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Filthy Gamer in Narutoverse: 216
🕑 Added 2023-04-10 14:02:14 +0000 UTCTitle: Darkest Night Hidden in The Leaf (1)
A little more than six months have passed in the blink of an eye since the last batch of shinobi graduated from various levels in the academy. Some persisted in training, some reevaluated their choices to adopt less dangerous professions after their blood cooled off, and some corpses were incinerated based on the Shinobi Code for funerals.
A majority of the teams fell in the first category.
A few cases, like Anya, one of Mikoto’s former team members, fell in the second category. The administration of the village always accounts for such issues. It is one of the reasons why the administration encourages bright students to complete their courses before graduating—Not only are the graduates older and more tempered, but the students are also ‘taught’ about the prosperity of the village and the will of fire to push them beyond their base fears.
Undoubtedly the numbers of genins who jumped ships to more stable professions were more significant in this batch, but Hiruzen felt glad he allowed unusually early graduation. Things are turning out terribly, after all.
The chances of increased causality are high. So, the more teachings the previous generation can leave behind, the better.
“Hokage-sama, the meeting is about to start.” Shikudo glances at his leader.
“What about the preparations?” Hiruzen wears his hat to hide his noticeably worse bald spot and somewhat increased whiteness in his hair. The increased stress from the recent events has tested Kage’s nerves intensely. His cheeks are fairly sunken, his wrinkles are far more prominent, and the shadowy eyebags under his eyes have chosen to become permanent tenants on his face. He thins his dry lips as Shikudo’s words barely bring any comfort.
“The preparations are complete, Lord Third.”
“Hmm.”
“And what about the latest patrol? Did they find anything?”
Shikudo’s gaze darkens. Even his nerves feel tense as he replies quietly, “Not yet. But the civilians, including clan members returning from outside businesses, are relocated to the bunkers. Hokage-sama… forgive me for saying this, but we have put all our eggs in one basket rather literally this time.”
“And months of planning led us to conclude this course of action,” Hiruzen sighs deeply.
“Forgive me,” Shikudo whispers. “Even I never imagined things to worsen to this extent. We could have adopted a more active position if the Hyuga Clan did not remain an internal threat.”
“No matter. What we need to do now is make the best of the situation as we planned. As crude as our course of action is, it is the only thing that can trump dissemination of information from unknown sources.”
Hiruzen cast a glance out of his window. The sun isn’t harsh as the afternoon light radiates a sweet warmth on the village, making the elderly civilians want to take a blissful nap. But instead, Hiruzen makes out shut shops and empty streets. Hiruzen did not hide the relocation of the civilians of the village. It was useless to hide it.
And Rikudo bless the Hyuga’s Elder's rotten hearts as they allowed the civilians of their clan to relocate alongside themselves. In the grand scheme of things, the Elders of the Hyuga Clan meant little to Hiruzen. After all, he has a sneaking suspicion that the day will not end peacefully.
The Hyuga Elders may want to enter the bunkers for safety, but Hiruzen wished to deal with them later—peacefully or otherwise.
Major threats that should resurface somehow occupy Hiruzen’s mind. Just because the patrol of the village came up with nothing did not entail the other leaders of the Shinobi will sit back and not use Konoha’s internal destabilization.
Maybe all of this is an old man’s paranoid thoughts getting the better of him—but better safe than sorry.
Maybe, other villages have similar internal conflicts, and they all are holing themselves in fear of a similar attack.
But the truth is that Konoha houses Third Raikage’s son. And if Hiruzen recalls that cunning behemoth correctly, ‘A’ will not take this lying down.
“Lord Third?”
“Hmm?”
“The meeting?”
“Oh, yes.”
Hokage nods. Shikudo still doesn’t know the truth behind the Hyuga Conflict. But then again, aside from Mukai, Yata, Hiashi, Hizashi, and Hiruzen himself, all the other clans are kept in the dark.
There is no way Hiruzen reaches on top of this situation personally if his involvement with a clan’s conspiracy is brought to light. Even his ardent backers will build a thin layer of caution around him.
So, Hiruzen knows things will not settle in this meeting, but one must keep appearances.
