Hyuga clan.
In the courtyard with a classical charm, Rizu stood on the corridor and watched two children, a boy and a girl, training in soft boxing in the open space of the courtyard.
The two are similar in age, but the boy is slightly older, and the opponent's soft fist stance is very impressive. Every time he strikes, the landing point and strength are not redundant, but just right.
For his peers, this is a very good result.
Compared to the boy's calm and powerful soft fist stance, the girl was lacking in all aspects. Whether it was physical strength or the momentum of her palms, the boy severely suppressed her.
If the boy hadn't deliberately shown mercy, he would have been defeated long ago.
"Okay, you two stop."
Hearing Rizu's shouts in the corridor, the boys and girls stopped their soft fist postures and walked towards Rizu.
"Lord Patriarch."
"Father."
The boy and girl said respectfully to Rizu one after another.
Hizu just nodded lightly, looked at the boy, with a rare look of satisfaction on his face, and said: "Ningji, your soft fist is very good. Whether it is the power or speed of the secret punch, in It is difficult to find someone who can compete with you among your peers. No wonder your reputation as a genius is spread everywhere in the ninja school. Even Hizashi was a step behind you when he was the same age as you."
"Yes, Mr. Patriarch."
After receiving Nizu's affirmation, Neji's face was slightly excited and his eyes were firm.
Hizu then looked at the girl, it was his eldest daughter Hinata, the first heir to the clan family.
The satisfied look on Rizu's face suddenly disappeared, and instead showed a more complicated expression. He didn't say anything after that, but just sighed slightly.
However, Hinata's sigh made Hinata feel the great disappointment in her father's heart, so she lowered her head even more in inferiority, and her fingers were tangled together, like a child who had made a mistake, not daring to raise his head and look at Rizu. .
Neci looked a little hesitant at the side, but after taking a peek at Hizu's heavy expression, he wisely did not speak.
Within the Hyuga clan, there have been a lot of unfavorable rumors about Hinata recently.
Neji also heard about this matter.
According to rumors, as the clan leader, Hizu prefers his second daughter Hanabi to his eldest daughter Hinata, hoping to deprive Hinata of her status as the heir of the clan and let her second daughter Hanabi take over.
Neji originally thought this was nonsense, but seeing Hizu's disappointment in Hinata, Neji believed the truth of this rumor.
However, as a branch of the family, he has no right to interfere with any decisions of the clan.
Even he secretly believed that with Hinata's cowardly and kind-hearted character, it would be difficult for him to lead the Hyuga clan in the future.
On the contrary, Hanabi, the second daughter of the clan leader who is younger but has more ninja talent, is also strong enough in character and will not bow her head and feel inferior when seeing others. In any case, she is more suitable to be the leader of the Hyuga clan than Hinata.
Just when Hizu was about to say something, a Hyuga clan member walked over from the other end of the corridor.
"Hizu-sama."
"What's up?"
"Mr. Shikaku, the jounin class leader, please see me."
After hearing this, Rizu pondered for a while and then said: "I understand. Let's take Mr. Shikaku to the living room to entertain him. I'll be there soon."
"yes."
After finishing the report, the Hyuga clan ninja turned and left.
Hizu turned his head and glanced at Neji and Hinata, then said: "I am going to meet the distinguished guests now, and you two will continue to practice here. In addition, Neji, please don't show mercy to Hinata anymore, you are going too far. Protecting her will only harm her. The Hyuga clan does not need a clan leader who always bows to others."
"yes."
Neji's heart tightened.
After receiving Neji's reply, Hizu once again glanced at Hinata, the eldest daughter who still had her head lowered, turned around and left from the corridor without saying a word.
After Hizu left, Neji quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
The aura that Hizu exuded was so serious that just by standing aside, he put a strong psychological pressure on Neji.
Now that Rizu left, his heartstrings were not as tight as before.
"Ms. Hinata, let's continue sparring. It's still one hour before school starts. If the clan leader finds us slacking off, we will probably be called over for training after school."
