"Understood! You two, please come with me…"
Ko Hyuga caught something familiar in the Anbu's voice, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. He pointed at two branch house members beside him. "You two, go report to the clan head!"
The branch house guards carried out the order without a word, like puppets with their strings pulled.
"The main house is guiding us in person?"
Watching Ko Hyuga grin like he was trying to leave a good impression, Hizashi Hyuga felt something bitter run through him.
He looked pathetic.
Hizashi didn't want to be like the main house, standing a head taller for no reason. He just wanted to live as himself, as an independent person.
Still…
Seeing Ko Hyuga, who used to swagger around the compound like he owned the place, show this side of himself…
Hizashi couldn't help the small, sharp satisfaction that rose in his chest.
Because it proved something.
The main house, at least a big part of it, only acted tough in front of the branch house because they had the Caged Bird Seal.
Out in the world, if you didn't have real ability, that status meant nothing.
The compound's reception hall.
The head of the Hyuga Clan, and Hizashi Hyuga's biological father, Tenzo Hyuga, sat upright in the main seat, waiting for Sakumo Hatake and Hizashi to arrive.
Below him sat several main house members discussing the day's situation, along with branch house members who were present as escorts, as guards, as always.
When the two of them stepped through the doorway, Tenzo Hyuga rose slowly. His smile was polite, official, friendly. He walked over and asked, "What brings you to the Hyuga compound today?"
"Does the Third Hokage have instructions?"
Hizashi Hyuga stared hard at his father.
The way he got up. The way he moved toward him.
That smile.
Hizashi had never seen it aimed at him before.
And at the same time, Tenzo Hyuga was weighing Anbu's purpose. What happened now?
He had seen the clash between Hiruzen and Orochimaru.
As clan head, he wasn't an idiot like Ko Hyuga. His Byakugan control was among the best in the clan.
Having one or two useless main house members who just sat in their positions wasn't a real problem.
The Hyuga Clan was wealthy and powerful. They could afford to feed dead weight.
You just had to choose the successor carefully.
Still, Tenzo Hyuga was genuinely unsettled.
The Hyuga usually avoided using the Byakugan at full power in the village, to keep suspicion off them, but there were always moments where Tenzo could catch the condition of important people.
Like today.
Through his Byakugan, Hiruzen's chakra pathways looked vigorous, his chakra reserves full, as if he'd turned ten years younger…
How did that old man do it?
That was why Tenzo had been anxiously waiting for Hizashi's report, asking Ko Hyuga again and again whether Hizashi had returned.
If the Hyuga wanted to maintain neutrality, to enjoy the protection of an allied hidden village without bleeding themselves dry for it…
Then they needed a clear-eyed grasp of the village's shifting situation.
Riding the fence was never easy.
"I joined Anbu of my own will."
Hizashi Hyuga forced down the tremble in his hands and the surge in his heart. He slowly lifted his mask away from his face. "If the Hyuga Clan has things that need to be communicated to the Hokage-sama, and if there are reasons you can't speak openly…"
"You can tell me. I'll write a report and deliver it to the Third Hokage in time!"
The moment Hizashi opened his mouth, Tenzo Hyuga felt something go wrong.
To preserve the main house and branch house system, Tenzo had always enforced Hizashi's status and treatment by branch house standards, without exception.
Because if his own younger son could be made to bend, then no one else in the clan was allowed to complain.
It was the strongest endorsement of the clan's rules, and it worked.
Yes, it meant letting his youngest suffer. But in exchange, the branch house endured more quietly, and the main house judged Tenzo more favorably.
A proven method, polished over years. A true believer in the Caged Bird Seal.
But even so, Hizashi was his son. Tenzo recognized his voice instantly.
His heart dropped.
His pale eyes widened.
His youngest had joined Anbu without informing him?
"Hizashi… it's you?!"
