The Hyuga Shall Stand Above, In The Heavens!

Ninja World. 

Land of Fire. 

As the succession ceremony for Konohagakure's Fifth Hokage drew closer, the entire village grew more lively, and the eyes of the ninja world turned toward it. 

But unlike the calm before a storm, Brother Fugaku's actions remained as high-profile as ever. Nearly every evening, he hosted fireworks festivals, determined to make everyone remember the greatness of his ascension. 

With the arrivals of Rasa from the Sand Village, Oonoki from Iwagakure, and A from Kumogakure, the festive atmosphere reached its peak. 

To show his generosity, Brother Fugaku personally welcomed the village leaders and expressed his gratitude for their presence. 

As he put it, no matter their reasons for coming, he treated them as if they were attending the celebration to honor him. As the host, he had to make a good impression. 

Oonoki and the others didn't stir up trouble either. After arriving in Konohagakure, they quietly waited for the ceremony to begin, unlike their previous visits to sign treaties, where private meetings were common. 

The reason? 

What needed to be discussed—and what didn't—was all settled when they gathered at the Land of Fire Daimyo's residence. 

Apart from the newly appointed Mizukage, who was unaware of the plan targeting the Sun God Kingdom, everyone else already understood how to control the situation. In fact, they felt that whether the Mizukage joined or not didn't really matter. If Kirigakure didn't participate, there might even be more benefits to divide. 

Even Raikage, who had been beaten down so many times, carried himself with an air of confidence when he arrived at Konohagakure, as if everything was under control. The defeated and disheartened demeanor he once had was completely gone. 

This time, they were back on their feet! 

But they were just as curious—without Hyuga Hitoshi's personal protection, what cards did the Hyuga clan have left to play against the combined power of the five great nations? 

Yes. 

After both Kirigakure and Konohagakure remained silent and ignored their respective Daimyos, the Daimyo of the Land of Water and the Land of Fire decided to take matters into their own hands. To make a statement, they secretly hired rogue ninja groups similar to the Akatsuki and allied with other villages, aiming to settle old scores. 

The one who paid the most in all this was the new Land of Fire Daimyo. He hated the Hyuga clan to the core and had even diverted tax revenue to cover expenses, posting a massive bounty on the black market. 

Moreover, the new Daimyo himself came to Konohagakure in person. 

Why? 

He wanted to see for himself if the person who killed his father was some kind of superhuman and have a proper conversation with the Hokage of Konohagakure to try and reach some sort of truce. 

As Fugaku and Hyuga Hitoshi had said, life hadn't been easy for the Land of Fire Daimyo after losing his authority over Konohagakure and without the support of ninja villages. Even his personal guards had been taken back by Konohagakure, leaving his own safety in question. 

He had thought about creating a new ninja village to balance against Konohagakure. 

But everything takes time, and he lacked the confidence to secretly build a new village under Konohagakure's watch without being discovered. One wrong move, and Konohagakure might go berserk and eliminate him as Daimyo entirely. 

So, this time, the Land of Fire Daimyo came with two plans. 

First, he would cautiously explore a truce with Konohagakure, but absolutely wouldn't bow his head or apologize as the Fifth Hokage suggested—that was out of the question. 

Second, he planned to secretly build a force outside the Land of Fire. Once it was strong enough, he would boldly announce the creation of a new ninja village in the Land of Fire. He even had a name in mind: Flame Hidden Village! 

Although the name sounded somewhat similar to Iwagakure, it highlighted the Land of Fire's identity, so it wasn't a big deal. Everything would depend on whether Konohagakure behaved itself. 

As more and more people gathered in Konohagakure, the atmosphere in the village grew increasingly tense and strange. 

Everyone had their own motives, and the place was full of scheming individuals from across the ninja world. 

The situation within the village was incredibly complicated, and perhaps even Fugaku hadn't expected that the rebuilt Konohagakure would attract so many clowns from the shadows. 

"My dad is such a piece of work! Even after stepping down, he can't just stay quiet." 

On a corner of Konohagakure's streets, Sarutobi Asuma looked irritated as he spoke, his tone filled with frustration. After saying that, he pulled out a cigarette and handed it to Uchiha Itachi. 

There was nothing he could do. 

