Hiashi Hyuga's belated realization, the value of an Anbu identity

Konoha.

Anbu.

Hatake Sakumo brought Hizashi Hyuga to the base.

"Here, pick a mask you like. Then think of a codename."

"Since Lord Third asked me to bring you into the Anbu, you'll join my squad for now."

"I'll tell you some basic work rules and principles in a moment. Tomorrow, you'll begin formal training..."

Hatake Sakumo sat on a stool, humming an unfamiliar little tune with the flavor of Warring States-era samurai music as he carefully oiled the Chakra short sword in his hand.

Its name was White Fang, the origin of his title, Konoha's White Fang.

"U-Understood..."

Hizashi Hyuga stood dazedly before a row of masks.

The day's events felt like a dream.

First, there had been a clash in the village on the scale of a war. Then the Main Branch had pushed him out to take the blame. Then he had endured everyone's complicated stares, suffering inwardly—only to end up joining the Anbu!

Even now, he had not fully processed it.

Joining the Anbu...

There had never been such a precedent in the Hyuga Clan.

Would the Main Branch's council of Elders agree?

"Lord Sakumo, there's something I need to report to you..." Hizashi Hyuga said hesitantly. "My clan's circumstances are rather special. You know that, right?"

"I couldn't refuse Lord Hokage, and I truly do want to join the Anbu myself..."

"But as for the Main Branch, I really don't know how they'll react. If I agreed so rashly, wouldn't that affect the relationship between the village and the Hyuga Clan?"

After saying that, Hizashi Hyuga's face reddened slightly.

He truly felt that he was not man enough. Since he had already agreed, why was he having second thoughts halfway through?

Yet the heavy habits ingrained in him as a member of the Hyuga Branch Family left him unable to avoid considering such matters...

"I don't understand what you mean."

Hatake Sakumo looked up in confusion. "Why are you overthinking this? Didn't Lord Third personally invite you?"

Hizashi Hyuga was at a loss for words.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had indeed personally invited him, but what if Lord Hokage did not know the Main Branch's intentions?

"I've heard about the matter between your Main Branch and Branch Family. The Hyuga Clan, a Millennial Noble Clan..."

"I've also heard of the Hyuga Clan's stance: a 'Village within a Village,' 'absolute neutrality.' There have been plenty of rumors in the village." Hatake Sakumo continued polishing White Fang in his hand. "Am I wrong?"

Hizashi Hyuga's eyes widened in shock. He had thought the Main Branch's intentions were secret. Had they already spread throughout the village?

"What's with that surprised look?"

Hatake Sakumo finally fixed his gaze on him, as though he could see straight through Hizashi Hyuga.

"Your Branch Family is far too closed off in the clan compound. You have too little contact with the outside world. The village has existed for so many years—even a Chunin should know a few bits of gossip and private talk."

"One of the Anbu's duties is gathering such public sentiment."

"You haven't officially joined the Anbu yet. If you decide to withdraw, it's not too late. As Squad Captain, I have the authority to judge you unqualified in your review, even if Lord Third personally invited you."

Hatake Sakumo said flatly, "I hope you voice all your concerns. If they can be resolved, good. If not, withdraw."

"If you leak secrets someday, your ending won't be pleasant."

At that moment, the White Fang Short Sword reflected a cold gleam under the lamplight.

"I..."

"I'm worried about what I should do if the Main Branch doesn't agree to let me join the Anbu. If the Main Branch asks me about the Anbu, what should I do?"

Hizashi Hyuga removed his headband, revealing the blue-green intersecting mark.

"This is the Caged Bird Seal. The Main Branch needs only a thought, and my brain and eyes will turn into mush. In a thousand years, no one has been able to resist it!"

"Death would be bearable. The Main Branch can also use this seal to punish us, and that is a punishment more terrifying than death!" As he spoke, fear surfaced in Hizashi Hyuga's eyes.

It was a pain that consciousness could not resist.

When he was young, he had once talked back to a member of the Main Branch and experienced it firsthand.

"I want to join the Anbu. I want to protect the village alongside Lord Sakumo and your colleagues. I want to use these Byakugan eyes to spot and drive back enemies who threaten the villagers..."

"I'm afraid I'll encounter a difficult moment. I consider myself a man, but before this Caged Bird Seal, I don't dare say whether I deserve that title."

Hizashi Hyuga rubbed the still-fresh mark on his forehead hard. "After saying it to you, I feel much better. Please assess me by your strictest standards!"

Hatake Sakumo nodded and looked Hizashi Hyuga over from head to toe.

Then he smiled.

"Very good. You passed. Welcome to the Anbu, Hizashi Hyuga."

