"Yes, they're all good kids..."
Minato Namikaze sounded a little wistful, then looked toward the Third. Surely he had not come merely to discuss these trivial matters.
Half a month had passed since Minato had donned the Hokage's hat and ceremonial cloak.
The Third had handed over many of his responsibilities, but Minato had yet to take full control of the most crucial organization: the ANBU.
The ANBU answered directly to the Hokage and were the most formidable force at his disposal. They consisted of roughly a hundred ninja, each at least an elite chunin.
Minato Namikaze had broached the subject of the ANBU indirectly before, only for the Third to politely turn him down.
After a brief investigation, he had even discovered another division within the Hokage's ANBU, known as Root.
As Hokage, he would never permit an ANBU organization operating outside the established structure, but the Third's efforts to shield it put him in a difficult position.
Seemingly noticing the change in Minato's mood, the Third began explaining the origins of the ANBU and Root, trying to prove why Root needed to exist.
The Hokage, as the village's public face, had to be upright and honorable, a role model without a single stain on his reputation.
The dark deeds that nevertheless had to be done could only be entrusted to Root, which operated in the shadows and did not fear such stains.
"Root cannot be allowed to exist!"
After hearing the Third's explanation, Minato Namikaze's expression turned stern. "It has already disrupted order in the village. Spying on ninja clans we consider our comrades is not something a Hokage should do!"
The Third opened his mouth, wanting to explain further and persuade Minato Namikaze to accept his thinking.
But after a moment's consideration, he gave up. He was no longer the Hokage. The village's future belonged to the younger generation.
Just then, Danzo walked in, accompanied by the other two Elder Advisors.
Minato Namikaze knitted his brows and glanced at the Third, who met his gaze and sighed.
Over the decades, an unspoken rule had taken shape in the village: when the Elder Advisors stood together, they could overrule the Hokage to a certain extent.
They had come to put pressure on the Fourth.
All of this stemmed from the unstable situation in the village when the Third took office. He had only become its Third Hokage through compromise.
Zou Hyuga knew nothing of what had happened in the office.
After leaving the Hokage Building, both he and Oto wore grim expressions, irritation showing in their eyes.
Originally, they had only been ANBU candidates, but after receiving the approval of two successive Hokage, their appointments seemed all but ordained. Things were straying further and further from what they had envisioned.
Still, now that the Fourth had taken office, surely that bastard Asuma would not be able to stir up any more trouble.
"Zou," Oto Uchiha suddenly called. When Zou Hyuga turned his head, she folded her arms and asked, "What are you planning to do with Samehada? Sell it or keep it?"
"I actually think Samehada suits your fighting style pretty well. Why not keep it?"
Zou Hyuga looked at Oto as though she were an idiot:
"Any ninja would recognize Samehada. Taking it on a mission would be just like when you left your Uchiha Clan crest exposed. Are you trying to draw fire?"
After a pause, Zou Hyuga continued, "Still, Samehada has some research value. We'd better keep it for now."
Oto Uchiha's expression shifted. "Could you leave me out of your examples?"
"It's to make things easier to understand..." Zou Hyuga gave Oto a strange look. She had not been like this before.
After exchanging a few more words, Zou Hyuga and Oto Uchiha parted ways, and he returned to his home in the clan compound.
After half a month away, his home was covered in dust and felt even lonelier. Once he had cleared the dust with some physical Wind Release, Zou Hyuga sat down on the sofa.
As his experiments with natural chakra progressed, he had gradually stopped using his underground laboratory.
Now his home served only as a place to live. He even ate his meals out on the village streets.
Apparently alerted by the noise of his physical Wind Release, Hyuga Yu came over from next door and pushed open the front door.
"Uncle, I only just got back. What brings you here already?"
Zou Hyuga rose, noticing that Hyuga Yu's expression was a little different from usual, and asked:
"Uncle, did something happen?"
Hyuga Yu nodded. "Hiashi wants to see you. He heard you'd joined the ANBU."
"Clan Head Hiashi? What does he want with me?"
Zou Hyuga was puzzled. He was just an insignificant member of the branch family. How had he attracted the attention of an important figure in the Main Family?
"You're in the ANBU now..." Hyuga Yu paused slightly on the word "ANBU" as he looked at Zou Hyuga.
ANBU... At the mention of the ANBU, Zou Hyuga immediately understood everything and began gritting his teeth.
He personally hated the ANBU and was constantly looking for a way out.
But he had to admit that the ANBU were highly sought after in the village. Even ninja from ninja clans had to undergo a complicated application process before they could join the Hokage's inner circle.
Had he and Oto not passed Kakashi's and Kosuke's assessments in succession, they might never have become ANBU candidates.
He even suspected that the Third's last assessment had not been a chunin exam at all, but an ANBU selection test.
The Sarutobi father and son had taken advantage of his ignorance of Konoha's detailed regulations, bullying him because he was just a lowly genin.
"Are you injured?" Hyuga Yu asked in confusion, noticing something amiss with Zou Hyuga.
"Yes... but it's nothing serious!" Zou Hyuga was clenching his teeth so hard they nearly shattered, yet his face remained expressionless.
"That's good." Hyuga Yu nodded gently. "Let's go to the old residence together. Hiashi has been waiting for a long time."
With that, the two headed deeper into the clan compound.
Along the way, Hyuga Yu brought up amusing stories from the clan head and his brother's childhood. As the oldest member of the Main Family, he had watched practically every Hyuga grow up, and his standing was second only to the clan head's.
His only regret was that he had no children, and his wife, who had also been a member of the clan, had died in the war.
That left his line without an heir. It was out of consideration for this possibility that the Hyuga Clan had allowed Main Family members other than the clan head.
Ninja traveled quickly. Upon reaching the Main Family's old residence, Zou Hyuga soon spotted Hizashi Hyuga at the entrance.
He was the branch family member who had been born only seconds after Clan Head Hiashi, yet had been given an entirely different fate.
"Lord Yu, my brother has been waiting for quite some time!" Hizashi hurried forward to greet them.
Even as the clan head's younger brother, Hizashi had to observe the proper courtesies toward Hyuga Yu. The distinction between the branch family and the Main Family was clear.
After Hyuga Yu gave a slight nod, Zou Hyuga and Hizashi also exchanged greetings according to etiquette.
During the exchange, Hizashi gave him a look of shared understanding. Despite the gap of more than ten years between them, it created an artificial sense of kinship in their suffering.
This is exactly why I hate the Caged Bird Seal. We're blood relatives, yet we're divided into the noble and the lowly.
Zou Hyuga had never thought there was anything wrong with the Caged Bird Seal's role in protecting the Byakugan, but he hated the caged bird that bound the hearts of his clansmen.
Perhaps that was why, ever since graduation, he had never teamed up with members of his own clan for missions.
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