The sudden summons did not bother Uchiha Fugaku.
Gone were the days when he held reservations and griped about seeing his life-long rival hold the position of the leader of the village. Gone was the fiery temperament in his youth, the spark and blaze that licked up enemies and scalded allies. Somewhere between the metamorphosis of boy to man, man to leader, and leader to father, those flames had been tempered and sheathed.
The murmur of debate was strong as he approached the chamber. The Unified Clan Council Chamber had only been recently formed, as it was one of his rival's smartest decisions as village leader to bring together the Clan Heads of Konoha whenever it came to a matter that involved the entire welfare of the village.
Pushing the doors into the room, eleven figures sat in a semicircle, each occupying a large chair crafted from the gnarled roots of a thousand-year-old tree. As for where Minato had found such a specimen, Fugaku wagered it was another of his many, many keepsakes from Mount Myōboku. He was aware that the toads treated Minato akin to a messiah. Believing in one prophecy or the other, they granted him untold amounts of gifts and blessings, far, far beyond anything they'd ever given to the man's mentor, the one who bore the title of Toad Sage.
There was a purpose to the chairs, one which his expert eyes had seen from the very first day. The man's wife had aided him in making such a thing. As for how Fugaku knew this, it was because his own wife, Mikoto, happened to be close friends with the woman, and she'd narrated the tale of the surprising sight of finding not one, not two, but over twenty-five Shadow Clones of the Uzumaki woman diligently carving those chairs.
Engraved with tens if not potentially hundreds of seals, the chairs possessed a means of sensing negative energy and emotions. Specifically, the negative emotions generated from deceit and deception, the minute fluctuation of emotions present when one was dishonest or fraudulent.
Fugaku did not care much for Senjutsu nor Fuinjutsu, but he was not a fool who would snort in the face of powers he did not fully understand. The chairs were special, as long as everyone sat down as one, and someone spoke, the moment they uttered a false statement, everyone would know. Even they, themselves, would become aware that everyone knew they were lying.
A few individuals had strongly opposed the idea at first, and Fugaku would never forget the scene of his rival, standing, with blond hair and twinkling blue eyes, and loudly proclaiming that if one was not willing to accept a change that would prove the honesty of their hearts and validity of their words when discussing matters that determined the fate of the village, then one was unworthy of sitting at the table to discuss matters that determined the fate of the village.
There would be no room for deception in the courtroom of the Fourth Hokage. No room for resentment to form, no room for hatred and secret grudges to gather and fester. Everyone would know the heart of everyone else, everyone would know who hated who, who wanted to kill who, who wanted to destroy who, or who had unresolved sexual tension with who.
It was brazen. Audacious. Some even laughed at that last part, but when they realized that if you had an affair with another clan head, everyone would know, they stopped laughing.
Namikaze Minato was a genius, but he had his flaws. One of said flaws was what Fugaku knew too well, and it was that as a genius, he saw things on a grander scale than most, and grasped things faster and quicker than others, and did not understand the struggles of those who were not as gifted. In that same breath, he held no enemies in his heart. He did not understand the innate envy of the inferior, nor cruel ambition of the lacking, nor could he fathom what caused things like inner-conflict and betrayal. Viewing the entire village as his family, he had no secrets to keep from it.
He believed only through absolute honesty would there be absolute trust. It was a sort of thing Fugaku often found a bit unfathomable, but, at the same time, he understood. Minato was too kind and too trusting. He was the sort of person who could leave his son in the hands of total strangers, and believe they would have no ill intentions.
It was why Fugaku was almost certain that the man's wife was the one who thought up the idea for him. She likely knew just how trusting he was, and how much of a fatal flaw it would be for him to be betrayed by those he viewed as family.
Fugaku found his way to his seat, and had only so much as sat down for a hair's breadth before he felt the unbridled, cold, and malevolent killing intent coming from a chair directly opposing him.
The man who sat directly opposing him was calm. Quiet. His white eyes were tranquil, as though it were a peaceful sea. Glancing only at his outside expression and temperment, it would be impossible even for the most skilled masters of body language to tell he was unbelievably furious.
"Now that everyone has gathered…"
An ANBU, appeared in the center of the room, wearing a familiar dog mask. He placed down a crystal orb in the center of the large semi-circle sphere, performed a single handseal, and vanished.
Everyone turned to the crystal orb. Fugaku recognized it as one of the most peerless tools of the Hokage: the Pure Leaf Pearl. According to records, it was a priceless, peerless treasure crafted by the father-in-law of Senju Hashirama, and gifted to him upon his union with the man's daughter, Uzumaki Mito.
A brief flash of his Sharingan revealed that the Pure Leaf Pearl possessed an uncountable array of seals with numerous functions. The most famous of which, was that it granted the wielder the ability to view everyone and everything within the range of Konohagakure no Sato.
The image on the pearl began to play itself. The stormy night showed events that had everyone present quiet and grave. Fugaku was aware that the Pure Leaf Pearl didn't always have the ability to record the past, nor did it originally have the ability to record things that you did not use it to personally witness.
According to his rival, this change had come only a mere six months ago, courtesy of Jiraiya of the Sannin.
Fugaku did not know the details, but, he knew there was some mystery regarding the birth of Minato's son that haunted the Sannin, which was why the man had become a reclusive hermit, eating, drinking and breathing Fūinjutsu.
