"You're too courteous, Lord Hiashi."
Seeing the humble posture of the Hyuga Clan head before him, the white-haired young man sat upright and inclined his body as well, seemingly returning the gesture with equal courtesy as he spoke.
His words were equally polite.
"May I ask why Lord Chiba has suddenly come to visit?"
Slowly straightening up, Hyuga Hiashi was not surprised by the white-haired young man's similarly humble attitude, nor did he dwell on matters of etiquette. Instead, he asked directly.
Hiashi's feelings toward the young man before him were somewhat complicated.
On one hand, this young man was mostly a negative factor for the Hyuga Clan. He was even someone who threatened the very foundations of the Hyuga Clan. Under different circumstances, he would have been someone the Hyuga Clan had to hunt down and eliminate.
On the other hand, this young man held great power. It was practically certain that the position of Hokage would be passed on to him. In other words, he was someone the Hyuga Clan had to maintain trust with in the future. The absolute trust the Hyuga Clan had built with the village over thousands of years could not be destroyed in his hands. It was the key to the Hyuga Clan's survival and prosperity in this dark and cruel Shinobi World, and could not be taken lightly.
And in the current situation, this young man could, on one hand, shake the foundations of the Hyuga Clan and cause it to fall apart. He had originally been someone the Hyuga Clan had to eliminate. Yet on the other hand, he was someone the Hyuga Clan would have to rely on in the future, someone they could not touch at all. It could almost be said that, both in form and in substance,