For the Clan!

"Oyakuro, aren't you supposed to be home with your daughter today?"

Hoshino Maki asked, rubbing his waist with medical ninjutsu as he gestured for the other man to sit.

Oyakuro En wasn't officially part of the Sunagakure organization; he was merely Hoshino Maki's aide. Besides handling some personal matters for him recently, he had a lot of free time.

"I was with my daughter, but I heard something and came to report it to you."

"What is it?"

Hoshino Maki twisted his waist, already mostly recovered.

"It's like this..."

Hoshino Maki narrowed his eyes, listening to Oyakuro En's words, and began to make some calculations in his mind.

"I understand. Go home and wait for news."

After Oyakuro En left, Hoshino Maki walked to the mirror. His appearance began to change. His skin became dark and dry, several nasolabial folds appeared on his forehead, and deep wrinkles formed at the corners of his eyes. His facial features shifted accordingly. In a short while, he had transformed into the appearance of someone from the Land of Water.

He adjusted his voice a few times until it took on a thick Land of Water accent.

"Stop lining up! We're closing for the day!"

A Sand Ninja with an unpleasant expression shouted, then got up to leave.

"Didn't you say five o'clock? Why are you closing at two?"

A young boy, who looked far from mature, was covered in sweat. He had been waiting in line for three hours, and just as it was almost his turn, the other man suddenly announced they were closing, rendering his wait pointless. Anger surged through him, and he couldn't help but question the ninja.

As soon as he spoke, the long line behind him erupted in a chorus of agreement.

Bang--!

"What's wrong! Got a problem?!"

The ninja slammed his hand on the table, his fierce expression sweeping across the crowd.

The people, who had been indignant moments before, suddenly shrank back like startled quails, making the young boy stand out even more.

The boy's hot-blooded nature flared up and died down just as quickly. Seeing himself become the target, he instantly became a little timid. However, unable to save face, he stubbornly retorted, "That's right! I'm going to the Kazekage Building to report you!"

Upon hearing this, the ninja showed no fear. Instead, he laughed heartily, leaped forward, grabbed the boy by the collar, and executed a shoulder throw, slamming him heavily onto the ground.

"Report me? I'm from the Chiyo Clan. Who in Sunagakure dares to touch me?"

Silence fell upon the scene. The people in line watched the boy groaning in pain on the ground, saying nothing.

The ninja looked around, let out a contemptuous snort, spat on the boy, and swaggered away.

Only then did the crowd dare to gather around.

"Sigh~ Why did you have to provoke him? If you'd said a few nice words, maybe they could have processed a couple more people, and it might have been my turn."

"We traveled all this way to Sunagakure, and we're already dependent on them. Why did you have to be so bold? It's good enough that they're helping us at all."

"Young man, learn from your mistakes. These people processing applications are from the Great Clans. You can't reason with them. Forget three o'clock, they could leave at noon and no one would care."

"It's just our bad luck. Those with connections don't even need to come; a word from them and it's all done."

"..."

The boy wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and struggled to stand up. He didn't brush off the dust on his clothes, but his eyes were filled with confusion as he looked at the "educators" surrounding him, chattering and pointing fingers.

Was I wrong?

But the announcement clearly said five o'clock!

But everyone is blaming me, so it must be my fault.

But what exactly did I do wrong?

In the crowded mass, a flash of light streaked by, capturing the boy's confused face.

Night. Hoshino Maki sat on the floor of his study.

He didn't use the underfloor heating. Instead, he held a bundle of dry branches and placed them to the side, lighting them in a bronze basin and listening to the muffled crackling sounds.

The flames reflected in his eyes, flickering.

He seemed to be back on that night at the border outpost, sitting by the campfire, laughing and chatting with those young ninjas, telling them about the bright future he had envisioned for them.

Have I truly made Sunagakure better?

If this continues, will Sunagakure transform from Chiyo's elder-led system to one dominated by the Chiyo Clan, rendering the Elder Council a mere formality?

If, one day, my opinion clashes with Chiyo's, will my ideas still be implemented?

Even if Chiyo wholeheartedly supports me, what if she's no longer around? Will her clan remain the same?

He didn't believe that the anime depicted her living a long life, meaning she would necessarily live for a long time, as unexpected events were never in short supply in the ninja world.

Ultimately, the people of Sunagakure and the Chiyo Clan respected him. Chiyo's support accounted for at least 80% of that. With such a foundation, even if he became Kazekage, he would merely be a puppet, like the predecessors before him. He would just be Chiyo's exclusive puppet.

