Elder Hinata Appears
These two little brats... does that mean they're on the same team as that Kawaki Aoba kid?
Oh, now I remember. I did hear about a genius Academy student who developed an unbranded Lightning Release technique right before graduation.
However, in the end, since the jutsu's power was significantly diminished in the hands of others—and due to the high level of chakra control required—few shinobi could master it. So, it was reluctantly classified as a C-rank technique by the Academy examiners.
Besides that, it's said the kid was indeed talented, and he was eventually appointed by the Third Hokage to a squad led by his youngest son, Sarutobi Asuma—a move many saw as political grooming.
Now, it seems that the so-called genius back then is none other than Kawaki Aoba standing in front of me.
These three kids are now on the same team, and their jonin team leader is none other than Yuhi Kurenai, known for her Genjutsu prowess.
However, compared to their team leader, what concerns Fugaku Uchiha more is what Asuma Sarutobi just said.
Yes, Fugaku had to admit that Asuma's status, as the Hokage's son and a former member of the Guardian Shinobi Twelve, carried considerable weight.
In this situation, the Third Hokage's stance must be taken into account.
Moreover, although he hated to admit it, the reality was that the Sarutobi clan—especially its direct bloodline—was not something even the Uchiha Police Force could confront lightly.
Kawaki Aoba had been placed by the Third Hokage on a team with Asuma, and no matter how it looked, it seemed like Hiruzen Sarutobi was cultivating a future circle of influence around his son.
After sorting out the situation in his heart, Fugaku's face darkened.
The prestigious Uchiha clan had been maneuvered around by a mere genin, and they couldn't even teach him a lesson. It was truly...
Helpless, Fugaku could only permit the three kids to leave the custody of the Uchiha Police Force.
He had to weigh the possible backlash from the Hokage. If he didn't let them go, the next ones knocking on the door might be from the ANBU Black Ops.
What Fugaku didn't know was that Asuma and Kurenai had only come to the Uchiha Police Department because Kawaki Aoba had sent them a shadow clone in advance.
This had nothing to do with the Hokage's involvement.
"Aoba, why don't you come stay at my place for a while? No matter what, my old man is the Hokage. The Hyuga clan wouldn't dare make a move under that roof,"
Asuma offered once they had exited the Police Department.
"Yeah, Aoba, you should stay at Asuma's house for now. It's definitely safer than staying at your own place."
Yuhi Kurenai chimed in supportively.
Kawaki Aoba appreciated the concern of his comrades but declined the offer.
One reason was that he didn't want to owe them too much, but more importantly, he wasn't sure where the Hokage truly stood on the matter.
Frankly, he didn't want to gamble—because even if he won, his situation would only improve marginally. He refused to be a rat hiding in the Hokage's shadow.
As for how to resolve the threat looming over him? Kawaki Aoba already had a plan.
Heh... a pair of Byakugan, is it? As of now, no Hyuga clan member had seen the dojutsu manifest in him directly.
Meanwhile, back at the Uchiha Police Headquarters, Fugaku had already dispatched two trusted officers to escort the two captured Hyuga Chūnin to the Hyuga compound.
Fugaku had made up his mind—he would not take the disgrace Kawaki Aoba brought upon him lying down. He intended to make the Hyuga clan pay instead.
After all, it was the cursed Byakugan bloodline that had caused all of this.
While Fugaku was planning retaliation, the Hyuga compound was also in turmoil.
"Second Elder, I saw it with my own eyes. That Kawaki Aoba, alongside Sarutobi Asuma and Yuhi Kurenai's daughter, calmly walked out of the Uchiha Police Department. Also, based on our earlier intel, it seems that Tsubaki and Yu really were taken in by that boy."
A Hyuga branch family jonin knelt before the Hyuga clan's Second Elder, reporting what he'd confirmed in the field.
Earlier, the Second Elder had become suspicious when the two Chūnin he dispatched failed to report back. He immediately sent personal guards to investigate.
But the report left him unsettled.
Blaming himself for underestimating the situation, the Second Elder grew increasingly grim.
He had the same suspicions as Fugaku. Why was Sarutobi Asuma involved? Was it under Hiruzen Sarutobi's direct command?
