Chapter 18 - Securing the Hyūga, Meeting Hinata
"You actually..." Hiashi Hyūga abruptly stood up, staring at Renji as his Mangekyō Sharingan reverted to the three-tomoe pattern before disappearing entirely. He muttered, "So this is your trump card?"
What kind of genius was this?
Renji was only in his teens, yet he had already awakened the Uchiha clan's ultimate power—the Mangekyō Sharingan. Hiashi now understood why Renji had the confidence to stand against Konoha.
This revelation made Hiashi reevaluate Renji.
As Renji had said, the land they occupied was practically useless to the Hyūga. The central areas had been taken by the Sarutobi, Shimura, Utatane, and Mitokado clans.
The Hyūga had only secured the outskirts, near their original territory. It was a piece of land that was neither here nor there—too insignificant to matter, yet too valuable to simply give up.
Returning it to the Uchiha wouldn't harm the Hyūga in any way.
But it would damage their pride. If word got out, it would seem as though the Hyūga were afraid of the Uchiha.
"Hiashi, what's going on?"
The elders glanced at Hiashi, noticing a subtle change in his demeanor.
They instinctively checked his eyes, relieved to see that he hadn't fallen under the Sharingan's genjutsu.
"Nothing. I just think we need to have a proper discussion."
"Then, let's talk."
The others can leave.
Hiashi pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement to Renji's request.
He now recognized Renji as someone who could stand on equal footing with him.
Initially, he had thought Renji was just a puppet pushed forward by the Uchiha's radical faction. But now, it seemed Renji truly had the power to change the current situation.
After all, it wasn't the Hyūga who were at odds with the Uchiha. Why should they become pawns for Hiruzen and the others?
"Clan Leader, you can't!"
As soon as Hiashi finished speaking, the elders' expressions changed.
This Uchiha had used his Sharingan to control their clansmen just to get in.
If Renji and Hiashi were left alone, they couldn't help but worry that Renji might attack.
"You all go and release the others from the genjutsu. And make sure they train harder in resisting genjutsu in the future. I don't need you here. He won't attack me. Just leave!"
Hiashi's face showed a flicker of anger. In the Hyūga clan, while many decisions were made by the elders, as the clan leader, he had the final say.
Back then, when the Cloud Village demanded the culprit, he had only wanted to protect his daughter. He had thought Konoha would stand by him, but instead, they chose to back down. In the end, Hizashi had died in his place. Even after Hizashi's death, he hadn't wanted to hand over his body, but under pressure from Konoha, the Cloud Village, and some within the clan, he had no choice.
Even now, he couldn't let go of that incident.
In a clan as hierarchical as the Hyūga, the clan leader's word was law.
So, after Hiashi spoke, the elders could only open their mouths in protest before ultimately leaving.
Once the meeting room was empty except for Renji and Hiashi, Hiashi finally spoke. "So, this is your confidence? Do you think your power alone can overthrow Konoha?"
Hiashi admitted that Renji's Mangekyō Sharingan had surprised him, but after calming down, he poured cold water on Renji's ambitions.
If Renji thought he could rely on the Mangekyō to take down Konoha, he was sorely mistaken.
"I've always said that the Uchiha clan isn't at odds with most of Konoha's clans. Why do you think we're trying to fight the entire village?"
Renji asked curiously. It seemed that in everyone's eyes, the Uchiha were trying to take on all of Konoha.
Even the Uchiha themselves believed this.
But Renji didn't see it that way and had never intended to do so.
What good would it do to kill everyone in Konoha?
Wouldn't that leave the village with only the Uchiha?
Would that even be a village anymore?
"If you want to become Hokage, you'll inevitably make enemies of most of the village. Konoha's resources are already divided."
Hiashi lowered his gaze, explaining slowly.
Everyone knew the Uchiha wanted a Hokage.
They had even openly questioned why the Senju, who had founded Konoha alongside the Uchiha, had produced Hokage while the Uchiha had none. They demanded their own Hokage.
Konoha was like a large cake. While it seemed big, there were many people sharing it, so each person's slice was small. Now, the cake was nearly fully divided.
If the Uchiha took power, it wouldn't sit well with the other clans.
The Uchiha were already Konoha's largest clan. If they produced a Hokage, their dominance would be unshakable.
Wouldn't that mean everyone else would be at the Uchiha's mercy?
"I've never considered the Uchiha becoming Hokage. That position isn't suited for us. What we want is fairness. If the Hokage were targeting your clan, wouldn't you feel the same?"
"That's why I came to you. If we fall, you're next. If we cooperate, we can draw the fire for you."
Renji had never wanted to be Hokage. That position paled in comparison to personal strength.
If he had the power of the Sage of Six Paths, would he care about being Hokage?
Besides, becoming Hokage would inevitably hinder his training. Even if he didn't work himself to death like Naruto, he'd still be buried in paperwork like Tsunade, unable to escape.
From the start, Renji had no interest in the Hokage position. Besides, there were other candidates for Hokage.
But Hiruzen had to step down. As long as he remained in power, the Uchiha would never know peace.
"So, you want to remove them from power. What do we gain?"
If the next Hokage wasn't from the Uchiha, this could be acceptable.
Hiashi himself was deeply dissatisfied with Hiruzen and the others. If it weren't for them, Hizashi wouldn't have died. It was impossible for him not to hold a grudge.