This was unacceptable to him.

With this thought, he stood up, took down the cloak hanging on the wall, and his figure vanished.

It seemed like the matter had passed. Naoya originally thought that once Oyakuro En found the Lord, his own issues would be resolved quickly. However, the other party claimed he wasn't clear on the specifics and advised him to wait.

Under normal circumstances, Naoya would have already stormed off, thinking "there are plenty of other places to go." But now, he felt he should be considerate of the other party's difficulties.

Perhaps being considerate would save him a million!

The peaceful days continued until Sunday. News of the Chiyo Family embezzling investment funds and assaulting settlers somehow spread through Sunagakure like wildfire. If Sunagakure had trending topics, this would undoubtedly be number one.

Everyone in the village discussed the matter when they met. Although they didn't dare to speak openly, they privately condemned the Chiyo Family's arrogance.

More details about the young man were dug up.

Orphaned at a young age, he lived with his sister, relying on his own hard work. He traveled far and wide, earning some money. Just as he was thinking of returning home to live a good life with his sister, he discovered upon his return that his sister had already become a naked corpse.

After much investigation, he finally learned that the City Lord's son had lusted after her and attempted to assault her. His sister refused, but she couldn't overcome his superior strength and the help of his guards. This angered the son, who then brutally murdered her after violating her.

He attempted to assassinate the City Lord's son to avenge his sister, but the son had many guards. After failing, he prepared to flee to Sunagakure to seek refuge with a friend, taking the money he had hidden outside the city. Unexpectedly, his friend had already died in battle, leaving behind only an elderly mother with mobility issues and gray hair. He decided to first take care of his friend's aging mother before considering revenge.

However, without the identity of a Sunagakure resident, he couldn't do many things. He intended to use all his savings to settle down, but then...

This story later deviated somewhat from the truth, but not too drastically. This was mainly because the incident itself was already infuriating, and it didn't require embellishment to evoke empathy.

The arrogant and negligent ninja versus the young man seeking revenge for his sister and supporting his friend's elderly mother. When these two were juxtaposed, even the ninjas of Sunagakure scoffed at the latter, despite some of them being just as bad, or even worse.

Slam!

"You scoundrel!"

An elder in a kimono slapped the person kneeling on the floor, sending him sprawling.

"The entire village is talking about you and the Chiyo Clan right now. Do you know how much trouble you've caused the clan?!"

The man clutched his face and knelt again, his arrogance completely gone, replaced by a look of grievance.

"Father, that vagrant dared to yell at me. That's disrespect to the Chiyo Clan, to ninjas. Of course, I had to teach him a lesson. Didn't you say the clan's honor is paramount?"

He couldn't understand. He had defended the clan's honor, so why were the people of the village, the clan members, and his own father treating him like this?

If this was wrong, then why were everyone else doing the same thing, and why was he the only one being reprimanded?

What did I do wrong?

The elder looked at his son's confused expression and felt a blockage in his chest.

Actually, his son had told him about the incident when he returned for dinner that night. However, his son had treated it as gossip, a joke, and he hadn't paid much attention. He never expected the matter to suddenly escalate, and so intensely, catching him completely off guard.

Life is already so miserable, why not just die?

He cursed the young man inwardly and, with the other hand, slapped his son.

The harder he hit him now, the more likely he was to protect him.

Just as the palm was about to descend, a fair hand suddenly appeared, gripping his wrist. An Anbu ninja intervened.

"Lord Chifune, Lady Chiyo has ordered that Kōtarō be brought to the Kazekage Building. You can deal with him when he returns."

The elder's eyes lit up. He automatically ignored the disrespect, as long as his son could return, everything else was negotiable.

"If he actually returns."

The Anbu member flung away Chifune's suddenly stiffened arm and looked down at Kōtarō, who was slumped on the floor and only now realizing the gravity of the situation. He said in a flat tone, "I assume I don't need to escort you, do I?"

Kōtarō nodded, quickly got up, and left with the Anbu.

Chifune watched the open doorway, a cold breeze blowing in, making him stoop. He looked ten years older in an instant.

Not long after, the Anbu ninja, dragging Kōtarō by the collar, arrived before the Elder Council Hall and threw him down, kneeling on one knee. "Kōtarō has been brought."

"Bring him in."

The atmosphere inside the Elder Council Hall was heavy. No one spoke until Kōtarō was brought in. The statue-like Elders then seemed to come alive, their eyes converging on Kōtarō, scaring him so much he almost wet himself.

