"Clan Head-sama…"
A slight smile appeared on Hyuga Hiashi's face.
"Just call me brother."
"Hizashi, we have finally fulfilled our long-cherished wish and changed the system of the main family. The Hyuga of the future will surely be even stronger!"
Respect for elders and seniority cannot be abolished! As long as he followed this point, Hiashi probably wouldn't have any issue with him. So, although Hiashi said it nicely, Hizashi still didn't dare to directly address him as "brother." As for his words… they were specially instructed by Ryoho Kyohiko. Hyuga Hizashi also agreed very much. Reform is a good thing, but it should not be rushed, nor should one be proud and complacent halfway through. Pride and complacency… this was the reason for the past corruption of the Hyuga main family. They could not repeat the same mistakes.
A slight smile touched Hyuga Hiashi's lips, and he sighed with a gentle tone.
"You're right. We are still far from a time for celebration. The future of the family rests on our shoulders! By the way, your child, it should be soon, right?"
"Mm, the doctor said the child is very healthy and should be born smoothly."
Speaking of his child, an unconcealable smile appeared on Hyuga Hizashi's face.
Hyuga Hiashi seemed to be complaining, but in fact, there was a hint of showing off.
"Yuka has been engrossed in the research of medical ninjutsu in recent years. Otherwise, I should have a child by now too. Hahaha, you've gotten ahead of me in this matter."
Hyuga Hizashi followed up.
"Sister-in-law's medical ninjutsu has improved extremely fast and she can now participate in surgeries. It's a great help to both the family and to brother's reputation. But she should be free recently, right?"
Hyuga Hiashi nodded. As the days became more peaceful and there were almost no waves in the shinobi world, the medical ninjas were mostly doing experiments and research. The Hyuga clan only needed to concentrate on training and studying. So, most of the half-baked medical ninjas in the Hyuga clan were indeed idle. Now that work was not as busy as before, he and Yuka also planned to have a child recently.
Speaking of which, he smiled.
"Haven't you secretly asked if the child inside is a boy or a girl?"
"We feel it's the same either way, so we didn't ask. But I hope it's a daughter."
"Oh?"
"Daughters are cute, and I hear they are also closer to their fathers."
"Hahahaha!"
Joyful laughter echoed in the courtyard.
---
At this time, Ryoho Kyohiko was at the Anbu headquarters, waiting for the transport from the Flying Thunder God Formation on the other side. After a period of rest, the four-man team over there had recovered their chakra and could send Yoshi Enji over directly.
At the same time, he was also pondering the matters of the Uchiha and Hyuga. The reform of the Hyuga clan was now settled. The main family system was improved, and without directly abolishing the branch family, it gave the branch family members some opportunities. At the same time, the main family was no longer an iron rice bowl. The overall strength of the Hyuga clan should improve.
Besides, regarding the matter of the Guardian Shinobi, apart from what he had previously confessed to Tsunade and the others, Kyohiko actually had other considerations, especially having Asuma participate. For one, within Konoha, there were not a few people like Asuma. It was better to guide than to block. Letting them go and see what the Kyoto nobles were like, and weeding out the disunited people, would actually be beneficial to the unity of the team. For another, this also made it convenient to mix sand into the Guardian Shinobi. Only by having "me in you, and you in me" could they truly ensure that this force had Konoha's bloodline and would not become the nobles' own private army.
"Yoshi Enji…"
Ryoho Kyohiko suddenly stopped his actions, and then his figure instantly disappeared from the spot.
In an Anbu secret room in Konoha, a figure appeared in the middle. His face was pale, and he looked around in terror. The feeling just now was as if his whole person had lost balance, his feet not touching the ground, his body having no force to fall downwards, as if floating arbitrarily in the air. The chaotic direction and order almost made him vomit.
"Are you alright?"
The door opened, and a person Yoshi Enji was familiar with but not particularly fond of appeared at the door. He was stunned for a moment, then quickly reacted. Ryoho Kyohiko. This was the other party's territory.
He looked around in a daze, marveling.
"Unbelievable!"
"Is this Konoha?"
Yoshi Enji looked around. This dim corridor seemed to be somewhere underground, but it was surprisingly cool, completely without the dampness of an enclosed space.
Ryoho Kyohiko walked in front.
"To be precise, this is the Anbu base. The place you are in now is our Konoha's Anbu. Of course, it's also very close to Konoha."
"Do you want to take a tour of Konoha, or sit here for a while?"
Yoshi Enji smiled.
