Some quick-witted people noticed the change in the Fourth Hokage's expression as well.
Among them were several members of Konoha's High Command. They, too, spotted Shinichi Hyuga in the corner, and his file came to mind.
The Third's skin was not yet like old tree bark, all furrowed and creased. Perhaps because he was in a good mood, he looked a few years younger.
He instinctively reached for the tobacco pouch at his waist, wanting a few puffs, but changed his mind a moment later.
"Shinichi Hyuga is two years ahead of Minato Namikaze.
"He fought in the Second Shinobi World War and the Third Shinobi World War. Like most Hyuga shinobi, his ninjutsu is mediocre, but his Taijutsu is exceptional.
"At his peak, he could even hold his own against the Fourth Raikage A.
"He used to be the Fourth Hokage's teammate.
"It's a shame. When I tried to recruit him, he lost an eye and an arm in battle."
The Third recalled Shinichi Hyuga's file.
He also remembered why he was so concerned about a Hyuga Clan jōnin.
A few days earlier, Minato Namikaze had asked him about his plans for the Hyuga Clan.
By then, he had already chosen the Great Elder's faction to become the Hyuga Clan's Hidden Branch Main House. That had indirectly prevented Minato from getting involved. The reason he gave was that they wouldn't interfere in the Hyuga Clan's affairs.
The whole of Konoha seemed to be welcoming its new Hokage.
But as long as he was alive, his word would carry absolute weight on any important matter.
Why had he chosen such a young Hokage?
A shinobi like Minato Namikaze, who came from a civilian background, was easier to control. He was merely a stopgap.
In the future, the position would still belong to his son. It was just a shame that his eldest son, the captain of the Anbu, hadn't earned enough merit during the war.
The Third couldn't help feeling a little displeased with Shinichi Hyuga for trying to interfere with his arrangements.
Danzo stood beside the Third.
One of his eyes was now wrapped in bandages. Perhaps because he and Shinichi Hyuga had similar appearances, both missing an eye, he actually felt some goodwill toward him.
"Is that him?" A scene of Orochimaru speaking with him suddenly came to mind.
"Shinichi Hyuga of the Hyuga Clan. He's a real genius. At least, he can keep up with my train of thought. I think you'll like him!" Orochimaru had said that just after replacing Danzo's eye with Kagami Uchiha's Sharingan.
Danzo had stood in the laboratory, looking at the file in his hands.
Was the person in the photograph, the one missing an eye, Shinichi Hyuga?
At the time, he'd thought Orochimaru was mocking him.
"So this is the genius Orochimaru mentioned? I wonder if I can make use of him."
He needed all the support he could get. After all, Shinichi had once been a rival to Minato Namikaze!
Danzo began to consider the possibilities.
He had also been keeping a close eye on the Hyuga Clan's family meeting, which was to take place in a month.
The heads of several prominent clans looked at the familiar figure with regret.
That was war. No matter how powerful someone was, one careless mistake could cost them their life. Shinichi Hyuga was lucky, all things considered. He had only been left disabled.
They had heard about Shinichi Hyuga's exploits on the battlefield, one way or another.
His nonlethal Taijutsu had benefited shinobi from other clans, too.
Those shinobi had earned them plenty of merit. And it was precisely because of that weakness that Shinichi had ended up like this.
They wondered how much of his strength remained.
As far as they knew, Shinichi Hyuga was a Taijutsu specialist. Having lost an arm and a Byakugan, surely his strength had taken a major hit.
Of the Konoha Sannin,
Jiraiya was the only one who had come today.
He was, in fact, one of the people who best understood Shinichi Hyuga's strength. The two had briefly clashed in Amegakure.
Because Shinichi had one Byakugan,
Jiraiya had mistaken him for Ao from Kirigakure.
At the time, Shinichi's Taijutsu had surpassed his.
Jiraiya soon stopped paying attention to him. He had no talent for power struggles and no desire to take part in them. It was only because of Minato Namikaze that he had paid Shinichi any attention at all.
The Fourth Hokage remained the star of the wedding. Shinichi Hyuga was only a brief diversion.
The ceremony continued.
Even a group of acrobats, a rare sight, came to perform at the wedding.
