At the Ninja Academy gates~
Beneath the pink cherry trees swaying in the breeze, petals drifted down continuously, creating a beautiful sight at the Ninja Academy!
Uchiha Lei told Uchiha Mikoto he would not be going home that night. Uchiha Mikoto readily accepted it, then left alone!
Meanwhile, Hyuga Mie told Hyuga Haru, the maid who had come to pick her up, that she would go home herself, and told her to head back first!
Then Uchiha Lei walked hand in hand with Kushina Uzumaki and Hyuga Mie toward Tsunade's mansion!
Their journey drew the attention of quite a few factions. After all, Kushina Uzumaki had a special identity, and the Uchiha were a destabilizing factor in Konoha. Now Mie from the Hyuga Clan had joined them, making things troublesome all at once!
The person who found this most troublesome was Hiruzen Sarutobi in the Hokage's office, followed by the Hokage's aide, Shimura Danzō, and then the current head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hai!
In the Hokage's office~
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his seat, still dressed in his Hokage attire, a pipe in his right hand and his left hand clenched tightly. His expression was grim!
Hearing his Anbu subordinate report that Uchiha Lei had gotten involved with Hyuga Mie too, and was even going to ask Mito Uzumaki to approach Mie's family with a marriage proposal, gave him a terrible headache!
"Oh dear, that little fellow is stirring up trouble again. This..."
Bang!
The office door was shoved open!
This time, Shimura Danzō entered first, followed by Hyuga Hai, the Hyuga Clan head, who wore black and looked very much like an adult Hyuga Hiashi. They walked up together and stopped two meters from the desk!
Shimura Danzō's brows were deeply furrowed, his eyes blazing with anger as he loudly declared the purpose of his visit:
"Hiruzen, that Uchiha brat has gone too far! He actually wants to propose marriage to a girl from the Hyuga Clan. How improper is that?"
"Exactly, Lord Hokage. Our Hyuga Clan values its bloodline above all else. How can we let Mie get involved with an Uchiha?"
Hyuga Hai angrily chimed in, all but saying outright that he wanted the Hokage to deal with Uchiha Lei!
Hiruzen Sarutobi first took a puff from his pipe. After puffing out smoke for a while and relaxing a little, he still wanted to hear their thoughts first, so he slowly asked:
"What do you want to do?"
"Uchiha Lei can easily defeat Hyuga Hiashi. I suggest bringing him into Root and putting him under my supervision!"
Shimura Danzō revealed the purpose of his visit. He had had his eye on Uchiha Lei for a long time. An unstable factor like him had to be brought under his command!
But in response, Hiruzen Sarutobi knitted his brows tightly, his expression darkening. He immediately flew into a rage and flatly refused:
"Absolutely not. Lei belongs only in the sunlight!"
"He awakened the one-tomoe Sharingan at seven. He's far too unstable. He should..."
Shimura Danzō asked for Uchiha Lei again, but he was stopped halfway through!
"I'll arrange for Sakumo to keep an eye on him, and later I'll have my three students watch over him!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi had practically planned out Uchiha Lei's entire future, and his retort left Shimura Danzō's face dark!
"Hiruzen, you'll regret this!"
Shimura Danzō helplessly flicked his sleeve, leaving those words before he departed!
"I won't regret it. And I'm the Hokage!"
After telling Shimura Danzō off, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt his anger ease. Even the angry Hyuga Hai beside him looked amiable!
"Hmph~"
Shimura Danzō gave a soft snort and left the office, slamming the door behind him!
Hyuga Hai had been quite angry, but after seeing Hiruzen Sarutobi and Shimura Danzō nearly come to blows, he suddenly felt that if he spoke nicely, Lord Hokage would probably handle the matter:
"Lord Hokage, I heard that the Uchiha brat is going to ask Lady Mito to act as his matchmaker. As for Mie's situation..."
This was precisely what troubled Hiruzen Sarutobi. He did not dare contradict Mito Uzumaki, and if he went himself, she would throw him out with a dark expression. Wasn't this just making things difficult for him? An idea struck him, and he said with a smile:
"Clan Head Hyuga, Lady Mito and I have had some disagreements lately. Why don't you go speak to her yourself and ask her opinion?"
Hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi throw the problem back at him, Hyuga Hai thought of the violent Mito Uzumaki, and cold sweat covered his forehead. He raised a hand to wipe it away and said with a light laugh:
"Please don't joke, Lord Hokage. If even you can't persuade Lady Mito, wouldn't I just be going there to find fault with her?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi rolled his eyes at Hyuga Hai and thought:
So you do know to be afraid. Where did all that anger from earlier go?