"You mean, I can't just wander around here?"
Ryoho Kyohiko didn't hide it and nodded lightly.
"Yes. This is for the safety of the country and the village, and also for your safety."
He walked forward, then paused and answered.
"In the shinobi world, intelligence is a very crucial thing. For intelligence, we can pay a great many ninjas, and may also lose a great many ninjas…"
"An ordinary person like you should not want to become someone else's target."
Ryoho Kyohiko said with a smile.
Yoshi Enji was a little curious.
"For example? Sorry, I don't mean to look at your base, but I've never been a ninja, so I'm very curious what value intelligence has for you ninjas."
He was a smart person, but he was completely unfamiliar with the domain of ninjas, with no understanding at all. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made a deal with a tiger by accepting Danzo—anyone who understood the ninja system would understand what accepting Danzo meant for the Land of Fire.
Ryoho Kyohiko replied with a smile.
"The world knows that my strongest abilities are the Flying Thunder God and Wood Style, right?"
Yoshi Enji nodded lightly.
"Then, if someone wants to deal with me, they will arrange tactics targeting these two pieces of intelligence, and even lay out a plan to kill me in one blow."
Ryoho Kyohiko explained simply. Yoshi Enji could understand this point very well. Either don't make a sound, or make a sound that startles the world. Not just ninjas, it was the same when they dealt with their enemies.
"But actually, with your abilities, even if the opponent makes targeted arrangements, it's useless, right? After all, your strength is already powerful enough to be compared with the Shodaime-sama back then."
In front of others, Yoshi Enji might still put on airs, but facing Kyohiko… he would absolutely not. Who couldn't see that the current Kyohiko, in a few or ten years, would definitely become Konoha's Hokage? Who knows, one day he might have to work together with Kyohiko. Offending the other party had absolutely no benefit. And the strong should indeed be respected.
"That's because they only have a part of my intelligence and haven't fully grasped all my abilities. Of course, sometimes, even knowing all the intelligence is useless…"
In the face of absolute strength, arrangements and blockades are all in vain. Unless the enemy could set up a net from which there is no escape, sealing his Flying Thunder God, and then using an ultimate barrier jutsu like the Four Red Yang Formation, so that Kyohiko could only fight Madara inside the barrier. And the elderly Madara without his eyes probably couldn't beat him. But in the current shinobi world, a lineup that could achieve this was almost non-existent.
Yoshi Enji was thoughtful. In some areas, the confrontations of ninjas were not too different from those of their nobles. It was just that among the nobles, he had his father's protection and didn't have to fear the other nobles of the Land of Fire. But in a ninja's confrontation… the glory of one's parents was useless. Strength was the hard truth!
Yoshi Enji followed Ryoho Kyohiko all the way to the lounge. He didn't rush to leave the Anbu, but chatted with Kyohiko along the way, becoming more and more interested as they talked. When he was hostile to Kyohiko before, Yoshi Enji thought Ryoho Kyohiko was a difficult and hateful opponent. But when he had to cooperate with the other party, he found—this not-so-old young man was even more reliable than Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others! Of course, this was Yoshi Enji's current judgment. As for the Sannin, he hadn't had much contact with them and didn't dare to make a judgment.
The more they talked, the more interested he became, so he pestered Kyohiko to continue chatting, asking about the ideas and arrangements for the Guardian Shinobi, as well as things to worry about and pay attention to. Ryoho Kyohiko could answer them all and give guidance. Yes, guidance… After the conversation just now, Yoshi Enji believed that the young man before him was more mature than him in many areas! An almost omniscient, omnipotent top genius!
A thought flashed through Yoshi Enji's mind, and then he couldn't help but marvel secretly—how could such a person exist in the world. In time, probably even the resurrected Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama brothers would pale in comparison to the grown-up youth. In a trance, Yoshi Enji seemed to see the arrival of a great era. The Land of Fire… if operated well, might become even more prosperous!
He was indeed not stupid. So.
Yoshi Enji stood up and bowed deeply.
"Kyohiko-kun, besides the Guardian Shinobi this time, I actually have some other matters. One is to apologize for my previous ignorant offense."
Ryoho Kyohiko was surprised, then quickly supported the other's body.
"No need, no need. We are all members of the Land of Fire. These things are as they should be for the sake of the country."
Yoshi Enji looked at Kyohiko, his heart apprehensive.
"You mentioned before that you were going to trade with Sunagakure. Chichi-ue has already discussed and reached a result. I have an idea myself. Let your merchant caravans from here go with ours from here, so that everyone can look out for each other."
