Cage Confrontation (Middle) / Cage Confrontation (Part 2)

Before long, Hiashi left, and the two of them ultimately reached a reconciliation.

How could Neji not understand? Even if what Hiashi said was true, so what?

If they really were brothers who loved each other deeply, willing to die for one another, why had Hiashi activated the Caged Bird Seal to punish his younger brother over nothing more than a look?

The Branch House hated the Main House too much to ever willingly die for them.

They had no choice!

You didn't force him, because you didn't need to. The Hyuga Clan's rules would have driven him to his death anyway!

His father's duty as a member of the Branch House was to protect his older brother. If his father hadn't died in his place, then even if Hiashi really had died, his older brother—as the one responsible for protecting him—would have been punished for failing in his duty. Most likely, he would have been put to death too.

And then his own son would probably have been dragged into it.

So it was better to give up his own life and ensure that his son would be treated well within the family.

How could that be dying for his older brother? He'd clearly done it for his own son...

As a member of the Main House, how could you not understand all this?

Neji had already seen through Hiashi's hypocrisy. What did it mean for him to come kneel here, where no one else could see?

If he were truly sincere, why not kneel in front of everyone?

You're just putting on a show for me!

At that moment, Neji had more or less given up. He'd realized that none of the things he'd carefully planned had gone the way he'd expected.

It seemed his accusations against the Hyuga Clan hadn't won much sympathy for the Branch House.

Those lofty adults didn't care about how they felt.

Otherwise, Hiashi could never have spoken to him so calmly. He had knelt before Neji as a victor.

And Neji could only passively accept it. What else could he do?

Besides, he no longer wanted to fight Hiashi to the death. He had a new goal now.

So he calmly accepted Hiashi's so-called apology and prepared to get along with him.

Naruto's last words had shaken him to the core. If Naruto became Hokage, he would change the fate of the Hyuga Branch House.

It was an explicit political promise, made in front of everyone, solely to win Neji Hyuga's support.

And Neji was already prepared to support Naruto—not because he'd lost their match, but because he'd suddenly seen so many things clearly.

As he pondered this, someone else came to visit.

Keiichi. Just as he'd expected.

"The bet... you won." Neji sat on the hospital bed and sighed.

"So, are you ready to listen to what I have to say now?" Keiichi smiled calmly.

"I don't know what you want to say, but I'll hear you out." Neji's expression turned serious.

"Hmm, where should I start? Let me think... You're still thinking about what Naruto said to you, aren't you?"

Neji looked startled. Did he know how to read minds or something?

"What exactly are you getting at? You support Naruto, right? Are you here to persuade me?"

"Support him? No, no. You've got the wrong idea. He considers me his big brother. Our relationship is one of equals."

Neji frowned, but quickly relaxed.

That was true. There was a rule about that.

"So, when Naruto becomes Hokage, will you be the deputy Hokage he appoints?" Neji asked tentatively.

"I know what you're thinking—the dual Kage system in the Leaf Village, right? During the First's time, it was Hashirama and Tobirama, one in the open and one in the shadows. After Hashirama died of illness, Tobirama stepped out of the shadows and became the Second. Unfortunately, he didn't serve for long before dying in the First Shinobi World War. Then came the Third Hokage's era, with Hiruzen in power and Danzo as the Shadow Hokage."

What Keiichi didn't mention was that things would be no different during Naruto's reign. The only change was that Sasuke would take Danzo's place.

"So you've thought this through even more than I have. No wonder they call you the Sage Eight." Neji looked at Keiichi with a hint of admiration. It seemed his reputation was well deserved.

Although Keiichi flatly denied it, Neji still assumed he was on Naruto's side and had come to act as his envoy.

"So have you figured out who might become Hokage in the future?"

"Yes. The moment he said those words and displayed power that wasn't his own, I knew."

"Why don't you share your thoughts?"

Chapter 66: Cage Confrontation (Middle)

"Since the Leaf Village was founded, the First passed the title to the Second. It went from older brother to younger brother. In theory, the Senju Clan was numerous and full of powerful shinobi, and they were the village's founders. The Third Hokage should have been chosen from among them. But no one expected the Second to pass the title to his own student." Neji sat upright and spoke at length.

"Exactly. As you said earlier, the Leaf Village can't belong to the Hyuga Clan. It has to belong to everyone."

"So it can't belong to the Senju Clan either. The Second understood that, which was why he passed the title to Lord Hiruzen. He was sending the outside world a message: anyone from any clan could take the position of Hokage."

"Exactly. The Second was a brilliant leader. If he hadn't done that, the Leaf Village would either have become an even larger Senju family or fallen apart, and the village system his older brother had established would have disappeared. The other clans could see that too. They would never accept the Hokage Position being held by the Senju Clan forever. That would only lead to one clan dominating the village and could even threaten the other clans' ability to survive."

"But this raised a new problem. Lord Hiruzen's claim to the title wasn't legitimate. He hadn't continued the old tradition of passing it down through bloodlines; instead, it was passed from teacher to student. That was bound to draw criticism."

"So even if only to keep people from criticizing him a hundred years later, he had to continue the teacher-student succession. Otherwise, not only would he have betrayed the Second's good intentions, but his own reputation would be ruined." Keiichi smiled.

"It also had to do with policy continuity. If a new Hokage came to power and reversed his predecessor's policies, constantly changing course would destabilize the Leaf Village and give its enemies an opportunity. But if one of his own students or their descendants took over, that wouldn't be a problem."

"So when Hiruzen realized that Orochimaru was siding with the hardliners led by Danzo, he decisively abandoned him." Keiichi gave him an approving look. Neji really had thought it through.