Ko Hyuga's eyes bulged. Anger flared in him out of nowhere as he barked, "Why are you only back now? I told you to check the situation and report immediately. Are you deaf?!"
Damn it.
He'd actually smiled at him earlier.
I'm main house.
Ko Hyuga was furious. For a main house member with no real ability, his pride came from one thing: absolute control over the branch house.
That control had lasted more than twenty years. It had never failed him.
And it wasn't just his anger. The other main house members in the room were irritated too.
A branch house member, privately cooperating with the Hokage?
If anyone was going to "talk," it would be the main house. The branch house were tools, workers, bargaining chips.
And now you were trying to sit at the table yourself?
It was betrayal.
Ko Hyuga's eyes flicked across the other main house members' faces, gauging their reactions. Confidence settled in him, and he prepared to keep going.
It was his real role here.
If you had no strength, then all you could be was the loud mouth that said the ugly things.
He had no power and no diplomacy. This was the only niche left to him.
"What's his name?" Sakumo Hatake, who had been silent until now, pointed at Ko Hyuga and spoke.
Ko Hyuga stiffened. A whole basket of words jammed back down his throat.
"Ko Hyuga." After a brief silence, Hizashi answered with a faint smile.
"I'll remember you." Sakumo nodded. "I've worked in Anbu a long time. This is the first time I've seen someone demand that Anbu, directly under the Hokage, report to a ninja clan to their face…"
"Since I heard it, I can't pretend it didn't happen."
Sakumo's tone stayed even, but there was coldness under it. "Ko Hyuga, are you ordering Anbu to serve you? And you're unhappy about Hizashi joining Anbu?"
Ko Hyuga's gaze met Sakumo Hatake's, and he went soft instantly.
"No! That's not what I meant…" Ko stammered. "I just…"
He fumbled for several seconds and still couldn't form a coherent excuse.
Tenzo watched the scene and gave a small shake of his head.
A closed compound kept the Hyuga secure, yes. But it also narrowed their horizons, stunted their social sense, and made them childish.
But that weakness was unavoidable. The Hyuga had to keep the main house and branch house structure. The ancestors' rules could not be changed.
All that mattered was raising Hiashi properly. For the clan's survival, this was necessary.
Those thoughts flashed through Tenzo's mind as he stepped in to smooth things over.
"I sincerely apologize. Ko has no such intention. He rarely leaves the compound and doesn't understand Anbu."
"He's thoughtless. Please forgive him. I will discipline him strictly."
As he spoke, Tenzo's eyes caught the short blade at Sakumo's waist. His expression tightened.
So it was that man.
It seemed his youngest son had sold himself for a very high price.
"Is that so?" Sakumo nodded. "Understood."
Sakumo was pleased with Hizashi's performance. That was why he'd been willing to step in.
Hizashi hadn't said the Third Hokage invited him. In front of the clan, he emphasized that he had entered Anbu voluntarily.
That was a pledge.
It gave both the Hokage and the main house a step to stand on, and it pulled the matter into the open by placing responsibility on himself.
Well done.
"Hizashi, do well from here on out. I'm watching you." Sakumo Hatake patted Hizashi's shoulder, and his figure vanished like a ghost.
So fast.
The Hyuga in the room cried out in their hearts.
Even with the Byakugan, that kind of speed would be hard to keep up with.
Even if you could see it, your body probably wouldn't react in time.
Hizashi Hyuga stood in the center of the reception hall. He swept his gaze across the faces of the Hyuga ninja around him.
He didn't lower his eyes.
He didn't act humble.
The main house members who met his stare were furious, but Sakumo's cold questioning of Ko Hyuga still rang in their ears.
And Hizashi's Anbu mask still hung in his hand like a warning.
For a moment, everywhere Hizashi's gaze landed, the main house could only snort and turn away.
And in that same moment, in the eyes of the branch house members present, a fierce envy burned bright.
What kind of freedom was this?
What kind of authority?
At last, Hizashi and Tenzo Hyuga met each other's eyes, father and son.
