The Uzui family's purpose in pressuring these three families was simple.
They wanted to control Hinatsuru, Makio, and Suma to force Tengen Uzui to show himself.
To make him return to the village.
And even after all these years,
Tengen could more or less guess who was behind it.
It definitely wasn't that emotionless younger brother of his.
It was his father... Uzui Seshū's usual style.
Although the three great families could privately refuse to play along with the Uzui family,
once the matter was out in the open,
they still had to make a show of observing the old rules handed down through the Ninja Village for so many years.
And so the three girls were confined even more strictly.
Whenever anyone asked, all three families gave the same answer.
We don't know, we haven't seen them, they're not here.
The ninja village's increasing decline had left these three families nursing far too much resentment toward the Uzui family.
And the Uzui family's consistently overbearing attitude became the fuse.
For a time, the situation simply reached a stalemate.
The three girls were confined by their respective families.
Yet publicly, they claimed there was "no such person."
And until the Uzui family obtained solid evidence, there wasn't much they could do to those three families.
But in truth, Flashy Bro knew perfectly well.
This stalemate was only temporary.
If even one of the three families lost their nerve or took a step back,
the delicate balance before them would instantly shatter.
Nor could the three great families, for the sake of a few non-core family members,
really fight the Uzui family to mutual destruction.
And Flashy Bro himself was already prepared to step into the fray.
Well, now...
Xia Xi clicked his tongue in wonder as he listened.
All he