"As for the problems you mentioned, they aren't problems for the Anbu."

Hatake Sakumo said slowly, "You've seen too little in the Hyuga Clan Compound. You haven't yet formed a proper understanding of the village."

Hizashi Hyuga blinked. Though delighted by Hatake Sakumo's approval, he did not understand what he meant. "Could you... could you explain?"

"As an Anbu, you are directly under the Hokage. You are an extension of the Hokage's will."

"In Konoha, who would dare interrogate an Anbu? No matter how formidable your Hyuga Main Branch is, they wouldn't dare." Hatake Sakumo laughed. "Not even the Uchiha Clan has considered confronting the Anbu head-on. At most, they curse us under their breath."

"Does the Main Branch want to rebel?"

Hearing that, Hizashi Hyuga was struck as though by lightning.

His Byakugan suddenly activated. Veins bulged around his eye sockets, and his eyes widened into circles.

"What, does the Hyuga Clan have the Uchiha Clan's trait too?" Hatake Sakumo asked curiously. "Do your eyes react when your emotions are stirred?"

"My apologies, Lord Sakumo. I was just too excited..."

Only then did Hizashi Hyuga suddenly come to his senses.

That was right. What did it matter whether the Main Branch agreed or not? He was already Anbu—he belonged to the Hokage!

There naturally would be no interrogation. There probably would not even be any reprimand.

After all, he had heard that the Anbu had the authority to report directly to the Hokage...

Hizashi Hyuga's thoughts raced. After Hatake Sakumo's guidance, his mind finally regained the high ground. "Forget punishment—even the chores I usually do serving the Main Branch, I won't have to do those anymore, right?"

"The Anbu serves the Hokage!"

Hizashi Hyuga was so excited that his body went weak.

As a Branch Family member, how could he never have longed for freedom?

The barrier of the Caged Bird Seal had simply been too unyielding. No-Man could cross it. Once it became habit, they stopped thinking about it.

Like a butterfly trapped in a glass bottle.

After crashing into the walls too many times, even when the mouth of the bottle was opened, it no longer thought to try...

But who would have thought...

The freedom no Branch Family member had ever enjoyed in a thousand years had just fallen right into his lap!

The Caged Bird Seal had not been removed, and the restrained Byakugan still had its blind spot...

But so what? He already had the freedom that mattered most!

Hizashi Hyuga nearly wanted to perform a set of Gentle Fist techniques on the spot to vent the indescribable excitement in his heart...

"No wonder Lord Third had me bring you into the Anbu first instead of putting you through the usual training process..."

Hatake Sakumo said darkly, "If you'd said this to Advisor Danzō, whether you could join the Anbu or not aside, the Hyuga Clan would definitely draw his attention."

The so-called Root was officially named the Anbu Training Department.

As Root's leader, Shimura Danzō was responsible for training newcomers to the Anbu.

In Hatake Sakumo's view, Danzō's training was overly harsh, but it was indeed highly professional and necessary...

The problem was that Root had gradually become Shimura Danzō's private armed force. It no longer maintained absolute loyalty or purity toward the Hokage.

Hatake Sakumo had mentioned this to Hiruzen Sarutobi several times, but it had always been shelved.

Until now, the Anbu and Root had finally merged.

And Hiruzen Sarutobi's speech today had finally made Hatake Sakumo understand.

Or rather, it had inadvertently answered his doubts.

Previously, the Hokage had not taken action not because he had blindly indulged Danzō, but because he had been conducting research in preparation for institutional reform across the entire village.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's past silence had truly chilled Hatake Sakumo's heart.

He had been loyal to the Hokage and had not hesitated to offend Danzō, a man of overwhelming power and immense seniority. Yet he had seemed to be left out in the cold, receiving neither response nor explanation for why Root was allowed to run unchecked.

Lord Hokage was thinking far ahead...

As expected, the village is still good... I was simply too hasty!

The moment Hizashi Hyuga heard Danzō's name, much of his excitement vanished.

The title Darkness of the Shinobi World was no empty boast...

He commanded immense intimidation, both within and beyond the village.

Hatake Sakumo explained the department's rules and origins to Hizashi, his new squad member. "Anbu is short for Special Assassination and Tactical Squad. The missions and intelligence we handle are all top secret."

"Someone will naturally teach you the rest of the rules tomorrow. There are only two points that matter most."

"First, absolute loyalty to the Hokage. Second, death for leaking secrets."

Hizashi Hyuga listened intently.

At that moment, he felt an unparalleled sense of belonging to the Anbu.

No matter what, he had to do this job well and keep doing it, protecting this hard-won freedom.

