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HSU: Ch. 75
🕑 Added 2024-12-15 21:22:47 +0000 UTCUnlike the Uchiha clan, the Hyūga clan's territory occupies a larger area and was located in the northern district.
Of the eight major ninja clans, only the Uchiha were not in the northern district.
However, like the Uchiha, the Hyūga clan territory was also designed with isolation in mind and was situated on the western side of the northern district.
When the Hokage building allocated this area to the Hyūga clan, the initial intention was to utilize the Byakugan to create an additional free defensive line.
This idea turned out to be very effective.
Even the villagers rarely approached the Hyūga territory.
If the Uchiha clan's land felt distant due to its proximity to the Police Force and prison facilities, causing villagers to subconsciously avoid it, the Hyūga territory's traditional aristocratic atmosphere had an imposing presence that made passersby instinctively serious, discouraging visits.
But that was just the area near the main entrance.
Since it bordered the western wasteland, the Hyūga territory had ample space to develop. Their buildings were all single-story structures.
In terms of architectural style, the central building always faced south, and various secondary structures, connected by non-open-air corridors and bridges, surround it.
The aesthetic was heavily traditional.
The Hyūga clan was undoubtedly the most rule-bound clan in Konoha.
However, since they kept their traditions internal, people mostly sighed about the difficulties of managing a large family rather than accusing the Hyūga of being pretentious.
When Masashi headed to the Hyūga territory, it was already the afternoon of the second day.
In his previous life, he hadn't interacted much with the Hyūga, except during the battles against the Kiri ninjas, when he often worked on missions with Hyūga ninjas.
The Byakugan was really useful.
---
As soon as Masashi arrived at the entrance to the Hyūga territory, someone came out to greet him.
With that far-reaching vision, seamless coordination was indeed achievable.
The Hyūga were very polite. Compared to the previous life, this politeness felt much more genuine.
To be honest, he had quite a few comrades among the Hyūga.
He hadn't walked far into their territory when he met one.
"Masashi, long time no see." A Hyūga approached, smiling warmly.
"Oh, it's you, Masahide." Masashi felt a wave of familiarity upon seeing him. "Why didn't you go to the Land of Hot Water with your brother earlier?"
Masahide was a jonin Masashi had frequently partnered with during the Third Great Ninja War.
He had an older brother named Masanari. However, Masashi wasn't as close to him.
"I couldn't. I had other things to take care of." Masahide warmly placed a hand on Masashi's shoulder. He lowered his voice slightly, "Things have been tense lately. The elders are worried about something."
"Oh? The mighty Hyūga clan has concerns?" Masashi raised an eyebrow.
"You know how it is. Main family politics." Masahide's smile didn't waver. "Come, I'll take you to see the elder."
With a jonin like Masahide around, the Hyūga reception staff tactfully stepped aside.
While the clan's branch and main family system was often criticized, it was not entirely a master-servant relationship. Even branch family members, as jonin, had their rightful status.
Of course, when matters arose, the distinction between main and branch families still became apparent.
But Masahide, despite being from a branch family, gave off a very positive vibe. He didn't carry any negativity or bitterness about his status. Instead, he was energetic and upbeat.
Soon, the two arrived at a large house.
The house was a single-story structure elevated by wooden pillars, with thick planks making up the roof under its ceramic tiles.
They climbed up the wooden stairs, headed down the hallway, and slid open a painted door.
"The elder is inside. She specifically requested to meet with you alone, so I won't accompany you further," Masahide said with a smile. "And she doesn't have the best temper, so be prepared."
"Don't worry, I'm famous for respecting the elderly and caring for the young," Masashi said, waving his hand as he entered the house.
Inside, he immediately saw the woman seated at the front.
Shijime was older than Hiruzen, but not by much. However, she had aged far better than him.
As the pampered princess of the Hyūga main family in her youth, she had always been well-protected, especially by her doting and temperamental father.
In the first timeline, that temperamental old man would glare daggers at the Senju clan, especially at Muzo, for seemingly no reason.
Time had left its marks on Shijime.
Her skin was well-maintained, but her once petite face and delicate features had changed significantly. Fine crow's feet crept around her eyes, which no longer sparkled with youthful vitality. Years of burdens weighed them down.
Her hair had grayed, and her tightly pursed lips hinted at some tension.
Masashi knelt on the mat before her, his expression calm, though his emotions were complex.
