For the Revival of a Clan

"None of you have forgotten what happened during the First Shinobi World War, have you?"

Seeing the elders' baffled expressions, Dodai stopped beating around the bush and began recounting the past that every Hidden Cloud ninja had been unwilling to revisit.

"Light of the Clouds rebelled, civil war broke out, the Second Raikage died in battle, and the Third Raikage took office..."

"That war left us desperately short of capable successors, nearly wiping out an entire generation. It forced the Cloud Hidden Village into silence for over twenty years. Even when the great nations fought earth-shaking battles in the Second Shinobi World War, we could only huddle here in the clouds and lick our wounds."

The elders fell silent.

They had all lived through that war.

Some had even earned their current positions through the merits they gained in that battle.

"We suffered tremendous losses in that war. Countless shinobi died. But if we are talking about who suffered the greatest losses..."

"Gold Horn and Silver Horn died, and all their followers were killed. Of course, that had to be done. Only blood and death could wash away the filth of rebellion."

"But that clan never regained its former glory after that."

There had never been a shortage of shinobi clans in the Land of Lightning. The First Raikage and Second Raikage both had clans of their own, as did the Third Raikage's Yotsuki clan, while Gold Horn and Silver Horn possessed the Six Paths Bloodline. Further back, there had even been clans like the Blood Pool, with its dōjutsu bloodline limit.

But as time passed and the tide washed away the sand, those shinobi clans had all vanished.

The Cloud Hidden Village now had only the Yotsuki clan left.

But people in this world had a common failing.

They loved reminiscing about the past.

"Sora, though we once committed unforgivable sins, the blood of the Sage of Six Paths flows through our veins."

Dodai recalled the words Sora's mother had often used to encourage him.

"My dream in this life is to see our clan rise again. And you, my child, I believe you can make it happen. You can lead us back to glory and let our clan stand at the pinnacle of the shinobi world once more!"

How glorious had the Six Paths Bloodline once been? Yet after the failed coup, only a scattered handful remained.

After Sora was adopted by the Third Raikage, the remaining shinobi gradually withered away as well.

Then, after the Eight-Tails disaster, their entire clan grounds were reduced to ashes!

Only Sora remained.

From that moment on, his mother's dream became her son's conviction.

The revival of his clan!

"There are only three key factors in reviving a shinobi clan."

Dodai spoke solemnly.

"Money, people, and strength!"

"Sora's strength is beyond question. He is the most exceptional genius the Land of Lightning has seen in a century. And over the years, he has amassed a great deal of wealth in the gray areas."

"Of the three factors, only people are lacking!"

The elders present all fell silent. The one thing they lacked was undoubtedly the hardest to obtain.

When only one lone descendant remained, when even the ordinary people who formed the foundation of a clan had completely disappeared, how could they restore the "people" of the clan?

Surely they could not rely on Sora alone to...

"Wait, are you saying Sora is actually interested in Yugito Nii herself, rather than the tailed beast inside her?"

Only then did the elders realize it.

"Yes."

"Because of Sora's monstrous physique and lofty standards, ordinary women simply cannot catch his eye." Dodai's expression was complicated as he let out a soft sigh. "Even Samui would probably only barely meet the passing mark. That is why I believe he set his sights on Yugito Nii..."

Several old faces looked at one another, and even Moloi fell silent.

If possible, they naturally hoped Sora could rebuild the Six Paths Bloodline.

After all, if such a powerful shinobi clan could reappear in the Cloud Hidden Village, it would undoubtedly be a great benefit to the village.

But for one person to reproduce an entire clan...

Was that not a little too difficult?

Meanwhile, Yugito Nii stood nearby with flushed cheeks, her eyes glittering with eager excitement.

She was extremely proud by nature. Ordinary people could never enter her sight.

Only true strength could earn her recognition, much less qualify someone to be her lifelong companion.

Yet Yotsuki Sora, once hailed as the Land of Lightning's greatest genius in a century, who had recently completed an S-rank mission alone and captured the Tsuchikage's son, the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, filled her with curiosity.

If it is Lord Sora, then I could...

"No matter what, this concerns a tailed beast. We must deliberate carefully," one elder said solemnly, rejecting the matter.

"The decision is yours."

Dodai shook his head. "I only hope the Third Raikage and the warriors on the front lines possess more resilience than your stubborn temperaments."

"Insolence!"

"Having angered your village's elder advisors like that, aren't you afraid they'll target you?"

As they strolled along the roads of the Cloud Hidden Village, Pakura, who had remained silent until now, could not help speaking up.

The situation was more or less the same in all Five Great Shinobi Villages.

The elder advisors held power second only to the Kage. Hidden Mist even had someone like Genji, whose authority was enough to rival the Mizukage's.

Sora had not returned to the village for over a decade. Faced with elder advisors of such high standing and power, shouldn't he have taken the initiative to curry favor with them, making things easier for his future development within the village?

And there was her, an outsider from another village.

Sora had brought her straight in. If the elder advisors decided to make trouble over it, they would have him dead to rights.

"Target me?"

Sora sneered. "Before long, they'll be kneeling and begging me to save them!"

"To swallow three thousand Hidden Cloud shinobi along with the Third Raikage, Onoki mobilized the entire nation, even at the cost of border security. And now that I've stirred things up like this, do you think Onoki, having lost his son and his Jinchuriki, won't go completely insane?"

"Hiss..."

Pakura sucked in a sharp breath. "Then wouldn't your Third Raikage..."

"Sora!"

A deep voice came from the side.

Dodai caught up to them. His gaze lingered on Pakura for quite some time before he said gravely, "You should have cooperated with the elders first."

"I already cooperated plenty."

Sora shot Dodai a glance. "Samui, didn't I cooperate?"

"...You did."

Samui's red lips parted as she answered softly.

Though he claimed not to care, though he had not returned to the village for more than a decade, Lord Sora had always carried the village in his heart!

When they had gone to find Sora at the arena and asked him to undertake a mission with almost no chance of survival, he had accepted.

This time, too, Sora had not refused the mission.

For the sake of the village, Sora had completely disregarded his own life. And they could still say he had not cooperated?

"You want the horse to run, but you won't feed it."

"Teacher Dodai, where in the world is there such a good deal?"

Sora laughed as he passed Dodai.

Pakura and Samui hurried after Sora. As she passed Dodai, Pakura suddenly said, "Dodai... right? Sora said my identity issue is up to you."

"..."