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Daimyo Manor - Study Room
Shin sat in his study, listening to the messenger's report. His expression froze for a moment.
His hand, which held a teacup, stopped in mid-air.
Takeshi immediately noticed the sudden silence that filled the room.
After the messenger finished his report, he repeated the question that Minato Namikaze had asked.
"Then... what about the concubine selection? Did the Hokage not mention anything about it?"
Shin blinked. His mind worked for a moment before he connected these two completely unrelated matters together.
Then, he felt a sense of absurdity wash over him.
An indescribable sense of absurdity that almost made him spit out the tea in his mouth.
"You mean..." Shin's tone sounded a bit strange. "Those people from Konoha, including their Fourth Hokage, all thought that my previous pressure on the Hyuga was to make their clan hand over a woman?"
The messenger lowered his head, not daring to reply. But his silence itself was an answer.
Shin was completely speechless. He raised his hand and rubbed his temples.
He remembered very clearly that the edict for the concubine selection had been issued to the entire Land of Fire.
The true purpose behind it was to take the opportunity to pressure and screen those old noble families. He wanted to see who was truly loyal and who harbored ulterior motives. It was also a convenient way to complete a power reshuffle among the nobility.
As for Konoha... what he had prepared for Konoha from the very beginning were only two specific choices.
One was about the future Genius Cultivation Program.
The other was about the current Guardian Shinobi Twelve.
These two choices were his true means to bring Konoha under his control.
Concubine selection?
That was, at best, a political reality show meant for ordinary civilians to watch.
When did he ever consider this minor matter as a standard for testing Konoha's loyalty?
Did he really need to use such a low-level method just to covet a pair of Byakugan?
Ridiculous!
Now it seemed that the Uchiha clan's overly enthusiastic attitude was probably the beginning of this massive misunderstanding.
The Uchiha moved first. Then the Hyuga moved. Other shinobi clans followed their lead... As a result, the entire village of Konoha was plunged into a strange atmosphere where everyone believed the daimyo wanted to snatch away the shinobi world's beauties.
Thinking about this situation, Shin couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Haha..."
The laughter wasn't loud, but it made both Takeshi and the messenger feel their scalps tingle with nervousness.
"It seems I overestimated them," Shin muttered to himself. His tone carried a hint of helpless self-mockery.
"I thought they really had some backbone and vision. But I didn't expect their way of thinking to still be stuck in the primitive stage of snatching people and fighting over territories."
Shinobi were shinobi after all.
Their worldview was firmly confined by bloodline limits, ninjutsu, and clan legacies.
It was indeed a bit difficult for them to understand higher-level political games and strategies.
In the future, when issuing edicts, the wording would need to be more rigorous. Every single word would need to be broken down and explained clearly. There could be no more phrases that might cause such misunderstandings.
Shin reflected on this lesson.
Although this misunderstanding was ultimately harmless, and he'd even gotten to watch an amusing show unfold, it had slowed down the progress of his overall plan.
He didn't like this feeling of inefficiency.
"Never mind," he said, waving his hand dismissively. He regained his regal demeanor and continued, "Go back and tell Minato to relay my exact words to the Hyuga clan, word for word."
"Tell them to stop wasting time pondering over useless things."
"I'm not interested in watching their tragic drama. I only want to see real results."
"Yes, my lord!"
The messenger bowed deeply and withdrew as if he'd been granted a great pardon.
Shin picked up his teacup and took a light sip. His gaze became profound and distant.
A bunch of fools, he thought.
Hyuga Clan Residence
The atmosphere inside the Hyuga compound was oppressive and heavy.
Hyuga Hiashi knelt in the main seat. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep and stress.
Several elders from the main family sat on either side of him. All of them wore solemn expressions on their faces.
When Minato Namikaze stepped into the room, everyone inside immediately looked at him.
"Lord Hokage," Hyuga Hiashi's voice carried the resolute tone of someone who had already given up everything.
"If you're still here for that matter, then please leave immediately."
"My Hyuga clan would rather be shattered stone than remain an intact tile!"
He believed this was the final ultimatum being sent by the daimyo manor.
However, Minato Namikaze just looked at him silently. His expression was complex, showing both sympathy and embarrassment at the same time.