The pearl could not divine or witness things viewed before the time of its upgrade. If it could, it would be an absolute treasure. The fact that it was limited to Konoha's walls was also unfortunate. For if the Pure Leaf Pearl were capable of seeing everything, everyone, everywhere, both in the present and the past…
The images continued, displaying two individuals. It displayed everything from the moment they snuck into the Hyūga Clan, to the moment they escaped with their captive. It showed how, in spite of their best efforts, they were foiled by a genjutsu barrier. It showed as Minato and the Thunder God Squadron appeared, effortlessly apprehending both intruders.
The images changed, until they unveiled an interrogation room. A brief scene appeared with an individual Fugaku recognized as Morino Ibiki of the Torture and Interrogation Department entering a room with the younger of the captives. Moments later, terrifying screams followed, after which, the orb went blank. Once the scene returned, it was of the captive speaking, crying and weeping, sputtering out incoherent words and confessions, all of which were damning.
For several long seconds after the images ended, silence filled the Chamber.
"There is no denying the offense," the Aburame Clan Head, Shibi, of all people, began. His voice was a mesh of buzzing and humming, of cricket-like chirping and cicada-like cries. "But to retaliate is to tread upon dangerous territory."
Killing intent rushed towards Shibi, as did a sharp, piercing gaze.
"Were it your child," Hiashi's words were cold. "Would you have the courage to utter such words?"
The Sarutobi Clan Head, nodded slightly. No one there, not even Fugaku, had expected Biwako to side with the Hyūga. "Hiashi-dono seeks to regain his honor, and the honor of his clan in retaliation. I sympathize with him."
Fugaku shot a cursory glance towards the old woman. He was aware she was merely a stand-in, currently taking the role of the Clan Head in place of her husband, the God of Shinobi. The Third Hokage had taken his vow of retirement to the extreme.
Fugaku's lips almost twitched as he recalled the reports he'd gotten from members of his clan, the Uchiha Police Force, about how they would find the Third Hokage flying kites over the Hokage Monument, wearing flip-flops and shorts while fishing next to a lake, or sitting in public parks, eating ice cream and playing chess.
He was the first, and only Kage in recorded history to have ever retired from his position, so Fugaku couldn't blame him for enjoying his retirement. Still, he hadn't thought the man would be so fatigued with village matters that he'd surrender his Clan Head seat after leaving the fate of the village to his successor.
Biwako was only taking the role of Clan Head temporarily. In a matter of years, her eldest son, Asuma, would take her place. Despite that, not a single person here objected to Biwako's presence, nor was there anyone who'd be stupid enough to offend her.
The Akimichi Clan Head, Chōza, cleared his throat. "I also sympathize with Hiashi, but... I'm against it. The ramifications of retaliation are just too hard to digest."
A grunt echoed from a spot opposing him. A wild-haired woman, with marks on her cheeks and a hulking wolf of a dog beside her thumped her fist on the round table. "When did we become dogs who'll roll over after being kicked instead of baring our fangs?"
Fugaku almost shook his head. Almost.
"What do you think will happen if we don't respond? What kind of message will we send, if Kumo shinobi can saunter into our homes and abduct our children and we decide to turn the other cheek?"
The Yamanaka Clan Head, Inoichi, responded quietly. "We cannot stoop to their level, Tsume. We should respond, yes, but within reason. An all-out attack might lead to victory, but at what cost?"
"The cost of our pride, of our honor," replied Tsume sharply. "Damn it, Inoichi! These aren't bones to be bartered!"
"Neither are the lives of our people," Fugaku finally spoke. "For honor you want to send another generation of children to die on the battlefield? For pride you would condemn your son and daughter to the same pointless struggles we faced as children? Are we samurai, to be so concerned about pride? About honor?"
Tsume flinched slightly. Her temper, as always, had her speaking first and thinking second. A bit of heat rushed to her cheeks, and she immediately pointed at him.
"And if it were your son who was nearly abducted? You, Fugaku? I don't believe for a second you wouldn't —"
"Even if my son were killed before me, I would not seek retaliation by condemning hundreds of innocent fathers to the same tragedy…" Fugaku closed his eyes. "I've learned from Minato that such a thing only breeds a vicious cycle of hatred."
Maybe, if it were in the past, he'd be so hotblooded. Yet, over the years, watching his rival grow, and seeing the impact that the war had on his son, Fugaku was a changed man. His oldest, Itachi, was already affected by that cycle that Minato had spoken to him of. Having partaken in the latter ending of the previous war at a young age due to his prodigious talent, something had changed in him.
He did not wish for Itachi to return to such a bloody battlefield. No, he'd rather have peace. In addition, the thought of condemning his youngest, Sasuke, to the same fate was unthinkable.
A snort came sharply. A young man, with sharp eyes glanced at the rest of the table, his ire clear. "Is Konoha so weak, so cowardly, that we whore out our dignity for the price of peace? We are the strongest Shinobi Village. Not Kumo, not Suna, not Iwa or Kiri. Yet, for generations, our fangs have been blunted and our claws sheathed. Because of the likes of you," he spat. "Cowards."
Fugaku was about to respond with something scathing, but Biwako beat him to it.
"Shimura-dono, be cautious of your words. The strength we possess exists to protect ourselves and our loved ones, not to trample upon our enemies. This is the essence of the Will of Fire… not whatever heretical teachings your father has imbued into you."
