For the Greater Good

"Hyuga Kazeka, you've been pretty active lately!"

The paper shoji was half open, and a few slanting rays of morning light cut across the room, falling on the dark brown tatami.

The family crest on the wall was half-hidden in shadow. A thin layer of dust covered the short sword on the rack; its blade seemed not to have been drawn in a long time.

The sound of the shishi-odoshi being filled came from beyond the veranda.

"Thock." The bamboo tube struck the stone, startling a sparrow from a pine branch in the courtyard. It also prompted Hyuga Hiashi to speak to Kazeka:

"You've been grabbing people all over the village for experiments, and angering a whole lot of people.

"That's not all. You even went after your own clan members. My daughter didn't escape your clutches, either.

"Worse still, you lured Naruto Uzumaki into your Laboratory—the village's taboo, the one the village chief guards like a prized possession.

"Last time, when Naohito and the others went to fetch you, you actually drove them away.

"Luckily, you came here on your own this time. Otherwise, I was about to invite you myself..."

Hyuga Hiashi's face was so cold it seemed as though ice chips might fall from it.

"As one of Konoha's most prestigious clans, the Hyuga should set an example for the village, not act as brazenly as you have.

"Do you realize that your recent actions have put our entire clan in the spotlight?

"Have you given any thought to our clan's honor? Aren't you afraid of the Hyuga Clan's rules?"

Hyuga Hiashi was the head of the Hyuga Clan.

On one hand, he had a tender side when it came to his family.

But for the sake of the clan's interests and its rules, he would see them through to the end, no matter how much it pained him. He would not waver in the slightest!

Every clan member treated him with due respect. He had never encountered anyone who dared to be rude to him...

Except Kazeka!

"Clan Head, everything I've done has been for our clan!"

Kazeka narrowed his eyes and looked at Hiashi with an unconcerned expression.

If he hadn't known that Hiashi would keep coming after him for the sake of the clan head's dignity—and disrupt his experiments—he wouldn't have bothered coming at all.

"The people I captured were all heinous criminals.

"And my experiments were only meant to improve Konoha's overall strength.

"Even Hinata's gotten stronger, hasn't she?..."

"Oh? You think what you did was right?"

The usually icy Hyuga Hiashi was so incensed by Kazeka's words that he actually laughed.

"You made Hinata's personality so awful. Am I supposed to thank you for that?"

As he spoke, Hiashi's expression darkened further.

"She had an episode at home recently. Her once-timid nature turned into that of a delinquent.

"She even talked back to me, saying I was a useless old man who deserved to be left behind by the times. Don't you have anything to say about that?"

"Oh, that's a lingering side effect of the drug. Sometimes it makes her personality flare up..."

Kazeka waved a hand dismissively.

"It's a minor technical issue. I'll continue improving Hinata in stages. Eventually, her personality will become manageable!"

"Hm?"

Hyuga Hiashi's eyes widened.

"You're planning to keep going?"

"Hm? What's wrong with that?"

Kazeka stared back at him in even greater disbelief.

"Clan Head, Hinata is your heir, and the next head of the Hyuga Clan.

"But someone with a timid personality can't handle that responsibility.

"The complicated state of the Shinobi World, the village's cutthroat politics, the clan members with their own agendas...

"Compared to that, a forceful personality is better suited to handling it all, isn't it?"

"Uh..."

Hiashi had been about to rebuke Kazeka, but when he thought of everything Hinata would have to face in the future, he had to admit that Kazeka had a point.

Still, seeing his daughter—who had always meekly accepted everything and never dared talk back to him—turn into such an aggressive delinquent...

Whenever he recalled the way Hinata had looked at him as if he were an idiot, he felt deeply uncomfortable.

And then there was the way Kazeka showed him no respect at all...

"Clan Head, Hinata told me that you always wanted her to become stronger and more assertive..."

Kazeka regarded Hiashi with a strange look.

"Don't tell me you're unhappy now that she's actually done it?"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Hiashi waved a hand, using the gesture to conceal his embarrassment, then turned to ask:

"Your experiments won't damage Hinata's brain, will they?

"And how strong can you make her?"

"I can guarantee that improving her strength won't affect Hinata's brain. As for how strong she can become..."

Kazeka paused.

"I believe Hinata's future strength won't be inferior to the Third Hokage's!"

Kazeka looked at Hiashi with cold displeasure, as if the tiny amount of intelligence in his head made him deeply uncomfortable.

"Clan Head, you have to understand: I'm still a member of the Hyuga Clan. The clan's interests have always come first in my heart!

"It's all for the greater good!

"Given Konoha's current situation, I believe only the Hyuga Clan can turn things around.

"Everything I've done has been for our clan, for you, for Hinata!

"If you cooperate and trust me, I'll improve the strength of everyone in our clan.

"Just provide me with the resources, and I'll make the Hyuga Clan great again!

"Even the Hokage Position..."

"Fool! Our Hyuga Clan has always been loyal to the village. How could we covet the Hokage Position?

"Don't say things like that again. They're harmful to unity. Just pretend you never said them today..."

Seeing Kazeka's words grow more and more dangerous, Hyuga Hiashi cut him off in time.

After a long silence, Hiashi thought of the scientific genius in Kazeka's head—the very genius that even coveted the Hokage Position—and hesitantly spoke:

"I'll leave Hinata's future improvements to you. As for resources, I'll do my best to provide them!"

Kazeka: "..."

"Naohito said the Clan Head wouldn't let me off the hook. As expected, as long as you can offer something valuable, there's no punishment to worry about.

"It's just such a pain having to deal with them..."

On his way back to the Laboratory, Kazeka lazily lifted his head to look at the sky. Without any experiments, time always seemed to pass so slowly.

"Once I've built up some capital and gotten stronger...

"I might as well turn all those old geezers into puppets who only follow my orders. Then no one will bother me while I'm working..."

"Kazeka!"

A shout interrupted Kazeka's thoughts. He turned and saw a handsome young man with long hair falling all the way to his waist.

It was Neji Hyuga, Hinata's cousin and the son of Hyuga Hizashi, the younger brother of Hyuga Hiashi.

Due to political circumstances, his father had died in Hiashi's place. As a result, Neji had always resented Hiashi—and that resentment had extended to Hinata as well.

He was extraordinarily talented, but furious at the Hyuga Clan's decaying system. He believed the clan's traditions were all sick and twisted!

"I heard from the clan members that your experiments helped Hinata improve her strength by a lot. She even beat up a Chunin. I don't understand..."

Neji walked up to Kazeka. His eyes held a disappointment and anger he could barely conceal.

"With an ability like that, why not improve yourself? Why not help people who share your ideals?

"Don't you think the clan is rotten? Don't you want to overthrow it?"