"The person whose political views most closely matched his was Lord Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze was Lord Jiraiya's student. So in the end, they chose Minato. That certainly followed the teacher-student line of succession."

"From all of this, you reached a startling conclusion: not just anyone can become Hokage. Only someone who fits into Hiruzen's line of succession can take the position."

"Orochimaru defected from the Leaf Village, so he can no longer inherit the Hokage Position. Lady Tsunade has been away from the village for years and is nowhere to be found. Lord Jiraiya meets the criteria, but since Lord Hiruzen skipped over him and chose the Fourth Hokage directly, there may have been some other reason he couldn't become Hokage."

"So we look at the Fourth Hokage's line. Of his students, only one is still alive: Kakashi. But as long as Hiruzen is alive, Kakashi can't become Hokage."

"Why not?" Neji asked, surprised.

"Don't forget Kakashi's surname. White Fang's reputation was so great that he nearly got nominated as the next Hokage. Then, out of nowhere, he took his own life. I doubt Hiruzen and Danzo were entirely uninvolved."

Neji fell silent for a moment, then said quietly, "You've got some nerve, saying things like that."

"I'd only say it to you. I wouldn't dare say it to anyone else."

"You trust me that much?"

"I trust my judgment of people."

"If Kakashi can't do it either, then only his three students are left."

"Sasuke is out of the question. The reason is simple: his older brother betrayed the Leaf Village, so the village won't trust him either."

"Right. Someone would definitely question Sasuke's loyalties. What about Sakura Haruno?"

"Sakura has middling talent and no ambition for the position. She's too emotional in her thinking. Anyone can see she's not suited to being Hokage."

"Then... that leaves only Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yes. Only Naruto."

After that, the two fell silent at the same time.

"But this is only speculation..." Neji's mouth had gone dry.

"Not long ago, Hiruzen even arranged for Jiraiya to become his teacher. You understand the political message behind that, right?"

"..."

"Also, Naruto's biological father was the Fourth Hokage."

"...!!"

Well, look at that. He had both teacher-student succession and bloodline succession on his side. His claim to the title was practically airtight.

It would defy all reason if he didn't become Hokage.

Could it be that Naruto's constant talk about becoming Hokage wasn't just his dream, but something someone had deliberately instilled in him?

Children were the easiest to brainwash.

And with the Uzumaki Clan wiped out, Naruto had no clan backing him. He was the perfect candidate, least likely to upset the balance among the shinobi clans.

The two of them talked it through, and together they laid out the whole picture.

At first, Neji had only vaguely sensed something was amiss. That was why he'd said that not everyone could become Hokage.

Back then, he'd only considered things from the perspective that people with powerful clans backing them couldn't become Hokage.

It wasn't until Naruto said that, if he became Hokage, he would help the Hyuga Branch House change its fate that Neji had connected all the clues in a flash.

In the end, he concluded that Naruto was the one destined to become Hokage.

After analyzing it together, they realized Naruto wasn't just boasting. He really could do it.

Did you think Naruto was rebelling against fate?

No. He was actually going along with it. Everything had fallen into place perfectly.

But Neji didn't mind. If supporting Naruto's rise to Hokage could change the fate of the Hyuga Branch House, then Naruto could say whatever he wanted.

As long as Neji achieved his wish, he didn't care about anything else.

In the end, this went so far that whenever Neji faced a crisis in the future, he would instinctively remember Naruto's words and treat them as his guiding principle.

He was practically brainwashing himself.

"I understand now. Some powerful figure must have taken an interest in you and arranged for you to stay by Naruto's side, right?" Neji asked.

Naruto had impeccable birth and background, and he also had an unknown power within him that could help him survive life-and-death crises. The only thing he lacked was brains.

And Keiichi was clearly Naruto's external brain. He'd obviously been arranged into place.

"You've got it wrong this time. I help Naruto of my own accord. I'm not a pawn in anyone's hands."

Neji smiled, but didn't really believe him.

You think you're not someone else's pawn? How do you know this wasn't arranged for you too?

Just like Naruto constantly saying he wanted to be Hokage?

"All right. I'm willing to join Naruto's side, but I have one condition. If he becomes Hokage in the future, he has to change the fate of my Hyuga Branch House."

"But you have to understand, Naruto said that in a moment of passion. When he becomes Hokage seven or eight years from now, will he even remember what he said today? And that's not to mention the enormous resistance he'll face."

Neji fell deep into thought. This was exactly the possibility he least wanted to consider.

But aside from trusting Naruto, he had no other choice.

"Actually, it won't be difficult to make Naruto remember his political promise."

"How?"

"All Naruto has to do is marry Hinata."

"!!!"

Neji's mind raced, and he immediately understood the logic. Why had Naruto been so fired up about defeating him today? Wasn't it to stand up for Hinata?

If he married Hinata, then every time he saw her, he'd remember everything that had happened today. He'd never be able to forget it.

Besides, once he became Hokage, he would have to consider the public reaction. If the Hyuga Clan, his in-laws, continued the old custom of the Main House enslaving the Branch House, how could that not draw criticism?

Now that was a good plan!

Keiichi smiled. This had been Neji's own idea all along; he'd simply said it out loud ahead of time.

Years later, Neji would even sacrifice himself to make sure Naruto never forgot the sacrifices Hinata had made for him.

That was a bond forged in blood!

Chapter 67: Cage Confrontation (Part 2)

"Keiichi... I'm convinced. If Naruto ever needs anything in the future, I, Neji Hyuga, will give everything I have without hesitation!" Neji said solemnly.

"Wait, have you got something wrong?" Keiichi found Neji's earnest expression a little amusing.

"Got something wrong?" Neji looked bewildered.

"Sorry, but I didn't come here to persuade you on Naruto's behalf."