"You need not protect your loved ones if you have eliminated everything that can endanger them. The Will of Flame is not heretical. Mock it as you may, but the fact remains that we are only in this position because the world views us as paper tigers. Threatening from afar but harmless when up-close. Had my father not been —"
He did not continue, wisely interrupting himself and sharpening his gaze. Fugaku resisted the urge to scoff at the youngster. It was not hard for everyone present to feel the simmering resentment held by Shimura Yoshito.
The Head of the Shimura Clan was not very popular. He'd only ascended to power following the unofficial imprisonment of his adoptive father, Shimura Danzo. Fugaku had done his research and found that the young man's existence was all documented, despite the fact that none of his fellow clan members or comrades remembered ever seeing him before. No one expected him to be named as Danzo's successor, the leader of the Shimura Clan.
The imprisonment of Shimura Danzo was considered 'unofficial' due to the fact that he was constrained to house arrest. He could not leave his home nor carry out any official duties in service to Konoha and its people. If it were up to Fugaku, he'd have had the man executed. He did not understand Minato's decision to be so merciful to him, in spite of uncovering the sheer number of crimes the man had committed. He also didn't know why the man's imprisonment had been suppressed to a point where most individuals didn't even know the once illustrious Elder was now a captive in his own home.
Danzo's crimes had come to light entirely by accident. It was common knowledge to Fugaku, the Uchiha Police Force, and perhaps the entire Konoha Shinobi Force, that Jiraiya of the Sannin was a changed man. He had replaced his previous unscrupulous habit of peeping on women's baths to going around like a madman, placing and practicing fūinjutsu seals and barriers on anything and everything.
About five months ago, one of said barriers was triggered, and the Thunder God Squadron arrived with alarm, believing they'd caught a whole group of intruders.
Said intruders happened to be a Squadron of ANBU wearing blank masks. A squadron that Minato, the Hokage, was not aware of. Each and every one of those operatives possessed powerful seals on their tongues which prevented them from speaking. To everyone's surprise, Jiraiya admitted he could not remove the seals. Instead, what he did, was reverse them, essentially inverting their function. Rather than being unable to speak about certain topics, he made it so they couldn't stop speaking about those same topics.
From there, the rest was history.
Despite the sheer number of grievous offenses Shimura Danzo had committed, he'd managed to escape the executioner's blade. Fugaku refused to believe Minato had spared him out of the kindness of his heart, and felt Danzo held a trump card that Minato couldn't be rid of. Some of his Clan Elders suggested that Danzo was an old relic so terrifying that if he really was executed, he'd take down the entire of Konoha with him, whilst the rest speculated that there must be something Danzo possessed that Minato needed, which was the only reason he still drew breath.
Regardless of what the truth was, it was indisputable that ever since the Elder Council was abolished and the Unified Clan Council was formed following Minato's rise as the Fourth Hokage, the former Elders of the Village were now powerless old crones, and Shimura Danzo was no exception.
Not many people had anticipated so many great changes would come with the young Namikaze Minato taking his post as the Hokage. Minato was not like the Kages of old. He was brazen, innovative, daring, and willing to abandon old conventions and step on toes to bring progress to the village.
It was not an exaggeration to claim that there had been more changes to the village in the past half-decade than in the previous thirty years the God of Shinobi had ruled.
It was why this current matter was so important.
"...It's bothersome."
A voice broke the discussion. Everyone turned to the scar-faced man with the pineapple-styled haircut.
"What is it, Shikaku?" Inoichi asked.
Shikaku looked extremely bored, yet, his eyes were sharp. "They're provoking us." Shikaku exhaled. "Despite knowing the inherent risk involved, they sent a Jōnin and a Chūnin on a mission to abduct the Hyūga Clan Heiress. The consequences of failure far outweigh the rewards of success, yet they did so anyway."
Everyone turned to him, silent. The thought had stumbled into their minds, and then they all recalled the very argument they just had.
Tsume growled. "You're saying —"
"They're not gambling on the fact that we won't retaliate, but the fact that we can't."
"That's absurd," Fugaku responded. "Do they think us so weak? The amount of Iwa Shinobi that Minato alone killed in the last war —"
"Earned him his flee-on-sight bingo book rating, yes," Shikaku drawled. "But it also earned Konoha the complete hatred of Iwagakure. Even now, whenever our Genin encounter theirs outside… it leads to a fight to the death. If we were to make a repeat performance with Kumo…"
Shikaku fell silent for a moment. The entire chamber fell silent as well.
"...I see. So that's it."
Shikaku closed his eyes.
"If we go to war with Kumo. Either Iwa sides with them, or they wait and watch until we are weakened and swoop down finish us off. There is no world in which they ally with us."
Shikaku lifted a finger and put it down.
"Kiri is currently undergoing internal strife, and even if they weren't, their hatred of Kekkai Genkai is public knowledge. They are more likely to side with Kumo than with us."
He lifted another finger and put it down.
"Suna holds grievances against us, courtesy of the Wind Daimyo's favoritism, and the fact that we've been slowly taking more and more of their mission requests. Outwardly, they may not seem hostile, but the current Kazekage is a man whose well known for his ruthlessness. We share borders with them, and our downfall will mean their rise, so it is more likely that they oppose us than aid us."
