Hyuga Conspiracy

Small-scale high-speed movement combined with the Gentle Fist's battlefield control made for an almost unbeatable combination in close combat. Even with Hiashi's extensive combat experience, he was caught off guard and had several acupoints struck by Yuun in succession. If not for his extremely tight protection of his vital points, the battle would have already ended.

Fortunately, Hiashi was no greenhorn. After suffering a few minor losses, he quickly figured out Yuun's style and began patiently circling around him with his rich combat experience. Yuun could do nothing to him in the short term anyway. Unless Hiashi exposed a major opening for Yuun to seize, Yuun truly had no way to deal with him. The Gentle Fist was originally a defensive taijutsu. Skilled members of the Hyuga Clan could even achieve a defense so airtight that not even water could penetrate it with the aid of chakra, and that was without using a stamina-draining taijutsu like Rotation.

With Hiashi's mastery of the Gentle Fist, if he truly focused on defense, even the Hokage might not be able to do anything to him in a short time, let alone Yuun. No matter how powerful the Eight Trigrams: Wandering Dragon Step's short-range movement was, it was useless. A fully activated Byakugan had a three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of vision; ambushing Hiashi was simply impossible.

Under normal circumstances, once a fight reached this point, Yuun should have exchanged a few more moves with Hiashi, displayed his Gentle Fist skill, and called it a day. But after finally getting the chance to fight the strongest member of the Hyuga Clan, how could Yuun possibly let the opportunity go so easily?

"Let's leave it at that for now." Hiashi suddenly withdrew and stepped back, speaking slowly.

"Lord Hiashi?" Yuun froze for a moment. He wanted to continue fighting Hiashi, but did not know how to say it.

"It is already rare for someone your age to possess such strength." Hiashi's expression suddenly turned stern. "Do you think you have a way to defeat me?"

"No." Yuun honestly lowered his head. Although he had wanted to keep fighting, the odds of defeating Hiashi were minuscule. By his rough estimate, he probably did not even have a ten percent chance. It was not because Yuun was truly that much weaker than Hiashi, but because both specialized in the Gentle Fist and understood each other's strengths and weaknesses too well. In a life-or-death battle, the disadvantaged side had no possibility of turning the tables.

This was also why Yuun had never considered resisting the clan. Even when he became a Jonin, he had never thought of rebelling. As long as Hiashi remained, Yuun had neither the chance nor the need to make any petty moves. Once he surpassed Hiashi, the Hyuga Clan would naturally fall under his control. This was even recorded in the Hyuga Clan genealogy: the position of clan head was decided by victory in the Gentle Fist. Of course, this rule only applied to the Main House. The Branch House basically could not surpass the Main House, and even if they did, the rule would not apply.

But now, Yuun had the chance to join the Main House. Such an opportunity was practically impossible to replicate. Even if Branch House members branded with the Curse Mark from childhood made enormous contributions, their Curse Marks could never be removed. Otherwise, if the many Branch House members learned that the Main House possessed a method to remove the Curse Mark, some would inevitably begin harboring ideas. And even if those bearing the Curse Mark joined the Main House in name, it would be nothing but an empty title. With their lives in someone else's hands, what use was even the finest title?

Yuun was somewhat different. With no Curse Mark on his forehead, he had no fundamental difference from the Main House. The only distinction was one of status. And now, Hiashi had placed that status before him. All Yuun needed to do was marry Hinata Hyuga. To him, such a condition was practically no condition at all.

"Then we'll end things here today." Hiashi nodded in satisfaction and gave Yuun a look, signaling him to follow. Though Yuun found Hiashi's actions somewhat strange, he followed without the slightest hesitation.

He followed the silent Hiashi through several courtyards. Yuun, who had initially been somewhat curious, had already suppressed his restless thoughts and merely continued onward behind Hiashi.

"Hmph, that old bastard is getting more and more presumptuous." Before Yuun could form any new thoughts, Hiashi suddenly stopped and snorted coldly.

"Lord Hiashi, did something happen just now?" Hearing Hiashi's words, Yuun seemed to realize something.

"It's nothing." Hiashi shook his head. Being watched was an unpleasant experience for him as well. If he had not already regarded Yuun as one of his own, he would not have shown his anger on the spot. "Yuun, I believe you know the Hyuga Clan's current situation as well."

"Yes, I have a general understanding." Yuun fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly.

"Our original plan was to draw in the strength of the entire clan and keep the Hyuga Clan low-profile for ten years. By then, the new Hokage should have recognized the power of ninja clans. With the strength accumulated over more than a decade, we would seize the voice that belonged to us." Hiashi looked at Yuun and spoke with some emotion. "Until you appeared."

"Me?" Hearing Hiashi's words, Yuun suddenly felt speechless. Was his protagonist's halo finally kicking in?

"That's right." Hiashi's expression suddenly became somewhat helpless. "You are outstanding, but you became outstanding at the wrong time. If you had appeared at another time, I would have been very happy. But now, because of you, those old men have shifted their attention to us."

"Sorry..." Though Hiashi had been somewhat vague, Yuun could still guess what he meant. The appearance of this little butterfly had caused the Elders' Council to shift their attention to the Hyuga Clan. For Hyuga clansmen at Yuun's Jonin level, they did not need many—just a few dozen would be enough for them to secure a place in Konoha.

"No, this has nothing to do with you." Hiashi did not seem to blame Yuun. How could a clansman with such enormous potential, who was also about to become his son-in-law, be at fault? "The ones at fault are those old men. Besides, things are about to change."

"Hm?" Yuun frowned. Judging by the direction of this conversation, the next topic seemed rather sensitive.

"Don't worry. Before these eyes of mine, even the Aburame Clan's microscopic insects have nowhere to hide." Hiashi spoke with complete confidence. "Besides, this matter is not known by only one or two people. One more person makes no difference."

What could give Hiashi such confidence? Yuun was curious as well, but he did not ask. Hiashi could choose to tell him, but Yuun could not take the initiative to ask.

Seeing that Yuun did not press further, Hiashi showed a trace of approval and said disdainfully, "It is nothing much. Just some old bastard who can no longer wait, hoping to borrow our strength."

"Is it that one?" Yuun pointed underground. Root was no secret to any Konoha ninja with even a little standing. In fact, Root had countless ties with the various ninja clans; otherwise, those clans would never have allowed their members to serve Danzo in Root.

"Who else could it be?" Hiashi sneered. "He does not know his own limits, yet he dreams of replacing the Third Hokage and becoming Hokage. And he even came up with such a childish plan."