Hanabi Hyuga?

The Hyuga Clan Compound.

After the banquet ended, Hiashi kept Hyuga Natsu behind.

"Not bad. Hizashi said you've mastered the Eight Trigrams Palms and already have the strength of a Chunin?"

"I've made such rapid progress thanks to Lord Hizashi's guidance."

From March to December, nearly nine months, her ninja squad had been stationed at the border. Hyuga Natsu had received guidance from Hizashi almost every day.

Combined with the baptism of the battlefield, her strength had naturally advanced by leaps and bounds. She had originally been somewhere between a Genin and a Chunin.

Hiashi Hyuga gave a slight nod. "Regardless, I'm pleased with your progress. It proves I wasn't wrong about you."

"Natsu, I plan to entrust you with the full responsibility of looking after the young lady."

Entrust her with everything? Hyuga Natsu froze.

She had always been responsible for looking after the Main House's young lady, but because her ninja squad was often sent on missions, she wasn't a full-time attendant. She was merely one member of the group of maids, and for the past half year or so, she had been stationed at the border.

From Lord Hiashi's words, taking over the work completely meant becoming the young lady's personal attendant. That would mean giving up her ninja squad, which left her feeling somewhat conflicted.

But as a member of the Branch House, she couldn't refuse an order from the Main House head, Hiashi Hyuga. After a brief moment of hesitation, she could only nod. "Yes!"

"Thank you for trusting me, Lord Hiashi!"

"I'll do everything I can to take good care of Lady Hanabi!"

???

The second young lady? Lady Hanabi?

If Sasuke were here, he'd be utterly baffled.

Where had a second young lady of the Hyuga Main House come from?

And where had Hanabi Hyuga come from?

Shouldn't she have been born two years later?

Of course, he wasn't here, and he hadn't been keeping watch on the Hyuga Clan.

Otherwise, he would have known that Hiashi Hyuga's wife had given birth to twin daughters several years ago...

At that moment, after pledging her loyalty, Hyuga Natsu hesitated again. "But, Lord Hiashi, Lady Hanabi..."

By Hyuga custom, a child's status as a member of the Main House was decided at the age of three, and the elder child was always chosen over the younger.

Hinata was about to turn three. Once her Main House status was confirmed, her younger sister Hanabi would have to be branded with the Caged Bird and made a member of the Branch House.

A member of the Branch House wasn't supposed to be entitled to a personal attendant.

Given that Hiashi was making this arrangement now, there was clearly more to it than met the eye...

Hiashi Hyuga frowned and said gravely, "That's not something you need to worry about. Just do your job."

Hyuga Natsu realized she had made a serious mistake by speculating about the clan head's choice for the future Main House heir. She quickly dropped to one knee and bowed her head respectfully. "Yes!"

Hiashi Hyuga nodded slightly, then turned his back to her. "Also, I know you're troubled by what's happening with your ninja squad, but you don't need to worry."

"Uzuki Yugao performed exceptionally well at the border this time. I'm sure her application to join Anbu will be approved soon."

"Many of the ninjas who withdrew from the border in the first few groups performed well and earned merit. A number of them have already been promoted."

"You and Uchiha Izumi have also earned plenty of merit. I'm sure you'll be no exception. You'll be promoted to Chunin soon."

"Also, Uchiha Izumi has a special status. I'm sure the Third Hokage will make other arrangements for her. Your ninja squad won't be together for much longer."

"During this period, keep operating as part of your ninja squad whenever there's a mission. When there isn't one, stay with the steward and learn the job."

"Once your squad disbands, you'll take over completely."

"Understood?"

So the squad was about to disband?... Even knowing she was about to be promoted to Chunin, Hyuga Natsu couldn't help feeling reluctant.

She had worked hard to build a strong bond with her teammates during their missions at the border.

Once she became Hanabi's personal attendant, it would probably be hard to see them again...

But she couldn't refuse an order from the Main House, so she could only nod firmly. "Yes, I understand!"

Of course, if Hanabi became a member of the Main House, then Hyuga Natsu's standing within the clan would rise along with the young lady's. As her personal attendant, she might even become the Main House's steward one day.

That was her one consolation.

After Hyuga Natsu left, Hiashi Hyuga's eyes narrowed, his gaze flickering.

Main House... Branch House...

The thought of one of his daughters being branded with the Caged Bird soon was unbearable.

I have to find an excuse to delay the ceremony...

A few days later, that afternoon.

"It's been confirmed."

"The years of conflict between the Cloud Ninja and Konoha, which continued long after the Third Shinobi World War ended, are finally coming to a close."

"The Cloud Ninja will send a delegation to Konoha to sign an alliance agreement."

Uchiha Fugaku had just returned home from a meeting and shared the news.

Hearing this, Itachi Uchiha breathed a sigh of relief, his face brightening.

The imminent signing of an alliance agreement meant that Konoha would enter an era of peace across the board for a long time to come.

For him, who cared deeply about Konoha and had been following the negotiations closely, this was truly good news.

Thinking of his close friend, Itachi asked, "By the way, Father, Shisui probably hasn't heard yet, right?"

Fugaku nodded. "Only the Konoha High Command and the heads of the ninja clans attended the meeting. Shisui probably doesn't know yet."

At that, Itachi stood up at once, eager to go. "Father, I'll go tell Shisui!"

"Go ahead. Just remember to come back for dinner." Fugaku didn't stop him. He was more than happy to see Itachi become friends with Shisui, a genius of the clan.

After Itachi left, Uchiha Izumi looked at Sasuke with a troubled expression.

It wasn't just because Itachi Uchiha and Shisui were friends.

Since she often spent time with Sasuke and Elder Nobuhiko, she naturally understood that without external pressure, the Konoha High Command would finally be free to focus on reforming the village's internal affairs.

For the Uchiha Clan, whose rift with the village was growing wider by the day, that was hardly good news.

Fugaku also turned to Sasuke. "What do you think, Sasuke?"

Sasuke gently patted Uchiha Izumi's thigh to reassure her as he spoke. "The Third Hokage still wants peace within the village."

"After all, our Uchiha Clan is a force to be reckoned with. He wouldn't want to give up on such a powerful asset."

"The war has only just ended, and Konoha has a lot of rebuilding to do. They won't have the means to start a civil war for the next few years."

"Besides, our Uchiha Clan was one of the two clans that founded Konoha. Unless we launch a coup first, the Third Hokage, who cares about his reputation, won't have any valid reason to move against us."

"Taking all that into account, I think the Third Hokage will continue to take a conciliatory approach toward our Uchiha Clan."

"Of course, that doesn't mean we can rest easy. We still need to be on guard against Danzo."

After hearing Sasuke's analysis, Uchiha Izumi felt somewhat relieved, while Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "Did Elder Nobuhiko analyze it for you?"

Sasuke scratched his head. "More or less."

He might as well say Elder Nobuhiko had analyzed it.

Fugaku gave Sasuke a long look, then asked, "Then what do you think our Uchiha Clan should do?"

That was dangerous territory... Sasuke said, "Father, you're the clan head..."

In the future, he still needed to take advantage of an opportunity to win the clan members over and awaken his own Mangekyo. He also wanted to save his foolish older brother while he was at it. So he had never intended to interfere in the conflict between the Uchiha and the village.

So the clan's future had to follow my will?... Fugaku nodded. He seemed to understand.