When Neji saw Hinata who was still bowing his head, he didn't know how to comfort him, so he had to follow Hizu's orders and continue to guide Hinata's training and help Hinata improve her strength.
"Okay, Brother Neji, I will work hard..."
Hinata's soft voice sounded, and if it wasn't for Neji's amazing hearing, he probably wouldn't have been able to hear the entire sentence.
Seeing Hinata like this, Neji felt a little helpless on his face.
How could he bear to be cruel like this?
◎
"Then, I leave this matter to Mr. Hizu. Mr. Hokage attaches great importance to this matter. I hope Mr. Hizu can send enough trustworthy members of the branch to carry out this task."
In the living room, Shikaku bowed slightly to Hizu, expressing his gratitude to Hizu for agreeing to monitor the debt collectors and wandering mikos of the Demon Country. At the same time, it also explains the importance of this task. After all, it is related to the Kingdom of Ghosts. Even if it is a surveillance type task, there may be the possibility of fighting.
"Don't worry, I know the seriousness of this matter, and I will let the capable members of the branch carry out this task."
In response to Shikaku's repeated reminders, Hizu nodded slightly, indicating that he would respond seriously.
"Then I'll take my leave first."
"I'll send someone off to Mr. Shikaku."
Hizu asked the waiter on the side to follow Shikaku and escort him out of the Hyuga clan's territory.
After Shikaku's back disappeared from sight, Hizu stood there and thought for a moment, then turned and left the room, heading towards the branch's territory.
Since it is a long-term surveillance mission sent abroad, it is definitely not possible to select personnel from the sect family. It can only select suitable monitors from the branch families to prevent people from the Kingdom of Ghosts from causing trouble in the Kingdom of Fire.
And this must be what Naruto himself meant.
Because some members of the Hyuga clan are beginning to move closer to their roots, the neutral attitude of the Hyuga clan in the past is likely to be broken.
Especially after the Uchiha clan was destroyed, many Hyuga clan members seemed unconcerned on the surface, but they were already panicking inside.
It is estimated that with this move, the Hokage also wanted to test the Hyuga clan's thoughts.
As long as the Hyuga clan does not break through the final bottom line, the Hyuga clan can still protect themselves in Konoha.
After figuring out the key, Rizu walked towards the branch's territory faster.
He found his younger brother Hizashi, who was already the head of the branch family, and explained to him the mission assigned by the Hokage.
"I understand, brother, but how many people from the branch family should be sent there?"
Hizashi thought for a moment and asked Hizashi.
According to the Hokage's wishes, those participating in this long-term surveillance mission include the Aburozuka and the Yamazaka clan.
Aburame is good at insect manipulation, which can be used to track enemies, contain them, heal them, poison them, etc.
Inuzuka is good at the beast-like ninjutsu and scent tracking.
The mountain clan is good at the secret art of mind turning and has the ability to perceive.
The ninjas of these three clans all master different secret techniques, but they all have similar skills in detecting enemies and will not lose sight of the surveillance target.
This is the same for the Hyuga clan.
Because of the existence of Byakugan, it is difficult for the surveillance target to escape the pursuit of Byakugan within the surveillance range of Byakugan.
What's more, this is a deal between the Kingdom of Fire and the Kingdom of Ghosts. Presumably those debt collectors and wandering witches will not do anything unnecessary.
But just in case, it is still necessary to monitor the spies of the Ghost Country, and they cannot be allowed to have complete freedom.
In terms of intelligence warfare, Konoha has already suffered too much from the Kingdom of Demons.
Hizu said without hesitation: "There will be a total of ten debt collectors and wandering shrine maidens stationed in the Land of Fire. Among them, the Aburame clan will send two clansmen, the Inuzuka clan will also send two clansmen, and the Yamanaka clan will send Three clan members. Therefore, the remaining three vacancies will be filled by our Hyuga clan members to make up the number of ten people."
It's almost a nod. If there are only three people, the branch family can definitely afford it.
It would also be a good thing if the Hokage's concerns could be dispelled.