With every word he spoke, every finger placed down, people's expressions darkened.
"Without a doubt," Shikaku said. "Attacking Kumo will be the spark that begins the next Great Shinobi War. However, in this war, Konoha will fight without allies. If anything, it is likely the other four villages will pool their might and attempt to eliminate us."
"Hah! They're welcome to try!" Tsume slammed her fist on the table. "We aren't afraid of —"
"I would caution you against such reckless confidence, Tsume," Fugaku uttered sharply. "Even the likes of Uzushiogakure were unable to stop the combined might of several villages. I do not doubt that Konoha will prevail, but as Yamanaka-dono has already asked, at what cost?"
Fugaku's words resonated with those who gathered. Yes, Konoha most likely could survive fighting the other four villages at once, but at what cost? How many would die doing so? How many atrocities and tragedies would commence from doing so?
Even a genius as gifted as Minato had lost two of his three students in the previous War. One of said students lost his father in that War. The world's most unrivaled medic nin, Tsunade, lost her brother, grandfather, granduncle, and lover to war. Over ninety-nine percent of her clan, the Senju Clan, one of the two founding clans of Konoha, was wiped out over the course of the First, Second and Third Great Wars. There were countless others, whose lives were cut short and abrupt.
Who was to say, in their attempt at seeking justice, it would not be the Hyūga Clan that would be reduced to a fraction of its numbers? What would they have gained, then, that in their choice to fight for their pride, they'd lost more than if they'd simply turned the other cheek?
"How ruthless," Biwako said, her nose scrunching up in disgust.
Others couldn't help but agree. Only a completely ruthless leader would gamble the lives of his people in such a manner. The gamble here was that even if the mission ended in failure, Konoha could not retaliate, because the cost of retaliation was too great.
It was like being stung by a wild bee that flew over a chasm. The bee did not care if it died, and it knew that if you chased after it for vengeance, you'd fall and die with it.
Minato cared for the lives of his people and his shinobi. Even if he didn't, a child could tell that Konoha stood nearly nothing to gain from starting a war, but had nearly everything to lose.
They had no need for Kumo's lands nor resources. No need for their shinobi or weapons, their tools, women, or jinchūriki. Why then, would they charge into battle? For their pride? Dignity? To get vengeance for an abduction that had ultimately been foiled?
If the abduction had succeeded, it'd have been a different matter. Then, Konoha would have had a true reason to fight. They were fighting to retrieve one of their own. Such a thing would have kept morale up and high and there would not even be a need for discussion of whether or not they needed to retaliate.
But the abduction attempt failed.
In what world was the failed abduction of one girl worth the lives of thousands of shinobi?
"Perhaps if we were to demand reparations?" Shibi spoke up.
"They're unlikely to answer us. The Raikage clearly does not fear war. He does not place much value on the lives of his shinobi. In such a case, they'd only provoke us even further by refusing our demands. Once they do so and we still do not declare war…"
The chamber fell into another lapse of silence. Everyone turned to glance at Hiashi, who, to their surprise, appeared calm. There was still an undercurrent of anger, but it was far more subdued than at the start of the meeting.
"Hinata is not the Heiress of the Hyūga Clan," Hiashi said, after a long while. "She is a member of the Hyūga Branch Family. Her purpose, and duty, is to sacrifice herself for the Main Clan. As such, the matter of her abduction cannot be blown out of proportion, for it would have been a… negligible loss to the Hyūga Clan."
His words brought a rush of surprise throughout the chamber. Fugaku himself found his brows raising immensely.
Tsume frowned. "Your daughter isn't the Heiress?"
"About two weeks ago, my nephew, Neji, was officially made the Heir of the Hyūga Clan."
No one said anything. No one knew what to say. There were all aware of the Hyūga Clan's practices. If Hinata was in the Branch Clan, although they wouldn't use the specific word, they were all aware that it meant she was no better than a slave.
That changed everything.
It would be the height of idiocy to go to war because someone who was essentially a slave was nearly kidnapped. Even if the abduction had been successful, it would still be considered folly to declare a war to rescue her.
The life of one slave clan girl versus the lives of thousands of shinobi?
It was a joke of a comparison.
"You didn't think to mention this earlier, Hiashi?" Yoshito, the Shimura Clan Head, sneered. "I was wondering why Hokage-sama wasn't present. Of course he wouldn't be. You've wasted our time for nothing."
"No, this was not for nothing," Shikaku spoke up. "We've learned valuable information from this."
"It is most unusual," Inoichi agreed with a sigh. "To have such a frighteningly high understanding of Konoha's nature and make such a calculated gamble… I didn't expect such a thing from Kumo."
Shikaku shook his head.
"This wasn't done solely by Kumo."
Everyone turned to him as one.
"Only someone who knows Minato's character well enough, who knows Konoha well enough, would be willing to perform such a gamble."
As soon as the words escaped Shikaku's mouth, something seemed to click in everyone's heads. As one, turned to the White Leaf Pearl, to the paused image of the captured enemy Chūnin.
"How did they know the what route to use to escape the village? Why weren't there any ANBU on patrol there?"
"That is the Eastern Forest Secret Evacuation Path. It was created during the First Shinobi War and intended to be used by the joint efforts of Uchiha and Senju clans for the evacuation of their non-combatants in the case of an attack against the village," Shikaku slowly explained. "It isn't something just anyone is aware exists."
