Want to Stand Above the Heavens

"Hello, Sister-in-law!"

Inside the room, Hiashi Hyuga and Hizashi Hyuga both bowed in unison to Pakura.

Although this woman had merely been brought back from outside by Hitoshi Clan Head during the war and had not been officially announced as the clan head's wife, the two brothers still did not dare slight her.

After all, everyone close to Hyuga Hitoshi knew her true relationship with the clan head. Things like a wedding were simply something the woman herself did not care about—not because Hyuga Hitoshi was unwilling to give her one.

Of course, there was probably also the fact that someone was trying to build a harem. Hyuga Pakura knew she could not control that dog of a man, so she simply let him do as he pleased.

Unable to resist owing a handsome man her life, Pakura readily complied and chose to give herself to him.

From her initial halfhearted reluctance to it becoming second nature now, her mindset had changed considerably as well.

Well, perhaps she had also been moved by that dog of a man's solemn vows.

He had said that he would definitely make Rasa and Sunagakure's upper ranks pay the price.

"Where's Neji?"

Hizashi Hyuga cared deeply about his son and usually kept him by his side whenever they were in the clan compound. Seeing Hizashi's arms empty, Hyuga Hitoshi casually asked.

"Uh, he just peed all over me, so I had someone take him home."

Hizashi Hyuga said awkwardly.

Perhaps they had been waiting for the clan head too long this time, and Neji had been unable to hold it in.

"I see. I heard from Third Grandpa that Brother Hizashi also liked peeing on his father when he was little. A tiger father truly has no dog son."

Hyuga Hitoshi praised him without reservation, though the method of praise seemed a little off. The two brothers and Pakura could only shake their heads.

Forget it.

Whatever.

As the Clan Head's right- and left-hand men, they had known long ago that Hyuga Hitoshi's way of thinking differed from ordinary people's.

An ordinary person would not have shaken his head upon learning that the Gentle Fist Art was an acupoint-striking technique and said, "If we can already see the acupoints, why strike them in such a gentle way? Why not use Chakra to smash the acupoints to pieces?"

He had even considered that insufficient physical strength would make this impossible to sustain. After specifically studying the Nintaijutsu of Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju, he had passed down a technique called the Hyuga Style Crushing Fist Technique.

He had also claimed that one day, the Hyuga would be able to use genjutsu with the Byakugan. That was practically stealing the Uchiha's livelihood.

In addition, things like optimizing Chakra extraction methods and the Budget Sage Mode that safely absorbed Natural Energy were enough to prove that their clan head was a genuine genius.

And since he was a genius, saying that Neji peeing all over Hizashi was perfectly fine—truly, a tiger father had no dog son!

"Ahem, Clan Head, there are already clues regarding the matter you assigned last time."

Hiashi had business to attend to. Rather than letting his younger brother explain why he had once peed all over their father, he brought up the real matter.

But after speaking, he also looked at his little sister-in-law.

His meaning was obvious. When the clan head had issued this mission, he had used the word "confidential" and even said that it concerned the survival of the Hyuga Clan. Hiashi was not sure how important his little sister-in-law was to the clan head and whether he should mention it in front of her.

"There are no outsiders here."

Hitoshi Clan Head spoke leisurely. Clearly, he did not see Pakura as merely a friend with benefits. This matched the rumors that had circulated through the village—he was not fickle; his heart had merely shattered into tens of thousands of pieces.

He only wanted to give girls a home. What was wrong with that?

But Hyuga Hitoshi might not care.

Pakura, however, was a sensible woman.

After glancing at Hitoshi, she stood up. Though his lack of reservation had moved her deeply, she did not show it on her face.

"I'm sleepy. I'm off."

She waved and left. Konoha's Most Beautiful Back departed with remarkable ease.

"Your sister-in-law is a tsundere. Don't mind her."

Hitoshi said with a chuckle.

The two brothers, Hiashi and Hizashi, pretended not to hear him. What a joke—Sister-in-law was Sister-in-law. The Hyuga Clan's rules were strict, and they had to observe proper etiquette. The clan head could joke around, but they could not.

"Clan Head, after you gave us the assignment last time, we dispatched the clan's elite to investigate every suspicious, hidden cave within the Land of Fire. After repeated searches, only one matched your description."

Hiashi Hyuga wore a grave expression as he took out the intelligence from his clothes and handed it over.

"I told you, call me Brother Hitoshi when we're in private."

Hyuga Hitoshi took over the intelligence, looked at the marked location on the map, and added the reminder in passing.

"Etiquette cannot be discarded."

Hiashi Hyuga shook his head.

He had his own principles, especially when the clan head before him deserved this respect.

In truth, even though Hitoshi Clan Head had stopped the Caged Bird Curse Mark from continuing, the main family was still the main family, and the branch family was still the branch family. Once that was established, familial affection had to be set aside; their identities were only that of clan head and subordinate.

After all, as the Hyuga developed to this point, there had been intermarriage within the clan. Do not even start discussing who was related to whom—believe it or not, if you threw a brick outside, you could hit a whole bunch of Hiashi Hyuga's brothers and sisters?

If you really worked it out, even his wife was practically him.

Forget it. Say any more, and it would never pass review.

"According to that clansman's description, the cave is extremely unusual. Once inside, it feels as though you've entered a genjutsu, continuously draining the intruder's Chakra."

"Even stranger, once people's Chakra is exhausted and they regain consciousness, they are automatically teleported to a place far outside the cave. They even forget they were ever there. If the scouting team hadn't operated in groups of three, and if that kid Hyuga Xishan hadn't been clever enough not to rush in all at once, we never would have discovered it."

Back to the matter at hand, Hyuga Hiashi also found the place bizarre. He had even gone there himself to take a look. What he saw matched the report exactly, which was why he had returned to report it.

Yet even now, he still could not connect that cave to the future of the Hyuga Clan.

"Looks like we found the right place."

Putting away the intelligence, Hyuga Hitoshi fell into thought.

Without question, what he had sent his clansmen to search for was the passage leading to the moon!

His claim that he had prepared two paths for the Hyuga was not empty talk.

One aspect was to see whether this village could still be saved, whether the clan should remain in Konoha, and, refusing to become an Obedient Dog, overturn the table, smash out the Third Village Chief's teeth, and take his place.

The other was to find a safe Strong Rear Base where they could develop steadily, buying himself and the Hyuga Clan enough time to grow. Once his three-year deadline arrived and Hyuga Hitoshi had become strong enough to disregard everything, he would establish a vast empire that truly belonged to the Hyuga.

For now, he was pursuing both at once.

And the second path had already achieved a key breakthrough.

That hidden cave connected to the moon in the sky. Was there anywhere safer in this world?

Judging by the timeline, Otsutsuki Toneri had once been brought to Earth by his father as a child, where he had looked at Hinata from afar.

By then, the branch family on the moon had already destroyed the main family, leaving only Otsutsuki Toneri and his father.

And now, with the Nine-Tails Attack having only just passed, he would have to see for himself what the situation up there was.

But No Matter What, they were merely descendants of Hagoromo Otsutsuki—the Hyuga Clan's Ancestors, that was all. What Virtue or Ability did they have to occupy the moon for so long?

It was only reasonable for the Ancestors to make room for their descendants, then pass on with smiles on their faces. Surely the Otsutsuki Clan would be so gratified upon learning this that they would kill themselves, right?

Putting away the intelligence, Hyuga Hitoshi's mind became clear, and a plan for the Hyuga Clan's future instantly took shape.

He stood up and pointed toward the sky, the Hitoshi Clan Head brimming with lofty ambition.

"Hyuga shall stand in the heavens!"

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