He had this idea purely on the spur of the moment. Kyohiko's abilities had exceeded his expectations, so he had to consider Kyohiko's attitude. The other party had facilitated this trade, and they hadn't shown any gesture… that wouldn't do, would it?
However, the next moment, Kyohiko's words made him widen his eyes.
"Good idea. But I would like to make a slight modification on your basis. How about the merchants from both Konoha and the capital unite and form a merchant guild, and trade and exchange goods in the name of the guild?"
"A merchant guild?"
After hearing this, Yoshi Enji was stunned for a long time. He had only thought of "uniting," but had never thought that the other party would directly propose to form a large merchant guild. Merchant guilds naturally existed in the shinobi world. For example, the Shionka Merchant Guild, they covered almost every field and had trade dealings in various countries. But… for the capital's forces to unite with Konoha's merchants, the meaning was not quite the same. To some extent, it was a "national merchant." How would the profits be distributed?
Yoshi Enji's brain worked rapidly, and then he heard Kyohiko say with a smile.
"No need to rush. You will be a guest here for a while. These things can be discussed slowly."
Yoshi Enji let out a breath of relief.
"You're right."
This matter was too big. If Kyohiko wanted him to make a decision at once, he really wouldn't dare to answer. If they took it slow, he could ask for his father's opinion.
Before, Yoshi Enji thought that his father, as the Daimyo, was too weak, which was why he sat by and watched Konoha grow stronger, watching the Hokage take away the power that belonged to them. But ever since the incident in the Land of Water and Danzo's defection and death, Yoshi Enji had woken up. He understood that they did not have the talent in this area! The Daimyo does the Daimyo's work, the Hokage does the Hokage's work. It was the best plan for everyone to perform their own duties and cooperate with each other, at least for now.
Ryoho Kyohiko was also very satisfied. After the not-so-short exchange and probing today, he found that Yoshi Enji had matured a lot, no longer as naive and stubborn as before, and had learned to think rationally. This was very good. At least the other party had realized that his and Konoha's abilities were far beyond their imagination, by no means something they could control with just a few words. Cooperation is a win-win!
---
Underneath Madara's base, Black Zetsu quietly arrived. Madara's heart moved. He gave White Zetsu a look, and the other understood, immediately leading Uchiha Obito away.
Then.
"How did it go?"
"Very successful. Also, I heard…"
Black Zetsu informed Uchiha Madara about the matter of the Nine-Tails.
Uchiha Madara pondered for a moment, then smiled.
"Konoha wants to obtain the complete power of the Nine-Tails!"
Black Zetsu answered.
"That's what I thought too."
Madara didn't answer immediately. The Nine-Tails… back then, he had controlled the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan and a summoning contract, and had directly integrated its power into his Susanoo. So, he knew the power of the Nine-Tails very well. But—what he had seen was not necessarily the strongest power of the Tailed Beast! Konoha's idea was clearly to win over the Nine-Tails and make it actively cooperate with Konoha. If the other party really achieved this step…
Uchiha Madara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That little brat is indeed a good opponent. I suspect he has already sealed my contract with the Nine-Tails!"
Black Zetsu asked.
"Do you have a way to break the seal?"
Uchiha Madara nodded lightly and smiled.
"For every method, there is a counter. But do those fools have such an ability?"
Speaking of that group of Uchiha, he couldn't help but sneer. A bunch of idiots!
"If Uchiha Shisui is willing to cooperate, it should be possible. Unfortunately, that child is very close to Konoha."
Uchiha Madara answered faintly.
"No matter."
"The previous plan, is it properly arranged?"
Black Zetsu chuckled.
"Of course. I plan to take the opportunity of Nohara Rin arriving at the Uchiha clan's territory to stir up conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha's Hokage faction!"
Obito's grandmother, Nohara Rin, no matter which one had an accident, it was beneficial to them.
"Mm, then, you take him there."
Madara nodded.
Black Zetsu said.
"I think I'll go to Amegakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure first."
"Hmm?"
Madara opened his eyes.
Black Zetsu explained.
"Onoki and the Third Raikage are not people who are willing to submit. As long as they know what Konoha is doing, know Konoha's situation, they will definitely make a move."
Uchiha Madara nodded lightly, approving of Black Zetsu's plan.
"Alright."
Attacking on two fronts to create chaos. For them, this was beneficial.
"If appropriate, I will have Kirigakure make a move as well."
"Yes!"