Even though his father had been relatively well-behaved since stepping down, for some reason, he had recently started spreading negative rumors about the Uchiha clan again. 

However, Asuma didn't know that he had unfairly blamed his father. After all, the person in charge of commanding the battle right now was the second Hokage from Konohagakure, and it had nothing to do with Sarutobi Hiruzen. Even though Sarutobi knew that spreading negative news about the Uchiha clan was pointless, he didn't dare to argue with his mentor, nor did he dare to tell him that he had used similar methods before. 

If Sarutobi knew that his son hated him because he followed his mentor's orders, he would probably feel very wronged. 

Asuma took a drag from his cigarette, his tone filled with frustration. 

"Why can't he just understand? There's really nothing wrong with the village right now!" 

Well, not entirely, Asuma. 

Sitting next to him, Uchiha Itachi took the cigarette, lit it, and squinted his eyes. 

Since getting familiar with Asuma, he had shared a lot of ideas about the clan and the village with him. He believed Asuma had listened and understood. He had been keeping an eye on the remaining Sarutobi clan, and his gaze toward them was exactly like how Itachi looked at the Uchiha. 

Asuma, in return, had taught his close friend to smoke and drink Satoshi's wine, which Itachi considered a way of repaying him. 

Although Itachi was young, he was the type of person who could go so far as to kill his own parents. Learning these things from Asuma didn't seem like a big deal, especially since he felt accepted by Asuma. Besides, secondhand smoke wasn't as harmful as first-hand smoke. 

"We can't blame the Third Hokage entirely."

At this moment, Itachi still respectfully referred to Sarutobi as the Third Hokage. 

"My father really did go too far. No matter how you look at it, the scale of this inauguration ceremony is a bit much. With my father's achievements, he doesn't deserve such a grand celebration." 

The extravagant waste was hard to ignore. If that money were used to rebuild the village, the previous rebuilding efforts would have been much better. 

Itachi sighed lightly, feeling his father was too selfish, always enjoying things for himself without thinking about the village. 

A person like this becoming Hokage? The future of the village seemed worrying. 

"I actually disagree with that." 

Asuma thought for a moment before giving a different opinion. 

Although he had learned a bit of "Itachi-style" thinking, Asuma had adopted these methods specifically for his own clan, so they often disagreed about the village but would still discuss things together. 

"The village has just been rebuilt. Holding a ceremony isn't a big deal. It's a way to wash away past misfortunes. Combining the inauguration with the rebuilding celebration—haven't you seen how many more smiles the villagers have these days?" 

This was a good thing. 

But also....

"And the money didn't come from the village's resources, right? It was paid for by the Fifth Hokage himself." 

This was where Asuma supported Fugaku! 

Itachi awkwardly scratched his head upon hearing this. 

He almost said that Fugaku had sold a lot of land to fund the grand inauguration ceremony, exchanging the Daimyo's land for money to make it happen. This definitely didn't seem like something a wise Hokage would do. 

To be honest, if that money had gone into building the village, he wouldn't have had such a big issue with it. 

"Never mind, let's not talk about them." 

Shaking his head, Asuma noticed Itachi's slightly awkward expression and, understanding, decided to drop the topic. 

After all, he disliked his father, and Itachi felt the same way about his own. That made them true friends—people who shared the same path! 

"By the way, I think today is the day the Mizukage is visiting." 

Standing up, Asuma flicked his cigarette butt away, his eyes glinting with curiosity. 

"This is the first time the Mizukage from Kirigakure is coming to Konohagakure. This is a big step forward, and I heard the new Mizukage is a woman?" 

Regardless of gender, anyone who can become a Kage, besides my father, should be respected. 

Itachi nodded and followed Asuma to the village entrance.

But what surprised both Asuma and Itachi was that compared to the previous welcoming ceremonies for leaders from other villages, the current event seemed a bit grander.

There were, of course, rules between the ninja villages.

For example, the Kage of the five great ninja villages, out of respect for Fugaku, would personally come to greet him. As for the leaders of smaller villages, their subordinates would handle the greeting on their behalf.

Given the rank of the Mizukage, it wasn't unusual for Fugaku to come out to greet them, but after scanning the area, Itachi couldn't help but furrow his brows.

The village's upper officials were all present, and the guests who were supposed to be waiting inside the village were now standing at the village entrance, waiting for the Mizukage's arrival.

