Hiashi's Intentions

Hotaru Hyuga mysteriously finished speaking and then left.

In the end, they still didn't know what they wanted to talk to her about. Judging from her demeanor, it didn't seem like it was anything important; she seemed like someone who could easily refuse.

To be honest, it's a bit baffling.

Sakura pondered for a moment. The Hyuga Clan probably wouldn't try to curry favor with her just because they saw her potential and strength. The Hyuga Clan, known as the strongest clan in Konoha, wouldn't be so obsequious. Besides, if they were, they should have sent a representative to find her, not invited her over.

Or perhaps we should ask her to collaborate on developing a Secret Technique? That would be too presumptuous and too sudden.

So the most likely possibility is... that the Hyuga Clan favors her and wants to marry Neji to them?

E~ Possibly!

Sakura Haruno initially wanted to refuse this invitation without any apparent reason. However, for Hinata's sake, she decided to accept. The date on the invitation was noon the following day, and Sakura was curious to see what Hiashi was up to!

Filled with doubts, Sakura Haruno returned home.

The whole family actually gathered together; her grandparents, Uncle Yi, and Uncle Wan were all there, and they were going to throw her a celebration.

"Celebration of the first Jonin of the Haruno Clan," um, I think that's how it is.

"Our Haruno Clan has finally produced a Jonin!" Grandpa said excitedly, tears streaming down his face, as he held Sakura Haruno's hand. "Sakura, you've truly brought honor to the family!"

"Don't get agitated! Sit down, take it easy!" Sakura quickly helped him to a chair.

As soon as Grandpa sat down, he began to ramble on about the old almanac from back then. It was the same old stuff, and Sakura Haruno and her uncles were already tired of hearing it, but now they had to hear it again.

This is truly an old, stale story.

The Haruno Clan doesn't have much of a story to tell; it's a typical commoner ninja family, with a clan crest printed on their clothes for show, but no family-inherited Ninjutsu, no Kekkei Genkai, and not even a glorious history. The only thing worth boasting about is that they followed the Senju Clan very early on, probably starting from the generation of Sakura Haruno's great-great-grandfather.

At first, they were just ordinary people protected by the Senju Clan. Later, when the Second Hokage began to popularize ninja education, the Haruno Clan was the first to respond to the call. My grandfather's father became the first ninja to establish the Haruno Clan's territory.

He spent his entire Genin.

After that, the family sent their children to the Ninja Academy. Unfortunately, the ninja skills of the Haruno Clan members were generally average, with the highest being only Special Jōnin. Sakura's uncles and her father were only Chunin.

In short, the Haruno Clan can be considered a clan cultivated by Konoha itself, a staunch Hokage lineage—going back to the previous five generations, they can all be considered legitimate and trustworthy ninja families.

This is one of the reasons why Sakura Haruno has always been trusted.

"Therefore, the history of the Haruno Clan having no Jonin is officially over!" The old man slammed his cane on the floor, exclaiming excitedly, "From now on, no one will dare to say that our family has no ninja talent!"

No, no, no, I've been complaining that our family doesn't have any outstanding talents that can be passed down... Sakura thought to herself.

Next was a family dinner; Uncle Yi's first daughter had just entered the Ninja Academy, and he said he would definitely train her well and cultivate her into the next Sakura Haruno, the next Jonin.

Poor little girl, Sakura looked into her pure and innocent eyes and felt a little sorry for her... Sakura Haruno could tell that this girl's talent was not higher than hers, and if she wanted to become Jonin, she would really have to work very hard.

Sakura Haruno has passed the Jonin Exams, but she still has to go through a process; until her official credentials are issued, she will only be a Special Jonin.

Nevertheless, the people around her have begun to adapt to her changes. When she went out in the morning, Uncle Terumi Ijin from next door was watering his flowers. When he saw her, he almost called her "Lady Sakura Haruno" – according to strict etiquette, lower-ranking ninjas should use a suffix like "sama" when addressing Jonin.

So, a few neighbors who weren't very close to her actually called her "Lady Sakura"...

These are all trivial matters, but they do constitute Sakura's life; after all, she isn't always fighting, carrying out missions, or training, and she occasionally has leisure time.

Her current leisure is mainly because all her Ninjutsu are at a temporary bottleneck and she needs to slowly work her way through; so she has some rare free time. It can be considered a balance of relaxation and rest. In the year and a half since she was promoted to Genin, she has hardly stopped fighting and training, and she took this opportunity to adjust her condition.

A day later, Sakura Haruno put on her formal uniform and went to the Hyuga Clan for their appointment.

Before she even entered the room, she sensed two incredibly powerful Chakra clashing. When she went inside, she discovered that it was the siblings Hotaru Hyuga and Hyuga Hiashi sparring.