Since the demise of the Uchiha clan in Konoha, few ninja clans have begun to experience turmoil, especially the Hyuga clan. If there are any major changes in Konoha in the future, the Hyuga clan can be said to be the first target.
It is no longer possible to maintain a completely neutral attitude.
New ways must be found.
The two most powerful factions in Konoha today are the Senju Faction headed by the Third Hokage, and the other is the root maintained by Shimura Danzo, which is an extremely powerful fighting sect in Konoha.
As for the neutral faction that was just a sidekick, the two advisors moved to Koharu and Mito Kadeni, and were directly ignored by the Hyuga clan.
The reason why the two advisors can remain invincible is because of the special nature of their identities. Whether it is Naruto's victory or Danzo's victory, their own strength will be guaranteed.
The Hyuga clan is different from the past. They must choose a new backer in Konoha in order to continue the blood of the Hyuga clan.
They cannot be like the Uchiha clan, who were wiped out of Konoha without any explanation.
The blood-successor limited ninja clan was wiped out overnight. He kept monitoring the ANBU of the Uchiha clan 24 hours a day. As a result, he was slow to discover the fact that the Uchiha clan had been wiped out the next morning. To talk about it, There's no problem, Hizashi definitely doesn't believe it.
In political struggle, there is no right or wrong, only the winner is king and the loser is in the dust.
It is such a simple reality that the Uchiha clan failed in the political struggle with the high-level officials.
"It's up to you to select the members of the branch clan who are sent out to carry out this surveillance mission. But there is one more thing to remember. The three clan members sent out to carry out this mission and their families must be well 'protected' and do not let them They had an accident. The Ghost Country has the technology to release the 'caged bird'. If three members of the branch family are instigated to rebel, it will become very troublesome. Moreover, they have to be replaced by three other people every six months to continue the mission. They cannot Let them keep in contact with the people of the Ghost Country for a long time."
Nizu glanced sharply at Hizashi, his expression majestic and cold.
Hizashi's heart tightened, and there was unwillingness and resentment in his eyes, but he still lowered his head, accepted such a cruel fact, and said, "I understand, brother."
Even after controlling the family, the Zong family still distrusts the branch family.
The fact that three people have to be replaced every six months is proof. The Zong family's trust in the branch family has dropped to freezing point.
Even if he knew that Hizu still had a certain affection for his younger brother, he would still take the lead in ensuring the collective interests of the Hyuga clan in the face of the iron rules of the clan and branch families.
Just like he proposed to abolish the status of the eldest daughter as the heir of the clan, and instead let the more talented second daughter be the heir of the clan.
In his eyes, there may be family ties, but more importantly, the family as a whole.
Once family affection goes against the will of the family, he will not hesitate to choose strong tactics, align his will with the family, and abandon all family affection.
It is precisely because of this that he has won the support of many clan elders.
They need a patriarch who has the collective interests of the family in mind.
Hizu is also the most satisfying clan leader of the Hyuga clan in their minds for decades.
He is both an elder brother and a father, but he is also the man who bears the fate of the Hyuga clan.
Hizashi sighed in his heart, feeling very complicated.
From a tribesman's point of view, he could not blame Rizu for his behavior.
However, from a family perspective, he could not agree with Rizu's approach.
However, his life and the lives of his children were all in the hands of the Zong family, so what could he do?
All resistance to separation is meaningless.
Even if they are resentful and hostile, they still have to act in accordance with the will of the Zong family and cannot violate it in the slightest.
"Then it's up to you. After selecting the personnel, let them set off as soon as possible so that Lord Hokage can rest assured."
"yes."
Hizu nodded, and then was about to leave, but suddenly stopped and said: "By the way, if you arrange this task well, I will consider letting Neci learn the soft fist that only the Zong family can master. In short, that's it. Bar."
Ignoring the stunned Hizashi, Hizashi left without looking back.
"Thank you very much, brother."
He knew very well the weight of Hizu's words and how important they were to his son Neji's future.
