The reason Hyuga Hanako held such a stable position within the Hyuga clan wasn't just because she was Hiashi's wife or because she'd given birth to a prodigious son like Hyuga Satoru.
Her own ability to manage people and situations was a key reason she remained firmly respected within the clan. Even after her son had been away training for more than two years, Hanako was able to restrain her affection as a mother and calmly tell him to go visit the long-unseen Hyuga Shin. That alone showed how steady she was.
Although Hyuga Shin was an elder of the main family, he ultimately belonged to the older generation, and it had been many years since he stepped down from the position of clan head. With Hiashi performing excellently as the current clan head, the old elder was, in truth, already "past his era."
Had the Hyuga's next heir been someone reckless or heavy-handed instead of Hiashi's line, an elder like Hyuga Shin might have been pushed aside long ago.
Hiashi's upright, steady nature gave people peace of mind at critical moments, and the fact that the Hyuga clan could remain tightly united today was closely tied to both Hiashi's firmness and Hanako's gentle tact.
After spending a short time with his mother and Hanabi, Satoru made his way to the clan shrine to meet his great-granduncle.
Hyuga Shin did not live with Hiashi's family. Although he visited often, now that Hiashi was away, Shin had little to talk about with Hanako and the two girls left at home, so he spent most of his time in his own quarters, living quietly.
His room was located in a side wing of the Hyuga shrine. According to Shin, this was where he felt closest to his departed relatives and comrades; staying there kept loneliness at bay.
When Satoru arrived, Hyuga Shin was seated in a rocking chair in the main hall of the shrine, the chair facing the doorway. Behind him were the memorial tablets of generations of Hyuga elders and heroes. Bathed in the warm midday sunlight, he rested peacefully.
Age had naturally diminished his energy. Ever since returning from the Kumo–Konoha War, Hyuga Shin had aged rapidly; now his hair and beard were fully white, and he looked every bit the old man nearing the end of his years.
"Great-grandfather," Satoru called softly. "Are you resting?"
He stepped into the hall, walking lightly as he approached the rocking chair.
At the sound of his voice, Hyuga Shin slowly opened his eyes, squinting as he glanced at Satoru, a sharp gleam flickering in his gaze.
"Heh… Satoru, when did you get back, brat?"
With his perception, Hyuga Shin had already sensed Satoru approaching the shrine long before he stepped inside. But it wasn't until Satoru spoke that Shin leisurely sat up and asked with a small smile.
Even at his age, he retained a certain subtlety and pride. He was delighted that Satoru had come to see him, but he hid that joy behind a calm exterior and pretended indifference.
"I just got back not long ago," Satoru replied with a smile. "As soon as I put my things down, I came straight to see you."
Seeing that Shin wanted to rise, he instinctively reached out to support his great-granduncle's arm.
Though elderly, Hyuga Shin was still physically strong—he didn't truly need help standing. Nevertheless, he seemed to enjoy being assisted by his grandson and used Satoru's firm arm to lift himself up.
After lightly patting that arm, Hyuga Shin finally took a closer look at him and praised with a smile:
"Haven't seen you for a while, and you've grown even sturdier."
"I can tell you haven't slacked off on your training."
"Satoru, you've done very well."
Hyuga Shin was satisfied with everything about Satoru—talented, hardworking, calm, methodical. Whether from an emotional perspective or from the standpoint of grooming a successor for the main family, this grandson was essentially perfect in his eyes.
At his age, he no longer had ambition in the usual sense. His final wish was to guard the clan one last time and help Hiashi cultivate a qualified heir.
And Satoru was someone who made Hyuga Shin feel that this final wish was nearly fulfilled.
"Now that you're back, do you have any plans?" Shin asked. "Did the Hokage assign you anything new?"
Chats with elders always went this way—after a few casual words, they inevitably veered toward work and recent circumstances. Even in the shinobi world, that habit never changed.
"The Fourth wants me to join the new ANBU unit he established," Satoru answered.
"I neither refused nor agreed. I told him I needed to come home and discuss it with my family."
"Great-grandfather, do you have any advice for me?"
When dealing with elders, you had to give them the chance to offer "life advice." Even if you didn't follow it, asking was necessary—and most elders were happy to share their thoughts.
"ANBU, hm?" Shin murmured.
"Heh, that Fourth… the village already has two covert divisions, and he still wants to make a new one."
"Looks like his relationship with the Third's son isn't very good."
The "Third's son" he referred to was the current ANBU Commander—the Third Hokage's eldest son. As for the younger son, he'd quarreled with the family last year and left the village to serve among the Twelve Guardian Ninja, protecting the daimyo.
With the world entering a new era of peace, the daimyo clearly felt uneasy about Konoha's overwhelming military strength.
Partly for his own security, partly to balance Konoha's power, the daimyo had formed the Twelve Guardian Ninja last year—top-tier fighters gathered from all across the Land of Fire.
Each one possessed at least jonin-class strength.
High-level jonin were rare in this world; twelve such elites could easily sway the outcome of a small war. So although there were only twelve of them, their combined strength was anything but trivial.
Together with the daimyo's personal guards, they could likely topple a minor nation with ease.
Still, the daimyo's moves did little to change Minato's strategy. His priority was to consolidate power within the village.
Creating a new ANBU was one way to strengthen his own control.
With Danzo's Root, the Third Hokage's ANBU, and now Minato's new ANBU… compact little Konoha now had three separate covert divisions.
It was starting to feel like layer after layer of "watchers in the dark," each organization keeping an eye on the others.
Who knew which of those three would eventually become the one with the most terrifying authority?