As for the two Hyuga who attacked Kawaki Aoba—that was, in truth, a trivial matter. At worst, the Hyuga would be blamed for poor supervision.
Aside from a slight hit to the clan's prestige, the fallout was negligible. Those two useless fools—what value did they have if they couldn't even manage such a simple task?
The Second Elder paced anxiously across his tatami floor, deep in thought. Letting that boy walk free was unacceptable. The Byakugan was not meant to exist outside the clan's control.
"I'll go to the Hokage Tower and ask Sarutobi Hiruzen directly what his intentions are. As for Kawaki Aoba, assign someone to keep constant surveillance. Observe him closely, but do not make a move without my direct order."
Having decided, the Second Elder waved his hand, and the jonin disappeared in a blur. If all went to plan, he was now tailing Kawaki Aoba as instructed.
The Second Elder's actions were fast and deliberate. Without delay, he set out for the Hokage's office to get to the heart of the matter.
However, before he could even leave the Hyuga compound, a commotion drew his attention to the front gate.
Listening more carefully, he heard raised voices in heated argument.
Ordinarily, the Second Elder would have marched over with stern authority, but this time, he discreetly changed his route.
He had no choice—several members of the Uchiha clan were blocking the main gate.
Though he didn't care about the fate of those two failed shinobi, this incident was, ultimately, the Hyuga clan's responsibility. So the Second Elder chose to slip away quietly. Thankfully, the compound had more than one exit—otherwise, he might have had to scale a wall like a low-level genin.
The Second Elder couldn't even remember the last time he had traveled like a field shinobi. It had been that long.
Unlike the current Hyuga clan head and the Great Elder, who had both fought in the Third Shinobi War and had some battlefield experience, the Second Elder had never seen true combat—his strength was built on tradition and dojo drills, not bloodshed.
It was unfortunate that the clan head and the Great Elder were currently away at the Land of Fire's capital visiting feudal nobles. As a result, he was left to temporarily oversee the Hyuga household alone.
---
Danzo, Late But Arriving
"Hokage-sama, I still believe it's best to keep Kawaki Aoba in my squad for now. Let him gain some experience through missions first, and when the time is right, transfer him to the ANBU. With his talent, he'll quickly become an elite jōnin."
Inside the Hokage Tower, Yuhi Kurenai addressed Hiruzen Sarutobi, defending her student. She hoped to convince the Hokage by stressing Kawaki Aoba's potential and loyalty.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat in contemplative silence.
Originally, Kawaki Aoba—a civilian-born prodigy—was placed under Asuma's team for mentorship. His unique skill in crafting a non-seal-based Lightning technique before graduating had already impressed the Academy, and his early missions had yielded excellent results. Hiruzen had been pleased.
But then, the boy awakened the Byakugan during a mission. Though descended from a distant Hyuga line and not branded with the Caged Bird Seal, the dojutsu had nonetheless emerged.
Had the Hyuga clan not caught wind of it, the situation could have been managed quietly. But...
Hiruzen sighed. By the time he'd tried to suppress the information, someone had already leaked it to the Hyuga elders.
Kurenai's request made sense, but was Kawaki Aoba really worth going to war with the Hyuga clan over?
As he mulled over the dilemma, a knock came at the door. A masked shinobi entered and bowed.
"Hokage-sama, the Hyuga clan's Second Elder requests an urgent audience."
Hiruzen raised his brows slightly. As expected of the Hyuga—a clan with ancient roots and elite intelligence networks. Their actions were just as swift as the Hokage's own.
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them with a calm gaze that had seen decades of shinobi politics.
There was no point in refusing the meeting.
Moments later, the Hyuga Second Elder was brought in.
He immediately noticed Kurenai standing nearby, but didn't spare her more than a glance. His attention was squarely on Hiruzen.
Without any formal pleasantries, the Second Elder got straight to the point.
He demanded to know whether the Hokage intended to interfere in Hyuga clan affairs. If so, then the Hyuga would not concede lightly—any favor the Hokage hoped to buy would come at a steep price.
And as he spoke, he still hadn't realized that his own trap had already been unraveled—not by Hiruzen Sarutobi, but by a boy with the Byakugan and a plan of his own.