"Hiashi," Minato said carefully. "I'm not here for the concubine selection."
Hyuga Hiashi's tone remained stiff and defensive. "Then, Fourth Hokage, what exactly are you here for?"
Minato ignored Hiashi's bold declaration completely. Instead, he stated the daimyo's original intention clearly.
He explained the two choices that Shin had actually prepared for Konoha. The Genius Cultivation Program and the Guardian Shinobi Twelve.
He finally added in a serious tone, "If the daimyo manor doesn't receive your reply within three days..."
"Officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will personally visit your compound."
As his words fell into the room, complete silence followed.
Everyone was stunned.
They had anticipated countless different possibilities. Coercion, inducement, or even direct military encirclement of their compound.
But they never expected it to be such a simple message.
Hyuga Hiashi's mouth opened slightly. He asked subconsciously, "Just... this?"
"What about the concubine selection?" one elder couldn't help but press forward. "Lord Hokage... the daimyo no longer wants our clan's Byakugan?"
This question immediately made Minato show a strange expression on his face.
He looked at the Hyuga clan members, who all remained on high alert. Finally, he couldn't help but let out a long, weary sigh.
"I think we all got it completely wrong," Minato said with a helpless tone.
"From the very beginning to the very end, the daimyo never linked the concubine selection with your Hyuga clan specifically."
"He doesn't care whether you send someone over or not. And he certainly doesn't care about obtaining your Byakugan."
"That edict was issued for the whole country to see. It was meant for the noble families."
"Whether Konoha participates or not is simply not important to him at all."
The words hung in the air.
The Hyuga clan members present felt a buzzing sensation in their heads. They were completely speechless, choked with conflicting emotions.
Hyuga Hiashi's face, which had been taut with desperate resolve just moments ago, instantly froze.
What... did he just say?
The daimyo doesn't care about the Byakugan?
It's not important to him?
Then their desperate struggle, the one they had staked the lives of their entire clan on... their precious bloodline limit, which they wanted to protect at all costs... the clan annihilation crisis that had kept them awake at night for weeks...
He was saying it was all just a misunderstanding?
Hyuga Hiashi's head buzzed loudly. The world seemed to spin around him.
Immediately following that realization, what surged into his heart wasn't humiliation or anger. Instead, it was a burst of pure ecstasy and overwhelming relief.
The sword that had been hanging over the Hyuga clan's head had just... disappeared?
No, wait.
That sword had never existed from the beginning to the end!
All this time, they had been scaring themselves over nothing!
This relief was so intense and sudden that Hyuga Hiashi's tense muscles instantly relaxed. Cold sweat soaked through his clothes completely.
But what followed immediately after was endless fear and deep shame!
He had almost, because of a foolish misunderstanding, personally buried the entire Hyuga clan with his own hands.
The Hyuga's proud Byakugan insight, that extreme caution that had been ingrained in their bones for generations, had now become nothing more than a pathetic joke.
The daimyo had never even coveted their Byakugan in the first place.
And they, for this imagined threat, had almost sacrificed everything they held dear.
Just thinking about how his terrible misjudgment had almost led them all to a dead end made Hyuga Hiashi's knees go weak beneath him.
His usually dignified and stern face was now only pale and filled with shame.
He finally understood the truth.
The Genius Cultivation Program... the Guardian Shinobi Twelve... these were what the daimyo truly wanted from them!
The daimyo didn't want a woman or a pair of eyes.
He wanted the entire Hyuga clan's complete and unreserved loyalty!
That same afternoon, Hyuga Hiashi personally sent two lists to the Hokage building.
One was the application form for the Hyuga clan's participation in the Genius Cultivation Program. On it were prominently written the names of almost all the young generation members of the Hyuga clan.
If Hiashi himself didn't already have children, and if his younger brother's children weren't still so young, he would have wanted to include them in the application as well.
The other list contained the candidate names for the Guardian Shinobi Twelve. On this list, Hiashi had written his own younger brother's name with his own hand.
Hyuga Hizashi.
The Hyuga clan, with the most thorough and complete gesture possible, offered their absolute loyalty to the daimyo.