Chapter 262: The Formation of a Faction Centered on Akiyama Makoto
Akiyama Makoto's words almost made the elders of the Hyūga clan jump out of their seats in excitement.
The hatred brought to the Hyūga clan by the Cloud Village and the humiliation brought by Hiruzen Sarutobi were topics that could not be mentioned within the clan.
Now, not only had he brought them up, but he was even offering to help solve them. This made the Hyūga clan members unable to contain their excitement.
But soon, the group calmed down. Because the conditions he offered were too generous, what price would they have to pay?
They didn't think that just by marrying Hinata, he would serve the Hyūga clan wholeheartedly.
He wasn't marrying into the Hyūga clan, and he already had nearly ten girlfriends. Just how much influence Hinata had on him was an unknown variable.
And now he was offering such favorable conditions. Did he really not have any other ideas?
It was no wonder the Hyūga clan members were so cautious. Although the Hyūga clan was now nominally the number one clan in Konoha, the previous number one clans in Konoha had all met with bad ends.
Hiashi Hyūga naturally understood what the elders were considering. In fact, he was also startled by Makoto's generous conditions.
So he asked, "Makoto, you've done so much for the Hyūga clan. We feel unworthy of it."
"Is there anything the Hyūga clan can do to help you? Although you and Hinata can't get engaged yet, our interactions can be closer."
This was the sentence Makoto had been waiting for. "I was thinking the same thing."
"You should all know that although Big Sister Tsunade has sufficient status and strength, she has been away from Konoha for so many years and lacks sufficient influence. She will definitely be constrained by certain people at every turn."
"At that time, everyone in the Hyūga clan can help her, and she will definitely let the Hyūga clan take on more key positions."
"Besides that, I know there are some ninja in the Hyūga clan who are not enthusiastic about village missions. I can fund them to work for me."
"To be honest, I have acquired some properties in the Land of Waves, and in the future, they can be responsible for maritime trade between various countries."
He then took out a scroll and handed it to Hiashi.
There wasn't much detailed data on it; it looked more like an advertisement, recording the current business and scale of the Land of Waves Shipping Company, and even contact information.
At first, Hiashi didn't think much of it. But when he saw that the chairman was Makoto and the company's business scale exceeded one hundred billion Ryō, his breathing quickened.
The Hyūga clan wasn't exactly short of money; such a large clan could ensure daily expenses just by doing some side businesses.
But the Hyūga clan wasn't wealthy either, because up until now, their main mode of behavior had been low-key and restrained. After all, there was the precedent of the Uchiha clan before them, and Hiruzen's suppression behind them.
Now it seemed the opportunity for the Hyūga clan to develop and grow a little had arrived.
"I will consider this matter seriously. I will give you a list later. You can hire them according to the village's normal mission prices... But not in the short term. You understand the current situation of the village."
Makoto nodded. Currently, Zabuza and Haku were holding down the fort in the Land of Waves, so it was still manageable for the time being.
Later, he would need some people he could trust, who were strong, and not strictly tied to the village to hold down the fort. After all, he couldn't stay in the Land of Waves forever.
Of course, he could keep a shadow clone in the Land of Waves for reconnaissance and dealing with emergencies.
But he wouldn't do the actual detailed work himself. Otherwise, what would be the difference between him and Naruto in the original story, who became Hokage and did everything himself, working himself to the bone?
Under these circumstances, the Hyūga clan members became trustworthy and useful candidates for him right now.
Trustworthy because of the Caged Bird Seal, and useful because of the Byakugan.
Finally, and most critically, he didn't need to worry about the Hyūga clan expanding too much, because the Hyūga clan strictly enforced intermarriage within the clan, which meant they couldn't have too many clan members in the short term.
Afterward, the elders also asked him for some details. Clearly, some of them were very tempted.
They were probably the kind of people who had status within the clan but no real power, and couldn't make money even if they wanted to.
Now that they had him as a mission window, these people naturally couldn't ask for more.
As for Konoha ninja taking missions from outside, that depended on who they were taking missions from.
An ordinary sponsor naturally wouldn't work, but if it was him... everyone present felt that even Tsunade wouldn't dare say much in the future.
Until noon, Hiashi kept him for a family meal. There were only four of them: Hiashi, Makoto, Hanabi, and Neji.
During this process, Neji became the most restrained person, even taking the initiative to serve tea and water to him. This made Makoto tease him, "Neji, if I ask my father-in-law to remove your Caged Bird Seal now, will your personality change?"
Although he seemed to be joking, he was also prepared to remove the Caged Bird Seal for Neji.
Removing the Caged Bird Seal was a promise he had made to Hinata and Hanabi in the past. With him present, the Hyūga clan didn't need to worry about strength or the Byakugan being leaked, so removing the seal became an option.
Of course, he wouldn't remove everyone's seal all at once.
Because not everyone would feel humiliated and deprived of freedom. Instead, some people might feel that the Caged Bird Seal was a symbol of cohesion.
Don't think it strange. Humans were social animals to begin with. Apart from being ugly, the Caged Bird Seal wasn't fundamentally different from a clan crest, and it also prevented outsiders from targeting their Byakugan.
Without the Caged Bird Seal, many Hyūga clan members probably wouldn't even dare to leave the village.
