Was this world seriously this absurd?
Why did it have to be her?
Just because she was the only girl in the main house?
Hyūga Natsuna was on the verge of tears.
Akira didn't even know how desperate Hyūga Hō was to marry her off.
If the older brother died—
There was still the younger one.
If the younger one died—
There would probably be someone else.
Right now, the main house line only had Hyūga Hizashi left.
But he had already been assigned to the branch family.
So the next main house heir—
Could only come from Hizashi's future child.
And if Hizashi died—
They'd have to adopt from another branch of the main house.
Akira patted Natsuna's shoulder in consolation.
"Make sure you clean the room properly."
"Waaahhh—!!"
Akira walked past her, nodding in satisfaction.
That's more like it.
If something's wrong—
Just cry it out.
He calmly opened the fridge, grabbed some food, and returned to his room.
Machi walked out, yawning.
She had been the one to open the door for Natsuna earlier that morning.
Standing in front of her—
Nen threads appeared in her hand.
Natsuna immediately stopped crying loudly—
Switching to quiet sobs.
Machi nodded, satisfied.
"If you're going to cry, keep it down."
"And don't forget to make lunch."
Be human beings, please!!
Natsuna screamed internally.
Akira buried himself in studying again.
The knowledge required for jōnin was vast.
And extremely diverse.
From traps—
To war strategy—
To squad management—
Even how to deal with an entire ninja village.
"…So there's actually a scenario where one squad faces an entire village?"
Konoha really didn't hold back.
Just as he was deep in study—
A knock came at the window.
A masked ANBU member crouched outside.
Akira opened the window and let him in.
"Next time, can you just use the door?"
Even the Hyūga barged in through the front.
Why did these guys always use windows?
"…We'll keep that in mind," the ANBU replied awkwardly.
"The Hokage requests your presence."
ANBU—not Root.
Good thing Akira hadn't said anything unnecessary.
Though honestly—
Those two groups were practically the same anyway.
"Just got back and already working… the Third really has it tough."
Akira stretched.
After days of nonstop studying, he could use a break.
Hiruzen had just returned from the Iwa front.
Calling him now—
Was probably about the Hyūga incident.
"Let's go."
Akira stepped onto the window—
And jumped out.
…So you're not using the door either?
The ANBU sighed and followed.
Akira walked straight into the Hokage's office.
The ANBU vanished behind him.
He pushed the door open.
"Yo, Third. Working hard, huh?"
Hiruzen looked up from his desk.
Since returning—
He had been buried in paperwork.
The war had created many vacancies.
Especially among jōnin.
Now—
Many ninja were competing for promotion.
Because too many had died.
Konoha had fought on multiple fronts.
With fewer ninja—
They relied on elite leaders holding off enemies several times their number.
And even then—
The other four great villages still couldn't break through.
Pathetic.
"What's going on with the Hyūga?" Hiruzen asked, lighting his pipe.
He took a deep drag.
The incident had spread too widely.
Too many people had seen it.
The Hyūga's reputation had taken a massive hit.
They had already come to him for help.
He had issued a gag order—
Suppressing the news.
At the same time—
He had reclaimed some of their authority.
Private troops?
No more.
From now on—
All main house members with talent had to attend the Ninja Academy.
To that, Hiruzen could only say—
Well done.
Do it again next time.
There were still many powers left to reclaim—
Autonomy.
War merit distribution.
Tax privileges.
Looking at those—
You could tell how much he had conceded just to secure his position as Hokage.
And now—
The Hyūga wanted him to help suppress Akira?
Rejected immediately.
Akira was practically his lucky star.
"Nothing much," Akira said casually.
"They wanted my bloodline. I didn't want to give it."
"They tried to lock me up, use me as breeding stock."
"I resisted a little."
He pinched his fingers together.
Just a little.
Hiruzen stared at him.
That "little" resistance—
Killed two near-jōnin-level fighters.
Potentially even Sannin-tier in the future.
Just lacking real combat experience.
Gone.
Burned to death.
Luckily—
They weren't registered ninja.
Otherwise—
This wouldn't end lightly.
"Even if the Hyūga were in the wrong…"
"Don't you think you should reflect a little?" Hiruzen asked seriously.
Akira lowered his head.
Thinking.
"…Next time, I'll just burn their houses instead."
…That actually sounds reasonable.
Hiruzen nodded subconsciously.
Wait.
"Is that what I meant by reflect?!!"
He slammed the table.
Akira picked his ear.
"I mean… you didn't seem too upset."
Maybe control your smile first.
Hiruzen coughed.
"The Hyūga have already been punished."
"But I can't let you off entirely."
He had to give them some face.
"Until you become a jōnin…"
"You're not allowed to leave the village."
…That was it?
Akira rolled his eyes.
He was studying anyway.
This wasn't even a punishment.
The bias was obvious.
But—
He liked it.
After all—
He was Orochimaru's disciple.
Nawaki's teammate.
A student of Tsunade's medical ninjutsu.
No matter how you looked at it—
He belonged to the Hokage's faction.
And now—
With the Caged Bird gone—
No one could control him anymore.
Why would Hiruzen side with the Hyūga?
A clan trying to form a "state within a state"?
Don't be ridiculous.
Hiruzen's expression turned serious.
"I know you can remove the Caged Bird seal."
"But I want you to promise me…"
"Do not remove it from other branch members."
That—
Was the real reason he had summoned Akira.
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