Negotiations

In the clearing outside Tianyun Hyuga's residence, Hinata Hyuga approached Tianyun and, as usual, dutifully placed fifty thousand on the wooden chair where he lay resting before heading off to train by herself.

What Hinata had not expected was that Tianyun would actually sit up today and beckon to her, apparently asking her to come over.

Puzzled, Hinata walked over to Tianyun and asked, "What is it, Master Tianyun? I haven't finished my training today."

Tianyun patted the seat beside him, motioning for Hinata to sit down, then smiled and said, "I just wanted to let you know that, starting tomorrow, you don't need to come here to train anymore."

Rather than sit down as Tianyun had asked, Hinata stared blankly at him and asked, "What's going on? Master, don't you want to teach me anymore?"

"What, can't bear to leave me?" Tianyun teased with a smile.

"Mm... no, no... yes... yes... yes..." Hinata's words became jumbled.

Deep down, Hinata did not particularly want to spend time with Tianyun. But after instinctively saying no, she suddenly felt that it sounded rude. After all, Tianyun really had helped her grow much stronger, and saying no seemed terribly unkind.

Hinata's face flushed bright red, but Tianyun paid it little mind. Glancing at the flustered girl, he said seriously, "I don't care whether you like me or not. I'll be blunt: if you can't become a little more resolute, I doubt you'll ever achieve much."

Seeing Hinata turn pale again, Tianyun shook his head. "Look at you. I haven't even said anything harsher yet, and you're already like this. If you don't change, you'd better just stay in the clan and be a sheltered young lady, rather than give an enemy the chance to finish you off."

Tianyun's words made Hinata angry. She glared at him and snapped, "My affairs are none of your business! I'll get stronger on my own. Stop talking nonsense!"

"Hahahaha!" Seeing Hinata get angry only made Tianyun laugh. "Remember how you feel right now. If you don't want people looking down on you in the future, hold on to that feeling and go home and train hard. Don't forget what you said today."

Hinata froze for a moment, then looked in surprise at Tianyun as he walked away. For a while, she had no idea what to do.

While Hinata was still wavering, Tianyun's voice came from a distance. "Go home! Tell your father I'll visit tomorrow. I'll explain your situation to him as well."

After hearing Tianyun's instructions, Hinata watched him disappear from sight, suddenly feeling a little forlorn.

During those nine long months of training, Tianyun had rarely spoken to her, but whenever he did, his words went straight to the heart of her problems. Hinata could feel that very clearly.

Now that Tianyun would no longer teach her, Hinata felt that she could never improve as quickly as she had over those nine months. The prospect left her anxious about what she was losing, and she stood dazed in the clearing.

Feeling that he had finally freed himself of Hinata, Tianyun returned to the residence in a good mood. He chatted with Meicun Hyuga, who had already come home to cook, telling her about his approaching graduation.

By now, Meicun had more or less accepted and grown accustomed to this new Tianyun. With her child suddenly becoming both a genius and so mature, she no longer wanted to meddle too much in his affairs.

Now that Tianyun said he was graduating and would soon begin his life as a real ninja, Meicun felt she ought to tell him a few things about being a ninja. She pulled him aside and began talking at length.

Tianyun was rather speechless. He felt that coming to talk to Meicun had been a mistake, but he could not leave now. All he could do was listen dejectedly as she shared her experiences as a ninja.

In the Hokage Office, while Meicun was lecturing Tianyun, the Third Hokage and Hyuga Hiashi were discussing a certain matter.

Hiashi had learned that afternoon that Tianyun was about to graduate. After considering it for a while at home, he went to the Hokage Building after dinner to discuss Tianyun with the Third Hokage.

Upon entering the Third Hokage's office, Hiashi got straight to the point. "Hiruzen, I'd like to discuss Tianyun Hyuga's graduation with you, and how we should arrange things for him afterward."

Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally understood Tianyun's importance to the Hyuga Clan. He answered with a smile, "You needn't worry, Hiashi. Tianyun Hyuga is important to Konoha as well. I won't let him come to harm. You can rest assured of that!"

Hiashi shook his head. "Naturally, I'm not worried about his safety. What I'd like to discuss is assigning my daughter Hinata to the same team as Tianyun. That would satisfy me."

"Ah..." The Third Hokage paused, then asked in confusion, "Hiashi, your daughter is only seven, and you already want her to go on missions? Wouldn't that be inappropriate? She doesn't have Tianyun's strength. What would you do if something went wrong?"

Hiashi sighed outright. "My daughter is too timid, and she has little talent for training. Originally, I planned to send her to the Ninja Academy when she turned seven."

"But over these past few months with Tianyun, I've noticed that she's improving very quickly. I think there's still hope for her."

The Third Hokage immediately understood what Hiashi meant. Frowning, he said, "Hiashi, I was planning to assign an Anbu ninja as Tianyun's team leader. Now that you want to add Hinata, a single Anbu ninja won't be enough to protect both children."

"I can have Nisshu protect them," Hiashi said bluntly.

Nisshu Hyuga was already approaching Kage-level strength, and the Third Hokage certainly knew how formidable he was. But that would put Tianyun entirely under the Hyuga Clan's control, which did not serve Konoha's interests.

After rubbing his pipe for a full minute, the Third Hokage looked at Hiashi and said, "I think Kakashi Hatake would be a better choice to protect Tianyun Hyuga and Hinata Hyuga. What do you think?"

Hiashi had, in fact, known all along that the Third Hokage would never allow Nisshu Hyuga to accompany Hinata and Tianyun. Thus, after only a brief hesitation, he nodded in agreement. "I have confidence in Kakashi Hatake's abilities. Let's choose him, then."

The Third Hokage was no fool either. Understanding Hiashi's intent, he said directly, "Then that's settled. I still need to find another genin to join them, so I won't keep you here."

Having achieved his goal, Hiashi did not linger to chat with the Third Hokage. He merely said, "I'll send ten members of my clan here to do their part for Konoha. Please look after them."

With that, Hiashi left.

Sending ten clan members to the Third Hokage was Hiashi's way of offering something in return. Otherwise, suddenly foisting Hinata on the Third Hokage would have violated the agreement between Konoha and the Hyuga Clan.

Naturally, the Third Hokage also understood why Hiashi was sending those clan members. His silent acceptance marked the completion of their deal.