Astonishing! The old man's hidden depths: tens of thousands of spies across the Ninja World

"Whew... whew..."

Qingwu slept soundly, even blowing bubbles from his nose. Sleeping between his two wives put him completely at ease.

"Hehe... Qingwu looks so cute when he's asleep." Hinata kept watch while Ino gently fanned him.

The sight left everyone around them green with envy. They whispered among themselves, "Hyuga Seigo, you lucky bastard! Two of them... two..."

One of them couldn't help complaining, "Why doesn't the teacher say anything when he sleeps? Do big clans get to ignore the rules?" He had no self-awareness whatsoever.

"Exactly! Why does he scold us but not him?"

Some of the more clearheaded Classmates frowned slightly. "Kaiki, I disagree with you."

"Oh? Eita, what brilliant insight do you have, then?" Kaiki, the Classmate who had been contradicted, asked sarcastically.

Eita said with a steady gaze, "Whatever you're unhappy about, big clans really do get to ignore the rules."

"The weak adapt to the rules; the strong make and change them. Isn't that how the world works? What's there to complain about? I'll work hard so my children can live like that someday."

His tone was calm, but his eyes revealed an unmistakable confidence. Clearly, he was full of hope for his future and eager to work toward it.

"You... you..."

The two Classmates from earlier flushed crimson. Unable to refute their clearheaded Classmate's argument, they sneered, "Hmph. Then we'll look forward to the day Lord Eita becomes powerful and makes the rules for us to follow."

Eita chuckled. "Thank you. I will."

"You..." His smile hit those two fools hard. It was positively dazzling.

"Qingwu, you're a role model for us all."

Another student looked on with admiration, envy sparkling in his eyes as he murmured, "I really want to know how he pulled it off. I'd love to learn those tricks!"

"If I learned them, could I get a girlfriend too?" His voice held a hint of hope and longing.

"Haha! With that face? I wouldn't count on it." Someone beside him couldn't help laughing.

"Bah! You bastard, you're the ugly one! You're ugly, and so is your whole family!" the student shot back angrily.

Just then, someone took out a camera and pressed the shutter with a broad smile. Click.

"Let's keep a souvenir," he said with a grin. "Maybe it'll go up in value someday. This is an iconic scene—the Hyuga Clan head and his harmonious family. It should be worth quite a bit, right? I could pass it down as a family heirloom. Hehe..."

"Amazing! We missed a fortune... a fortune..."

The others who wanted a picture either hadn't brought a camera or were caught by Ino and warned with her little fists.

"Fine, we won't take pictures. Why threaten us...?" some busybodies muttered, taking care not to be overheard.

Ino was a little firecracker herself.

They wouldn't dare go against her.

Crossing her meant crossing a whole group.

The Hyuga in that little circle went without saying, and the three Ino-Shika-Cho clans stood together. Neither the Aburame nor the Inuzuka were easy to mess with.

Well, Naruto was a little easier to pick on.

But they couldn't beat Naruto now, either.

Well, well, that guy has a good head for business. Even if he doesn't become a ninja, he could make a fine merchant.

Although Qingwu's body was asleep, his divine sense remained active. Hehe... looks like there are quite a few talented people in this class. Eita and a few of these other Classmates might be worth investing in.

Anyone who made it into the elite class had decent potential.

Qingwu decided to become an...

Angel investor.

Two girlfriends at such a young age, and they even get along so well. He's really winning at life...

Iruka was incredibly envious. Sigh... when will I get a girlfriend?

He looked a little dejected. He really was rather tongue-tied when it came to romance. Still, Iruka was open-minded, and he soon worked through it.

Well, well, why am I overthinking this?!

I may not have a girlfriend, but my good buddy Mizuki does...

Maybe the three of us could live together. Tsubaki is a good girl. She probably wouldn't mind...

Probably.

I only want to stay with Mizuki.

I never thought about coming between them.

Iruka muttered to himself.

Good grief, are even the honest types this open-minded now? I underestimated you, Iruka-sensei.

Qingwu noticed Iruka's muttering.

With his divine sense active...

He was stunned.

People in the Naruto world really did think in the strangest ways.

Bonds were the central theme.

Qingwu realized.

The academy really is the Ninja World's true haven.

There wasn't nearly as much scheming.

Everyone wore their thoughts on their faces.