"I'm going to rest now. From now on, please don't send anyone to clean my room," Hizashi said slowly. "If you feel I've brought trouble to the clan, I can move out."
"How could that be, Hizashi…" Tenzo's knuckles stood out white beneath his sleeve, but his face still wore a composed smile. "The clan supports you. Of course we can meet such requests. Haha!"
Hizashi gave a small nod. "Thank you for understanding."
That gesture made the main house's anger surge again.
What was that supposed to be?
That's the clan head. That's your father.
What kind of equal-to-equal attitude is that?
The moment he stepped out of the reception hall—
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Hizashi suddenly laughed.
It was loud. Unrestrained. And somewhere inside it, there was the faint tremor of a sob.
He threw his head back as he laughed and walked out. Today, he wasn't a caged bird.
The sound echoed through the Hyuga compound.
It stoked the main house's fury.
But it also carved itself into every branch house member's memory.
Hizashi lifted his eyes. In the distance, atop the Hokage Rock, the Third Hokage's stone face glowed under the setting sun, almost as if it had been coated in gold.
"Third Hokage-sama…"
Hizashi bowed deeply toward Hokage Rock.
"Thank you for your grace. Hizashi has nothing to repay you with but this life!"
On the other side of the village…
Fugaku Uchiha, along with members of the Konoha Military Police Force, was also reporting the day's events to the current clan head, Isshin Uchiha.
Isshin puffed on his pipe again and again. Smoke curled around him as his brows knotted tight.
As Setsuna's younger brother, he was a spokesman for the Uchiha hawk faction.
What Fugaku brought him today left a foul taste in his mouth.
How the hell did that old bastard get younger again?
"He used the First Hokage's forbidden technique?"
Isshin spat out a mouthful of smoke and cursed, "Damn it, that Senju Tobirama. Even dead, he still won't stop!"
Fugaku let out a dry laugh.
Inside the Uchiha compound, among the older hawks, that line came up every other breath.
If their eyesight got worse, they blamed him. If a kid's ninjutsu training went poorly, they blamed him…
Sometimes Fugaku honestly wondered if those old men would blame the Second Hokage even when they were constipated.
"Isshin-sama, forget Senju Tobirama for a second. We have to face the real issue."
Fugaku's expression turned grave. "The Third Hokage's strength… do you think anyone in our clan can match it?"
"And his student, Orochimaru, is hiding a technique even a Three Tomoe can't see through."
Thinking back to what Orochimaru had shown, Fugaku's face twisted strangely.
It wasn't that Fugaku lacked tact and decided to insult him on the spot by calling him "like a monster."
That posture really was… deranged.
Snake spits out me, I spit out snake, snake spits out a sword?
He gets burned by Fire Style from someone on that level, opens his mouth and spits out snakes, the snakes spit him out, and suddenly he's refreshed?
What, was that some kind of miniature Izanagi?
As one of the Uchiha's real power holders, the vice-captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, Fugaku knew about the forbidden technique that could rewrite reality itself…
Izanagi, once praised as the Uchiha's second life.
It was one of Fugaku's sources of pride.
Because a dojutsu that powerful and mysterious was something you couldn't find anywhere else in the shinobi world, no matter how hard you looked.
But after seeing Orochimaru, Fugaku couldn't keep a straight face.
Heroes were everywhere.
"Tricks. Not worth mentioning!"
Isshin Uchiha snorted. "It can't possibly be as profound as Izanagi. As for Hiruzen Sarutobi… he's that Sarutobi Sasuke's son. Having some talent isn't surprising."
"Sure, it's not Izanagi. But Orochimaru doesn't need to go blind either…" Fugaku pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. "You talk about staying tough every day, but we can't just be stubborn for nothing."
"You know our Three Tomoe members aren't that many anymore. The younger kids don't have any real geniuses."
