A Clan Changed Step by Step

"Hyuga Kiyomi, are you trying to disrupt the clan meeting?!"

Second Elder Hyuga Sōun looked furious. Being stared at by a junior made him feel strangely uncomfortable, even giving him the urge to avert his gaze. If word got out, what dignity would he have left as an elder?

"At a clan meeting concerning war, a few people intend to decide the life and death of hundreds of clansmen? Especially you, Hyuga Sōun."

The meridians beside Hyuga Kiyomi’s cheeks bulged slightly, and her pure white pupils narrowed. Under her gaze, Hyuga Sōun once again felt that faint yet oppressive pressure, making him want to turn away or lower his head.

"As a member of the Main Family, you fail to set a proper example for the Branch Family. Yet you casually use the Caged Bird Seal to vent your so-called authority. You have neither propriety nor prestige to back you up. Hyuga Sōun, what gives you the right to be a Main House Elder? Good fortune? Strength? Or are you planning to fight me?!"

Her words were razor-sharp, but what truly made Hyuga Sōun unable to meet her eyes were those pure white pupils, filled with authority.

Hyuga Kiyomi’s faction and Hyuga Sōun’s faction had been at odds even before Hyuga Mirai’s defection. Back then, however, Hyuga Kiyomi had not yet taken power, and her Grandfather rarely displayed such sharpness as she did. Though the two factions did not get along, they could at least maintain appearances.

But after Hyuga Hirin, the Successor of the Second Elder’s faction, died, the conflict between the two factions intensified beyond reconciliation. Hyuga Kiyomi’s personality would not allow her to back down, and whenever she faced Hyuga Sōun’s provocations, she made him leave in defeat.

Moreover, Hyuga Kiyomi’s Byakugan had revealed genuine Killing Intent toward Hyuga Sōun on more than one occasion. If not for mediation by the other two factions and Hyuga Hiashi, the two factions would have fought long ago.

And if they did fight, Hyuga Sōun would die. Quite a few members of the Hyūga Clan knew something of Hyuga Kiyomi’s strength.

Though she held the lofty status of the Main Family, she never avoided war. Instead, she led the Branch Family ninjas head-on into battle. In terms of training time alone, Hyuga Kiyomi was practically the most diligent person in the Hyūga Clan.

Not only the Branch Family of Hyuga Kiyomi’s faction, but even branch family members from other factions held this young Fourth Elder in immense respect.

"Call in the Branch Family clansmen."

Seeing that the conflict between Hyuga Kiyomi and Hyuga Sōun was on the verge of turning violent at the clan meeting, the First Elder immediately redirected the discussion and said to Hyuga Hiashi,

"Clan Head, if we are truly going to war, we should hear the Branch Family’s opinions."

"I understand."

Hyuga Hiashi nodded, sighing inwardly. Seeing Hyuga Kiyomi’s presence and youthful vigor, Hiashi increasingly felt that he was an outdated "old man." If he had possessed Hyuga Kiyomi’s courage, perhaps Hizashi would not have met with disaster.

"Kiyomi, as you suggested, gather representatives from the Branch Family and have them join the discussion."

With both the clan head and First Elder yielding to Hyuga Kiyomi, Hyuga Sōun could not continue the argument. Though he hated Hyuga Kiyomi intensely, that hatred also carried a trace of fear.

Hyuga Hiashi continued, "Also, Kiyomi, you will represent the Hyūga Clan at the upcoming Ninja Clan meeting."

"Clan Head?!"

The other three elders were slightly stunned by this decision. They had never heard of this before. The only person who had ever represented the Hyūga Clan was the clan head, yet Hiashi was now giving up that authority.

Hyuga Hiashi said firmly, "No more objections. I believe that with the Fourth Elder’s abilities, she will not allow the Hyūga Clan to suffer losses."

Having seen Hyuga Hiashi’s resolve, the other three said nothing further. Still, they all decided to privately question Hyuga Hiashi later about what exactly he was planning.

"I understand. Protecting our clansmen and leading the Hyūga Clan’s development are the responsibilities the Main Family should fulfill. Rather than flaunting the Main Family’s useless authority and merely making ourselves a laughingstock."

Hyuga Kiyomi readily agreed. After taking the authority to represent the clan from Hyuga Hiashi, she also took the opportunity to mock Hyuga Sōun. It made his chest heave like a bellows, but he could do nothing in the face of Hyuga Kiyomi.

Afterward, the Hyūga Clan gathered Branch Family representatives for a joint discussion. The Branch Family clansmen were rather surprised when they arrived. Their opinions had never been sought in matters like this before, so this was quite sudden.

But once they learned that it had been Hyuga Kiyomi’s suggestion, Branch Family clansmen from every faction looked at her with gratitude and respect.

They did not necessarily need to voice their opinions or assert their rights during this discussion, but Hyuga Kiyomi’s recognition of them as fellow clansmen was what made the Branch Family members most grateful.

Their respect was not for Hyuga Kiyomi’s status as a member of the Main Family, but gratitude toward someone guiding the clan forward.

After briefly discussing the Hyūga Clan’s bottom line and the approximate number of troops to deploy, the meeting adjourned. In every war, the Hyūga Clan had been indispensable. Only the number of people to send remained open to discussion.

This time, Hyuga Kiyomi did not intend to deploy too many clansmen. The Hyūga Clan already wielded considerable influence in the village, and after digesting the gains from the Third Shinobi World War, its power within the village had expanded significantly.