All at once everyone turned, abruptly, to Fugaku.
"I have no idea as to how they learned of this. Neither I, nor the Uchiha Clan are related to this matter."
The words were uttered, and silence descended. Not a single fluctuation of negative emotion was felt from the chairs connecting them. Not a single person present doubted him.
No, it was better to say that not a single person doubted the chairs they were currently sitting on. No one doubted Minato, Jiraiya and Kushina's fūinjutsu expertise. For if he had lied, everyone would know.
"You have a target on your back, Fugaku," Tsume barked a laugh.
Fugaku did not laugh with her. His mind was racing, scurrying to make connections and find answers. Without the absolute guarantee granted by the chairs they were sitting on that he was being honest, there was no way he'd have been able to convince everyone that he truly knew nothing of this matter.
The Senju Clan was all but dust, and it was far more likely to believe that the Uchiha had decided to plot against the Hyūga than it was to believe that Tsunade of the Sannin had sold out her home.
Someone was plotting against the Uchiha Clan. Someone was trying to make them out to be traitors to the village, and Fugaku had not the slightest idea as to who it could be. The fact that this person had worked with Kumo made their identity impossible to ascertain.
There were no Rogue Uchiha out in the world. Any Uchiha who went rogue was immediately hunted down and killed to preserve the secrets of the clan and ensure their eyes did not fall into the hands of outsiders. The likelihood of one of them within Konoha colluding with Kumo was bordering on impossible, and that was what deeply concerned him.
"This matter is more complex than we thought," Biwako sighed.
The attempted abduction was a scheme that, if successful and undiscovered, would lead to Kumo acquiring a new bloodline. If successful and discovered, it would lead to a full-scale war. If unsuccessful, there would be negligible threat of repercussion, because the cost far outweighed the gain.
However, regardless of the outcome, whether the plot was successful or not, as long as it was discovered, the Uchiha Clan would be framed as traitors.
The more they all thought of it, the more they all realized that the Hyūga were never even the main target of this plan. Everything was an intricately elaborate scheme to plant a seed of suspicion and hatred against the Uchiha Clan.
But just who out there hated the Uchiha Clan enough to go to such lengths? Who out there had the motive to form such a complex, multi-layered plan for the aim of sowing discord?
Fugaku did not know.
And it deeply worried him.
XXXXXThe matter of the attempted abduction of Hyūga Hinata swept through Konohagakure no Sato within days. Despite an initial order to suppress the news, it somehow spread amongst everyone, from civilians to Jōnin. Konoha collectively held its breath, waiting for the response that would come from its higher-ups.
An unspoken tension could be felt within the streets and within the village, as though everyone was dancing precariously atop the edge of a needle. Those old enough to have experienced the previous wars were the most tense, and no one was certain that they would not descend once more into those dark times.
The days passed in silence. There were no calls-to-arms. No one was rallying their forces, massive orders for kunai and shuriken were not placed, and the merchant partners and traders were told they would be no disruption in their businesses. From this, many deciphered that Konoha would not be delivering a retaliating blow against Kumo.
The decision by the Fourth Hokage was met with controversy. Some heavily criticized the decision, calling it a blatant show of weakness. Others staunchly supported it. War was not a game. They would rather have a Hokage who valued the peace and lives of his people than one who would risk it all for no benefit.
For several days after the realization that Konoha would not be striking back, the Uchiha Police Force was swamped with duties. Bar fights and arguments would break out between both civilians and shinobi alike, due to drunken words being uttered without care. Some, brazen, called Minato a coward, no different from Hiruzen before him, and those who were truly loyal to the Fourth Hokage, would lash out, leading to several scuffles, the destruction of public property, and in one case, the grievous injury of a bystander.
A strange undercurrent of tension swept throughout the village. Although the threat of a storm had passed, there was still an unavoidable downpour.
Mere days after the confirmation that Konoha was turning the other cheek, they lost several high-level clients. These individuals viewed shinobi as peerless killing tools, and only cared for who was the most bloodthirsty. The lives of shinobi mattered little to them, and the lack of ruthlessness from the Fourth Hokage compelled them to take their businesses elsewhere.
Whilst several clients were lost, others were gained. The new clients were moved by Konoha's magnanimity because they had the foresight to realize that such a retaliation would lead to another Great War. Konoha was choosing to sacrifice its own reputation rather than pointlessly sacrifice countless lives, and such a calm-headed approach made them feel Konoha was not only trustworthy but that it was righteous.
In the following weeks, more and more ripples would emerge. One of such ripples was an unexpected spike in the number of civilian immigrants, many of whom were tired of bloodshed and war. Seeing that Konoha was a place that valued peace, they decided it was the best place to live.
It was not long before knowledge of the matter spread to other villages. Some outright criticized Kumo for their shameless behavior, whilst others, such as Iwa, sent mocking missives indirectly claiming that Minato was scared of the battlefield.
Changes, innumerous and countless occurred, but no one, not Kumo, not Iwa, not even Konoha, could anticipate that there would be a place that would have the biggest, grandest change of all, and topple the balance of the world.
No one expected it to come from the Hyūga Clan.
XXXXX"N-Neji-n-ni-sama — I-I c-can't —"
There was no great equalizer.
"Endure longer," Zi Wuji spoke up. "The longer you endure, the better it will be."