This was strange.

The Mizukage could never have this much face!

Itachi's expression grew serious, and with the rumors about the Sun God Kingdom's leader visiting soon, he started to form a guess.

As expected.

When the Mizukage's luxurious carriage slowly appeared at the end of the road, everyone's expressions subtly changed.

The reason?

On either side of the carriage, besides the symbol of Kirigakure Village, there was an unusual engraving of the Hyuga clan's crest!

With gasps of surprise, the crowd gathered at the entrance began to discuss eagerly.

The Hyuga clan's crest had now been confirmed as the new symbol of the Sun God Kingdom.

Carving this symbol onto the Mizukage's carriage meant that either the person who did this had lost their mind or that both parties had reached some kind of agreement!

What made it even harder to understand was that the Sun God Kingdom's symbol was much larger than the Kirigakure Village symbol, so much so that it was clear which one took priority!

"No wonder Hyuga Hitoshi is so confident. It turns out he's teamed up with one of the five great ninja villages, Kirigakure!"

"Kirigakure has been lying low for years. After the failed invasion of the Land of Fire, they say they entered the Bloody Mist era. Not to mention their influence, their fighting power and bloodthirstiness are certainly not weak."

"So, the Sun God Kingdom has formed a partnership with Kirigakure? Are they planning to seek protection from the Land of Water in the future?"

"I don't know, but if this is the case, what's the difference between Hyuga Hitoshi leading the Hyuga clan into Kirigakure? What's the point of recruiting small countries? Does he want all small countries to join Kirigakure? Isn't that ridiculous?"

"We still don't know exactly what's going on, so I won't make a judgment. But if the Sun God Kingdom can only rely on Kirigakure's backing, that's really disappointing."

People who thought they knew the truth began to whisper.

Meanwhile, Oonoki, Rasa, and Raikage A remained silent.

Kirigakure's betrayal had been one of the conclusions they had guessed during their discussions in the Land of Fire's Daimyo's mansion. The Land of Water's Daimyo had very little control over Kirigakure, and after sending multiple messages to the Mizukage with no response, they had chosen to take matters into their own hands, hiring rogue ninjas to cooperate with other great nations.

This was the information they had received several days ago.

But unfortunately, after that, the Land of Water's Daimyo had completely gone silent, and the promised support never arrived. In the end, it was the Land of Fire's Daimyo who had to step in and handle the situation.

As to why this happened, now that they were seeing the Sun God Kingdom seemingly receiving protection from Kirigakure, they were starting to make their own conclusions.

It was likely that the Land of Water's Daimyo had already met a tragic end, and the madmen of the Hyuga clan had struck again! 

And as they had suspected, the truth was much the same.

Hyuga Hitoshi never told anyone that the luxurious and extravagant carriage used exclusively by the Mizukage was actually built after they took over the Land of Water Daimyo's residence. 

Of course, given the wealth of the Land of Water Daimyo, Hyuga Hitoshi also managed to buy a significant amount of Land of Fire territory through Fugaku. 

Now, looking at the whole map, the Land of Rice Fields, the Land of Grass, and the Land of River to the southwest form a triangle. These regions are now connected by the newly purchased Land of Fire territory, creating a new boundary line. 

In simple terms, 

Originally, the Land of Rice Fields and the Land of Demons were too far apart to have any connecting borders, but now there's a direct link between them. This link is a large portion of the Land of Fire that has been taken, and it will all become part of the Sun God Kingdom, including a passageway leading to the Moon. 

From a territorial perspective, the Sun God Kingdom has already met the minimum standards to be considered a great nation! 

However, for the Hyuga clan, the current size of the territory is enough for now. They need time to manage these areas properly. Expanding further could lead to problems like a lack of manpower, which would be counterproductive if it negatively affects the development of the Sun God Kingdom. 

Of course, 

As for the purchase of Land of Fire territory, once he meets Fugaku, the formal contract will be signed. Fugaku will announce the deal at the succession ceremony and will use it to test the Land of Fire Daimyo's tolerance. 

If the Land of Fire Daimyo accepts Fugaku's actions, he will represent Konohagakure in mending ties with the Daimyo's office and restore their previous relationship. However, if the Daimyo disagrees, they'll have no choice but to send him away. 