Although the Nine-Tails’ Rampage had damaged their reputation somewhat, the Hyūga Clan’s influence remained impossible to ignore.

If the Hyūga Clan sent too many people to this war and earned great merit on the battlefield, the higher-ups would become wary once they returned to the village. The Frontline Commander might even suppress Hyuga Clan members on the battlefield.

Kiyomi, Hiashi, and the other Main House Elders all saw this clearly. That was why Hyuga Hiashi had asked Hyuga Kiyomi to attend the Ninja Clan meeting. With his somewhat "timid" personality, he would most likely be unable to withstand pressure from the higher-ups and might allow a large number of clansmen to enter the war.

It was better to have Hyuga Kiyomi attend the Ninja Clan meeting in his place from the beginning.

Konoha and Iwa-nin had decided to launch this war because they sensed the threat posed by the Saudi Federation.

After the powerful Yasunori Trading Company merged with Sunagakure, it unexpectedly built up a formidable force. As neighboring powers, Iwa-nin and Konoha could not simply sit by and watch the Saudi Federation continue developing.

Although only six years had passed since the last war, Iwa-nin and Konoha absolutely could not give the Saudi Federation more time. If they did not drag the Saudi Federation into war and crush its momentum in one stroke, the gap in their development would only grow wider and wider.

Between relying on funding allocated by the Daimyo Manor and developing through self-sufficiency, Sarutobi Hiruzen and Ōnoki were not so senile that they could not tell which was better for a village. Besides, with the Yasunori Trading Company’s immense power and wealth, its annual support for Sunagakure’s construction was likely no less than that of the Land of Fire Daimyo Manor.

Therefore, war was inevitable.

"Lady Konan, your amegakure-nin are far too inefficient. If the same task had been handed to the Suna-nin, they would probably have needed only half as much time."

Yasunori Sakai clicked his tongue and shook his head. Hearing him, Konan’s face was half-hidden by her Black Cloud Cloak, yet one could still feel the coldness spreading from her.

"They completed the task quickly enough. The Rain Country’s environment is different from that of the Suna-nin…" After saying that, Konan asked skeptically, "What do you need detailed data on every village in the Rain Country for? What does that have to do with reconstruction?"

"Of course it has something to do with it. If we are going to rebuild the Rain Country, we might as well do it thoroughly in one go."

As he recorded the data in his hands, Yasunori Sakai said to Konan, "The Rain Country’s population, the distribution of its villages, the labor force in each village, the elderly and women, how the villages sustain themselves, and so on. Once this data is compiled, we can create the most comprehensive plan."

At that point, Yasunori Sakai paused. He glanced at Konan before continuing, "Some places are suited for farming, some for animal husbandry, and others for building factories. Everything must be considered according to actual conditions. Lady Konan, if you want to rebuild the Rain Country properly and let every civilian of the Rain Country live happily, these are matters you must consider."

Konan fell silent after hearing this. Simply looking at all that data made her head spin. If she also had to make plans or manage everything…

I can’t do it!

After thinking carefully, Konan reached that conclusion. She had a clear understanding of her own abilities. Managing one village was enough, but expanding that to the entire Rain Country… she definitely could not do it.

Though Yasunori Sakai’s attitude displeased her somewhat, he was helping the Rain Country. Moreover, once he became busy, he barely even ate. Konan could still distinguish good intentions from bad ones.

"…Thank you for your trouble."

"If you spoke a little louder, it would sound more sincere."

Yasunori Sakai spoke without raising his head. Though Konan’s voice had been very quiet, he had still heard her.

"Besides, this is a transaction. You do not need to thank me. When do you plan to complete the task I mentioned?"

Konan’s expression turned cold again. "Rest assured, Akatsuki has never failed a task it accepted."

Assassinating the Daimyo of the Land of Wind and several nobles from the Stubborn Faction—no, it should be called an open assassination.

Using the pretext that the final bounty payment had not been made, they would let everyone who speculated about it know that the Daimyo of the Land of Wind was the mastermind behind the assassination of the Fourth Kazekage.

Once this matter spread, Pakura would have a legitimate reason to attack the remaining territory of the Land of Wind.

Without that justification, if the Saudi Federation attacked the Land of Wind, the Daimyos of other countries would certainly be alarmed and urge their respective Ninja Villages to unite against the Saudi Federation.

But once this matter was exposed, it would be the Land of Wind Daimyo Manor that had first violated the principle of One Village One Nation. Even the Fourth Kazekage had died within his own sphere of influence. What about the other Kage? If they did something that did not conform to the Daimyo’s decisions, could they also be assassinated near their own territory?

Those who broke the rules were bound to be condemned. Moreover, once this matter was exposed, it would more or less sow distrust between the Daimyo Manors and Ninja Villages. Given the Ninja Villages’ absolute strength, even if a Daimyo Manor paid the price to kill a Kage, it would suffer brutal retaliation from the Ninja Village.

Once a ferocious beast had slipped its leash, binding it again would not be so easy. The Saudi Federation was setting an example for the other Ninja Villages.

After leaving Yasunori Sakai’s residence, Konan went to where Nagato was.

Seeing how wholeheartedly Yasunori Sakai was working for the Rain Country, they needed to take some action in return.

However, mobilizing Akatsuki required an order from its leader, Pain. Although Akatsuki’s members neither understood nor particularly liked Konan’s recent actions, Nagato’s condition was steadily improving, and Pain was growing stronger and stronger.

Even if the members of Akatsuki were dissatisfied, before Pain, they could only obey orders.