There was no great equalizer.
This thought, amongst others, became apparent as he watched his young cousin lay within the pool of his own construction. He paid no attention to her clothless form, and focused his eyes instead on the flow of chakra within the pool, and how much of it was capable of entering into the girl's body.
At the extreme end of the pool, was a sequence of minor fūinjutsu seals that formed into a formation. Despite its apparent complexity, they were no different from the seals on sealing scroll, in so much that their function was to seal something away. However, numerous characters and kanji had been added and removed, editing the function enough thus that what it currently sealed away was not an item, but energy.
Specifically, heat.
Depriving the pool of the presence of heat enabled it to reach above-freezing temperatures without freezing. It was then he'd stripped the young girl of her clothes and pushed her into the deep end, ordering her to stay there for one hour while slowly circulating chakra counterclockwise through her tenketsu.
Yet, a mere five minutes in, the girl was already bemoaning that she could go no longer.
Here I am, spraying golden fertilizer upon a wastrel sprout, and she does not even know how to appreciate it.
Zi Wuji shook his head, as he saw the girl continue to shiver relentlessly while looking at him with eyes pleading for mercy. The foolish child assumed he was punishing her for being abducted, as though he had the thickness of skin to do such a thing.
"This is not a punishment," he said calmly. "This is for your own growth."
"N-N-Neji-ni-sama… p-p-please —"
Zi Wuji could tell she did not believe him.
Despite lacking talent, she also lacked conviction and will. Some would mock him for judging her with such harsh standards, but to Zi Wuji, age was not a factor. Mental will was innate. Although one's mental realm could indeed be cultivated, there was a certain conviction and potency born within all peerless experts and individuals of greatness. Such a thing could be seen even before they were able to walk and formulate words. If one had the domineering will of a king at three years old, barring any unexpected setbacks, they would not suddenly have the will of a chicken when they were thirty.
Seeing her continue to shudder and whimper within the water, occasionally looking to him for mercy, Zi Wuji could only click his tongue in annoyance. She was making him out to be some sort of unscrupulous and merciless fellow when he was doing his best to help her, and such a thing could only leave him vexed.
As far as Zi Wuji was concerned, his cousin was not suited to this world. Even if she was a peerless, once-in-a-generation genius, so long as her will was so lacking, her best fate was perhaps to find a loving spouse and become a housewife. Such a person had no business training to be a ruthless killer, an assassin, and most certainly, they had no business aspiring to be a leader.
Indecisive individuals could not be leaders. Merciful and soft-hearted people could be leaders, but at best, they could only be second-rate. Zi Wuji was certain that even if he had not been born, there was no world in which his cousin, with her temperament, would have become the Head of the Hyūga clan.
However, as she had chosen to walk down this path, the path of life and death, he had no choice but to be ruthless to her. Seeing her like this, Zi Wuji was certain he had to be more ruthless to her than anyone else, because this world lacked a great equalizer.
In the Rain World, Cultivation was the great equalizer. There, had he someone like his cousin whom he could not let die at any cost, he would simply find a means to increase her cultivation base. Between men and women, the differences in power could be breached and eclipsed so long as one cultivated diligently. A Soul Fragmentation Realm twelve year old girl could effortlessly slaughter hundreds of thousands of adult Qi Refining experts with nothing but the sound of her heartbeat. It would not matter even if those experts were built like statues, body cultivators, or if they'd lived to see their daughter's daughters.
The Elemental Nations were not so fortunate. It followed the law of the secular world. Zi Wuji learned in his studies that chakra was not an equalizer, because chakra was not given to men and women equally. It was the combination of physical energy and mental energy. Whereas shinobi and kunoichi could possess equal amounts of mental energy, they did not possess equal amounts of physical energy. Shinobi, with their stronger bodies, denser bone structure, and more musculature, would possess far greater physical energy.
This meant, on average, men possessed greater and denser chakra quantity than women.
Greater chakra quantity meant being able to cast more jutsu and go longer in fights before becoming exhausted. When coupled with the other physical advantages of strength, endurance and stamina, Zi Wuji had almost pondered why women even bothered becoming kunoichi in such a ruthless world. A shinobi and kunoichi may be of the same rank, but that one shinobi could potentially be a match for three of that same kunoichi. He then realized it was the very ruthless nature of the world that drove them down such paths.
In spite of all the Rain World's flaws, one's gender had little to no bearing on their future prospects. When he thought of existences at the top of the martial path, there were countless terrifying old crones who were at times even more ruthless and daring than their male counterparts.
He shuddered slightly, remembering the time he'd snuck into the Immortal Ensnaring Music Palace to abduct one of their disciples, only to encounter the Palace Master. Even with his Flutter Forcing Finger Art that made him the natural bane of female cultivators, he'd still nearly died to her Thousand Heart Seizing Devil Music. As he touched her, a single twang from a zither of that woman had forced him to encounter a thousand heart-devils from the hearts of a thousand cultivators. It was truly one of the few times he'd nearly died, and he'd sworn never again to target any disciples of that place.
Exhaling loudly, Zi Wuji shook his head. The inherent differences in gender was not something he could fix for his cousin, so he did not try. Regardless, he was no stranger to being born at a disadvantage compared to others. He had been born an orphan, and he'd not only been lacking in talent, he'd been lacking in cultivation resources. He'd fought, clawed, bitten, robbed, cheated and defiled his way to the top, in spite of him coming from nothing and having nothing.
