After the Disaster

Shinobi World, Land of Fire.

At this very moment, viewed from the sky—

Konoha, known as the First Shinobi Village and having recently withstood the other major shinobi villages in war, was steeped in a heavy, tragic air.

There was no other reason.

The ruins and debris everywhere, mingling with the bewildered wails of children who had lost their parents, constantly narrated how recently the disaster had passed.

In just one night—

Children lost their parents, the elderly lost their sons and daughters, and women lost their husbands.

And Konoha lost its Fourth Hokage.

The villagers and shinobi clearly did not know that they had lost more than merely a Hokage.

When the Strongest Hokage returned to the village chief's seat, the so-called First Shinobi Village would truly exist in name only. Perhaps that was the greatest impact the Nine-Tails Attack had had on Konoha.

But for the time being, it was not a major problem.

At that time, although the village had suffered disaster, Konoha was still here and had not been completely destroyed.

Thus, in this not-small-not-large village, grief was the main theme.

Not much time had passed. At the very least, no villagers or shinobi had stepped forward to clean up this mess yet.

The more realistic scene was that everyone stared blankly at it all, not knowing what to do.

"Brother Hitoshi had the foresight. Otherwise, the Hyuga Clan might have suffered heavy losses too."

On the cleared path beside them, made passable for travel—

Three people walked slowly forward, one in front and two behind. They wore matching clothes and had flowing hairstyles.

Looking closely, all of them suffered from cataracts to varying degrees, making their unusually colored pupils especially conspicuous.

Of course, that did not affect the noble aura they carried.

The speaker was one of the two in the rear.

His face held relief, as well as lingering fear.

"Hizashi, be careful with your words. Have you forgotten what the Clan Head told us at home?"

The man beside him frowned and hurriedly interrupted. He looked around, and only after seeing that no one was paying attention to them did he let out a breath of relief.

People's joys and sorrows were not shared.

Benefiting from the careful planning of the wise and capable current Hyuga Clan Head, Hyuga Hitoshi, the Hyuga Clan had suffered practically no losses in this disaster. At most, a few clan members had sustained minor injuries.

But having no losses—

Was a good thing for a clan, yet for the groups within the village that had lost many clan members, it was easy for their views to change.

Everyone else had lost quite a few people in their families. Why hadn't you?

Therefore, what they needed to do now was keep as low a profile as possible.

Even in the coming disaster relief work, they only needed to do their duty and not deliberately draw attention to themselves.

Dying of laughter.

Cautious and timid, treading on thin ice.

That was the way the so-called great clans and nobles survived in this village.

Hyuga Hitoshi sneered as he surveyed the surrounding wreckage. He only felt that either he was sick, or this village was sick.

But as a mighty transmigrator who knew everything, how could he possibly be sick?

The one that had to be sick was the village—this world.

Hyuga Hitoshi firmly believed that.

"So what the hell did the Hyuga Clan's ancestors and the Senju Clan form an alliance and join Konoha for?"

According to Hyuga Hitoshi's thinking, if it had been him, it would have been to provide his clan members with a stable environment, gather the strength of an entire village, and bring them a peaceful pure land.

But what about now?

Hyuga Hitoshi recalled the Hyuga Clan's battle damage reports from the three consecutive Great Ninja Wars that he had seen yesterday, and was suddenly speechless.

All right.

The Hyuga Clan, possessing the Byakugan, held a significant strategic position. The branch family members serving as scout personnel in every squad had suffered heavy losses, probably several times greater than during the Warring States Period.

Still, those things could be endured. After fighting a bloody battle, they had at least preserved the clan.

But after the Nine-Tails Attack, following the course of history, a war with Kumogakure seemed unavoidable. And after that war—

A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as Hyuga Hitoshi turned his head and glanced at Hizashi Hyuga behind him.

Though he was not his own younger brother.

Just by virtue of the name Hyuga, the kid was naturally a member of the clan.

Then when the Hyuga, who had joined Konoha to preserve the clan, discovered that they now had to sacrifice themselves to preserve the village, the problem arose.

After all—

Hyuga Hiashi was deeply versed in the way of lying low and had no temper at all, but Hyuga Hitoshi was different.

Why should the clan shed blood and heads for Konoha for decades, lose who knew how many clan members on the battlefield, and then turn around and pay for someone else's weakness?

If the Fourth, who had just been killed in action, had faced the same matter, the outcome would definitely have been different, right?

With a long sigh, Hyuga Hitoshi thought of the corpse he had hidden in space-time.

Speaking of which, because the Nine-Tails had wanted to vent its anger by whipping the corpse, snatching it from beneath its claws had taken some effort.

"Hitoshi Clan Head!"

As the group walked—

Not far ahead, Yuhi Shin'en, dressed in a Jonin Vest, waved from afar before jogging all the way over.

"Minister Shin'en."

The Hyuga Clan's upbringing was exceptional. Hyuga Hitoshi also wore a refined and gentle smile. Anyone unfamiliar with him would give him a thumbs-up and call him a charming nobleman.

But Yuhi Shin'en was, after all, part of Konoha's upper ranks. As Anbu Deputy Minister, he knew some of the rumors surrounding Hyuga Hitoshi.

Yes, anyone who mistook this man for a charming nobleman or an extraordinary aristocrat would be gravely mistaken.

In fact, before the Nine-Tails Attack, Yuhi Shin'en had held quite a few grievances against Hyuga Hitoshi.

Especially whenever he saw his own daughter looking completely given for free, he would be furious.

But that had been in the past.

As for now—

Yuhi Shin'en looked at Hyuga Hitoshi with a complicated expression.

He admitted that aside from the label of beast in human clothing, this man could also be described as unfathomably powerful—and as his lifesaver.

There was no helping it.

Until now, he still could not forget what he had seen when the Nine-Tails' claws had swung down at him.

At the time, that man had shook his head at the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails had then bared its fangs in fury, only to be forced back several steps by the man's piercing gaze before sitting down on its butt in uncertainty. The scene had been extremely awkward for a time.

Putting aside why the Hyuga Clan's white eyes could frighten the Nine-Tails, that fell within his blind spot in knowledge.

But Yuhi Shin'en knew that without this man, he would certainly have died. Therefore, Hyuga Hitoshi was his lifesaver.

Thinking of that, Yuhi Shin'en let it go.

If his daughter was given for free, then so be it. It did not matter. He just did not know what number she would be when she married in. After all, this Clan Head Hyuga Hitoshi had said in his younger days that his heart had shattered into several pieces and had to be distributed among many women.

"The Temporary Meeting Room has been set up, and all the upper ranks have arrived."

Shaking his head, Yuhi Shin'en cast aside his stray thoughts and adopted a solemn expression.

The village had suffered a great calamity, and there was much that needed to be done.

But before rebuilding the village could begin, one matter had to be resolved first.

Taking a deep breath, Yuhi Shin'en's eyes flashed. After moving slightly closer, he spoke softly.

"The meeting will be personally chaired by Lord Third, who stepped down from office. Besides rebuilding the village, the meeting's purpose is—"

"The Hokage Position!"