"Shisui is decent, but he's Kagami Uchiha's descendant…"
At that, Isshin fell silent.
After a long time, the old Uchiha sighed. "Fugaku, I'm not a fool."
"Being hawkish doesn't mean rebellion. It's a legacy of thought. It's vigilance."
Isshin spoke slowly. "The village was built by the Senju and the Uchiha together…"
"Yes, the clan head and Hashirama Senju-sama fought to the death for reasons we still don't understand. But did the Uchiha stop being loyal?"
Fugaku gave a small laugh. "The elders say the clan head left without telling anyone, walked right out Konoha's front gate, and you all thought he was just going for a stroll…"
"Then the fight at the Valley of the End started out of nowhere, and no one even reacted in time…"
Isshin Uchiha smacked Fugaku on the head with his pipe.
"You brat! How could he not have said anything!"
But his gaze clouded when the topic came up.
"He did. He did say it. But back then… nobody wanted to go back to living on edge."
"So everyone said they'd think about it. The enthusiasm really wasn't there…"
"Everyone thought, the clan head is there, Hashirama Senju-sama is a good man. Even if that Senju Tobirama is rotten, he can't do much to the clan, right?"
"Who would've thought Madara-sama and Hashirama Senju-sama would suddenly fight to the death?"
"Madara-sama died. Hashirama Senju-sama was badly wounded. And then that Senju Tobirama took over as the Second Hokage… while neither of them was around."
"Clan head" was the Uchiha's unique way of referring to Madara Uchiha.
And for Hashirama Senju, this elder who had lived through the Warring States era still held a measure of respect.
But the moment Senju Tobirama was mentioned, everything changed.
Hatred flickered in Isshin's eyes. "That man can never be trusted…"
"Even in the Warring States era, his hands were stained with Uchiha blood. He had a sick obsession with the Sharingan and Uchiha bloodlines. Who knows how many of our people he dissected…"
"After the village was founded, he kept pushing the Uchiha out. He smeared Madara-sama's name, made the village's children believe he was a butcher, all to build momentum for the next Hokage election!"
"And after he became Hokage, his methods got even more vicious!"
"To split the Uchiha, he took the most talented, Kagami, as a personal guard, using him as a wedge to divide us…"
Fugaku frowned. "Taking him as a guard is still bringing our people into the upper ranks, isn't it?"
"Looking only at that, sure." Isshin snorted. "Then tell me why, when Senju Tobirama stayed behind, only Kagami died!"
"Kagami's teammates, the ones who are now in the village's high ranks, did even one of them ever show the Uchiha any protection?"
"Are you going to call all of that coincidence?"
"And that Danzo Shimura… his malice toward the Uchiha never faded. He's proud of it. He boasts about being the one most like that bastard Senju Tobirama."
"Those Foundation shinobi are openly watching our compound!"
Isshin shook his head.
"I tell you to read history books because I'm not trying to hurt you. I'm trying to keep you from being tricked."
"Can Senju Tobirama's students and grandstudents be anything but poison?"
"If we don't keep a hawkish posture, if we don't pass that will down to the kids, then when all the old men are dead and nobody remembers…"
"That'll be the day the Uchiha are cleaned out. The day we're wiped off the map!"
"Do you understand?"
Isshin glared at Fugaku, furious that he had to spell it out.
Fugaku nodded, half understanding, half not. "Then when do we reclaim our glory? Do we just keep living like this forever…"
"Wait. Endure."
Isshin said it slowly. "We haven't lost. We're waiting for a turning point."
"Our bloodline holds endless possibility. That's the Uchiha's core advantage…"
"When the next clan head appears, when a new Senju Tobirama's equal is born, everything will get better."
And the next day…
Hiruzen arrived early at the Hokage's office, and his mind was already turning over the Uchiha problem.
"The Second Hokage left us an inheritance…"
"And he also left a mess."
"A thousand-year grudge turned into a historical burden. This won't be easy."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, sinking into thought.