The duo leaves the Kage Office and enters the meeting chamber, where all the other clan heads, advisors, Senju Clan’s Proxy, and Mukai Kohinata are already present.
---
Nawaki isn’t losing his marbles like his first meeting, and Tsunade seems intent on making him see-through this event till the end. He understands that it’s one of the reasons why Tsunade took it upon herself to spar with him and force him to polish his skills further.
Tsunade even made him seek Orochimaru for more tips in training.
Not being as clueless as before, Nawaki felt there was an odd tension between Tsunade and Orochimaru that, to quote his former Jonin Sensei, made him the perfect tool to annoy Orochimaru. Not that Orochi left him hanging. Instead, he made Nawaki follow the basic training again with his adopted son Mitsuki.
It didn’t help at first, but Nawaki soon realized the simple meaning behind this training.
No, it wasn’t anything cliche as returning to the roots and mastering some hidden power.
No, it’s a hint.
Training must start from the basics, and Nawaki skipped one of the most crucial basics. It wasn’t his fault.
It skipped his mind since he had a team to teach and bear more clan responsibilities.
Nature Transformation Training.
He threw his shadow clans in the grinder the second he realized the big step he skipped, even if it meant perpetual migraines that were only starting to feel better now.
And all his training is visible through his composure.
Of his two nature transformations—Fire and Wind—Nawaki chose to accomplish mastery of Fire Nature Transformation. The latter was hard to train as both his sister and sensei made it very clear that he should master the relatively easy stuff as quickly as possible and add to his arsenal.
How does his training translate to not losing his marble in front of other clan heads and not feeling insecure?
Simple.
He was jaded by the conflict of a higher tier after Tsunade broke and healed him multiple times.
Not his clones.
Him.
Cracked ribs would be the least of his worries when facing his demonic ‘Onee-san.’
He always felt an innate, and frankly, a brotherly caution against Kai for his actions. The youth was younger than Nawaki and trying to get in many panties at the same time. But now?
Nawaki is relieved that his sister even has a shot at being in a relationship.
As for age?
Nawaki was on Kai’s side on this matter. Hundreds of nobles marry young girls less than half their age just because they can—unwillingly. At least, here, both parties had consent.
His musings, unfazed by the glances of the clan heads, broke apart when Hiruzen walked in with Shikudo.
He stands alongside others in respect for the Old Kage before resuming his seat.
Only Mukai remained standing beside the three advisors.
“I admit that tensions are high in this room and the village, but I am here to assure everyone Konoha only deserves our best. The appointed timeline for the Hyuga Clan to voice their defense is here, and as ordered, all their civilian members in disguise to control their businesses have returned in a reasonable time. With this in thought, what do you have for us today, Clan Head Hyuga Hiashi?”
Hiashi lets his milky pale eyes wander onto everyone in the room. Just like Shikudo is unaware of the truth behind this incident, he and others are unaware of the plans Hiruzen has in motion to counter any external forces.
In essence, Hiruzen is juggling two different but equally important issues at once while forced to divide and limit the knowledge to his underlings.
On one side, he needs to conclude the Hyuga incident in a manner the Hyuga Clan is no longer suppressed and contributes to the village, including Mukai, using Hiashi, Hizashi, and Yata’s assistance.
On the other hand, he needs to work with Shikudo and employ his students to make sure the external forces cannot deal with them despite the possibility of their plans being exposed to the enemies.
Other clan heads look similarly tense. They may not understand the reason behind the relocation of the civilians, but they can make a guess.
“Before we begin, I would like to apologize to Mukai Kohinata for one of my clansman’s actions.” Hiashi begins and looks the prodigious teen in the eye. “The Hyuga Clan may disagree with your notions, but our noble clan will never condone such actions.”
Tsume’s mother—Okami Inuzuka—scoffs under her breath as she interjects crudely with a low growl.
“Noble Clan? The only thing noble about your clan is your ability to avert responsibility on your slaves. Don’t think we don’t understand that you and your elders allowed this attempt to happen in the first place.”
Inoshi Yamanaka leans forward with a smirk.
“Okami-san has some merits to her words. Everyone present, including Tsunade’s successor, understands how things work, and if Mukai held any issues, he would have raised a ruckus months ago. Let’s skip these unnecessary formalities.”
