"Hiashi-senpai, you seem… unwilling to accept this."
Naruto sat back down. After syncing with the Mirror World, a strange glint flickered in his eyes. "Originally, I thought the Hyūga Clan, who always kept a low profile, would be smarter than the Uchiha… but I see now—I was wrong."
"I don't follow your meaning."
Hiashi frowned. He had felt off-balance since this conversation began, unable to control its direction at all—a feeling he wasn't used to, being someone long accustomed to power.
"Let's revisit Konoha's history, shall we?"
Naruto shook his head slightly. "In the beginning, only two people had a say in Konoha: Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. They built the village together. Back then, it wasn't even called Konoha—just a proto-settlement formed from the alliance of two great clans. But once the Sarutobi and Shimura clans—both loyal to the Senju—joined in, everything began to shift."
"What started as a temporary alliance quickly became a force to be reckoned with among the Five Great Nations. Inspired, other countries rallied their scattered shinobi clans to form their own Hidden Villages."
"Then the daimyō of each nation realized—this new order was good for their control. The Five Great Nations sent letters to the Hidden Villages asking them to choose a leader. But at that time, the Hyūga had not yet joined Konoha."
"Eventually, when Madara named the village 'Konoha' and Hashirama coined the title 'Hokage'—an invitation was sent to your clan."
"The one who extended the invitation… was the Second Hokage."
Hiashi's expression turned grave. "I'm surprised you know that. Even your father shouldn't have access to such details."
"My father doesn't."
Naruto's smile was eerie. "But don't forget—Konoha's first Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito, was of the same clan as my mother."
"After defeating Uchiha Madara, Hashirama often reminisced to Mito about his childhood bond with Madara and how Konoha came to be. Since Mito knew… of course, my friend knew too."
Hiashi's pupils contracted. He understood exactly which "friend" Naruto was referring to.
"And how does any of this relate to the Hyūga and Uchiha?"
"It relates plenty."
Naruto removed his forehead protector and said softly, "After the Fire Daimyō's letter arrived, the village spent a whole month finalizing the symbol you see engraved on this. And coincidentally, during that month, the Hyūga joined Konoha. That made you the largest clan to join after the Senju and Uchiha. Not long after, the selection for Hokage began."
"Hashirama alone supported Madara becoming the First Hokage. But in the end, it was Hashirama himself who took the title. What role did the Hyūga play during this pivotal moment, I wonder? I imagine you know better than I do."
Hiashi nodded slowly. "Our clan's records are clear. At the time, aside from the Uchiha, no one supported Madara. Because of our ties to the Second Hokage, we backed Hashirama."
He suddenly realized—his movement had returned.
"At that point, the Sarutobi and Shimura clans held no sway."
Naruto sneered, "Their influence was no more than what the Ino–Shika–Chō trio has today. Their votes were irrelevant—overruled by Hashirama. Without your clan's support, the Hokage seat wouldn't have been decided in just two days."
"But of course, you couldn't support Madara—because it was Tobirama who invited you to join the village."
Hiashi fell silent. After some thought, he said, "The Hyūga made no mistake in our choice."
"You didn't."
Naruto nodded. "Now let's talk about Senju Tobirama. The Second Hokage was far smarter than his brother. To marginalize the Uchiha, he brought in the Hyūga—another dōjutsu clan. And compared to the Sharingan, the Byakugan is far easier to awaken. As long as one trains to a certain level, they're almost guaranteed to awaken it before death—it's just a matter of time."
"On top of that, the Byakugan's insight surpasses that of the Sharingan in many aspects. In that sense, you were the strongest clan in Konoha."
"But ironically, despite being the so-called 'strongest clan,' the Hyūga lacked any true leaders. That's why Tobirama granted you more autonomy than the Uchiha—you posed no real threat to the Senju's power."
"Let's not even get into the jutsu Tobirama created. For example—my Shadow Clone from earlier. Could your Byakugan see through it?"
"I understand what you're implying."
Hiashi stood up. "I need to know how you plan to safely extract the Hyūga from Konoha."
"With this."
Naruto patted the couch. "During the finals of the Chūnin Exams, I'll use Flying Thunder God to teleport all 3,751 members of the Hyūga Clan onto the Firefly."
Hiashi's expression changed. "How do you know the exact number of people in my clan?!"
Naruto smiled. "I'd explain, but unfortunately, you don't know genjutsu… nor do you have Yin chakra. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise what?"
Hiashi was suspicious of Naruto's odd grin.
Naruto sighed with some regret. "Then I could've just brought you to—"
Before he could finish, Kurama's voice interrupted in his mind.
"Naruto, that spiky-haired brat told the Uchiha kid about the Chūnin Exams."
"Oh?"
Naruto's consciousness shifted into the seal. "When was the sync?"
"Ten minutes ago," Kurama chuckled. "Kid bolted home, planning to question you."
"Perfect timing."
With a grin, Naruto exited the seal and immediately received Sasuke's transmission.
"Hiashi-senpai, I'll have to explain the rest another time. For now, let me introduce you to a friend."
"A friend?"
Hiashi looked confused—until a ghostly image appeared in the room.
His expression changed instantly.
"Uchiha Sasuke?!"
"The Hyūga? Hinata's father?"
Sasuke, with his Sharingan active, was just as surprised. But he only spared Hiashi a glance before walking straight to Naruto.
"What's going on?"
"Hiashi-senpai and I were just discussing how to extract the entire Hyūga Clan from Konoha."
Naruto's tone was calm and casual. "We were about to move into the details."
"The entire clan?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "That's quite the move."
Naruto didn't deny the praise. He looked toward Hiashi. "That's all for today. In two days, I'll send something to you."
Hiashi was still trying to piece together the relationship between Naruto and Sasuke, but interrupted quickly, "Wait! I still have—"
Before he could finish, Naruto's Shadow Clone placed a hand on his wrist—and in a blink, Hiashi was back in his tea room at home.
"You're not worried I'll report you to Konoha?"
Hiashi glared coldly at the Shadow Clone.
"Now that's a challenging question."
Naruto replied meaningfully, "Konoha once made you betray your principles—and what did you get in return? Nothing but disappointment. I'd love to see you put that to the test and see what outcome you get this time."
"You're scarier than the Nine-Tails inside you."
Hiashi sighed. "I don't know if this decision is right… but I do know that making up for mistakes always hurts more than the mistake itself. I only hope this doesn't make me the Hyūga's greatest sinner…"
"Then I'll take my leave."
Naruto said coolly, "Let's hope the head of the Hyūga doesn't end up like Uchiha Madara. That would be… inconvenient for me."
"We are not the Uchiha."
Hiashi shook his head slowly, eyes closed. "One last question—where are we going after we leave Konoha?"
"You'll find out in two days."
Naruto smiled. "Also, you misunderstood something. It's your clan that's leaving—I am not. As the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, how could I abandon Konoha?"
"You're not leaving?"
"Of course not."
Naruto laughed brightly. "No matter how much the village hates me—I am still Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha."
Poof!
With a puff of smoke, the Shadow Clone vanished—leaving Hiashi feeling a chill down his spine.
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