For a moment, the pain of war seemed to disappear completely.
Perhaps that was the real purpose of the wedding. Everyone already knew about the relationship between the bride and groom.
Shinobi kept coming over to greet Shinichi Hyuga, including Minato Namikaze's former teammates, Dodo Akimichi and Gaku Inuzuka.
Both had received Shinichi's help in battle, so they got along well.
Shinichi could sense their goodwill. They were boosting his standing, showing the Hyuga Clan shinobi the connections he had.
Time passed quickly, and the Fourth Hokage came over to where Shinichi was.
Just as he had with everyone else, he showed Shinichi no special consideration.
Shinichi was now completely sure of Minato Namikaze's position.
Minato had once been Shinichi's teammate, but now he was the Fourth Hokage of Konoha!
Shinichi had expected this outcome. He had never expected a man willing to sacrifice his own son for the village to go out of his way for him.
The Fourth Hokage's actions were mainly meant to show the great clans where he stood.
He was no longer Konoha's genius. He was its Hokage. Everything he did was for Konoha's good, and he wouldn't break the village's rules.
The Third looked on with approval. This was exactly the kind of puppet he wanted.
The other clans breathed a sigh of relief. They had feared the Fourth Hokage would interfere in their affairs, but it seemed he knew better.
But the Fourth Hokage's former teammates felt differently.
If this was how he treated Shinichi, then they couldn't expect any support from Minato in their own clan struggles, either.
They had once risked their lives to support Minato, and now he had abandoned them in the blink of an eye. What a saintly man!
Some people couldn't understand or accept this kind of saintliness.
Shinichi Hyuga was one of them. With that, the bond between the two of them came to an end.
Hyuga Hiashi and the Hyuga Clan Great Elder were even more pleased with the Fourth Hokage's choice.
Hyuga Hiashi had become far more famous than before, thanks to the merit Shinichi Hyuga had earned during the Third Shinobi World War.
That gave Hiashi a chance to erase the stain from his own record.
The Great Elder, meanwhile, admired the Third even more. He was deeply relieved that he had chosen to side with him.
Otherwise, given Shinichi Hyuga's influence, the position of Hidden Branch Main House might well have gone to someone else.
"Shinichi Hyuga, stop scheming. The Fourth Hokage has already abandoned you!"
The Great Elder walked straight into the Branch Family crowd and laid it all out.
He wanted to strengthen his own influence and ensure nothing unexpected happened at the family meeting.
"Abandoned? He's the Hokage of Konoha now. Is that really appropriate to say?" Shinichi's voice held no urgency. The Fourth Hokage's actions had not affected him at all.
The question left the Great Elder speechless.
"Let's see how much longer you can swagger around. That bastard of yours, born with impure blood, could never become the Hyuga Clan's Main Branch heir."
The Great Elder's voice faltered as he realized the flaw in what he had just said.
He quickly found Shinichi's greatest weakness: in a clan that valued blood purity, Shinichi's wife was a woman of unknown origins. In their eyes, that meant his bloodline was surely impure.
Those words struck a nerve. Shinichi's daughter was his precious little girl.
"I'm her father! And you're a useless old dog."
Provoked by the Great Elder, Shinichi's voice grew louder, and he could no longer hide his killing intent.
That aura spread across the entire wedding venue. Several Anbu shinobi on guard appeared at once.
Every eye in the venue turned toward Shinichi, but he didn't rein himself in. He only unleashed more killing intent.
Facing that terrifying aura, the Great Elder froze, unable to move.
The Ajin talent, Intimidation, was normally only enough to frighten ordinary people. But the Great Elder was so useless that his mental fortitude was worse than a Genin's.
A chilling force invaded his mind, like shards of glass falling into his brain.
He crumpled to the ground, sprawled there like a clown.
Luckily, the wedding was already nearing its end. Minato Namikaze was explaining something, and soon the Anbu shinobi dispersed.
"How embarrassing!" Only then did Shinichi withdraw his killing intent.
He had achieved his goal of making a show of strength. It would have been troublesome to kill the Great Elder in front of everyone.
"Lord Shinichi, please restrain yourself." Kakashi Hatake came over and bowed slightly as he cautioned him.
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