The blonde patriarch of the Yamanaka Clan earned a nasty scar traveling from his left cheek to the left portion of his neck in this short duration from one of the ‘missions’ he was assigned to interrogate.
“Now, now,” Yata chuckles. “It would be wrong to accuse one clan of something for the actions of one man. The Uchiha Clan would not have survived if Konoha minded such reasoning. Let’s give the Hyuga Patriarch the respect he deserves.”
While Yata has all but retired officially, his words carry more weight than ever. Uchiha Clan is thriving despite the small wrinkle caused by Mikoto that caused a few Uchiha Clansmen to suffer varying degrees of punishment from the Administration once some evidence came to light under the Anbu’s investigation.
“There isn’t much to say.” Hiashi stares at Okami and Inoshi before stating plainly, “The Hyuga Clan accepts that Mukai deceived the whole village by hiding Hyuga Clan’s valued kekkei genkai. As such, the Hyuga Clan perceives no malicious intent toward the Village and its organization. However, we cannot accept Mukai disavowing the promises of his ancestors to use the byakugan for his individual desires.”
Hiruzen raises an eyebrow.
“Explain.”
Wanting to conserve as much strength as possible for his reason, Hiruzen went as far as to keep the conversation short from his end. He already knows the outcome. The quicker this meeting ends, the better.
Hiashi nods and looks at Mukai.
“Mukai Kohinata’s grandfather from his father’s line was Jusho Kohinata. Initially, Jusho Hyuga—a civilian member of the branch family—married into the prosperous trading family at the time, the Kohinata Family. He was allowed to have children by the clan on the condition our Clan shall mark his offspring with the cursed seal. Perhaps, due to a genetic defect, his children were not born with Byakugan. His daughter had three children—none of them had Byakugan. His second son and fourth son were killed by bandits. His First Son was tried for traitorous actions in the capital, leading to the Kohinata Family’s downfall. His surviving third son married, lived a simple life in Konoha, and sired Mukai Kohinata.”
Letting the information settle with the group, Hiashi concludes. “The Hyuga Clan is merely holding Mukai to the end of the vow his ancestor took.”
“Is there any written evidence?” Hizashi raises an eyebrow and looks at his elder twin.
“A verbal vow does not require written confirmations.”
“As pretty as this story sounds,” Yami Uchiha chuckles, “The problem is that Hyuga Clan made a blunder. If you were this obstinate about a vow, your clan should have marked every Kohinata offspring with a seal regardless of their genetic mishaps. Lord Third, this is a simple case of incompetence bred by complacency, and one of the valued shinobi of the village should not pay the price.”
“I disagree.” Ane Aburame, the third advisor, speaks up. “Given the turbulent external situation, it is to Konoha’s benefit not to pursue conflict. If such a vow exists between Kohinata’s family with the Hyuga Clan, I suggest we act as a mediator. Mukai Kohinata would not reveal Anbu secrets and stay an Anbu member under a different code name while retiring to Hyuga Clan once he feels ready.”
“No,” Hizashi scoffs and stares at Ane. “What you offer is a way out of incompetence. Aburame Clan, of all, should realize where incompetence can lead us. Or did you forget the catastrophe leading to Sakumo Hatake’s disappearance?”
“I will not entertain baseless allegations with comments,” Ane replies calmly.
While the official statement about Sakumo’s disappearance is still the same that he and the reinforcements were ambushed, a few voices have started to appear that the Aburame Clansmen were compromised.
Hiruzen watches Ane and Denji—Aburame Patriarch—quietly. The truth is far simpler. Hiruzen and others knew that the Aburame Clan would try to vouch for stability and skirt over the issue. In some scenarios, it does benefit Konoha.
But Hiruzen has to integrate the Hyuga Clan into the village’s military to try and weed out the source of informants plaguing the village.
So, he needed Aburame Clansmen to have less credit to their name for a period, and that’s what he did by alluding to Danzo controlling the previous Root Members.
But with A’s son in custody, it is clear Danzo has nothing to do with this. At least, that’s what Hiruzen senses about the situation.
Right now, Sakumo’s disappearance is one of the unsolved mysteries of the village.