Although he didn't like Nizu's current cold-blooded style, Hizashi still bent down and bowed to thank his brother Nizu.
◎
Ninja school, after school time in the afternoon.
"Sakura, do you want to play together later? We will also invite Sasuke-kun over."
A female classmate with whom I usually get along well came over to invite me.
Sakura raised her head and glanced at the other person, with a trace of hesitation on her face, but she quickly thought of something, shook her head in pain, and said, "No, I still have some books to finish."
There was a very thick and heavy book in front of her, titled "The Basic Theory of Konoha Medical Ninjutsu".
It is a must-read book for Konoha medical ninja apprentices in the early stages.
It is also a book that Sakura is studying hard now.
Because she has decided to go to the school's medical ninja training class to learn knowledge, she must speed up her studies and strive to pass the exam in one go and graduate from the ninja school as a medical ninja.
In this way, he can avoid the 'cannon fodder' status that his father, Haruno Zhao, refers to.
"Eh? Sakura, your theoretical scores are already very good, so there's no need to work so hard. Besides, this doesn't seem to be a required subject."
The female classmate glanced at the title of the book Sakura was reading and tilted her head in confusion.
"Well, because my family wants me to become a medical ninja, I need to master these basics as soon as possible in order to pass the exam."
Sakura explained briefly.
"That's a shame."
Although I don’t understand why Sakura wants to apply for the medical ninja exam, it’s hard for a female classmate to force her to agree.
"Could it be that you don't dare to go because you're afraid of being seen with a wide forehead, Sakura-chan with a wide forehead?"
An arrogant voice came over, and Yamanaka Ino, the former best friend and now the estranged love rival, walked over and asked with a sarcastic look on his face.
Her arrogant and arrogant attitude made it impossible to associate her with her identity as the eldest lady of the mountain clan.
"Ah."
Sakura had only one word to comment on Ino's provocative behavior.
Ino's face trembled.
What does he mean?
Although there was no sarcasm on Sakura's face, Ino could clearly feel the contempt in it.
"What do you mean? Are you mocking me?"
"It's nothing. Anyway, go and play by yourselves. Starting from today, I will study hard. I won't waste time on such boring games."
Moreover, if we can really invite Sasuke, that's it.
The key point is that Sasuke has not been invited once since the first grade until now. Sakura couldn't help but feel regretful, how much time she had wasted in the past.
If he spent the past four years wasted on studying, he would definitely be able to attract Sasuke's attention with his smarter brain than the average person.
Knock down all these posing little vixens with one punch.
When she thought of this, Sakura couldn't help but shed tears of regret.
Fortunately, it's not too late to remedy the situation. It's not too late to pick up the book and read it carefully now.
"?"
Ino looked at Sakura in astonishment. At this moment, shouldn't the other party be jumping up and down with anger and calling her the nickname Ino Boar?
Sakura has changed. This is the only feeling I have in my heart.
"Okay, if there is nothing else, you can leave first. I have to study by myself in the classroom for a while."
Sakura politely started to chase people away.
Ino felt her fist hit the cotton, but it had no effect at all.
Seeing Sakura's refusal, the people around them had no choice but to leave and invite the other classmates instead.
Seeing the crowd around her disperse, Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Now she could finally study quietly.
Sakura looked back at the book in front of her, "Konoha's Basic Theory of Medical Ninjutsu".
Compiled by: Tsunade/■■■■.
"Why was the second editor's name blacked out?"
Looking at the name of the second editor whose name had been blacked out, Sakura had such doubts more than once.
However, this doubt was quickly forgotten by Sakura, and she picked up the book and started reading.
◎
"So you are here, Kakashi, I have been looking for you for so long."
The boy's childish but firm voice came from behind.
Kakashi turned slightly and looked at the boy. The boy's clothes were embroidered with the famous Uchiha fan symbol, which was the emblem of the Uchiha clan.
Uchiha Sasuke, the last bloodline of the Konoha Uchiha clan.