Hoshino Maki's attention, however, was on the Anbu. Young, blond hair, daring to be so violent with the scion of a high-ranking Chiyo Clan member – could it be you, Minato Namikaze?

Hoshino Maki praised himself for his quick wit.

As the most relaxed person in the room, he even had the leisure to joke.

"Thank you for your trouble, Yashamaru."

Rasa spoke. Yashamaru nodded and retreated into the shadows by the door.

"Kōtarō, you should know why you've been summoned. Explain the entire incident in detail."

As soon as Ebizo finished speaking, Chōjūrō let out a cold laugh. "There's no need for that much trouble."

Saying that, he took out a cassette from his sleeve. With a wave of his hand, someone entered and inserted the cassette into a player. After a crackling sound, Kōtarō's arrogant image appeared on the television.

The video wasn't long, only about 20 minutes. But halfway through, Chiyo couldn't bear to watch anymore.

It wasn't that she had a weak psychological tolerance or was soft-hearted, but she was afraid that if she continued watching, she would impale the already terrified guy with a Thousand Needles.

She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Do you have anything else to say?"

Chiyo's words jolted Kōtarō awake. He scrambled to kneel before Chiyo, but halfway through his crawl, Hoshino Maki squatted down and blocked him, shielding him from others' view. He transmitted his voice, "Mr. Kōtarō, don't lose the clan's dignity~"

Kōtarō looked up and saw Hoshino Maki. Hoshino Maki winked at him, and he immediately felt half at ease.

He had met Hoshino Maki a few times. Their relationship wasn't exactly close, but at least they were on the same side, and there was no reason for him to harm him.

Seeing Chiyo's lingering gaze behind Hoshino Maki, he immediately shivered and jumped up.

That's right, no matter when, one must not lose face for the Chiyo Clan, especially in front of other clans, and even more so not disgrace Lord Chiyo!

In an instant, he seemed to know what he should do, and he cast a grateful look at Hoshino Maki.

But Hoshino Maki didn't respond, he just stood back behind Chiyo, as if he hadn't done anything.

"Respected Elders, I have something to say!"

Kōtarō mustered his courage, held his head high, and said loudly: "I admit that I did leave early, and I accept any punishment for my dereliction of duty. But as a ninja of Sunagakure, as a member of the Chiyo Clan, if anyone dares to provoke me, to provoke the Chiyo Clan, I Zetsu will not show mercy. This is the honor of a ninja, this is the honor of the Chiyo Clan. If anyone dares to tarnish it, I will defend it with my life!"

After Kōtarō finished speaking, he found that the elders were looking at him with an indescribable gaze.

Confusion, bewilderment, and a hint of pity?

Only Ebizo and Chiyo had ashen faces at this moment.

What is this idiot talking about??

Ninja honor? What honor do ninjas have?

Assassination, plunder, or espionage?

He's probably watched too many manga and storybooks.

If it were just that, it would be his own business. But this guy kept mentioning the clan, as if everything he did was for the clan. He wasn't content with dying alone and had to smear the family name before he died, right?

"Get out!"

Ebizo couldn't hold back any longer and directly threw him out.

Kōtarō was dragged out by the Anbu with a face full of question marks. Chōjūrō didn't stop them either. With the video tape in hand, coupled with the will of the entire village and the words of that idiot just now, the Chiyo Family would have to pay a heavy price.

As his thoughts raced, Chōjūrō's gaze swept subtly over everyone.

Who exactly sent this tape to his residence?

It's not his own faction. He's already seen how unreliable these so-called allies are. Anyway, people he's befriended wouldn't do this. If they were afraid of Chiyo's revenge, why would they record it?

He didn't think any of his allies had the ability to benefit from the conflict.

It was even more impossible for Chiyo's side. After eliminating all other possibilities, the truth naturally surfaced—Rasa!

As the controller of the Anbu, he already knew that Rasa and Chiyo were not working together. Although he didn't know why, this was good news for him.

Rasa naturally had sufficient motive to instigate a conflict between him and Chiyo. Chōjūrō's heart raised the danger level of the other party again.

He used to think Rasa was just strong and capable, but he didn't expect him to be so adept at using a "wolf to devour another wolf" strategy.

Although Chōjūrō's gaze was subtle, Rasa, with his strength, still noticed the unfriendly look. He frowned, glanced at him, and then turned his head away.

Seeing this, Chōjūrō became even more certain.

If you're not guilty, why wouldn't you dare to look me in the eye?

Thanks to Book Friend 20210301106495101340, Book Friend 20170910111126936, and Uncle Lin Next Door for the monthly tickets!