"They're here." 

Finally, 

Under the attention of everyone, the Mizukage's luxurious carriage arrived at the entrance of Konohagakure. 

And when Hyuga Hitoshi got out of the carriage, it was no surprise that gasps were heard. 

The reason was simple. 

From the Mizukage cloak he wore, to his slightly messy clothes and the lipstick marks on his neck, it was clear that his relationship with the Mizukage was not straightforward. 

Some even speculated that Hyuga Hitoshi was the Mizukage himself! 

"I feels nostalgic." 

Standing at the village entrance, Hyuga Hitoshi couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions. 

Although it hadn't been long since he left with the Hyuga clan and casually handed Fugaku the position of Hokage—only about half a year—Hyuga Hitoshi still felt like it was just yesterday. 

Since leaving Konohagakure, Hitoshi had done many things, but the village felt like it had stopped moving. It seemed to be stuck, resting in place. Even though the streets and houses were newly rebuilt and looked fresh, the sense of age and lifelessness had only become stronger. 

Leaving was undoubtedly the right choice for him. This village truly was like a cage for the Hyuga clan. 

At least now, he had broken free from that cage. 

"Ahh, brother, brother! You finally made it!" 

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, his nostalgia was interrupted by the warm and enthusiastic Fugaku. He came running up and, excited, gave Hyuga Hitoshi a big hug.

"Brother, I missed you so much!" 

After the land deal, they hadn't seen each other. Recently, he sold some land to the Sun God Kingdom, and Kakashi and Uchiha Satoshi handled the deal, so he didn't get the chance to go. 

Now that he saw Hitoshi doing well in his business, Fugaku was quite excited. 

"Ah, it's my fault. I've been too busy to come back and visit. But in the future, I'll make time to swing by." 

That sounds great! 

Fugaku smiled slightly and leaned in close to Hyuga Hitoshi's ear, saying mysteriously, 

"Brother, the Uchiha clan's beauty contest is about to end. You should come with me. Whoever you like, I'll make sure she becomes your third wife. You can take her anytime!" 

It had to be you, Fugaku. 

Hitoshi, moved, was about to say something when he saw Terumi Mei already getting off the carriage. He quickly adjusted the Mizukage cloak she had accidentally taken off and pulled her over, pointing to Fugaku. 

"This is the noble Fifth Hokage of Konohagakure. Just call him Fugaku, like I do." 

Is this the new sister-in-law? 

Fugaku quickly nodded politely, careful not to look around. He looked just as thoughtful as ever, after all these years. 

"Fugaku." 

Terumi Mei greeted him sweetly. 

But Fugaku insisted that she just call him "father-in-law." Eventually, Terumi Mei, unable to refuse his politeness, agreed. 

After a bit of conversation, the Fifth Hokage and the leader of the Sun God Kingdom, who hadn't met in a long time, ignored the villagers of Konohagakure and the leaders of other countries who were watching at the village entrance. They caught up as if nothing else mattered. Everyone else stood there, wide-eyed, not knowing what to make of it. 

Only from a building, wearing an old-style headband and Senju armor, did the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, frown. 

He wasn't just watching. 

What he saw at the village entrance had given him a lot to think about. 

The man was clearly from the Hyuga clan. 

But the Uchiha clan leader and Konohagakure's acting Fifth Hokage was acting like a sycophant, flattering the man. The Mizukage, who should have been treated with respect, was standing quietly beside him, listening like a docile cat, as if that Hyuga man was more important than her. 

This was troubling! 

The relationship between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans was definitely complicated. No wonder the Sarutobi had stepped down. 

Clearly, the Hyuga had been underestimated. 

That Hyuga Hitoshi was the real mastermind behind it all. 

"Evil Hyuga brat!" 

Senju Tobirama coldly stared at the man, like he was looking at a troublemaker. 

But to his surprise, even from a distance, his stare caught the man's attention. The man raised an eyebrow when he saw him, then suddenly grinned and reached for Fugaku's hand, pulling it toward him. 

And then... 

He gave the Second Hokage the middle finger from a distance. 

Okay. 

The Second Hokage laughed in anger. 

"I accept your challenge!" 

---

---------------------------------------

You can read 10 chapters ahead on patre on

patr eon.com/JYouyi