Taking the Flirting to the End

Bang.

In the dim room, Danzo listened to his subordinate's report and slammed his hand onto the table. "Damn it!"

He had originally made all the arrangements.

Once Hyuga Wuye graduated, he would unleash a series of measures—coercion and inducement alike—until Root was the only place left for him to go.

But now that it had been exposed, every scheme had turned to nothing.

"Was Hyuga Wuye merely acting on youthful impulse and exposing it because he refused to lose, or was it deliberate? Did he expose it on purpose?"

He sat alone in the shadows, his eyes dark and devoid of light.

The Third had succeeded to the position for over a decade. With his rule stabilized, Danzo had begun deliberately building up his own power, laying the groundwork for his ambition to become Hokage.

Hyuga Wuye could originally have become an exceptionally useful chess piece. Now, it had all gone to waste.

"Never mind his own intentions for now. This matter alone offers plenty of room to maneuver."

"Should I drive a wedge between the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans? Or provoke them both into rebelling against the Hokage?"

"How can Root's interests be maximized...?"

Danzo fell into deep thought.

"What have the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans done?"

Inside the Hokage's office, the Third stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing out at sunlit Konoha.

It was thriving, a sight that could intoxicate anyone.

A masked Anbu knelt on one knee behind him and swiftly reported, "Uchiha Yuxiong, the Uchiha Clan's Grand Elder, personally went to the Hyuga Clan and demanded that they allow Hyuga Wuye to return to his ancestral clan."

"And the Hyuga Clan's response?" the Third asked.

The Anbu replied, "Hyuga Naoya, the Hyuga Clan's Grand Elder, sternly refused and had Uchiha Yuxiong escorted out of the Hyuga compound."

"The proud Uchiha Clan won't be able to swallow that, will they?" the Third said evenly.

The Anbu nodded. "More than ten Uchiha jonin have blocked the gates of the Hyuga Clan. The Hyuga jonin are confronting them."

The Third's gaze abruptly turned cold... Neither of these clans had truly taken him, the Hokage, seriously. Especially the Uchiha Clan!

Wearing his Hokage robe, he slowly turned around. His face remained calm, giving away neither joy nor anger. "Has the Hyuga Clan Head appeared?"

"The Hyuga Clan Head?"

The Anbu shook his head. "Like Uchiha Fugaku, they were both young when they inherited the position of Clan Head. It seems their clans' affairs are decided by their Grand Elders."

"Uchiha Fugaku has yet to mature, but Hyuga Kaguya, these past few years..."

The Third looked at the ninja dossier on the table, especially the striking words indicating twenty S-rank missions, and fell into thought. "A jonin at fourteen. One hundred and sixty-eight missions completed in five years, including twenty S-rank missions and as many as ninety-two A-rank missions... A peerless genius."

"Along with the future Hyuga Wuye, might the Hyuga Clan develop ambitions they shouldn't have... Then, should we help the Uchiha Clan this time?"

He pondered for a moment. "What is the situation in the village? What do people think about this?"

The Anbu seemed to have prepared an answer already and replied at once, "Most of the village's other ninja are merely watching the show. There are no signs of anyone getting involved for the moment."

"Mm."

The Third nodded and instructed, "Prepare to convene a high-level meeting. Notify the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans to attend."

"Yes."

The Anbu rose, preparing to use the Body Flicker Technique and carry out the order.

But the Third suddenly added, "Invite the Grand Elders. Do not invite the Clan Heads."

"...Yes."

As he watched the Anbu leave, the Third's gaze grew even deeper.

"What a lively scene!"

Across the street from the main gate of the Hyuga compound, Hyuga Wuye propped up his head with his left hand while holding a skewer in his right, popping one dango after another into his mouth.

"Wuye, the Uchiha Clan came for you. You're really just sitting here watching the show?"

Kushina sat beside him, her face full of disbelief.

"What else should I do?"

Hyuga Wuye turned back to her. "Other than watching the show, what can I do?"

"You could... you could..."

Kushina repeated herself a few times before giving up. "Mm... It really does seem like there's nothing you can do."

Wuye casually flicked his wrist, sending the bamboo skewer flying into a trash can. "When great clans compete and the higher-ups interfere, my fate was never in my own hands."

"What will happen?" Kushina asked worriedly.

Wuye picked up a fresh dango skewer. "I won't die. At worst, they'll dig out my eyes."

"Dig, dig out your eyes?!"

Kushina cried out, but Hyuga Wuye quickly covered her little mouth. "Mmph, mmph."

"The atmosphere over there is tense. Don't draw their attention over here," he said quietly.

"Oh... Then what will you do?" Kushina's little face turned red with anxiety.

"The Hyuga Clan can protect me. The Third might protect me too. And lastly..." Wuye released his hand and smiled, "public opinion is also my shield."

"Public opinion?" Kushina tilted her head.

Wuye held out the half-eaten dango in his hand. "Public opinion is what the ninja think. After all, this news is explosive enough. The Hyuga and Uchiha Clans, who can't stand each other, had an illegitimate child together..."

Kushina subconsciously bit off half the dango and chewed. "And then?"

Wuye looked at her puffed-up cheeks and couldn't help laughing. "The Uchiha digging out my eyes would be a last resort, but if this gets known by everyone, it'll put a lot of pressure on them too. After all, I'm innocent."

"That's true. They'd be hated even more if they did that."

Kushina let out a small sigh of relief, and her attention returned to her sense of taste...

Eh? What am I eating?

Half a dango?

Half?!

Her chewing suddenly stopped, and her large eyes darted toward him.

"What is it?"

Hyuga Wuye feigned confusion.

"Nothing... Nothing..."

Kushina looked away again, her little red lips moving.

Chew, chew. Chew, chew.

As she slowly swallowed, her cheeks began to burn too.

"Here."

After seeing her swallow, Wuye reached over and placed a dango by her lips.

Her rosy lips parted, and she lightly bit down, intending to pull the dango away.

"Wait. Don't—eat half first," Wuye suddenly said.

Kushina didn't think much of it and obediently bit off half.

But the next moment, Hyuga Wuye smoothly took it back and bit the other half into his own mouth.

Kushina's little face flushed from her chin all the way to her forehead. She nearly turned into a steam princess.

Thump, thump, thump...

Her heartbeat raced without stopping, as if it were about to leap out of her throat.

Hyuga Wuye propped up his head, admiring the girl at her most enchanting.

We couldn't get back together after breaking up, but I could still flirt with her, right...

Before confirming a relationship, it was called an ambiguous relationship. What was it called after breaking up?

It still seemed to be ambiguous...

Then I'd take this flirting all the way to the end!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

At that moment, three black-robed, masked figures appeared.

"The Hokage has convened a high-level meeting. The Grand Elders of the Hyuga and Uchiha Clans are requested to attend."

"Additionally, Hyuga Wuye is requested to observe."

The surrounding crowd immediately quieted somewhat... They knew the outcome of this matter would depend on this meeting.

"Go bring Hyuga Wuye out."

Hyuga Naoya gave the order calmly.

"Grand Elder, I'm here."

Hyuga Wuye stood and waved.

Both the confronting Hyuga and Uchiha sides froze for a moment.

So the protagonist at the center of this storm...

Was actually watching the show too?