Haseo began moving around the village, making connections with different groups. His visit to the Hyūga Clan, however, didn't occur until the next day.
During this time of war, the Hyūga clan leader had remained in the village. Of course, it wasn't because he had refused to go to battle—it couldn't be that. Rather, his age appeared quite advanced.
More importantly, the man's eyesight seemed rather poor.
To be honest, upon their first meeting, Haseo suspected this Hyūga leader might have developed cataracts. A Byakugan user suffering from cataracts—how absurd… Perhaps precisely because he'd already lost a significant portion of his combat capability, there was no need for him to head to the battlefield.
"So, the clan leader has also heard about the Third Hokage…"
"Lord Haseo, truthfully, we are still in shock and somewhat at a loss even now… For such a powerful ninja as the Third Hokage to fall on the battlefield."
"Sometimes, certain sacrifices aren't necessarily tied directly to one's strength. Facing off against the Raikage and the forces from Kumo, the Third would certainly not retreat. It had nothing to do with honor or dignity; once someone becomes the Hokage of Konoha, they inevitably carry the resolve to sacrifice themselves when needed. The Second was like that, and the Third was no different."
Of course, strength did play a role. Someone like the First might have shared that same willingness to sacrifice himself, but he'd never actually been in a position where it was necessary. However, those kinds of "superhuman" exceptions were outside the scope of discussion.
To die on the battlefield was undeniably tragic for any Kage—but among shinobi, it was not considered an unworthy end.
"Your words are enlightening, Lord Haseo. The Third's death was a sacrifice made for the sake of Konoha. He is without shame in bearing the title of Hokage.
However, what shall become of the war now?"
"The Western Front is definitely under control. As for the northern front... despite the losses we've suffered, the situation has mostly stabilized. Konoha can still hold its ground.
But under current circumstances, the death of the Third Hokage will inevitably bring unrest to Konoha… That's exactly why I came here in person to speak with the clan leader. In times of hardship like these, we must unite all ninja sects of the village and work together to maintain stability within Konoha."
"That goes without saying. If anyone dares stir up trouble in Konoha now, they'll become an enemy of every ninja clan in the village... There was no need for Lord Haseo to come all this way just to say something so obvious.
If Lord Haseo has further instructions, the Hyūga will fully cooperate."
Yet it was indeed necessary for Haseo to personally meet with these various ninja sect leaders. Even if everyone understood the basic facts, the attitude conveyed through direct face-to-face communication was extremely important.
As for the subtle implications hidden within the Hyūga leader's words, Haseo chose to ignore them… What did he really mean by saying the Hyūga would "fully cooperate" with Lord Haseo?
The Hyūga were among Konoha's foundational ninja clans. Therefore, there was no need for them to appear submissive simply due to a change in the Hokage. Still… ultimately, "cooperation" was merely a polite way of saying "obedience."
Haseo's past and recent achievements had finally begun to bear practical fruit. From single-handedly chasing down eighty Kumo shinobi to now leading seven hundred Konoha ninja in defeating the Mist Village forces, Haseo had earned the sincere respect of the proud ninja sects.
Standing silently behind Haseo, Uzumaki Shikou's eyes began to sparkle with admiration. When Haseo adopted a solemn demeanor to earnestly discuss the village's future with its high-ranking officials, he radiated a rare kind of charm and presence.
This kind of aura could roughly be described in three words—serious adult vibes.
However, Haseo's next sentence immediately wiped away the faint smile at the corner of Shikou's lips, making her wish she could smash the thick confidential documents in her arms straight onto his head.
"Currently, stability is our top priority. If there truly are special missions requiring Hyuga cooperation, we will definitely issue formal requests. Personally, I greatly admire the Hyugas' abilities—there's no doubt about it; they are one of Konoha's pillars.
I've worked with many Hyuga ninja before, and your younger generation especially abounds with talents—for example, the clan leader's two sons both demonstrate extraordinary ability… Frankly speaking, your son is as dear to me as my own."
Hyūga Clan Leader: "..."
Uzumaki Shikou was imagining things. Everything was just a misunderstanding.
...
After exiting the Hyuga compound, Haseo couldn't help but stretch lazily. Honestly, he hated this kind of stuff. "He preferred peace and quiet over the world's noise," summed up his personality perfectly.
"I've always been just a regular office guy. Never thought I'd end up working this hard for Konoha," he joked dryly.
Shikou glanced at him, thinking that he wasn't even an office worker anymore—he was on track to become a shareholder and possibly even chairman. But since she still had some lingering irritation, she decided to keep such thoughts to herself.
"Let's go. Today we still need to visit another, even prouder ninja sect for a repeat exchange similar to just now... Why don't they just hold one big meeting with all of them together?
I wonder how reasonable those red-eyed guys will be today."
"What if they aren't reasonable?" Shikou asked.
Whether it was merely his imagination or not, Haseo felt like this woman seemed somewhat argumentative today.
"In that case, they'll have no say in the matter. So just because we can't touch their eyes now, their butts are off-limits too?"
Crude phrasing matched by equally crude reasoning—what a perverted old bastard. Who would randomly grope an Uchiha's butt for no reason anyway?
Yet when Haseo visited the Uchiha clan, he discovered that surprisingly, they were incredibly "reasonable" people as well. They expressed sympathy for the village's current situation, accepted the decisions made by Konoha's upper echelon, and firmly declared their determination to contribute toward maintaining peace and unity within the village.
Especially the last part—which sounded utterly ridiculous to Haseo.
Of course, the Uchiha stance wasn't difficult to understand either.
For one thing, the Uchiha ninja who greeted Haseo was said to have already been officially named by the clan elders as the next clan leader. This young ninja's name was Fugaku Uchiha.
Furthermore, during this period, anyone who insisted on being "preferring to break rather than bend"—straightforward and unbending [preferring to break rather than bend]—would surely get broken anyway. After all, what could be easier than achieving exactly what one sought?
At this point, the Uchiha had no reason to act stubbornly against the village—unless they were acting crazy again like before.
Or maybe some old "mummy" was desperate to destroy his own clan?
Haseo had huge respect outside the village and solid backing from the two Elders inside. So the waves stirred up by the Third's death… well, they hadn't completely died down… but after Haseo got moving, most of the Konoha ninja started feeling more at ease.
He spent the entire day dealing with the Hyuga and Uchiha clans—those two were by far the most stubborn. Starting on the third day, he would also need to visit other Minor Factions.
Smaller factions actually had more complex ties to the Hokage and were even more sensitive about leadership changes. Winning their loyalty might take time, but keeping them in line for now only required a single meeting.
Compared to others, Haseo had more pull in some of the smaller sects. The Nara clan, for instance, already felt pretty close to him.
If he used the Nara as a base, those minor factions would quickly fall under his influence.
So overall, although Haseo found the whole thing extremely troublesome, he actually became Konoha's de facto "patriarch" rather easily.
This outcome was actually kind of ridiculous.
P.S. Appreciate your monthly votes and any support! Man, I really should've asked for them back in the early chapters.
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