"You weren't wrong not to accept the Fourth's invitation outright," Hyuga Shin said.
"Our Hyuga clan has no need to get deeply involved in the village's internal power struggles."
"Whether it's the Third, the Fourth, or Advisor Danzo—our clan has the strength to remain above it all."
"Rather than joining ANBU and being bound by others, it's better to work for the clan's own interests."
"That is what makes a proper heir to the Hyuga main family."
Hyuga Shin understood the village's political landscape clearly, and he supported Satoru's cautious stance.
Indeed, the Hyuga were currently aligned with the Fourth, but that did not mean they had to prioritize Minato's interests in all things.
As an old fox, Shin knew well that true "assistance" should be offered at critical moments—not blindly or excessively.
Minato now had a firm foothold. The Hyuga did not need to appear overly eager; that would only diminish their perceived value.
All they needed was to keep growing stronger and wait for the moment when the village's balance began to tilt. Standing firmly beside Minato at that time would show their true weight.
And if, in the end, the Fourth crushed the Third and Danzo completely in political struggle—would the Hyuga risk being sidelined afterward?
On that point, the Hyuga had nothing to fear. They were a kekkei genkai clan; Konoha could not afford to lose the Byakugan.
"Great-grandfather, other than training hard, I don't seem able to help the clan with much right now," Satoru said.
"And the clan doesn't seem to have anything urgent that needs handling."
As he spoke, his gaze drifted toward the shrine.
On the offering table lay a dried human head—but strangely, its right eye was covered with a sealing tag.
It was the head of Ao of the Hidden Mist—the head Satoru had personally brought back from the battlefield. That mission had been his first long journey away from home.
Years had passed; parts of the skull were already exposed, yet the seal on the Byakugan remained intact. Even though Ao had long been dead, the technique continued to function.
The Hyuga didn't mind. As long as the eye remained within the clan, they didn't care whether the rest was sealed or rotting.
That had been Satoru's first major "contribution" to the clan. But now, there didn't seem to be any similar tasks awaiting him.
"Training?" Hyuga Shin snorted softly. "You can do far more than just train."
He chuckled, shaking his head. Though they hadn't seen each other for more than two years, he could immediately tell that Satoru's strength had grown tremendously.
Considering Satoru's age and current ability, Shin was beginning to think it was time for him to truly walk the ninja world—time to let allies and enemies alike see what the next Hyuga heir really was.
In simple terms, Hyuga Shin no longer believed Satoru faced any meaningful danger of dying young.
With Hyuga bodyguards at his side and his own power on top of that, barring the encirclement of a large army, there were very few people in the world who could threaten his life.
If, with risk reduced to that extent, Satoru still couldn't walk openly in the shinobi world… then it could only be called fate.
Since the Warring States era, every great clan had survived by showing overwhelming battle strength—even the Hyuga were no exception.
"Satoru, a money-exchange office under our clan was attacked some time ago," Shin said at last, "and suffered heavy losses."
"The attacker was someone covered head to toe in a black cloak, with red cloud patterns on it."
"A large amount of money stored in the office was stolen. We have people investigating, but no solid clues yet."
"Satoru, why don't you take charge of this case?"
While speaking, Hyuga Shin walked to the offering table, reached beneath it, and retrieved a scroll from a hidden compartment. Returning, he handed it to Satoru.
Listening while unrolling the scroll, Satoru's expression grew serious.
He had known the clan operated money-exchange offices.
An exchange office was essentially a black-market bounty center—the equivalent of an underground ninja village. Clients issued targets, the office posted bounties, and any ninja who delivered a head could immediately claim payment.
Of course, the exchange office took a cut from each completed job.
To compete for business, these offices kept large reserves of cash to guarantee prompt payouts. Only those with instant liquidity could earn the trust of bounty hunters.
The Hyuga clan had deep financial strength, so their exchange offices always performed well.
But long wars had produced many rogue ninja. With peace, these wanderers struggled to make a living. Wealthy employers preferred shinobi from the great villages, so some rogues inevitably set their sights on the money held by exchange offices.
The Hyuga-run offices had faced attacks before but had never been breached—so the heavy losses at the southern exchange office were the first such incident in years, immediately drawing the clan's attention.
What caught Satoru's eye most was the attacker's outfit: black cloak… red clouds…
If his guess was right, that pointed to a ninja from Akatsuki.
From what Satoru knew, after Yahiko's death, Akatsuki had transformed into a mercenary organization. In its early phase, it focused on acquiring large sums of money; only later did it begin hunting the great villages' tailed beasts.
At this stage, Akatsuki shouldn't yet be openly collecting biju. Instead, they should still be raising funds and consolidating their grip over the Land of Rain.
Someone from Akatsuki attacking an exchange office… there was only one likely candidate in his mind.
"Great-grandfather, was the attacker alone?" Satoru asked, frowning as he scanned the report. In his memories, Akatsuki members usually acted in pairs. Did they operate solo in the early days because their manpower was limited?
"The number?" Hyuga Shin repeated. "Mm. According to intel from our branch family in that region, it was likely just one."
"You mean…"
He glanced sideways at Satoru in mild surprise.
After thinking for a moment, Satoru gave a casual explanation:
"Doesn't the attacker's outfit feel a bit… theatrical? A black cloak with big red clouds—doesn't look like something an ordinary missing-nin would wear. I was wondering if it might be some group trying to build up its name quickly."
"That's why I asked."
He lowered his gaze to the scroll again, but his thoughts had already moved ahead—toward the shadowy organization whose trail had finally appeared at the edge of the Hyuga clan's world.
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