Being born with an inherent disadvantage was not the end, no, in fact, as far as Zi Wuji was concerned, it was those who hungered and lacked the most that were the most ambitious. A man with a full stomach could not fathom the zeal of the man with an empty plate. Being born with disadvantages was the thing that would propel many to greater heights.
Yet, glancing at his cousin, he felt it did the opposite.
"N-N-Neji-ni-sama… p-p-p-please…" her teeth chattered as she spoke. "I-I — I w-w-w-won't g-g-g-get k-k-kidnapped a-a-a-again… f-f-f-f-forgive… m-m-m-me…"
Zi Wuji rubbed his nose in irritation.
"I don't like repeating myself. I've already said this isn't a punishment."
Adversity did not temper his cousin like a whetstone sharpening a blade, instead, it blunted her, making her shrink more and more into herself.
Zi Wuji scowled as he saw tears began to drip down her cheeks. This little brat still didn't believe he wasn't punishing her.
Should I just discard her?
Seeing her cry, Zi Wuji wanted to immediately abandon his efforts to make her stronger and discard her to the wind. Such a trash person had no destiny with him. To mistake his profound kindness for malice was already infuriating him. Did she not know how many others would beg for such an opportunity? How many would kill for this boon?
Let alone discarding her, the urge to kill her almost spiked. It was simply unfortunate that the pure Yin Chakra she possessed would ruin him were she to die. That same pure Yin Chakra was the reason he had her undergoing her current trial, and yet, she could barely endure.
How could someone so lacking in will, someone so meek, someone without an iota of self-belief or confidence be born with such a blessing? Were the heavens blind?
Wouldn't it be easier to just cripple her?
Upon crushing her arms or legs, she'd no longer be able to be a kunoichi. From what he'd gathered, the current Elemental Nations did not have the means to heal such injuries. Upon doing so her activities would be constrained, and the amount of danger she would face in life would be minuscule once she was confined to a bed or her home.
If she was crippled, he could simply put a powerful formation around where she stayed, and he wouldn't have to worry about her dying. It was not only an easier solution, but it was also a cheaper, faster, and less irritating one.
Zi Wuji's eyes shone as he approached the pool, pondering why he hadn't thought of this sooner. However, upon seeing her teary face, he scowled once more.
Can she even handle such a thing?
Being a cripple was mentally tasking. You would constantly rely on another for everything, and that loss of power was something that shook even the most sturdy of men. With her pitiable willpower, in what world would she be able to endure the life of a cripple? To endure the sneers, jeers, mockery and derision?
She would feel more and more like a burden to everyone around her, and, in a misguided attempt to alleviate that burden, she would sooner or later take her own life.
I cannot kill her, I cannot cripple her, and I cannot let her die. At the same time, I lack the patience to train her.
Zi Wuji laughed bitterly.
How truly unfortunate.
"N-Neji-ni-sama —"
Examining the girl's weeping form, Zi Wuji shook his head. Perhaps if he told her why she was in the above-freezing water, she would have the will to continue, but he could not do so and either way, the knowledge would not aid her. Having knowledge of why she was doing what she was doing would actually make the process more difficult.
There were things in this world that one did on instinct. They were so instinctual that one did not even need to think of them. Thinking of doing them while doing them would actually impair the ability to do them. Such things, like blinking, or breathing, were done automatically all the time. If someone were to suddenly tell you that you had to count the number of times your blinks matched with your breaths or you would die, a process that was previously done without problem would suddenly become problematic.
So telling her why he'd tossed her into freezing water and told her to circulate her chakra would hinder her, but by not telling her, she assumed he was punishing her.
"P-P-P-P-Please…. N-N-N-Neji-s-s-s-sama…"
Her face was blue. Zi Wuji checked the time to see that ten minutes had passed. Sighing, he reached out a hand, and pulled the girl out of the freezing water. She collapsed immediately, shaking and shivering as she did so. Her teeth clattered loudly against each other, the chattering was almost deafening to his ears.
Were she a normal person, frostbite would have already set in, irreversibly damaging her body. Yet, it hadn't. As for why, Zi Wuji already knew.
It is indeed as I suspected.
He peered deep into her body with his Byakugan, focusing on the nature of her chakra. For a brief, tiny moment, it was rigid and sharp, before it resumed its usual fluid nature.
"Rest for thirty minutes, and then, you go back in."
All the blood drained from her face. She looked at him, with something akin to horror on her face. Before Zi Wuji could speak any further, she latched unto his leg.
"I-I'm s-s-s-sorry, I-I-I'm s-s-sorry, I —"
"Enough."
Seeing her pleading like this almost made him angry enough to cough blood.
Have I not been considerate enough?!
Yin was the female principle of the universe. It was the earth, darkness, moon, and cold. It held the closest connection to the underworld and to death.
He'd been considerate, feeling that burying her alive for several weeks would have a high risk of killing her, and locking her in a pitch-black abyss with neither light nor sound for several weeks would have a high risk of making her go insane.
Having her bathe in frigid water was the most merciful of the three options. He'd even been planning on letting her just bathe in it for one hour a day, slowly improving over time, and yet, she could barely endure ten minutes.
