Come, Go Home with Me

"Hyuga Clan Head!"

Uchiha Yuxiong slammed both hands on the table and rose angrily. "You can't be this overbearing! He awakened the Sharingan!"

"Didn't you understand what I just said?!"

Hyuga Kaguya spun around, veins bulging at her temples as her Byakugan activated.

Byakugan: Pressure!

"Unable to parse."

Hyuga Wuye: "..."

"Buzz!"

An invisible ripple seemed to spread out, shrouding the entire conference room.

"Bang!"

Uchiha Yuxiong dropped into his chair as though he had been forcibly pressed down.

"This ocular power... Impossible!"

Three tomoe spun in his eyes. The Sharingan's power lessened the pressure he endured, but it still could not completely dispel it.

"Byakugan... How could the Byakugan possess such an ability?!"

He roared inwardly, yet he was so intimidated at that moment that he could not utter a single word.

To the Third and the others, however, it merely looked like Hyuga Kaguya had activated her Byakugan. They could not sense any pressure at all.

"Hyuga Clan Head, this is the Hokage conference room," the Third said blandly.

Hyuga Kaguya turned back. The veins covering her temples faded away, and her Byakugan returned to normal.

"My apologies for the offense."

Though she spoke words of apology, her face remained so cold that it held not a trace of expression.

"Lord Hokage, the clan head is still young and lacks restraint. Please forgive her," Hyuga Naoya stepped forward to smooth things over.

The Third nodded and looked once more at Uchiha Yuxiong. "Elder Yuxiong, do you have any further objections?"

"N-No."

He had originally wanted to keep fighting for it, but when Hyuga Kaguya's pale eyes glanced at him again, Uchiha Yuxiong's heart inexplicably trembled. He found himself backing down.

"Then this matter shall remain as it is. Hyuga Wuye will still belong to the Hyuga Clan. Meeting adjourned."

The Third waved a hand.

No matter how Uchiha Yuxiong had been suppressed, it was best to settle this matter quickly, lest a greater conflict erupt between the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan.

"Come..."

The moment he finished speaking, Hyuga Kaguya extended a hand toward Hyuga Wuye and said softly, "Go home with me."

Though she was merely a teenage girl, she descended like a goddess, suppressing the Uchiha Clan's chief elder with a single glance. Her presence was so overwhelming that even Hyuga Naoya could not speak.

Hyuga Wuye subconsciously reached out. Her jade-white hand grasped his wrist and pulled him to his feet, leading him slowly out of the Hokage conference room.

He had anticipated the beginning, the Third and Danzo being humiliated, and the struggle between the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan. He just had not anticipated this outcome.

Did this count as a deus ex machina?

How had his ancestor been reborn into the Hyuga Clan and become such a young clan head?

Hyuga Wuye's mind was a complete mess.

For some reason, he had a feeling that this had something to do with himself...

Once they left the Hokage Building, Hyuga Kaguya released his wrist and walked ahead on her own.

They remained silent the entire way.

After returning to the Hyuga Clan Grounds, Wuye looked at her back, then at his own residence. After thinking it over, he still headed toward his home.

"Come."

But the moment he turned, the woman's cool, calm voice drifted over.

Hyuga Wuye sighed helplessly. He could only turn back again and continue following her.

Gradually, they ventured deeper into the Hyuga Clan Grounds and arrived at a core area Wuye had never visited before.

The clan head, chief elder, and other members of the main family all lived here.

For a thousand years, the Hyuga Clan's hierarchy had remained this distinct.

"Chief Elder, summon the clan members. Convene a clan assembly."

Hyuga Kaguya stopped before an enormous building and spoke indifferently.

"The clan head wishes to summon all clan members?"

Hyuga Naoya appeared at her side at some point and questioned, "Generally, a clan assembly is only held when there is a major announcement concerning the entire clan. There does not seem to be such a matter now."

"I am the clan head."

Hyuga Kaguya said only those four words.

Wuye watched as Hyuga Naoya's old face immediately darkened.

The clan head can also be removed from office.

Hyuga Naoya snorted inwardly, but he still turned and left to prepare for the clan assembly.

Wuye fell into thought... Was this a power struggle between the young clan head and the aged chief elder?

"Come."

Perhaps noticing that Wuye was spacing out, Hyuga Kaguya stepped into the vast meeting hall and uttered another single word.

"Yes."

Hyuga Wuye reflexively followed her inside.

He was now extremely curious about Kaguya, but also deeply wary of her.

Because she was the only thing that had happened beyond his expectations.

Following that logic, could the future of the Naruto World that he thought he knew also be different?

"Sit."

Hyuga Kaguya walked straight to the deepest part of the hall and knelt upon the central cushion.

Then she slowly closed her eyes.

Wuye looked left and right but could not find a suitable place for himself.

"Here."

Without even opening her eyes, Kaguya extended a slender jade finger and pointed at a cushion slightly behind her to one side.

Wuye froze... According to his understanding, the seats on either side of the clan head should belong to the chief elder.

"Sit."

Kaguya seemed to have guessed why he hesitated and spoke another single word.

Fine, you're the boss here... Wuye obediently knelt beside her, sitting upright and perfectly still.

A refined, subtle fragrance drifted over. He instinctively wanted to take a deep breath, but forcibly stopped himself.

What if she threw him out...

"Tap, tap, tap..."

As time passed, the sound of wooden clogs gradually began to ring out.

Hyuga Clan members entered one after another, finding their respective places and kneeling down.

Soft conversation continued without pause, yet it was strangely kept at a level that did not feel noisy.

Countless gazes focused on Kaguya, who sat with her eyes closed... Everyone was curious about this clan head who had spent several years away from home after taking office.

The other gazes drifted toward Wuye... Naturally, they were closely following the uproar over his parentage and affiliation these past two days.

It seemed that he had remained with the Hyuga Clan after all?

At that thought, many clan members' gazes toward Wuye softened somewhat.

The fact that he had withstood the Uchiha Clan's pressure to remain in the Hyuga Clan gave them a sense of kinship, and they felt far less bothered by his lack of a Byakugan.

Of course, they had no idea that their young clan head had charged straight into the Hokage conference room and snatched Wuye back...

"Clan Head, aside from the shinobi currently away on missions, all clan members have arrived."

Chief Elder Hyuga Naoya sat on the other side, level with Wuye. The glances he repeatedly cast over contained concealed dissatisfaction and vigilance.

He knew that his earlier attempt to bargain by selling Wuye off had completely driven a wedge between himself and Wuye... Since that was the case, he would eliminate the potential threat before it came to pass.

A glint of cold light flashed through Hyuga Naoya's eyes.

"I will announce two matters."

Kaguya opened her eyes. Her gaze was clear, and her spring-like voice echoed through the hall.

In an instant, silence fell all around.

"First, Hyuga Wuye shall forever belong to the Hyuga Clan. Should similar circumstances arise in the future, they shall be handled in the same manner."

She slowly said, "To preserve the Byakugan bloodline, clan rules require marriage within the clan. Should anyone violate this, the offender shall bear the consequences themselves. But the child is innocent and should be accepted by the clan."

"Yes."

The Hyuga Clan members nodded one after another.

"The clan head's proposal is feasible, but I have one addition," Hyuga Naoya suddenly interrupted.

Kaguya's expression did not change. "Please speak, Chief Elder."

Hyuga Naoya glanced at Wuye, a flash of coldness passing through his eyes.

"An illegitimate child like him holds the status of a branch family member within the clan and should have the Caged Bird engraved upon him."