So Neji could become a breakthrough point. Of course, this matter depended on whether Hiashi agreed.
To his surprise, Neji said seriously, "The clan head told me yesterday that if I can reach the strength of an Elite Jōnin in the future, he will help me remove the Caged Bird Seal."
"At that time, he will also establish this rule. As long as a clan member has the strength to protect themselves, they can ask him to remove the seal. But if the Byakugan is lost because of this, their relatives and descendants must also be held responsible."
He looked at Hiashi in surprise. Hiashi smiled faintly, appearing calm and composed.
However, only he knew that he had only dared to say such words after confirming Makoto's strength yesterday.
Otherwise, relying on himself alone, he wouldn't have had such courage.
Makoto saw through it but didn't say anything, and offered a toast to Hiashi.
After a few cups of wine, Hiashi changed from his usual stern face, put his arm around Makoto's neck, laughed heartily, and praised his strength.
But then, half-crying and half-laughing, he accused him of having too many girls and told him not to mistreat Hinata in the future.
He nodded and agreed. He knew this was his father-in-law using the alcohol to say things that were usually hard to say, so he remained calm throughout.
Hanabi, on the other hand, had a dark expression, looking at her father with disgust, not understanding why he had become like this.
Poor Hiashi probably hadn't expected that today's drinking session would bring his daughter's rebellious phase early.
After the drinking session ended, Hiashi went back to his room to rest. Hanabi pulled Makoto's hand and left the Hyūga house angrily. Only after walking far away did she lower her head and say to him, "I'm sorry, Brother-in-law. My father was too much."
He smiled and pinched her cheek. "You should still call me Big Brother. 'Brother-in-law' sounds too weird right now."
"And your father is also doing this for your sister's sake. Don't you care about your sister the most? This is his way of loving you. Only he can give you this kind of fatherly love. Cherish the present."
Hanabi's body trembled, her eyes reddening. "Big Brother, you mean my father... he..."
"That's right. Your father... once Hinata and I have children, he won't love you anymore."
Hanabi shrieked in anger and kicked him. He laughed heartily, then used a shadow clone to disappear directly.
The atmosphere in Konoha was sorrowful right now, and he didn't want to argue with Hanabi on the street.
After returning home, he summarized the situation from his shadow clones.
All the dead had been dealt with, most of the injured had been discharged from the hospital, and the damaged streets had been simply repaired with Yamato's Wood Style. Konoha had largely restored order.
Of course, the detailed decorations and the calming of people's hearts would take a lot of time to handle; it wasn't something that could be done overnight.
Then there were the prisoners from the Sand and Sound Villages. They were all locked up in the Konoha Prison, strictly guarded by Konoha personnel.
Because Rasa was dead and Gaara was sealed, Konoha's losses were lower than in the original story, so he didn't need to worry about this aspect.
So, at this rate, the collective funeral would probably be held the day after tomorrow, right?
He thought about it. He probably wouldn't go out again for the next few days.
After working hard for so long, it would be good to take this opportunity to rest for a while.
But to his surprise, the peace he expected didn't appear. Instead, he received a large pile of visiting cards.
He took a closer look. They were actually from merchants, nobles, and feudal lords of the Land of Fire, and even some from the Land of Wind and surrounding small countries.
Their intention was obvious. Hearing of his strength in turning the tide and his special status as a non-ninja, they wanted to familiarize themselves with him.
This behavior was within his expectations, but he hadn't expected them to be in such a hurry.
Then he realized. This group was probably worried that he would become Hokage in a few days, and they wouldn't even have the chance to meet him then.
After realizing this, he considered whether to meet with them—finally, he decided to meet with a portion of the top nobles and merchants.
In the future, his medical career would still need their financial support. It would be good to show them a thing or two now.
So for the next two days, his house was full of guests.
And strangely enough, after presenting their visiting cards and meeting gifts, the visitors immediately became his patients.
For those who were sick, he alleviated their pain. For those who weren't, he gave them a little life force, enough to keep them spirited for ten days or so.
This consumption could be recovered in a single breath for him, but it made these top nobles and tycoons look at him as if they were looking at an immortal, crying and shouting to pay more money for his treatment.
He naturally refused this. If they wanted him to do it himself, don't even think about it without a starting price of ten million Ryō.
In this way, his name circulated quickly among this group of people. And not because of his strength, but because he had powerful medical ninjutsu abilities comparable to Tsunade's.
Some of them even believed that he could grant eternal youth—this was a false rumor, but coincidentally, he did have that ability.
During these two days, he also visited Yamanaka Inoichi. "Coincidentally," Nara Shikaku and Akimichi Chōza were also there.
In this night banquet, the two sides didn't talk about serious matters. He just said one sentence, that he would support his Big Sister Tsunade, and then the guests and host enjoyed themselves.
As for the others, including Guy, Kakashi, and his peers, there was no need for him to visit them personally.
Not because of strength, but because they didn't have a clear and heavyweight tendency in Konoha's political landscape. Visiting them for this kind of issue would only make them unhappy.
In addition, he had harvested more than sixty simulation attempts, bringing his total to 163.
Such a huge increase made him impatient to start simulating with Tsunade.
After the collective funeral tomorrow, he could logically leave Konoha and go to Tsunade for comfort.
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 200 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you