichi, who had just reached the door, paused slightly out of curiosity when he heard the report, glancing toward the newcomer.
The Hokage, the supreme ruler of Konoha Village and the "big boss" of all ninjas, could certainly be described as holding immense power and authority.
In the over five years Shinichi had been in this world, he had never met either Sarutobi Hiruzen or Namikaze Minato. This was partly due to his young age—he naturally hadn't had the opportunity to interact with people at that level—and partly due to the special status of the Hyūga Main Family. Comprehensive peace had not yet arrived, and the clan's protection of him was extremely strict, even within Konoha. Moreover, Shinichi himself was eager to get stronger and had none of the playful tendencies of his peers, choosing to stay in the compound and keep a low profile.
However, this didn't mean Hyūga Shinichi wasn't at all curious about Konoha's two current Hokage.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third, was one thing, but the Fourth Hokage, Minato, and his wife were the parents of the future protagonist. They were both crucial figures who would directly influence the course of the Ninja World.
Shinichi had always wanted to do something to change the future, but right now, he simply didn't have any influential cards to play. Some cards might be used, but they would likely bring immense trouble to Shinichi himself.
The arrival of the Hokage now stirred some thought in Shinichi's mind.
Shinichi's cheap mother was recently found to be three weeks pregnant. While Shinichi had never conducted detailed research on the timeline of the Naruto world, he was clear on some major events. If his prediction was correct, the child in his mother's belly should be Hinata. Combined with the age of his cousin Neji, who was not yet a year old, Shinichi judged that the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha was likely only a matter of months away.
Shinichi knew his combat strength wouldn't have much effect on the coming turmoil, but some of the information he knew could help Konoha to some extent.
With the Hokage visiting, Hyūga Shinichi felt an urge to make contact. After all, he didn't know when the next opportunity to naturally meet the Hokage would arise.
"The Third and Fourth Hokage and his wife have come to our Hyūga compound?!"
"Is there something important?"
Hiashi slightly furrowed his brow upon hearing the clan member's report, unable to immediately grasp their intention. Just then, Shinichi, who had been about to leave the dojo, quietly returned to Hiashi's side.
Hearing his father's words, Shinichi gently tugged at Hiashi's sleeve and whispered, "Father, now is not the time to worry about their purpose. With two generations of Hokage visiting, it must be an urgent matter. The most important thing is for you to change your clothes and go meet them."
"Only having the elders receive them while you, the Clan Head, delay your appearance would be quite impolite."
Shinichi's words brought the contemplating Hiashi back to attention.
"Yes! You are right."
Hiashi nodded, raised his foot to leave the dojo, but suddenly remembered something just before reaching the door. He turned back toward Shinichi, who was standing not far behind him, and smiled, beckoning him over:
"Shinichi, you come with me to see the two Hokage and the Fourth's wife."
"Showing your face in front of the Hokage-samas can only do you some good."
In this moment, many thoughts crossed Hiashi's mind. Although he didn't know why Sarutobi Hiruzen and Minato's couple had come to the Hyūga compound, wasn't this a good opportunity to strengthen ties with the Hokage? Although strength reigns supreme in the Ninja World, human relationships are not completely useless. Hiashi was already planning how to pave the way for his son...
Hiashi wasn't afraid of Shinichi causing any trouble by coming along, as Shinichi's maturity, far exceeding that of his peers, had already earned Hiashi's complete trust.
Hearing his cheap father call him over, a faint smile appeared on Shinichi's face. His deliberate earlier reminder was precisely to draw Hiashi's attention. Everything happening now was within Shinichi's expectations!
"The Hokage, huh—"
"I wonder how different they will be from the images in my memory?"
The personalities of real-world figures would inevitably differ somewhat from the characters depicted in comics, just like Shinichi's cheap father, Hyūga Hiashi. The Hiashi in Hinata's eyes was rigid and severe, causing her endless stress during childhood. However, Shinichi never felt a similar way interacting with Hiashi. In fact, Shinichi often received praise and care from Hiashi; at times, even Hiashi felt his training was overly strict.
Even the same person can exhibit completely different core personalities when facing different people at different times.
This made Shinichi feel a mixture of anticipation and nervousness about meeting the three people soon.
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