"Homon, pass down the order."
"From now on, all members of the Hyūga clan must begin training in the Sixty-Four Palms and the Revolving Heaven as soon as they start molding chakra."
"Once they reach the level of chunin, they will be taught the One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms and the Vacuum Palm by family instructors."
"As for high-level taijutsu techniques like Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists and Mountain Crusher, these will only be passed down to those who achieve the rank of special jonin."
After arranging a peaceful retirement for Hiashi, Tanaka glanced at the towering pile of scrolls on his desk.
He couldn't understand the main house.
In the past, all members of the branch house had been marked with the Caged Bird, reduced to mere tools. Even if the main house viewed them as tools, shouldn't they at least teach them secret taijutsu to make them more effective?
Yet the main house seemed to suffer from collective brain thrombosis from birth, guarding these techniques against the branch house even more strictly than against enemy ninjas.
Techniques like the Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, which involve chakra shape transformation, were at least understandable to keep secret. But why were even Revolving Heaven and Sixty-Four Palms kept hidden?
Did they fear the Hyūga clan becoming too strong? Or were they afraid that if the branch house learned Revolving Heaven or Sixty-Four Palms, they could break the Caged Bird?
Thud.
Tetsu, Homon, and Iroha all knelt down in unison.
Not just on one knee, but fully kneeling, bowing their heads with utmost respect toward Tanaka.
"We, on behalf of every member of the Hyūga clan, express our deepest gratitude to you, Tanaka-sama."
Tears welled up in their eyes.
Every single taijutsu technique laid out on the table had once been secret arts exclusively passed down by the main house.
Unless a branch house genius like Neji or Hizashi managed to comprehend Revolving Heaven and Sixty-Four Palms on their own, they would spend their entire lives limited to basic Gentle Fist and acupuncture techniques.
But now?
With the emergence of Tanaka, the branch house was not only rising, but even the long-guarded secret arts of the main house were now being shared openly with the entire clan. It was a full-scale reform of the Hyūga clan.
Having lived through the dark oppression of the branch house's existence, the three of them felt gratitude and reverence for Tanaka down to their very bones.
"If, when I was not the heir, the clan members couldn't access secret arts, that was one thing. But now that I am, if they still can't, then what is the point of my position?"
Tanaka shook his head, then gestured for the three kneeling men to rise.
"If you truly want to repay me, then do this job well."
"I want to see every jonin mastering Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists and Mountain Crusher within a month. Every chunin must be proficient in One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms and Vacuum Palm. And every genin must master Sixty-Four Palms and Revolving Heaven."
"Can you do it?"
Tanaka's words weighed heavily on the three men, filling them with an unprecedented sense of duty and mission.
This was the complete dissemination of the main house's secret arts to the entire Hyūga clan!
To them, such a mission was a thousand times more important than executing a hundred S-rank missions.
Even if they received no material reward for this, they would do it gladly.
"Yes!"
They all nodded firmly, their voices filled with resolve.
They would lay down their lives for Tanaka.
That was the conviction in their hearts at this moment.
"Go!"
Tanaka smiled with satisfaction and waved them off.
However, after standing up, the three did not leave. Instead, they remained in place.
"Is there something else?"
Tanaka raised an eyebrow, curious.
"It's like this… Tanaka-sama…"
"There is a possibility that the information about you using space-time ninjutsu has been leaked."
Iroha bit his lip.
"Is that so?"
Upon hearing this, Tanaka remained utterly composed. There was no trace of anger or shock on his face despite the intelligence leak.
"Tell me, what exactly has been leaked?"
A slight smirk appeared at the corner of his lips as he asked with interest.
"A space-time ninjutsu similar to the Flying Thunder God." After Homon finished speaking, he lowered his head.
"Is that all?"
Hearing this, Tanaka's smile deepened.
"Yes, that's all."
"As for the deceased main house members, after you reassembled their bodies, they were buried in the clan's cemetery, which has been under constant watch by our people. So, your space-time sword technique has not been leaked."
"However, too many clan members witnessed you performing space-time jumps on the day you stepped down from your position."
"By the time we issued the gag order, the information had already spread."
Iroha's voice was filled with guilt.
For a ninja, intelligence was often synonymous with survival, especially when it came to techniques.
Once an enemy learned of a technique, it was almost like losing half a life.
As a loyal follower, he saw no fault in Tanaka using space-time ninjutsu in front of the clan.
After all, Tanaka was still young. To firmly establish himself as the heir, he needed not only to grant favors to the entire clan but also to display his strength.
Breaking the Caged Bird was an act of benevolence. Displaying space-time ninjutsu was an assertion of power.
Therefore, whether it was Tetsu, Homon, Iroha, or even Tokuma—who had escorted Hiashi away—they all blamed themselves for the failure.
If they had handled confidentiality as strictly as the ANBU division, such intelligence leaks would never have occurred.
"It doesn't matter. It's not your fault. Since it's already leaked, just let it be."
Upon learning that part of his powers had been exposed, Tanaka did not react with anger but instead smiled.
"What?"
Homon and the others were stunned.
Such an important intelligence leak was an undeniable failure.
They had even prepared themselves for severe punishment, expecting to atone for their mistake. Yet all they received was a casual "It's not your fault."
This unexpected leniency left them both shocked and deeply moved.
After all, in any ninja village or clan, this kind of mistake would have been considered a grave offense.
Yet Tanaka simply dismissed it.
"Go back to your duties." He took in their reactions but offered no further explanation.
"Yes!"
Without facing the punishment they had anticipated—without even a single harsh word—Iroha and the others felt even more resolute. In their hearts, they swore to be more cautious in the future, ensuring that such a low-level mistake would never happen again.
After the three of them had left, Tanaka tapped his fingers on the table, his smirk growing even wider.