After the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist reaches a certain level, they begin to develop long-range striking abilities: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm, Four Vacuum Palms, and Mountain-Breaking Strike, etc. There is also a legendary move called Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack Strike, but unfortunately it only exists in written records.

Sakura had only ever heard Hinata talk about these skills; she had never actually seen them in person. This was the first time she had witnessed how Gentle Fist, when mastered to its later stages, could be used in combat!

Two figures in white clashed and collided, producing a series of dull impacts. Both with flowing long hair, they were almost indistinguishable, their footwork overlapping, their movements swift and agile, their punches and kicks as fast as lightning, dazzling the onlookers!

The two fighters moved with agility and grace, their fists and feet moving in quick succession. They engaged in close combat, their attacks as fluid and dynamic as flowing water, or they exchanged attacks from a distance, their strikes as swift Hayate as a storm!

The two, representing the highest level of Gentle Fist from the Hyuga Clan, delivered a breathtaking Gentle Fist battle for Sakura.

Although it lacks the visceral impact and powerful strength of the Strong Fist, and the dazzling and earth-shaking aura of Sakura's Ninjutsu, Gentle Fist has its own unique charm and is by no means inferior to other Ninjutsu and Taijutsu!

Sakura Haruno watched silently from the sidelines for several minutes.

When you reach the level of Gentle Fist practitioners like Hyuga Hiashi and Hotaru Hyuga, your punches and kicks are no longer confined to the word "gentle." Instead, they are gentle yet firm, unpredictable and full of surprises. Sometimes, a single palm strike may seem light and powerless, but it can create a deep crater in the ground!

Purely from Taijutsu perspective, this is a fighting style completely different from Might Guy's Strong Fist system.

Sakura watched from the sidelines, unable to help but wonder how the game would turn out if she were the one playing.

She might be more wary of fighting against Gentle Fist, as pressure point techniques and other Taijutsu are very troublesome; if Tsunade had specifically targeted Hotaru Hyuga, Sakura's fighting style might have shifted to primarily Ninjutsu, with Taijutsu as a secondary approach.

We'll only know for sure after the battle! In short, we'll probe first, and then choose tactics based on the intelligence gathered.

After fighting for a while, the two were evenly matched and stopped without a clear winner.

Hyuga Hiashi walked over and welcomed Sakura Haruno into the house, sitting her down in the hall. "Welcome to the Hyuga Clan, Sister Sakura Haruno. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

"To witness such a spectacular battle, even the long wait was worth it!" Sakura exclaimed, kneeling on the cushion. Even Sakura Haruno herself felt awkward uttering such mature words on her youthful face, so she quickly cut to the chase, "Head of the Hyuga Clan, may I ask what brings you here?"

At that Hotaru Hyuga was helping Hiashi set out the tea set and table, inviting Sakura to drink tea. Upon hearing this, she laughed and said, "Brother, stop with all this pretense. Everyone's busy; we don't have time for this nonsense. Just be straightforward!"

Hiashi was calmly demonstrating his tea-making skills, not even lifting his eyelids when he heard Hotaru Hyuga's words, continuing to brew tea as if performing a fixed etiquette—when inviting someone over, you must at least finish the first cup of tea before bringing up serious matters.

Then he placed a cup of brewed tea in front of Sakura: "Please enjoy."

Sakura Haruno hadn't tasted tea like this in years. She took the cup and sipped it lightly. "Good tea! Although I don't really know what makes good tea..."

These straightforward words effectively blocked any further polite exchanges about tea ceremony. Hiashi smiled slightly, knowing that ninjas generally preferred directness and were impatient with such formalities. Ninjas like Sakura, who at least had the patience to savor the first sip, were rare indeed.

He didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "Sister Sakura, what do you think of our family's Hanabi?"

Sakura Haruno's body trembled, and she almost spilled all the water from the teacup in her hand.

Wait!! It's not Neji Hyuga, it's Hanabi Hyuga!!

I never expected that Hiashi would be such an open-minded, bold, and avant-garde person!

Before spitting out the tea in her mouth, Sakura managed to hold it in, and also blocked out those thoughts like "yuri is wonderful, but they can't have children" from her mind. She asked seriously, "Mr. Hiashi means...?"

He certainly didn't want to marry off Hanabi.

"Hanabi is now of age to attend the Ninja Academy," Hiashi said, taking a sip of tea. "I was wondering, if possible, could you be Hanabi's Jonin instructor?"

Sakura Haruno blinked, only then realizing that she was already a Jonin.

Jonin can become instructors for new students!

Therefore, highly skilled Jonin in high demand if they are to lead a team. Of course, only the higher-ups can decide who Jonin whom; it's not up to the lower-ranking ninjas to choose. However, given the Hyuga Clan's influence, it wouldn't be difficult to get the Hokage's approval for this not-too-excessive request.