There was another option. Not for her, but for him. That would be to slowly drain out her Yin Chakra over time, such that once she died, his body would have already become accustomed to it, and there would be little fear of it changing him.
That method, of course, would mean treating her no different from a cauldron — an object. It would mean engaging in sexual relations with a child. Whilst Zi Wuji cared little about the moral quandries of it, he held his pride as a cultivator. Would he not lose all his face before his peers if it were ever discovered he'd sunk to such low depths?
This was the least threatening, and the most merciful path he was already taking, and even then, the girl was looking up at him as though he were a monster. Had he simply dug the earth and tossed her inside without saying a word, wouldn't she think of him as the devil then?
Glancing at the girl clinging at his legs, Zi Wuji's eyes hardened. He needed to find a way to build up her will. As he'd already proven, utilizing a harsh fist would do more harm than good. So, did that mean he had to use a soft approach?
"My dear cousin," he lifted her up, smiling as brightly as he could. "You misunderstand me. How could I punish you for such a thing? This truly is not a punishment. I cherish you too much to hurt you."
He wiped away the tears from her cheeks, sighing dramatically.
"I wish for you to become strong. Strong enough, so that I do not have to worry about someone taking you from me."
"You… Y-y-you aren't punishing me?"
"I would not dream of it."
The girl looked at him with eyes belaying uncertainty. Zi Wuji peered into her heart, literally, and saw the tiniest fluctuations. Not just her heart, he could see other things, within her organs, and her body. Through reading those organs, he continued his words carefully.
"My dear cousin, you do not know how much I value you. If you were to leave me, well, I would be forced to take my life with my own hands."
"N-no!"
Her heartbeat quickened. The thought of him killing himself because of her terrified her. "
It is true," Zi Wuji placed her hand unto his chest, allowing her to feel the calmness of his heartbeat. The steadiness that belayed no fluctiations had only one meaning. Even for someone as young as she was, so long as she had her Byakugan, she could tell that there were ways to know when one was lying.
Yet, letting her feel his chest as he did, she was certain that he spoke the truth. Her own heart rate began to soar with unbelievable terror.
"My dear cousin," Zi Wuji continued, allowing a bitter smile to come upon his face. "Your death would render my life meaningless. It would make my pursuits, my goals, my passions worthless. I would fall into despair. Into madness. In the end, I would only find respite in death."
"N-Neji-ni-sama y-y-you c-c-c-can't! You — n-n-not f-f-for me!"
"Yes, for you," he said. "I cannot let anyone else have you, my dear cousin."
His eyes shone with light.
"Not even death can take you from me. If it wants to have you, then it must have me as well."
His words weren't empty. If she truly were to die, a lot of his current efforts would be ruined. Zi Wuji truly would not mind killing himself again on the gamble that the Way Codex would reincarnate him into a better body with better prospects.
"It is why, I want you to become strong. Strong enough to make sure no one can ever take you from me. Can you do that for me? My dear… Hinata?"
Speaking her name, Zi Wuji saw the effects immediately. To his surprise, his utter befuddlement, there seemed to be a change in her mental realm. It was not overt, and only a cultivator with decades of life experience would be able to notice it. Yet, it was there.
"I— I— will d-d-do it… f-f-for you, N-Neji-ni-sama."
What manner of joke is this? Are you saying a few honeyed words were all that was needed to boost her confidence…?
Zi Wuji resisted the urge to curse himself. He had not wanted to use this approach because he felt there was no way it would work. After all, as Long Gongji, he had countless years of experience using honeyed words to entrap young female cultivators into his bed chambers. Such a method was within his capabilities, but he felt his cousin was too young for such an approach, would not understand it, or worse, would be repulsed by it.
It seemed he'd severely overestimated his cousin.
Was she so miserable in spirit, that so long as one showed her an iota of kindness, gave her a bit of trust, she would dedicate her heart and soul to that person?
Zi Wuji almost wanted to pity her.
Glancing into her eyes, and peering into how quickly her heart was beating, Zi Wuji pondered if this was the right decision. She was still young, so there was no worry, but the current type of sentiment she held towards him was unmistakable.
This kind of affection could easily become a double-edged sword.
It does not matter.
"Thank you, my dear cousin."
He slowly stroked the back of the girl's head, smiling as he did so.
So long as she does not die, this much is enough.
Zi Wuji smiled deep within himself.
Now, to work on the rest of these fools. Hyūga Clan… hahaha… just wait. I, Zi Wuji, will use you to overturn the heavens.
XXXXX Elsewhere, a masked man sat atop a mountain, overlooking a village within it. A messenger bird appeared and perched on his extended arm. Withdrawing the message from it, a laugh escaped the man's lips.
"So it failed."
The paper vanished into flame.
"Sensei… you're one step ahead, as always. But I haven't just been idling around…"
The man rose to his feet. Beside him, was another individual, with dark skin and blond hair. He had eight swords on his back, but his eyes were vacant and blank, and one could only vaguely see the slow spinning of a Sharingan within it. It appeared only for a minute, before vanishing.
"Since you've gotten stronger, for the sake of my dream… I have no choice but to get stronger too."
With a pulse of chakra, the dark-skinned man with the eight swords on his back dropped immediately to his knees.
"Tell the Raikage to advance with the plan."
"...As you command, Madara-sama." Like Quote ReplyReport Reactions:DtPrince, Kalsted, Cadmus von Eizenbern and 150 others