Offer Everything

"Please leave."

"Young Master Genko, I... I still have—"

"I will make arrangements for your matter. Now, please leave."

Hyuga Yu's proposal was rejected without mercy.

This young master of the Main House did not even give him a chance to prove himself before rising to see him out, his attitude exceptionally firm.

Hyuga Yu could understand why he had done so.

Hyuga Genko's trip to the battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War was meant to set an example through his status as a member of the Main House and mend the rift that had emerged between the Main House and Branch House after Hizashi Hyuga had been demoted to the Branch House years ago.

There was no shortage of performative intent behind it, but whether to prevent the Byakugan from being stolen or to protect the few remaining members of the Hyuga Clan's Main House,

what he needed were reliable Branch House guards.

Hyuga Yu, who was merely a Genin, could not even perform the Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, and at most knew a few more Medical Ninjutsu than other Genin, was a burden in his eyes. He was not even sturdy enough to serve as a human shield.

That was reality.

But,

only Hyuga Yu knew what kind of thorny situation this young master of the Main House was about to encounter—

the Byakugan theft incident was far from simple.

There were strict confidentiality regulations among shinobi.

Information about Main House members heading to the battlefield was originally an internal secret of the Hyuga Clan.

Hyuga Yu knew because an elder of the Main House had informed him indirectly, while Hyuga Natsu knew because she herself had been transferred into the Guard Squad.

And it was certain that Main House members would be safe within Konoha and at the frontline camp. The Main House only needed to make a gesture, after all. They naturally would not truly be assigned overly dangerous missions, and once they reached the frontline camp, they would be placed under heavy protection.

Therefore,

the enemy only had a few days to strike, from the time the Main House party left Konoha until it arrived at Konoha's frontline camp.

And that meant—

the information that the Main House was about to head to the battlefield had, in essence, already been leaked.

This was a premeditated hunt for the Byakugan.

The hunters in the open were Kirigakure Anbu led by Ao of the Mist, while the hunter in the shadows... was inside the village.

Hyuga Yu did not really understand how intelligence of this level had been leaked, nor did he wish to guess.

But now that his path into Hyuga Genko's Guard Squad had been blocked,

then under the confidentiality regulations, as one of those in the know, he would probably be made to leave the village at a different time from the Main House party, departing later.

If he could not travel with them, he could not protect Hyuga Natsu at close range, nor could he influence the party's route to avoid Kirigakure's ambush.

Even more troublesome, he could not even find out which route the Main House party would take.

At that moment,

standing outside the Main House residence, Hyuga Yu pondered with a grim expression for a while.

Then, without hesitation, he turned and headed for the Land of Fire Bank branch in Konoha.

The Land of Fire Bank had been built right beside the Hokage Building,

making it convenient for Konoha shinobi to deposit their money after completing missions and earning their rewards.

The five great nations of the Shinobi World each had different currencies. The Land of Fire used coins bearing the Land of Fire Daimyo's portrait on one side and Konoha's emblem on the other. There was also a universal currency, which circulated through the banking industry.

Hyuga Yu walked straight to a counter.

"Hello, I would like a loan."

"A loan?" The young female clerk behind the counter froze for a moment, then reminded him,

"It is wartime right now. Our bank is temporarily not accepting unsecured loans based on shinobi status."

"I understand."

Hyuga Yu nodded, untied the small pouch clenched tightly in his hand, and took out several documents before handing them over.

"Here are my property deed, shinobi identification, and bankbook."

"Hyuga Yu, are you a member of the Hyuga Clan?"

"Yes. This is the house my parents left me. Its current market value is 1.32 million ryo. I would like a loan of one million ryo."

"Please wait." The clerk accepted the documents and lowered her head to calculate on the calculator beside her. Soon, she looked up with a trace of apology.

"Because Iwagakure occupied Kannabi Bridge some time ago, the assessed security rating of the Land of Fire's borders has dropped."

"Based on current market conditions, residential properties in Konoha can only be mortgaged for fifty to sixty percent of their value depending on location. Since your apartment is located at the edge of the Hyuga Clan Grounds, our bank can offer you the highest mortgage rate, but... we can only approve a loan of 800,000 ryo."

"..."

Hyuga Yu fell silent at those words.

It was now Konoha Year 49. The fighting on the Land of Rain front was intense, and overall, the war situation was unfavorable for Konoha.

The Kannabi Bridge mentioned by the clerk was located in the Land of Grass, northwest of the Land of Fire.

It had previously been Konoha's vital supply route, but Iwagakure had now seized it, causing market fluctuations and a decline in investor confidence. This situation would likely continue until next year, when Kakashi Squad, led by Minato Namikaze, destroyed Kannabi Bridge and things improved somewhat.

"Hyuga Yu, do you still want the loan?"

The young female clerk looked up at Hyuga Yu's youthful face. Lowering her voice, she discreetly raised a hand to cover the corner of her mouth and softly reminded him,

"If you do not urgently need the money, you could wait a few years. By then, market conditions will probably be much better..."

Hyuga Yu shook his head. "No need. Please process it."

What the clerk meant was that once the Shinobi World War ended and the major shinobi villages redistributed mission orders, shinobi who relied on missions for compensation would no longer be so strapped for cash.

But Hyuga Yu was not short on money. He even still had 200,000 ryo in savings.

He had another use for that money.

Soon,

[Demand Deposit: 1,000,000 ryo].

Looking at the balance displayed in his bankbook, Hyuga Yu took a deep breath, closed it, walked out of the bank, then entered the Hokage Building beside it and made his way to the somewhat deserted mission posting office on the second floor.

At that moment,

because the Third Shinobi World War had broken out, mission volume from the various villages had sharply declined, and the once-bustling mission posting office had also become deserted.

Inside the mission posting office, only a clerk in a Chunin flak jacket and thick glasses sat alone behind a desk, yawning.

Hyuga Yu walked straight over and said,

"Hello, I would like to post a mission."

Hearing him, the Chunin clerk looked up. Upon seeing Hyuga Yu's pale eyes, he seemed surprised.

"Posting a mission at a time like this? Huh, you're a Hyuga Clan shinobi?"

"That's right."

"What rank of mission would you like to post?"

"S-rank."

The clerk's eyes widened slightly.

"S-rank? Are you sure? The minimum reward for a mission at that level is one million ryo."

Hyuga Yu slapped his bankbook onto the desk, opened it, and showed him the number inside.

The Chunin clerk took the bankbook and glanced at it. The eagerness on his face became visible to the naked eye. He hurriedly took out a scroll, paper, and brush from his desk and asked impatiently,

"What would you like the mission to be?"

Hyuga Yu said gravely,

"I am looking for a ninjutsu. I need either its ninjutsu scroll, or for a shinobi who has mastered it to teach me personally."

At those words, the Chunin clerk was immediately somewhat taken aback and could not help looking Hyuga Yu over once more, as though confirming what he had heard.

As everyone knew, the Hyuga Clan, which possessed the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, had its own clan-exclusive secret techniques and Nintaijutsu. They generally did not study other ninjutsu, much less spend such a huge price to acquire one.

But what was with this boy?

"Excuse me, may I ask your name?"

"Hyuga Yu."

Upon hearing that, the Chunin clerk looked at Hyuga Yu again, recalling certain rumors about that name. His expression became somewhat strange.

"Hyuga Yu... you're that... Ahem. Then what ninjutsu would you like to commission us to find?"

Hyuga Yu took a deep breath and said in a solemn voice,

"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade."