"What a beautiful move—retreating to advance."
Hyuga Hiashi stood beneath the shade of a tree in the distance, watching the Third Hokage with a complicated gaze.
He hadn't understood why his father had abruptly handed the clan head position to him. Now he did.
To deal with the Branch House situation, the Hokage had been laying groundwork for a long time.
He'd taken shinobi rotating off the Cloud front and placed them across various departments, letting them "spontaneously" spread the glory of the future Fourth Hokage—building momentum for his own retirement.
Then today, under the banner of stepping down, he'd offered the Branch House a gift.
How could the Branch House keep resenting him for years of indifference?
They couldn't.
The first two Hokage hadn't changed anything. Under the Third, change finally arrived—he even bowed and apologized as the village's leader, and then he resigned on the spot.
What was there left to hate?
But—
This wasn't something the Third Hokage had "bestowed."
The Branch House had fought for it.
There were Branch House rebels who had killed even Main House elders. If the Main House didn't want a full rupture, they had to make concessions.
The Branch House wouldn't know that part.
So the Third could frame it as generosity.
Loosen the leash just a little, and countless Branch House shinobi would feel grateful.
Because no one truly believed the Caged Bird could be broken. Branch House shinobi—used to the seal for a lifetime—didn't believe the Main House would ever remove it.
And what about the Main House?
In recent weeks, Sarutobi Hiruzen hadn't intensified the hunt for the killers. His "hands-off" posture also pressured the Main House, forcing them toward cooperation.
The Branch House respected him.
The Main House owed him.
And the Hyuga—always low-profile—had been hooked onto the Third Hokage's war cart.
A masterful hand.
Of course, it also meant the Third Hokage couldn't continue aggressively hunting the killers—if he did, the Branch House would be angered and his plan would collapse.
But the rebels were bound too.
Now that so many Branch House shinobi were "satisfied," if the hidden faction continued acting, the Branch House majority might stop supporting them. At that point, the Hokage could crush them with thunderous force without worrying about public sentiment.
As Hiashi watched the Third Hokage rise from his bow, smiling in his direction, he drew in a deep breath.
"Hizashi… it's our turn."
"From now on…" Hiashi said softly, as if convincing himself, "we can be as close as we used to be."
Hizashi's eyes stayed fixed on the platform, unfocused and distant.
"…Will it really be the same?"
Hiashi didn't answer. He stepped forward first.
His and Hizashi's ascent represented the Main House's concession. It would further smother the Branch House's fury—fury that had simmered for centuries.
Hiashi didn't know if it was right.
He only knew he didn't have the luxury of choice.
When the clan head's two sons stepped onto the platform, Hyuga Miyuki closed her eyes and turned to leave.
She didn't want to listen.
Didn't want to watch the satisfied smiles on her clansmen's faces.
The Branch House hadn't won.
So what was there to celebrate?
A hand reached out from the crowd and caught her.
Miyuki frowned and looked back.
Hyuga Yuu.
The boy her age wore the same kind of smile as the people around him… yet there was no laughter in his eyes.
He listened intently to Hiashi and Hizashi's speech about "bringing a new wind to the Hyuga," and then released her wrist.
In that brief exchange, Yuu's fingers had formed a sequence of subtle gestures.
Miyuki's pupils tightened.
Those were Mist-front hand signals.
Because Kirigakure's Hidden Mist Technique could erase enemy movements, Hyuga shinobi—the ones serving as eyes—had prepared multiple signal sets to discreetly report enemy positions to allies.
Enemy at eight o'clock…
Miyuki understood instantly.
She forced herself to calm down.
A soft, harmless smile appeared on her face as she looked forward again.
Yes.
This was the perfect time.
A perfect chance to observe how many Branch House members still harbored extreme hatred for the Main House.
What's wrong with me lately?
Because she'd already decided she would shoulder everything and defect later, had she begun to stop caring whether others suspected her?
Her basic caution had slipped.
Miyuki warned herself silently and returned Yuu's gesture with a look that mixed gratitude and apology.
The Main House wouldn't necessarily act immediately.
But they would absolutely put anyone still dissatisfied under surveillance… and deal with them later.
Yuu's warning was risky. It was possible her earlier expression and movements had already been noticed.
Yuu ignored her look.
His gaze swept the crowd, cataloging faces one by one.
Anyone showing a truly happy smile—he discarded.
The rest, he marked.
More than I expected.
About thirty…
Looks like I should thank Orochimaru.
After a long while, Hyuga Hiashi announced, "Now—begin the re-engraving of the new Caged Bird!"
…
At home, Yuu wrote names across a blank scroll.
The names belonged to the Branch House members he'd just recorded.
Behind him, Hyuga MeiYuu stood like a silent guard. As he watched the names appear, rage twisted his face.
"You're going to unite them against Konoha and the Main House?"
MeiYuu couldn't match every name to a face, but he understood: these were people Yuu had identified through MeiYuu's shared vision—Branch House who despised the Main House.
"They're usable," Yuu said flatly. "Compared to those still drowning in a pleasant dream, at least these ones have woken up."
Edo Tensei really was a terrifyingly versatile tool.
It could summon the dead to fight.
It could be used for research.
It could even be used for reconnaissance.
That morning, Yuu's effortless information-gathering had relied on Edo Tensei.
The caster could share the reanimated shinobi's vision.
By summoning and placing a Kage-class Byakugan user like MeiYuu ahead of time, Yuu could "borrow" the Byakugan's coverage at the scene.
Because activating his own Byakugan in a public ceremony would be far too obvious.
As for the names on the list…
They were Branch House Yuu personally acknowledged—people he could use.
If he needed "materials" for future steps, these people could be sorted first.
Yuu's eyes remained calm as he planned.
MeiYuu sneered.
"So composed. Like you won."
"Didn't Sarutobi Hiruzen crush your plan with ease?"
MeiYuu had been the clan head who led the Hyuga into Konoha. In his eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen—the Third Hokage, whom the Second had liked to call "Monkey"—was still a youngster.
Yuu laughed softly, genuinely amused.
"I don't even know what 'plan' you think I had."
"If covering for a test subject, and incidentally harvesting some ocular power counts as a plan… then I'd say I executed it perfectly."
MeiYuu kept that same mocking expression, as if staring at a sore loser refusing to admit defeat.
"You wanted the Branch House to remove the Caged Bird and turn against the Main House. That was your goal."
"I do need the Branch House to remove the Caged Bird," Yuu replied. "But not for the reasons you imagine."
He rolled up the list-scroll and set it aside. Then he took out another scroll—one filled with his chakra research notes—and formed the summoning hand sign.
A white viper appeared. It looked at the scroll in his hand, then swallowed it in a single smooth motion.
Yuu watched the snake vanish and smiled faintly.
"I never intended to be the Branch House's savior."
"I only need a group of hands I can use when necessary."
He wasn't some irredeemable villain, but he wasn't a good person either.
Helping the Branch House remove the Caged Bird would come with a price.
Then Yuu looked back at MeiYuu, eyes bright with quiet malice.
"And besides…"
"Do you really think Sarutobi Hiruzen—or Namikaze Minato—has 'won'?"
The smile widened.
"The one who pushed Minato into the Hokage's seat…"
"…was me."
MeiYuu's expression stiffened, the sneer locking in place like it had turned to stone.
Yuu's voice dropped, conspiratorial and amused.
"With the Sannin still alive, tell me—how did the Third Hokage bypass them and let Minato take the position directly?"
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