"I'm just a little late, there's no need to be so anxious, Sasuke."
"A little late? Aren't you late every day? I heard from others, the Late King Kakashi. It's hard to imagine how someone like you became the ANBU minister. That's only for the elite. It’s a position that only the elite can hold.”
ANBU Minister.
His father, Uchiha Fugaku, used to be the captain of the police force, an important position with no distinction between rank and rank.
He is also the most important confidant of Naruto.
"Haha, that..."
Kakashi scratched his head in embarrassment and was about to use other excuses.
"Okay, stop talking nonsense here and come and practice with me. Besides, what are you doing here? This is a place to pray for the dead, right?"
Sasuke glanced around. Tombstones were neatly divided here in rows. There was a forest outside, which isolated this place from the bustling city of Konoha.
Konoha Cemetery.
A cemetery where the dead rest.
Kakashi did not speak immediately, but stood there, letting the gentle wind pass by his cheeks, bringing the slightest warmth.
Then, Kakashi turned around and looked at the tombstone in front of him, as well as the black and white photo on the tombstone. A bouquet of white chrysanthemums was also quietly placed in front of the tomb.
"It's not something unspeakable. Today is the death anniversary of my relative, so I came here to pay my respects. By the way..."
Let yourself always remember the anger and hatred that has never been calmed down in your heart!
"By the way?"
"No, it's nothing."
"Yeah?"
Sasuke stepped forward and looked at the dead man Kakashi was worshiping.
Konoha Jounin, Hatake Sakumo.
Died in April of the 41st year of Konoha.
At the back, he also wrote about his many outstanding contributions to Konoha during his lifetime, and he was a great hero during Konoha's Second Ninja War.
After reading it, Sasuke was quite surprised.
Although there are only a few strokes, it can be seen from the other person's life story that the other person is a powerful ninja.
"Hatake Sakumo... Hatake, has the same last name as Kakashi, is he your father?"
Sasuke asked guessing.
"Yes. He is the ninja known as Konoha White Fang, the ninja I respected the most in the past, and the man I have decided to strive to surpass since I was a child."
Kakashi nodded, staring at the photo of his father Hatake Sakumo with a gentle smile on his face, not knowing what he was thinking.
"This is the cemetery where heroes are buried. He must have fought countless powerful enemies on the battlefield and died heroically for Konoha. Even though I didn't witness it with my own eyes, I can still feel his magnificent life."
Sasuke couldn't help but show admiration in his eyes.
Ninjas who sacrificed their lives fighting powerful enemies for the village were called 'heroes'.
After death, he will be remembered by future generations forever. This is an indelible feat.
He didn't expect Kakashi to have such a heroic father.
"Heroic sacrifice...? If so, that would be really great."
Kakashi said with a smile.
More than anyone else, he hoped that his father would die on the battlefield instead of ending his life in another way.
"?"
Sasuke felt baffled when he saw the smile in Kakashi's eyes.
"Let's go, I'm in a good mood today, so I'll teach you an extra hour. There are still things to deal with with the ANBU after that."
Kakashi did not bother with Sasuke on this topic, ignored Sasuke's surprise, and turned around to leave.
"Hey, Kakashi, wait for me, why are you walking so fast?"
Sasuke jogged to catch up.
Looking at Sasuke chasing him, Kakashi couldn't help but think of his past self.
In this way, I keep chasing something on the road, looking for the meaning of life, and looking for the value of my own existence.
"Sasuke."
"What?"
"Have you ever thought about what you will do after revenge?"
Kakashi asked the question on the way.
"I ask this question suddenly...but it doesn't hurt to tell you. After killing Itachi, I want to revive the reputation of the Uchiha clan."
Sasuke's young face was full of determination.
The glory of his father and clan was tarnished by his brother.
And his goal is to kill the other party, revive the clan, and let the world know the name of the Uchiha clan.
"That's it."
"Why do you ask this question?"
"Maybe it's because we are the same kind of people."
Raising his head slightly to look at the blue sky, Kakashi's tone was meaningful.
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