Her former radiance still felt like it had been just yesterday.
The image of her tearful departure surfaced in his mind.
"Masashi," Shijime said. "Rumor has it in the village that you found his burial place."
"That's a misunderstanding," Masashi replied, shaking his head. "It was just an armory."
"An armory… That does sound like something he would call it." Shijime's memory was stirred by the term. She carefully studied the young man before her. "You're not even twenty yet, are you?"
"Almost," Masashi said.
Strictly speaking, she was an elder of the Hyūga, and he should be addressing her respectfully. However…
It felt too uncomfortable.
Fortunately, as an Uchiha, a little impoliteness wasn't a big deal. For once, the exaggerated negative stereotypes about the Uchiha clan felt like a blessing.
"The Edo Tensei was a technique he devoted much effort to perfecting. Without him, there is no way to undo it. Why would he leave such a flaw?"
"That, I don't know. Maybe he had a change of heart before his death," Masashi speculated.
Dealing with old acquaintances is always tricky.
In today's Konoha, probably only Hiruzen understood Edo Tensei. The problem was that none of his current skills rivaled the insights of those who had been close to Muzo in their youth.
Shijime certainly knew how paranoid Muzo had been. He'd designed many safeguards to prevent Edo Tensei from being forcibly undone.
"That doesn't sound like him at all…" Shijime sighed.
Masashi remained silent.
But that was the personality he had chosen to display. Only such a persona could instill fear in his enemies…
"I don't know. The technique he left behind is just like that."
"Only the technique?" Shijime fixed her gaze on him. "Please, Masashi, think carefully. Could there be something you missed? I want him to return."
In her youth, pride had driven her to leave Muzo when she saw his lingering ties with an ex-girlfriend.
She couldn't bring herself to reconcile with him.
Afterward, she never entered another relationship, especially since her now-deceased father had been both the clan leader and a fiercely protective father. Even after stepping down, his authority as an elder meant no one dared challenge her decision to remain single.
Now, after so many years, hearing news of him again unsettled her once-peaceful heart.
The dead could not return, but she wanted him to rest in his homeland.
"There really is nothing else," Masashi suppressed his inner turmoil, pretending not to notice the anticipation in her voice. Shaking his head firmly, he said, "There were only weapons there. Nothing else."
---
In a bar, Masashi and Masahide sat across from each other. On the table, a warm sake pot and a large plate of sashimi lay between them.
It was already evening.
Pouring himself a cup of warm sake, Masashi took a sip.
After leaving the Hyūga clan's territory, his mood was complicated.
"You've finally reached this position..." Masahide said with envy, taking a piece of sashimi. "From now on, except for the Hokage, no one can order you around anymore."
"Having work to do isn't necessarily a bad thing," Masashi replied.
Although the Hyūga clan's family system was often criticized privately, the clan was outwardly very united. In external matters, the distinction between the main and branch families blurred considerably.
Essentially, only the main family could bully the branch family. Moreover, not every member of the main family indulged in such behavior.
The Hyūga clan, known for their collective mindset, maintained a delicate balance within this system.
The branch family system was, in essence, a brutal yet undeniably efficient protective mechanism. At the very least, it ensured that Hyūga clan members would not be specifically targeted for their Byakugan outside the village.
The Uchiha clan, however, faced such issues. Clan members who failed to awaken the Sharingan were often targeted once their identities were discovered.
Masashi added a large dollop of wasabi to his dish, mashing it up with his chopsticks. He had specifically requested the shop for a stronger, more pungent flavor.
This was a preference developed in his first playthrough of life—when eating sashimi, the wasabi had to pack a punch.
"Your taste..." Masahide grimaced. "You're ruining the flavor of the ingredients."
"If the wasabi isn't spicy, what's the point?" Masashi said.
He picked up a piece of sashimi with sauce, and ate it in one bite.
Across from him, Masahide, who preferred his sashimi plain, refrained from adding any wasabi.
"In a bad mood? Didn't the meeting with the elder go well?"
"Not really."
Among the many girlfriends he had in his first life, Shijime held a special place in his heart.
She was the one who made him realize that, even in the cruel world of shinobi, a girl from a ninja clan wouldn't approach someone from another clan purely for the sake of a mission.
Unfortunately, he understood this too late. At the time, after much deliberation, he had concluded that separating was the best choice for both of them.