His only concern was whether Sakura Haruno was willing; if Sakura disagreed, she was the Hokage's disciple, and even the Hyuga Clan couldn't go against her will.

"Did Mr. Hiashi call me here just for this? If so, why isn't it stated on the invitation?" Sakura sipped her hot tea and said calmly, offering no comment on Hiashi's request.

"It doesn't concern me about the future of Hanabi," Hiashi replied sincerely. "The reason for not stating it on the invitation was to see what Sister Sakura's impression of my family and me was. If she's unwilling to come, then this matter naturally can't happen, and there's no need to waste everyone's time."

So you're testing whether she really dislikes the Hyuga Clan or Hyuga Hiashi, right? Sakura Haruno raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself.

Hyuga Hiashi was self-aware enough to know that Sakura was dissatisfied with Hinata's treatment within the Hyuga Clan and that he barely cared about his eldest daughter. As Hinata's close friend, Sakura naturally had a lot of complaints about him. Of course, after the Chunin Ninja Exams, seeing his eldest daughter's progress, the tension between father and daughter eased.

After all, blood is thicker than water, so it's only natural for Hinata to choose to forgive her father and restore a normal, harmonious father-daughter relationship; however, it's also natural for Sakura to have reservations about Hiashi, as Hiashi had known this for a long time.

Sakura sipped her tea, lost in thought for a moment.

"I really like Hanabi." Sakura finished her cup of tea and said this. She handed the cup to Hiashi, watching Hiashi brew her a second cup of tea. Hotaru Hyuga chuckled beside her. Sakura Haruno's words were tantamount to her saying she didn't like Hiashi, yet Hiashi could still laugh and accept it. Watching her brother's discomfiture, she narrowed her eyes and smiled like a cunning fox.

"So...?" Hiashi handed over the second cup of tea, asking while observing Sakura's expression.

"I don't object to becoming Hanabi's mentor," Sakura Haruno replied. "However, that's at least six years from now, and no one can make a promise about something so far in the future, can they?"

"That's enough. I thank you on behalf of Hanabi, Sister Sakura." Hiashi smiled slightly and said.

"You're too kind... Hanabi is Hinata's younger sister, so she's also like a sister to me." Sakura smiled. Hanabi and Hinata have a very good relationship, and she wouldn't transfer her dislike for Hiashi to that cute little girl.

"However, Mr. Hiashi, didn't you intend for Hanabi to inherit the Main Family? Why are you making her follow the path of starting as Genin and rising through the ranks?"

Hiashi put down his teacup, sat upright, and solemnly gazed at Sakura Haruno.

He slowly said, "As the strongest Hyuga Clan Konoha, the Hyuga clan should naturally follow the Hokage's lead and integrate more closely into Konoha's system..."

Sakura Haruno was taken aback.

Hiashi's words sound grand and dignified, what he really meant was that the Fifth Hokage had now established himself firmly in power. He had the support of the Third Hokage, the approval of a group of young and middle-aged men, and the support of a group of strong newcomers led by Sakura Haruno. Naturally, the Hyuga Clan had to start adapting to the new situation brought about by the new Hokage.

It's important to know that Konoha's tradition is to strike down the village's largest clan.

Although the Second Hokage was born into the Senju Clan in Konoha, he dismantled his clan into countless smaller clans after taking power. To this day, there isn't a single person in Konoha with the surname Senju, not even Tsunade. He then ruthlessly suppressed the Uchiha for decades.

Under the rule of the Third Hokage, the Uchiha Clan, known as the largest clan in Konoha, were restless and plotting to cause trouble. After several years of trying, the Third realized that things were not going to work and simply massacred the Uchiha.

The Fourth Hokage died young, and...

Now, seeing Tsunade gradually gaining popularity and recognition from the entire village, becoming the new generation's powerful Hokage, the Hyuga Clan, which has been claiming to be the number one clan in Konoha for several years, is now starting to tremble in fear!

According to Konoha's tradition, if the Hyuga Clan doesn't keep a low profile, Tsunade might actually find a reason to slap Hyuga Clan in the face. The simplest example would be for Hotaru Hyuga to use a self-inflicted injury to carve the Caged Bird Seal. Would Tsunade, for the sake of her subordinates, tearfully dismantle the Hyuga Clan? The corrupt main and Branch Family Main Family system has harmed so many Konoha Ninja! If Tsunade to tearfully sever the Main Family to save Hyuga Clan comrades, Hyuga Clan were to scatter into several medium-sized branches, wouldn't the whole village applaud?

The Hiashi really put a lot of thought into this!

Furthermore, Hanabi with Sakura Haruno is very beneficial to her growth...

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