"Huh??"
Hinata blinked blankly. "Are you some kind of god?"
"Not really."
"But Father said that right now, maybe only a god can help us solve this trouble."
"That's just because your old man's vision is too narrow."
Akashō leapt down from the courtyard wall and said with a smile,
"Anyway, you just need to know I can handle it for you. Where's your father right now?"
"In the main hall."
Hinata pointed toward the house behind her.
"Good. Then stay here and behave. I'll go help your father deal with this."
"Mm, okay. Thank you."
Hinata watched as Akashō slid the door open and entered the house. She frowned slightly, putting a finger to her lips.
"Can he really help Father and the others solve this problem…?"
...
On the other side, Akashō arrived at the main hall. Before he even stepped in, he could hear the Hyūga Hiashi brothers arguing in low voices inside.
He didn't go in right away, instead standing outside for a while to listen.
It turned out that Hyūga Hizashi, worried about his older brother and mindful of Hiashi's position as clan head, wanted to take the blame in his place. After all, they were twins and looked identical—if they went through with it, it would at least count as giving the Hidden Cloud Village an explanation.
But the problem was, if the Hidden Cloud Village's true goal was the Byakugan—or if this was just a probe—then such a move would be meaningless, nothing more than a pointless sacrifice. Moreover, as the clan head and elder brother, Hiashi would never easily agree to such a decision.
That was why the two of them were arguing endlessly.
Akashō shook his head, pushed the door open, and walked into the main hall, immediately drawing the brothers' attention and halting their argument.
"Uzumaki Akashō."
Hizashi's already furrowed brows tightened even further when he saw him.
With a cold snort, he said, "Breaking into the Hyūga clan compound in the middle of the night—aren't you afraid I'll execute you on the spot?"
"Yeah, yeah, execute me on the spot. Tomorrow you hand over Hizashi, the day after you hand over Hiashi—might as well let your Hyūga clan fend for itself."
Akashō didn't care at all. He casually walked over to a table, sat down like he owned the place, and poured himself a cup of tea.
"You—!"
Seeing how dismissive he was, Hizashi's anger flared. He was about to step forward and punch Akashō, but at that moment, Hiashi raised a hand to stop him.
"Uzumaki Akashō, I know you're on good terms with the Uchiha clan, and it's true our Hyūga clan doesn't welcome you. You're not a fool—what exactly is your purpose for coming here?"
"Heh."
Akashō chuckled, taking a sip of tea.
"So you've calmed down enough to listen now."
"Time's short, so I won't waste it chatting. I'll be direct—do you want to protect your brother?"
Hiashi narrowed his eyes. "You have a way?"
"Whether I do or not isn't your concern. Just answer—do you want to or not?"
Hiashi was silent for a few seconds before nodding. "I do."
"Then that's settled."
Akashō drained the tea in his cup and stood up.
"If nothing changes, tomorrow should be the final deadline set by Hiruzen Sarutobi. I'll give you an answer before noon tomorrow. Until then, stay home quietly."
With that, he turned and prepared to leave.
"Wait."
Hiashi suddenly called out to stop him.
Akashō turned back. "What is it?"
"Why are you helping us?"
Hiashi exhaled slowly. "I don't know why, but since you wrote something like that, it means you don't particularly like our Hyūga clan, right?"
"Ah, that…"
Akashō tilted his head slightly, thinking for a moment.
"That book was just for fun—no deeper meaning. I don't have any grudge against your clan."
"As for why I'm helping you… probably because I don't like that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Why? The Third Hokage is practically the Fourth's senior mentor. Your relationship shouldn't be bad."
"Because he keeps spying on me."
The air in the main hall instantly fell silent.
Akashō blinked, looking at the brothers' strange expressions, then scratched his head.
"Ah… guess that reason doesn't work. Then how about this—I've taken a liking to your daughter."
"What!?"
Hiashi's face changed instantly as he lunged forward, only to be hurriedly restrained and dragged back by his younger brother Hizashi.
"Hinata is only two years old—two years old, you bastard!!"
"Calm down!"
Watching Hiashi struggle desperately to charge at him while Hizashi struggled just as hard to hold him back, a drop of cold sweat slid down Akashō's forehead.
Yeah… that might've gone a bit too far. Am I about to get censored or what?
Whatever.
"Why are you getting so worked up? I just said I like your daughter. It's not like I'm demanding she marry me right now or I won't help you."
Hearing that, and with Hizashi's continued efforts to calm him, Hiashi finally settled down a bit.
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