The life of a man known as Muzo was too filthy to deserve the sincere affection of a girl like her. Some stains never washed away, but that didn't mean others should suffer for them.
"Masahide, has Elder Shijime ever had children?"
"Oh, no, she hasn't," Masahide said, putting down his chopsticks with a sigh. "Among all the elders, she's the only one without descendants. Her family passed away long ago, so she's usually by herself."
"Judging by her appearance, she must have had many admirers in her youth. Didn't anyone catch her eye?"
"Of course! When she was young, Elder Shijime was famous in Konoha for her beauty. Everyone in her generation pursued her, but she was very serious about relationships. After her first love sacrificed himself, she never considered love again."
Masahide paused and looked at Masashi.
"Her first love was that Muzo. She invited you this time because of that. She doesn't care about the legacy—though some in the clan do—but she scolded them all."
"..."
So she never married... A loneliness I caused. One more debt to repay.
"Being all alone must be terribly lonely, don't you think? Has anyone tried to pursue her?" As he said this, Masashi lowered his head and drank.
"Not at all," Masahide waved his hand dismissively. "The elder is incredibly powerful. There was a pervert once, an old geezer who wanted to remarry and set his sights on her. She beat him half to death. No one dares approach her now, but..."
He paused, sighing.
"Of course, she must be lonely. But she's very kind—especially to children. We all received her care when we were young. Whenever she has time, she visits us, hoping to liven things up and make herself happy."
"Masahide."
"Hmm? What is it? Why are you so serious?"
"That pervert you mentioned, was he from the Hyūga clan?"
"No, he was a member of the Yamanaka clan, an elder. He's probably around seventy or eighty now."
"I'm planning to tell the Hokage that I'll leave the village for a bit to look for something. Can you pass a message to Elder Shijime for me?"
"Tell her I'll try my best, but she shouldn't expect too much. If there was anything, it's probably gone by now."
Shijime's life shouldn't be like this. It was his fault, an undeniable mistake.
Masashi decided to check the Kannabi Bridge. In his previous life, he specialized in chakra research but neglected physical restoration techniques.
He couldn't use the Yin Seal—that was Tsunade's unique creation.
Masashi hoped to, at the very least, restore Shijime's youthful beauty. Every girl cared about their appearance, and Shijime was particularly obsessive about maintenance. If he succeeded, she would surely be delighted.
For now, he wouldn't take on any other tasks and would focus solely on this.
"Oh! Do you have a lead?" Masahide asked, his eyes lighting up.
Those who weren't born into the Hyūga branch family couldn't understand their feelings or the sensitivity they had towards the main family's gaze.
But Shijime was different. For the branch family children, she made them feel more than ever that they were part of the Hyūga clan.
They all knew about her unspoken sorrow.
"Masashi, don't lie to me."
"I'm not lying. I thoroughly searched that place once and sealed it again. There's a chance, however slim." Masashi said. "When I need to be serious, I don't joke around."
"That's true. You're the most reliable person I know." Masahide cracked his knuckles. "Need help? I can call for reinforcements. You have no idea how hard it was for us to watch her back then."
"No need. You're all too slow compared to me." Masashi lifted his cup again. "It's better for you to visit the elder more often. Come on, let's drink to that."
"Cheers!" Masahide, now in a great mood, raised his cup.
The two continued drinking, thinking about their experiences on the battlefield. The more they talked, the more animated they became. One cup followed another.
As the alcohol flowed, so did their thoughts.
Those who want to get drunk always have their reasons—only by wanting to be drunk can one truly get drunk.
Masashi tapped his cup against the table.
"You holding up?"
"Stop nagging. I've got the Byakugan. I can see chakra—what's alcohol compared to that?"
"As if you're the only one who can see chakra," Masashi scoffed. He reached for the sake pot, only to find it empty.
He rang the bell on the table.
A waiter pulled back the curtain and leaned in with a cheerful smile.
"Another pot, please. Also, bring us some hot dishes."
"Got it!"
Seeing Masahide's reddened face, he decided the timing was about right.
He knew Masahide's drinking habits well. By this point, he'd wake up with no memory of the night.
"Masahide."
"Yeah..."
"You said earlier that the elder beat up a pervert. What was his name?"
"Uh... oh, Masamune, yeah! The old geezer!"
Masahide muttered, clearly drunk, as he polished off the last piece of sashimi.
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