When the Hyuga Second Elder learned that their arrangements had failed, he was the first to lose his composure. He snatched up the teacup beside him and hurled it at the two men below.
"You two are useless! If you can't even handle something this simple, what good are you? I'd sooner trust a Ninja Dog to protect the Main Family than either of you."
Hyuga Hiashi frowned at the Second Elder's fury and the way the two Branch Family ninja kept their heads lowered, too afraid to meet his eyes.
He had little respect for the Second Elder, who had brought such heavy losses upon the Hyuga Clan. Besides, the two ninja belonged to his own branch of the family.
As the future head of the Main Family, Hiashi felt he ought to say something. Before he could speak, however, his father pressed his arm down.
Hyuga Xingcun patted Hiashi's hand, signaling him to stay calm, then spoke at an unhurried pace. "It was only a failed test. It's nothing serious. As long as that boy remains in the village, we'll have plenty of chances.
"If one attempt fails, we'll try ten times. If ten fail, we'll try a hundred. The most important piece is already hidden beneath his bed. Now we only need one of the selected children from the outlying Branch Families to befriend him, and we'll succeed.
"We can make countless mistakes. That boy can only make one.
"And if the Second Elder still needs to vent his anger, he can cause the boy some trouble himself. The boy has already lost his Byakugan. Giving him a little trouble under those circumstances should be easy enough."
The outlying Branch Families Xingcun referred to were the mixed-blood descendants with faint Hyuga blood but no Byakugan whom they had included in their earlier plan.
Because they had to consider their reputation in the village, as well as the time required, only some of those descendants had received the Caged Bird Curse Seal.
The many who had not yet received the seal were the best candidates to use against Kawaki Aoba.
With that, the Hyuga Clan's scheme was clear.
They would have a child from an outlying Branch Family befriend Aoba. Once the two were close, they would frame him with the Gentle Fist manual hidden in a compartment beneath his bed.
With a righteous pretext on their side, a clan of the Hyuga Clan's size could deal with Aoba effortlessly. Even Yuhi Shinku's involvement would make no difference.
In truth, the scheme was not clever, but it was deadly.
An ordinary ten-year-old ninja who knew nothing about it could easily have fallen for it.
After all, who would keep suspecting every stranger who appeared around them for no reason?
But now that Aoba knew of their plot, it was a different matter.
With his fully mastered Observation Haki, Aoba had no need to worry about schemes unfolding around him.
The Second Elder's possible moves were the one thing he needed to watch.
Even then, the man could only look for ways to make trouble for him. Aoba was not particularly concerned. His own strength was his greatest trump card.
Once they had finished discussing how to deal with him, Aoba thought the four men's meeting would end. Instead, they brought up a name that surprised him, though it made sense that he would hear it here.
"One more thing, Huoshu. What happened to that other child, Miyamura Ayano?" Xingcun asked casually.
"She's been dealt with. She defected to the Hyuga Clan, then betrayed us and let Sarutobi Hiruzen recruit her. She even hoped to use that to advance herself. Nothing comes that easily." Huoshu, the Hyuga Clan's First Elder, shook his head. He clearly had nothing but contempt for a ninja so accustomed to betrayal.
Aoba's heart tightened. Miyamura Ayano, the woman who had sold him out, was dead.
He had expected her to be dealt with. He simply had not thought the Hyuga Clan would act so quickly.
At that moment, Aoba found he could understand Sarutobi Hiruzen a little.
Konoha's ninja clans wielded far too much power. Against civilian ninja with no one to back them, they could act with almost no restraint.
Viewed that way, those great clans really did need to be weakened and brought to heel.
The Hyuga Clan leaders' small meeting ended, but Aoba did not withdraw his Observation Haki. He turned his attention elsewhere.
He had suddenly realized that since mastering Observation Haki, he had never taken a proper look around Konoha. He might as well seize the chance now.
With his Observation Haki fully spread, almost nothing in the places he focused on remained hidden from him. If he wanted to spend enough time on it, he could uncover ninety-nine percent of Konoha's secrets.
Aoba had no intention of wasting time that way. Even now, he only gave a few important places and people a cursory look.
Inside the Hokage Building, several members of the Konoha High Command were arguing over how many wartime supplies to stockpile.
Shikaku Nara waited outside to be summoned by Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Two odd figures in skintight outfits, one large and one small, were circling Konoha while walking on their hands.
In a residence, a woman whose Chakra reserves were almost frighteningly vast was resting.
At the Konoha Military Police Force, Fugaku, whom Aoba had met once before, frowned at the file in his hands.
At home, Yuhi Shinku was trying to develop the Chakra Cloak.
At Konoha's Training Ground Three, a sunny-looking young man kept working a ball of Chakra between his hands.
Huh. Unless I'm mistaken, that's Minato.
Is he developing the Rasengan? Could he have seen a Tailed Beast Bomb before the war even started?
Tsk. He's made even less progress than I have. Looks like he only started recently.
Time flew by, and several more days passed.
Aoba's days followed a strict routine. Apart from learning the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique from the person Sarutobi Hiruzen had sent to teach him genjutsu, he used his Observation Haki to survey Konoha.
Over those days, he discovered another use for Observation Haki: identifying spies from enemy villages.
If Aoba put in the effort and took the time to search all of Konoha, he might not uncover every spy hiding in the village, but he could eliminate at least ninety-nine percent of that threat.
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