Beliefs Shattered, Secrets Revealed

"Danzo privately promised me that as long as we weather this crisis and help him become Hokage, he'd give the Hyuga Clan more power and status..."

After a long moment of thought, Hiashi sneered. "And then? Become the second Uchiha?"

In his mind, Konoha's upper echelons—especially that bastard Danzo—had zero credibility. Their words and promises were nothing but foul, stinking farts.

The Hyuga Clan in Konoha had already reached the pinnacle of power, with no room to rise further. Half a step higher, and their achievements would overshadow the ruler's, inviting suppression.

If Danzo had promised to keep the Hyuga Clan's status unchanged, Hiashi might have wavered, played the fence-sitter.

But Danzo was old. The cunning, scheming politician of yesteryear had turned stupid and malicious, casually tossing out such a condition.

Plotting and scheming even as disaster loomed...

Did he really take him for a fool?

Boom!

A white cloud appeared before Hiashi's eyes.

The smoke dispersed, and a figure emerged.

The newcomer was tall, wearing a headband inscribed with the word "Oil." He had a bald head, red markings under his eyes, a red coat over a brown outfit, wooden clogs on his feet, and armor-like gear on his hands.

Though his appearance had changed drastically, Hiashi recognized him instantly.

Jiraiya!

"Byakugan, activate!"

Veins spread from the corners of his eyes to his temples. In this state, Hiashi had full, unobstructed x-ray vision.

No intelligence agent could eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Lord Jiraiya, long time no see."

"Head of the Hyuga Clan, greetings."

Jiraiya's expression was serious, his tone sincere and earnest. "I've come this time hoping to—"

Before he could finish, Hiashi cut him off decisively. "I agree! The Hyuga Clan will stand with the Three Ninja!"

"Huh?"

Jiraiya rubbed his bald head, looking utterly bewildered.

Could the Byakugan actually have mind-reading abilities? The Hyuga Clan had hidden that well...

"The Hyuga Clan's reputation is known throughout the ninja world, so no proof needs to be left behind."

Delivering this line stiffly, Jiraiya gave Hiashi a deep look.

The next instant, his form dissolved into mist and vanished.

"Sigh..."

Hyuga Hiashi sighed.

As decisive as he'd been moments ago, now that no one was around, he instantly slumped into a weary middle-aged man, his face full of melancholy. "Fifty years of human life—who among us is immortal? Why fight for power and profit? Is peace really just an eternal, unattainable fantasy?"

Taking out his treasured good wine, Hiashi drank alone.

Before long, all the wine jars were empty.

Drunken view of the world—everyone seemed gentle.

When drunk, thoughts differed completely from sobriety.

Hiashi, who usually paid little attention to his daughter, suddenly felt he'd favored one over another all these years, neglecting Hinata's care and education far too much.

"Byakugan!"

"Hinata... what is she doing?"

Hiashi found his daughter writing at her desk, holding several brushes of different thicknesses as she drew and wrote. He unconsciously looked over.

One glance, and his worldview shattered.

"Why is she drawing something like this? Does she like girls?"

Utterly baffled, Hiashi's face turned ashen.

Through her brush, Hinata had constructed a bizarre, surreal world.

Beyond the bizarre setting of girls marrying and having children, there were plots he simply couldn't tolerate.

In that manga, he saw a pair of fictional characters who looked very similar to himself and Neji.

"Pfft..."

A mouthful of old blood mixed with wine sprayed out.

Hiashi passed out.

The next day.

A certain swordsman whose catchphrase was "Hissagi" once said: In life, there are three things inevitable—honor, death, and a hangover.

Now, Hyuga Hiashi was experiencing the feeling of a hangover.

His head throbbed so badly he barely dared to use chakra to soothe his body. He forced himself to stand, ran through a few rounds of Gentle Fist, and broke into a heavy sweat before finally recovering.

"What happened yesterday..."

"Jiraiya, Hinata, manga..."

His eyes twitching, Hiashi stormed to Hinata's bedroom with a face full of fury.

But his aggressive charge met empty air.

By this time, Hinata had already taken the first volume of her manga—finished in an all-night rush—to a publisher to submit it.

After pounding on the door for ages with no response, Hiashi lost his temper and kicked it open.

What greeted his eyes was a mountain of manga.

"'Naruto'? What the hell is this?"

Flipping to the title page, reading the story synopsis that was full of Mary Sue vibes, Hiashi took a deep breath to quell the rage in his chest.

When it came down to it, this was his fault. From the moment he decided Hinata had no potential or value as a strong ninja, he'd abandoned her and focused on training the more promising Hanabi.

Thinking back to what he'd seen last night, Hiashi felt a pang of anguish.

He never imagined his daughter had quietly grown twisted!

Yuri, Danmei, Female Supremacy...

"What a load of nonsense!"

On the principle of serious critique, Hiashi opened Naruto and read page by page.

The story began from Sakura Haruno's perspective, observing two boys of the same age.

One was her crush on Sasuke, the top genius of the Ninja Academy; the other was the dead-last troublemaker Naruto, who had a crush on her.

When he reached the chapter where Naruto stole the Scroll of Sealing and instantly learned the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Hiashi nodded slightly in approval.

"This author did put some effort into research. She's either a high-ranking Konoha official or a powerful female ninja."

As for the possibility of it being a male ninja's work?

That thought never even crossed Hiashi's mind!

What normal man could dissect a young girl's thoughts to this degree?

Impossible!

But when he got to the team assignment arc, Hiashi let out a cold laugh.

"Team 7's squad leader teacher, Kakashi Hatake? It's all wrong from here! Kakashi is clearly Team 10's instructor!"

"Still, the bell test and splitting the lunchbox to test teamwork and awareness—that does have a bit of Kakashi's style."

He remembered very clearly that Team 7's squad leader teacher, Wang Yan, had even blown up several classrooms to test the three Genin's adaptability.

Though he figured the manga was all fantasy and fiction from some female ninja, he had to admit the plot was still very engaging.

Gradually, Hiashi set aside his initial resistance and truly sank into deep reading.

The Land of Waves, Zabuza Momochi and Haku; the Chunin Exams, the Konoha Crush Plan; Pain's assault, the Eye of the Moon Plan, the Fourth Great Ninja War, the Shinobi Alliance...

Beyond the normal progression of the story, many characters' flashbacks also revealed hidden secrets and truths from the past.

Sasori assassinating the Third Kazekage...

Shisui having his Mangekyō Sharingan gouged out by the old schemer Danzo, then drowning himself...

Uchiha Itachi wiping out his clan, meeting the Masked Man, joining the Akatsuki...

Orochimaru losing an arm, leaving the Akatsuki, founding Otogakure...

Just then, Hinata returned with a face full of joy.

Though the editor thought the Danmei parts were heretical and yuri was the true path, after agreeing to revise some of the plot, her manuscript had finally met the publisher's standards!

"Uh... Father." Looking at the messy room, Hinata's smile slowly faded as she discreetly hid the commission letter behind her back.

"These books—where did you obtain them?"

His gaze landing on his daughter, Hyuga Hiashi tried to put on a dignified expression, but his voice trembled slightly.

Two more chapters today! Please vote for recommendations! Please collect!!!