I thought you were planning to persuade Mito Uzumaki!
With the trouble right before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi thought of stalling and said with a smile:
"Clan Head Hyuga, why don't we wait a little and see what Lady Mito does?"
Hyuga Hai also felt that Hiruzen Sarutobi had a point. With no other options at the moment, he smiled, nodded, and replied:
"Then let's see what Lady Mito decides first!"
Elsewhere~
Inside Tsunade's mansion~
The mood had been poor because of Nawaki's heartbreak, and a gloomy air hung over the entire house!
But after Uchiha Lei, Kushina Uzumaki, and Hyuga Mie arrived, the atmosphere throughout the house grew lively!
"Lei's here, and he's brought a little beauty from the Hyuga Clan! I'll go cook something delicious for you!"
Mito Uzumaki spoke with a smile and prepared to get up and cook personally!
"Grandma Mito, this is Hyuga Mie."
Uchiha Lei stood up and bowed slightly in greeting, then introduced Hyuga Mie with a smile before directly pleading:
"I came this time to ask a favor of you. I hope you'll agree!"
"Hello, Mie!"
Mito Uzumaki greeted Hyuga Mie first!
"Hello, Grandma Mito!"
Mie Hyuga stood up, folded her hands over her lower abdomen, and bowed slightly to Mito Uzumaki!
"Good girl. Sit down!"
Mito Uzumaki responded to Hyuga Mie. After watching her sit, she also felt that Mie was a very good girl, just as polite as Lei!
Uchiha Lei knew that Mito Uzumaki already knew about him and Hyuga Mie. She was probably in a difficult position too, but he could only steel himself and plead:
"Grandma Mito, could you come with me to Mie's house to propose marriage?"
"Well..."
Mito Uzumaki felt somewhat troubled, but seeing Uchiha Lei's pleading gaze, she could not refuse. She could only try explaining things to them first:
"Lei, do you know that the Hyuga Clan doesn't marry outsiders?"
"I know, but Mie and I are serious!"
Uchiha Lei reached out with his right hand and held Hyuga Mie's hand, not wanting her to feel too much pressure!
"Mie, do you feel the same way?"
Mito Uzumaki directed the question at Hyuga Mie, staring firmly into her eyes!
Hyuga Mie felt a little frightened under her gaze, but the warmth and sense of security coming from Uchiha Lei's hand gave her courage, and she explained:
"Yes, Grandma Mito. Lei and I are serious. Actually, I took a liking to Lei when we started school.
"But because of the pressure from my clan, I didn't dare say anything. Please stand up for us, Grandma Mito!"
As Hyuga Mie spoke, her knees bent slightly. Seeing her do this, Uchiha Lei also set aside his pride and bent his knees slightly, wanting to kneel and plead with Mito Uzumaki too!
Mito Uzumaki hurriedly rose, walked over to them, and reached out to support them both. Then she gently agreed:
"Lei, Mie, don't do this. I'll go to the Hyuga Clan to propose marriage for you!"
"Thank you, Grandma Mito!"
Uchiha Lei and Hyuga Mie smiled and thanked her in unison!
"Grandma Mito, let's go propose right now. I'm afraid the Hyuga Clan head will threaten Mie's family!"
Uchiha Lei voiced his thoughts with an anxious expression. His small hand clasped Mito Uzumaki's, wanting to pull her along to the Hyuga Clan to propose marriage!
"Yes! Grandma Mito, I'm really afraid the clan head will use the clan rules to threaten my family!"
Hyuga Mie echoed him sadly, tears welling in her eyes. She also held Mito Uzumaki's hand, tugging her along to resolve the matter!
Mito Uzumaki really could not handle these two little ones, so she replied with a smile:
"All right, all right. We'll go to the Hyuga Clan to propose marriage right now!"
"I want to go too!"
Kushina Uzumaki stood up excitedly, already impatient to watch the commotion!
"Then let's all go!"
With that, Mito Uzumaki led Uchiha Lei, Hyuga Mie, and Kushina Uzumaki out of the house, heading toward the Hyuga Clan Compound!
Along the way, every passerby who saw Mito Uzumaki greeted her warmly!
The moment Mito Uzumaki left home and headed toward the Hyuga Clan, the heads of all the major clans, the Hokage, and the elders were alerted!
Before you continue