In the large living room of the Hyuga Clan building, the young Hyuga held Volume 9 of Naruto with barely concealed excitement.
"Hinata against Neji!"
"Do you think Hinata will win this duel? She is part of the Main Family, after all."
Clearly hesitant, the other Hyuga replied uncertainly. "I imagine Neji will be required to respect the clan's rules and avoid hurting her. Especially during an exhibition match in front of the village's elite ninjas and the Hokage himself."
Izaya, who had been listening in silence from the beginning, did not bother waiting and began reading attentively.
It seemed that in this uncertain future, only the Hyuga Clan had properly survived. But after seeing the state of the other clans, he assumed that a price must have been paid. But what?
Reading the first pages, he saw the timid and fearful attitude of this future heiress of the clan. "How can a member of the Main Family be so pathetic…"
In truth, while watching Neji confront Hinata in the small arena, Izaya felt as though he could see himself in him in a certain way.
The hatred toward members of the Main Family. The injustice of birth that deprived him of respect and freedom.
Then, through Kurenai's memories, he read about the attitude of Hinata's father, the future patriarch of the Hyuga Clan. The disgust toward his daughter's weakness. The lack of love when he was told that his daughter's chances of dying as a ninja would be high.
Even as a member of the Branch Family, Izaya began to feel pity for the young girl. "The attitude of this patriarch seems inappropriate. So he sent his own daughter beyond the clan's protection even if it meant she might die… That is not how members of the Main Family should behave."
The Hyuga hall had become completely silent, with every Byakugan reading page after page, their attention glued to the story.
Standing before Hinata, Neji continued to belittle her in front of everyone: "You fiddle with your lips, and that intimate gesture betrays the torment tearing you apart. Through an instinctive movement, you are trying to soothe the tension and anxiety overwhelming you."
"Come now, dear sister, deep down you know it well… changing one's nature is completely—"
"POSSIIIBLE!!!"
In the stands, Naruto, still as energetic as ever, shouted at the top of his lungs. "Hey! Who are you to decide people's destinies, idiot?! Crush him, Hinata!"
Because of his words, Hinata, who had been trembling, seemed to regain some clarity and pulled herself together.
Then, the fight began.
Following the battle through drawn images did not make it as impressive as if they had witnessed it in reality, but even so, each of them could see Hinata's courage and perseverance.
"He is still being kind." Izaya murmured while reading Neji's fight. Every one of them could see how completely Neji controlled the battle. If he had truly wanted to, he could have seriously injured her, but instead he preferred to push her back and shout at her to surrender.
A certain compassion due to his past and his rage against the clan's system.
But Hinata did not give up. "I must follow my nindō…!"
Even though Hinata could no longer fight, and her Gentle Fist had been rendered useless, she refused to surrender, which seemed to change Neji's mind and caused him to fight more harshly.
"All of this because of that Uzumaki clown." Izaya thought.
He seemed to be the only one who did not understand the situation, pushing her to continue a fight that could kill her.
And because he was in front of her, she refused to show any weakness.
Because she was in love…
In the image, Hinata was covered in blood, her body trembling, but her smile remained radiant. "I don't want… him to pity me." she murmured while thinking about Naruto.
Facing Neji, Hinata could barely remain standing, but she persisted. "Between the two of us… you are the one who has suffered the most because of the divisions within our family."
And seemingly having triggered something in his memory, Neji threw himself at Hinata with all his strength.
Stopped at the very last second by four higher-ranking ninjas, Neji was restrained, and Hinata finally lost consciousness, her condition close to death, almost murdered by him.
Then, the end of the manga offered a glimpse of an angry Naruto and an upcoming fight between Gaara and Rock Lee.
Inside the room, Izaya and the others had been reduced to silence, reflecting on what they had just read.
In this fight between the Main Family and the Branch Family, it seemed they were unable to appreciate the otherwise positive result achieved by their secondary branch.
"She looks like Maiko…" Izaya finally said.
Hinata had never experienced the state of a clan under constant pressure from war, but even so, she had lived under expectations that had caused her to suffer even more than certain members of the Branch Family. Her pure heart made it impossible for these young Hyuga to hate her.
"It makes me want to help her." said one of the clan members in the room.
His companions nodded in agreement.
Even Izaya seemed to agree. And without realizing it, through Hinata's innocence, his hatred toward the Main Family seemed to have weakened slightly.
Standing up, Izaya looked at his clan companions, the foundation of the new Hyuga Clan, and closed the manga in his hands. "If we live until then."
Regaining their smiles, every member shouted joyfully as they followed their clan leader, raising their fists into the air. "If we live until then!"
All of that belonged to the future. Until that future meeting, they would have to make sure they survived and improved things here, for a better tomorrow.
A promise for the future.
…
In the arena stands, Akeno sat beside a young boy his age, with brown hair tied in a somewhat poorly made ponytail and a slightly withdrawn appearance.
This young man was named Wang Tao, one of his rare friends.
An orphan like Akeno, his introverted and quiet nature had also caused him to become isolated and somewhat harassed by the other children in the sect.
In the end, facing hardship together had pushed them closer and caused them to become friends.
"You should come with me to Hope City. Vast forests and the calm of the outer cities. Believe me, you would like it."
Seeming slightly tempted by the proposal, Wang Tao nodded with a small smile at the corner of his lips. "It is true that having the local Vice Branch Master in my pocket makes the idea tempting. A simple and peaceful life, except for the risk of beastmen attacks."
Keeping his eyes on the fights in the arena, Akeno replied nonchalantly, "If that's what you're afraid of and focused on, then you can already start packing your bags to come with me. There is no war, and as long as there is no war, the fighting at the border is just for appearances. Small fry meant to remind us of our mutual hatred."
"Small fry like us?" Wang Tao replied with a smile. "In my entire life, I have never taken the slightest risk. Even if you assured me it was one hundred percent safe, I would not come. I would rather stay here."
Patting his friend's shoulder in a friendly manner, Akeno confirmed, "No risk, indeed. None. