"Hiashi Young Master."
On Monday morning, just as the sky was lightening around six o'clock, Ayane came by to wake Hiashi up.
There was a faint sound coming from the room, and soon, Hiashi emerged from it.
He didn't glance at Ayane, just walked past her without a word.
For him, whether this maid would survive in the end was an unknown.
To the Main Family, the lives of Branch Family members aren't that important.
Only a few in the Branch Family ever resist, most are accustomed to being ruled.
This habit is deeply engraved in their bones and souls, passed down from generation to generation.
They rejoice with the Main Family's joy, rage with its anger, and mourn with its sorrow.
Ayane naturally understood Hiashi's indifference, and simply followed her duty as a maid, quietly trailing behind Hiashi.
Surely, there must be many eyes on her.
She could feel it.
In the dark corners, in the silent gaps, her every move was being watched.
Becoming a maid to the Hyuga Main Family's Young Master was not a joyful affair.
But this kind of attention, called surveillance, was something Ayane could not defy.
"Hiashi Sir."
Having passed through several courtyards, Ayane continued to follow behind Hiashi, nearing the training ground, when a slightly younger boy than Hiashi appeared at the end of the corridor.
His appearance was very similar to Hiashi's.
Upon seeing Hiashi, he bowed his head and called out, yet there was a tone of gritted teeth, with fists clenched tightly.
"Hizashi, as a ninja, you must always restrain your emotions. This appearance is ugly. You haven't forgotten what your duty is as a Branch Family member, have you?"
Hiashi stopped, giving Hizashi a cold glare, reprimanding him sharply from the position of an elder brother.
"Yes."
Seemingly calm, his fists unclenched, yet Ayane knew the anger and resentment, or perhaps hatred, within this Branch Family ninja.
Hyuga Hizashi.
That's the name of this boy.
Like Hiashi, both are sons of this current Hyuga Clan Leader, but he was born slightly later than Hiashi, hence he belongs to the Branch Family, while Hiashi is of the Main Family.
He was to live and die for Hiashi, his honor and disgrace no longer for himself, but for the dear brother he once respected and adored, Hiashi.
That old respect and adoration, now only hostility and hatred remain.
If he weren't the son of the Clan Leader, displaying such blatant killing intent towards the next Hyuga Clan Leader, he might already have been taken to some isolated place and cursed to death.
Sometimes, even among the Branch Family, there is a hierarchy.
Encountering Hizashi was merely a minor episode, not something Ayane would particularly focus on.
Upon arriving at the training ground, a distinguished Jonin of the Hyuga Clan awaited Hiashi for the morning practice.
Due to being a maid, Ayane was allowed to stay here.
Since being assigned as Hiashi's maid, her status was slightly higher than average Branch Family members.
Hiashi was training in the Hyuga Clan's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, which combined with the Byakugan, is immensely powerful.
Ayane hadn't mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, only the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms.
The Main Family hopes for the strength of the Branch Family but doesn't want them to learn all the Hyuga techniques.
If a Branch Family member surpasses the Main Family in technique, it brings shame to the Main Family.
Causing the Main Family's disgrace ensures the Branch member will face punishment.
If a Branch member performs well, they're permitted to learn the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
However, an Absolute Defense move known as 'Eight Trigrams Palms Revolving Heaven' is reserved only for the Main Family.
Being Hiashi's maid doesn't entail much responsibility, as Ayane must attend school during the day, meaning she wasn't constantly at Hiashi's side.
This wasn't of particular concern to Hiashi, as Ayane was merely another Branch member whose fate was uncertain, never deserving of his inquiry or care.
She, like previous dead Branch maids, was simply a tool present in his vicinity.
This was how he was educated by his Clan Leader father.
The Main Family is the Hyuga Clan's root; only the root matters, regardless of whether its leaves wilt or flourish.
◎
Konoha Year 32, October.
Hakushi spent six months in the first Medical Ninja Training Class, with mediocre results, but being part of the village's first batch of Medical Ninjas, he still received substantial subsidies from the village.
Upon graduation from sixth grade, he would head to the battlefield to officially serve as a Medical Ninja on the frontline.
Just as Hakushi was pondering all this, suddenly, news arrived——
The war was over.
Indeed, the war was over.
Konoha was victorious, and the Hidden Rain Village was defeated.
Hanzo of the Salamander, the Hidden Rain Leader, after bestowing the 'Konoha Sannin' title upon three Konoha ninjas, acknowledged Konoha's victory, thus ending the three to four-year war between Hidden Rain Village and Konoha Ninja Village.
The so-called 'Konoha Sannin' were Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, three Konoha Jonin.
They were disciples of Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen.
They won the victory for Konoha on the Land of Rain battlefield, earning them high honor.
Hence, a majority of people in the village were enveloped in a joyful atmosphere.
Hakushi felt pleased too, as upon graduating, he wouldn't be forced to head to the battlefield and partake in the Ninja Realm's war.
The Sannin returned with numerous Konoha Ninjas, with countless villagers eagerly awaiting at the village gate.
Hakushi was among them, an inconspicuous member.
At that moment, he saw the so-called Konoha Sannin.
A man with sinister beauty, exuding killing intent, possessing long, straight black hair.
A female ninja with pale golden hair and a broad smile, and a generous bust.
Hmm... wait, why were there only two Sannin?
Hakushi remembered there being Konoha Sannin, why did only two return? Where's the third?
Could it be at the war's conclusion an unfortunate casualty occurred?
Hakushi subconsciously speculated in this manner.
But at this moment, people weren't dwelling on why only two Sannin returned; they cared about the joy and relief from the war's end.
Though they would eventually attend funerals.
The joy and sorrow... such trivial matters of post-war.
Konoha Tomb Park.
After the adults departed, Hakushi, clad in black attire, lingered here still.
The funeral atmosphere was somber, yet the weather was splendid, with expansive clear skies.
Not all funeral days would rain or cloud.
Ruri, in a black mourning dress with her black hair draped down, seriously placed the white chrysanthemums she held before each deceased Uchiha ninja's grave marker, conducting a memorial.
In this war, according to Ruri, the Uchiha Race sacrificed three Jonin, eleven Chunin, nine Genin, and over ten others were severely injured, unable to continue as ninjas.
"It's over,"
Hakushi softly approached Ruri, speaking.
Ruri's face lacked much sorrow, as she was accustomed to parting with clan members alive or dead.
Every year, the corpses of clan members would be transported back from the frontline.
She also witnessed the downfall and collapse of crippled Uchiha ninjas.
Ruri placed the final bunch of white chrysanthemums, whispering, "How can it be over? War may lack reason, but it must have purpose; interests will arise. As long as humans exist, war will never end."
As if foreseeing the onset of another battlefield soon.
Such pessimism... not exactly pessimism, as her face bore no sign of it, merely stating facts.
Hakushi was slightly taken aback, wanting to say something.
"Don't worry, I'm not so weak as to require comfort. Born in battle, dying in battle, this is the Uchiha fate."
Ruri wouldn't foolishly pray for peace.
Instead, improving one's power is what's truly meaningful now.
Should the day come when the Uchiha lose the strong conviction to survive through power, perhaps that would mark their end...