But even if he wanted this, there had to be benefits, right?
Otherwise, how could he justify it to his clan?
"Taking down those four clans isn't enough for you to share? You don't even need to lift a finger. Just stay out of the way when I deal with them."
Renji painted a grand picture for Hiashi.
If he succeeded, they could all benefit.
In exchange, the Hyūga just had to remain neutral.
"But now you want me to return the land to you. The Hyūga can't just hand it over like that."
Hiashi stared intently at Renji. He was already leaning toward cooperation.
After all, it wouldn't cost the Hyūga much.
In the early stages, they just had to return the land that was of little use to them.
In the later stages, they wouldn't need to take sides or do anything. If Renji won, they could share in the spoils. If Renji lost, the Hyūga would remain unscathed and might even rise to become Konoha's top clan in the wake of the Uchiha's decline.
No matter how you looked at it, there was no downside.
Watching Renji annoy Hiruzen gave Hiashi a sense of satisfaction.
After all, Hiruzen had annoyed him plenty in the past.
But there was still one issue: the Hyūga's pride!
"We'll pay for it. If I take it back without compensation, it'll hurt your pride. But if we pay for it, it's just a transaction."
Renji had thought this through before coming. If they paid, it would change the meaning of the exchange.
"Agreed!"
Hiashi pondered for a moment before nodding. "But I have one condition. You can't reveal this until you've dealt with the Ino-Shika-Chō."
"Deal."
Renji thought it over and agreed to Hiashi's request.
Still worried about pride, huh?
"Then let's draft an agreement. Later, I'll compensate you with part of our current clan land and make up the difference with money."
With the Hyūga, the hardest to deal with, now on board, Renji was in high spirits.
The Uchiha were never short on money. If it could be solved with money, it wasn't a problem. Renji had even prepared for a fight before coming.
After signing the agreement, Hiashi prepared to escort Renji out. After what had just happened, he didn't dare let Renji leave alone.
At a corner, a figure suddenly appeared and bumped into Renji. "S-sorry..."
"Hinata, why are you so careless?"
Hiashi recognized the person who had bumped into Renji and frowned, his expression displeased.
Hinata was no longer his favorite. Her timid personality and lack of talent compared to her younger sister had made him consider giving up on her.
Seeing her father's stern face and the stranger she had bumped into, Hinata panicked. Her face flushed, and tears welled up in her eyes.
But the more she tried to explain, the more she stumbled over her words. Hiashi's dissatisfaction grew visibly.
"Is this your daughter, Hinata? She's quite lovely and seems sweet. It was my fault for not paying attention. Don't scold her."
Renji smiled warmly, patting Hinata's head. He then took out a piece of candy and placed it in her hand. "Don't cry. If you cry too much, your nose will grow big."
"My apologies for the embarrassment."
Hiashi glanced at Hinata, then at Renji, before speaking indifferently.
"No need. I think she's adorable. Your clan's discipline is quite strict. I'll take my leave now, Clan Leader Hiashi."
"I won't see you out."
Hiashi nodded, watching Renji's retreating figure with an unreadable expression.
Hinata, who had been timidly looking down, glanced up at Renji's departing back. Her hand tightened around the candy.
"Let's go."
"Yes, Father."
Hinata followed Hiashi, carefully tucking the candy into her pocket. Hiashi noticed this and felt even more disappointed.
His daughter was growing up, but she was still the same as before.
"What a hassle! Such a hassle!"
"Hey, Shikaku, if Renji comes to us later, should we return the land to him?"
The heads of the Ino-Shika-Chō clans—Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Chōza, and Yamanaka Inoichi—were gathered at the Nara residence, discussing the situation.
Although they were staunch supporters of the Hokage, the current situation made it seem like they'd be the ones to suffer if they clashed with the Uchiha.
"That's why I said it's a hassle. If we give it back, the Hokage won't be happy. If we don't, the Uchiha won't be happy either!"
Shikaku regretted ever accepting that land.
Their clan didn't really need it, but Hiruzen had divided up the Uchiha's territory.
The Uchiha had originally occupied a large central area of Konoha.
After the division, Hiruzen had given the edges of that territory to clans like the Hyūga and the Ino-Shika-Chō as a way to win them over.
Back then, Shikaku had thought that if the Uchiha asked for it, he'd just return it. The Nara clan was content with their original land.
But years had passed, and he thought the matter was settled.
Now, with a new Uchiha clan leader, the issue had resurfaced.
"We can't give it back. The Hokage won't be happy, and the tension between the village and the Uchiha is already high."
Inoichi frowned at Shikaku, voicing his concerns.
In his view, returning the land would make it hard to explain things to Hiruzen.
"But what about the Uchiha? If Renji's making this move, he's clearly prepared. Since taking power, everything he's done has been calculated. He's determined to get it back!"
"So, our stance is also a test from the Hokage. If we don't give it back, we'll have to firmly side with him, but the cost is that we'll have to help deal with the Uchiha.
"If we do give it back, this issue won't concern us anymore. Ultimately, this is a problem between the Uchiha and the higher-ups, not us. We have business dealings with the Uchiha. So... see why this is such a hassle?"
It was rare for Shikaku to speak so much at once, but this situation was truly troublesome!
(End of Chapter)
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