“If I may,” Yata raises his voice with a clear of his throat.
“The Uchiha Clan has found a way to solve this situation peacefully. I believe this will benefit the Hyuga Clan, Konoha, Mukai Kohinata, and most importantly, the many talents of the village who are born with special gifts.”
Shikudo furrows his brows. “And your clan would like something in return?”
“Ah, well, if you insist.” Yata smiles and sets his elbows on the desk. “But let’s not get caught up in my simple wishes. Before any individual desires, I have the village’s well-being in my heart.”
“And your colon ‘cause that’s a load of bull.” Choku Akimichi speaks for once. His narrow eyes, credit to his round cheeks, narrow further as Yata smirks.
“Still upset about that fish stick? It was years ago!”
“Indeed. Years ago, when they were still available. Now with the import from Uzu up to shit, you’re the one who ate the last piece of it!”
Yata raises an eyebrow before shrugging, “We’ll figure something out in your restaurant.”
Yata’s words placate the Akimichi Patriarch. Others did not downplay Choku’s annoyance because the Akimichi Clansmen rarely lose shit for political issues or usual ongoings of life. But their anger multiplies when it comes to their gullet.
“As I was saying, I have a way. A seal.”
Others stare at Yata quietly. Even the Uchiha Advisor did not know anything about Yata’s circumstances.
“A close associate of mine has developed a cursed seal capable of functioning the same way as the Caged Bird Seal of the Hyuga Clan.”
“That’s preposterous!” Hiashi slaps the table and raises his voice.
“Hiashi Hyuga!” Hiruzen whispers hoarsely. The Kage’s eyes fall over the offending Patriarch while releasing the full brunt of his chakra. Hiruzen’s reserves couldn’t hope to contend with the likes of the First and Second Kage, but his reserves were the highest in this room. Hiashi grits his teeth and lowers his head.
“I… apologize. But this sounds like a scandal perpetuated by the Uchiha Clan to demean ours. Everyone knows the rivalry between the two clans, and I don’t think it is beneath the Uchiha Clan to invade another clan’s privacy. After all, Yata Uchiha needs merit to regain the trust of the village squandered by the youths of his clan by desecrating the rules of the Uchiha Police.”
Yata narrows his eyes.
“So, Yata stood up for you, and this is how you respond? Some Noble Clan the Hyuga is,” Okami sneers.
“Please continue on with the seal. And I would like to know about this close associate who developed the seal that can solve this issue.”
Yata blinks in surprise. For all purposes, a proxy like Nawaki shouldn’t be speaking. His task must only be to listen to everything and inform Tsunade.
So, his voice means Tsunade’s approval of the youth. And if it isn’t like this and if Nawaki is overstepping his bounds, it would mean a lashing of a lifetime from Tsunade once he returns.
Still, Yata takes the chance to speak.
“I cannot speak about this close associate in front of others, but this information will be readily available to Lord Third to prevent misunderstanding. I am taking caution because of the assassination attempt on Mukai’s life. As for the seal–”
Yata begins weaving another story that roots everyone in their seats. A seal that can be manipulated individually and lock the special benefits for themselves.
A combination of the Hyuga cursed seal alongside the Uchiha Clan’s baby-killing seal added something better.
A seal that can prevent the corpses of Aburame Clan’s insects from falling into the wrong hand.
A seal that can allow the Inuzuka Clan to breed a rare variety of Chakra Ninken once again and keep them away from the paws of their enemy.
A seal that can become one banger of a kamikaze during the approaching time of war.
Hiashi’s ‘resistance’ fall on deaf ears as Mukai watches everything unfold with quiet, indifferent eyes.
***
Alternate Title: The Kage Juggler; Hosting Another Kage’s Son in a Special Treatment; Nawaki Grows Some Senju Nuts; Tsunade Lucked Out With Kai?; A Callous Play; None With Honor; A Shinobi’s Battle Start Way Before the Drawing of Kunai; Yata’s Seal; The Yata-Choku Conflict; A Rare Breed of Ninken?; Indifferent Mukai; Verbal Vow; Elders’ Useless Plan; The Dawn of Conflict; One Proxy
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Kai Style: Slap-A-Seal-On-That-Baby no Jutsu
