The Organization is Called the Avengers

Mist Village Battlefield, Konoha Command Post.

"Iwagakure has already conceded. Reinforcements from the village will arrive in a few days, and the end of the war is not far off."

Orochimaru looked at the gathered Jonin, his tone calm.

"At this final moment, there must be no relaxation of vigilance."

The expressions of the Jonin visibly lightened, and they replied in unison: "Understood!"

"Hmm," Orochimaru nodded, "you may leave."

After the Jonin left the command tent, Orochimaru took out a map and studied it for a moment, then his expression suddenly shifted.

Poof!

Accompanied by a puff of white smoke, a White Viper flicked its tongue as it appeared before Orochimaru.

It opened its mouth and spat out a scroll.

Orochimaru smiled as he picked up the scroll and unfurled it to read.

It contained some of Hyuga Hane's conjectures regarding chakra; while not precious, it was indeed helpful to Orochimaru's research.

"To think he would be so formal, writing a letter to the teacher to recommend Namikaze Minato, Hane-kun is truly a stranger to me."

The greatest obstacles to Namikaze Minato becoming Hokage were the Sannin.

Their seniority all surpassed that of Minato.

However, neither Tsunade nor Jiraiya had any desire to assume the position of Hokage.

The only one who had not explicitly refused the position was Orochimaru.

Therefore, when he followed Hyuga Hane's wishes and delivered that letter of recommendation for Namikaze Minato to the Third Hokage, certain things became inevitable.

"Teacher, you have always been considering my attitude, but in your heart, you had already chosen Minato, hadn't you?"

"You have been building momentum for Minato all along, and you have even helped him accumulate political capital; the younger generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho clans, who have been on good terms with the Sarutobi for generations, are all Minato's comrades-in-arms."

"You have truly taken great pains, yet I fear you do not wish to relinquish the position of Hokage just yet; it is only because of the state of affairs that you are forced to do so."

Orochimaru shook his head and used a flame to incinerate the scroll he had finished reading.

This time, the Main Branch did not win; their secret Caged Bird technique had fallen into the hands of many, and they had even lost a certain degree of control over the Branch Family.

The Hyuga Branch Family did not win either; they had not completely resolved the Caged Bird.

And the teacher, who appeared to have perfectly resolved this incident, had chosen to tarnish his own reputation during his hasty resignation, shouldering some of the responsibility himself, which had a not-insignificant impact.

On the surface, it appeared that Minato, who had gained the position of Hokage and could use the Mist Village Battlefield to consolidate his power, had gained the most.

But, is that really the case?

"By letting Minato become Hokage, what is it that you want to do? Hane-kun..."

"In this world, there are no accidents, only inevitabilities composed of various variables that are difficult to observe."

"Just like how you do not know what I will say next."

"But that is only because you do not know; I myself am naturally aware."

Hyuga Hane rose and walked toward the door of his home.

"If I tell you, this variable becomes a fixed constant."

"In this way, you can know a small piece of the future."

And unfortunately, for Hyuga Hane, the many variables that existed in the world of Naruto were all fixed constants.

In other words... a predetermined future!

"The Branch Family has welcomed hope, but what will happen when this slightly false hope is ruthlessly torn to shreds?"

Hyuga Hane looked back at Hyuga Meigoku, whose face was obscured by the shadows of the house, making it difficult for the latter to be seen clearly.

Anticipation? It didn't seem to be that...

Hyuga Hane whispered in his heart.

How similar.

The Uchiha of the present are having the same beautiful dream as the Hyuga of this moment.

The clan head and the new Hokage are close friends; the clan head's wife and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki are best friends.

This generation of the Uchiha clan possesses the foundation to step into the upper echelons!

Regrettably, this beautiful dream will vanish, turning instead into a nightmare for the Uchiha.

What will become of the Hyuga?

Turning to walk out the door, Hyuga Hane suddenly stopped and looked toward the shadows of the house.

"Is there something?"

Hyuga Yuki stepped out from the shadows, bowing his head as he pleaded:

"Hane-sen... no, Lord Hane! I hope you can help me; I need power."

Hyuga Hane studied his expression. "Come inside and talk."

With that, he didn't wait for Yuki's response, opened the door, and stepped into the house.

Hyuga Meigoku watched this scene through his Byakugan and remained hidden.

"Yes!"

Hyuga Yuki followed him inside, his face full of excitement.

The two walked all the way to the living room before Hyuga Hane turned around and asked, "Why come to me?"

"Because you are the strongest ninja of the Branch Family!"

Able to discover that the Hokage was working to crack the Caged Bird, and capable of easily infiltrating the core territory of the Main Branch, Hyuga Hane was the strongest ninja in the Branch Family that Hyuga Yuki knew of!

After a pause, Hyuga Yuki added:

"Besides, I believe you are trustworthy. They—the clansmen of the Branch Family—are many of them nothing but Caged Birds!"

When he spoke the final three words, Hyuga Yuki gritted his teeth.

Those people were slaves in spirit; even if the Caged Bird were removed, they would never be free.

"Oh, and do you think you are any different from them?"

Hyuga Hane smiled. "If not for the information I gave you, would you have ever harbored the desire to completely remove the Caged Bird?"

"Presumably not."

Hyuga Yuki fell silent, but soon replied firmly: "But I would have continued to resist, found a way to solve the Caged Bird, and brought all the clansmen willing to fight along with me."

Hyuga Hane looked into his determined eyes, narrowed his own, and muttered:

"Barely acceptable."

Passionate, yet rational.

Possessing the courage to take action.

Most importantly, he was not a mere idealist.

"Eh, acceptable?"

Before Yuki could react, he saw Hyuga Hane take out a scroll and toss it to him.

"This is the power you want—the power that can allow the Branch Family to stand tall, and even allow the Hyuga Clan to break away from Konoha."

Hyuga Yuki looked at him in disbelief, then down at the scroll.

To make the Hyuga break away from Konoha... how could that be possible?

"Don't believe me?" Hane asked calmly.

"No, no, that's not it," Yuki hurriedly shook his head, "it just feels... a bit surreal."

In his imagination, Hane was at most a powerhouse second only to the Hokage; for him to suddenly claim he could accomplish such an inconceivable feat naturally felt incredible.

"Believe it or not, that is up to you."

Hane said, "If there is nothing else, please leave."

"Wait, Lord Hane."

Hyuga Yuki took a deep breath and bowed.

"My companions and I have founded an organization with the goal of letting the Branch Family stand up once and for all."

"Please, join us!"

"..."

Silence descended upon the room.

Just as Hyuga Yuki was at a loss and wanted to sneak a peek at Hyuga Hane, the latter's voice drifted over.

"What is the name of this organization?"

Hyuga Yuki's face lit up with visible joy, then he scratched his head in some embarrassment. "We haven't decided on one yet, but since the original intention is to gain freedom and take revenge on the Main Branch..."

"How about we call it the Avengers..."

"You can leave now."

Hyuga Hane had only heard three words before coldly shooing Hyuga Yuki out.

Outside the door, Hyuga Yuki stood in a daze.

Was there something wrong with that name?

He scratched his head in frustration, unable to figure out the reason, and could only leave with the scroll in hand.

And when he returned home and finished reading the entire contents of the scroll, the thirteen-year-old boy stood frozen in place, his heart filled with complex emotions.

It was history—the history of the Hyuga's distant relatives, the Otsutsuki Main Branch, being slaughtered to the last man by the Branch Family...