The Ninja World was a great dye vat, and everyone in it was a multicolored painting, unlike the academy, where they were sheets of plain colored card.

Here...

Qingwu was basking in youth.

But undercurrents were already surging throughout the Ninja World.

The reason was simple.

"We must control this." Greed flashed in Ōnoki's eyes. Having experienced youth again, he could no longer tolerate his former decrepit body. "Someone contact the Kage of the other villages. I have important matters to discuss."

His adviser acknowledged the order, but still asked, "Lord Tsuchikage, should we contact Konoha's Hokage too?"

Ōnoki sneered. "Of course. He may be even more anxious than I am. Sarutobi Hiruzen is far more ruthless than you imagine."

"Yes!" His subordinate withdrew to make the arrangements.

At the same time, similar scenes played out across the Ninja World.

The nobles behind the Exchange Office ordered, "Investigate. Find out where Hundred Beast Mountain is. Offer a bounty throughout the Ninja World for information. Anyone who provides a useful lead will be richly rewarded!"

"Send people to infiltrate Konoha and wait for an opportunity."

Some reckless minor ninja clans and organizations ordered, "Find isolated Hyuga Clan members and capture them to exchange for Youth-Preserving Pills. Get as many as possible, but don't act openly yourselves..."

"Find out who matters to him and who his friends are. Figure out a way to approach them. Children are easier to fool."

"Something like this belongs to our Cloud Village. With these pills, the Cloud Village's Nintaijutsu could flourish forever!"

"..."

After witnessing the miraculous effects of the Youth-Preserving Pill and experiencing their long-lost youth, who wouldn't want to control it themselves? After all, no one wanted someone else to hold them hostage at a critical moment.

"If the Hyuga are loyal, they should present the formula for the Youth-Preserving Pill." Even the Land of Fire's Daimyo had designs on it.

"Inform Sarutobi Hiruzen. Tell him to find a way."

"Yes, Lord Daimyo." One of his subordinates immediately went to carry out the order.

All at once...

All manner of plots and schemes targeting the Hyuga...

Were about to descend.

The Shadow Guard had already received word.

Qingwu said, "I've already spread a great net for you. My only worry is that you won't come. My blade has long been thirsting for blood."

"Someone!"

"At your service, Lord Qingwu." A man emerged from the shadows and knelt on one knee, awaiting his orders.

"Pass word to the Shadow Guard. Fan the flames. The more people who come, the better. Keep our own people away..." Qingwu issued his instructions.

"Yes!" The answer was crisp and decisive.

The man vanished into the darkness again.

The Guardian Ninja the old man gave me are so useful.

Qingwu was deeply moved at the thought.

He also marveled, "Experience really does count. A core of more than fifteen hundred Shadow Guard members, spread across the Ninja World. Incredible!"

When he first became clan head and the old man handed this force over to him, Qingwu had been utterly stunned.

The Hyuga members had long since been recalled. Everyone sent out was one of the war orphans the old man had adopted over the past decade or so. Without the Byakugan, how could anyone tell who belonged to the Hyuga Clan?!

In the eyes of the world, the Hyuga were outrageously arrogant, looking down their noses at everyone. They even despised their own branch family, never mind training ordinary people. That gave Hyuga Hoze his opportunity.

The Hyuga Clan had the Byakugan, so evading the village's surveillance was easy. For Great Elder Hyuga Hoze, adopting a few orphans was child's play.

Those thousand-odd people worked in every walk of life.

After all, everyone had different talents. Some were suited to being ninja, some to business, some to farming, and some enjoyed smithing... they flourished everywhere.

Even the old man couldn't say how many people were now in the outer network. "I've never counted them all. Perhaps a few tens of thousands. There are plenty of ordinary people among them, too."

These were all hidden assets he had left for Qingwu.

He feared that, after his death...

Qingwu would have no one to rely on.

If anything happened, these Shadow Guard members would be Qingwu's foundation for survival. They could help him fake his death, escape, and live as a wealthy man.

It was all a grandfather's deep love for his grandson.

"Grandpa..." For the first time, Qingwu's eyes grew wet. Across his two lives, he had never been so moved.

Now his role as the mastermind behind the Ninja World...

Was even more fitting.

Thinking of the spot where the Guardian Ninja had disappeared, Qingwu smiled. "They'll never dream where the Shadow Guard's headquarters are."