"Understood, Lord Sakumo!" Hizashi Hyuga stood ramrod straight.

"As for your specific team, that will be arranged after the assessment... You'd best prepare yourself."

Hatake Sakumo slowly rose to his feet. "Advisor Danzō is very strict."

Hizashi Hyuga's expression turned slightly bitter.

But it soon became resolute again. "I will definitely pass the training with outstanding results!"

Hizashi Hyuga reached for the Ox mask.

The Branch Family was supposed to bear the Main Branch's burdens diligently and without complaint, like an ox. That was something the current generation of Hyuga Main Branch Elders often liked to say.

But he was different now...

His gaze shifted toward the Eagle mask, an animal that symbolized freedom...

"No. The Ox."

Hizashi Hyuga gripped the edge of the mask tightly. As long as I can have this freedom, serving the village as an ox is something I'm willing to do!

"Good. Put on your mask and uniform. I'll take you on your first mission now."

"This is Lord Hokage's first mission for you. Don't mess it up."

Hatake Sakumo put on his mask, donned a white strapped vest, and draped himself in a beige trench coat symbolizing his status as Squad Captain.

Hizashi Hyuga nodded repeatedly and carefully changed into the Anbu uniform, as though afraid of damaging it.

"Target: the Hyuga Clan Compound."

"Mission: tell the Main Branch that you've joined the Anbu, and convey Lord Hokage's concern for them. If they have any thoughts they find inconvenient to report directly in the future, they may relay them through you."

Hatake Sakumo patted Hizashi Hyuga on the shoulder. "You're the protagonist of this mission."

Hizashi Hyuga froze for a moment, then was overjoyed.

He had been wondering how to tell the Hyuga Clan tactfully and elegantly that he was now an Anbu member.

He had not expected Lord Hokage to have considered even this.

Returning home in fine clothes was the whole point of wealth and honor!

Was this mission not a stage Lord Third had specially built for him?

Otherwise, given the Anbu's special nature, he would have had no way to return to the clan compound in this uniform and openly display his current identity...

"Remember, you are Anbu."

"Mind your bearing and your tone. Don't disgrace us, Hizashi."

Hatake Sakumo fastened the White Fang Short Sword at his waist.

Anbu identities were theoretically secret, but at his level, everyone knew the moment he made a move...

The best way to keep a secret was to kill the other party.

A short while later.

Hizashi and Sakumo arrived at the clan compound.

A Main Branch member happened to be questioning a patrolling Branch Family member at the entrance, his tone rather displeased. "Why hasn't that brat Hizashi returned yet? The old man is getting anxious waiting!"

His name was Hyuga Ko.

He had no particular talent and was the typical case of someone designated as Main Branch simply because he had been born early.

He was rather overbearing, believing that even if he lacked talent, being Main Branch meant he was protected by the Ancestor and was naturally entitled to manage and command the Branch Family.

"Go check on him! He's been gone this long and still hasn't returned! Does he think he can run wild just because he's Hiashi's younger brother?"

"As a Branch Family member, he has no sense of rules at all!" Hyuga Ko vented his anger.

The two Hyuga Branch Family members beside him merely watched their noses and guarded their hearts, not uttering a word.

How strange. The Hyuga Clan's internal structure is actually like this... These aren't shinobi. They're Nobles and slaves, aren't they? Seeing this rare scene, Hatake Sakumo could not help but sigh inwardly.

If the Caged Bird Seal weren't so tyrannical, the Branch Family and Main Branch would have slaughtered each other long ago, wouldn't they?

At that moment.

Hyuga Ko turned around and jolted.

Two masked Anbu had appeared before him at some point, silent as ghosts.

"Is there something you need, gentlemen?" Hyuga Ko put on a smile.

He had no desire to offend the Anbu, especially after seeing Hatake Sakumo's beige Squad Captain trench coat...

This was an important figure.

"Lead the way. We're seeing the Hyuga Clan Head."

Hizashi Hyuga's lips curled high beneath his mask, but his voice was icy. "By order of the Hokage!"

Setting Explanation!

A word about the issue with the Hyuga Main Branch.

Kishimoto's settings were indeed contradictory on this point. He first said there was "only one Main Branch," but when the Main Branch gathered in the manga, there were multiple people present, none of them bearing the Caged Bird seal on their foreheads.

Other members of the Main Branch also appeared in the databooks.

So, the setting here is that the Hyuga Clan is a large clan divided into several houses, with each house choosing one Main Branch.

Xiaofan's update schedule has been a little unstable lately, but the word count is guaranteed. Even if it's only one chapter, it'll be a big one.

I've seen readers suggest it too, so Xiaofan will work out a fixed update time!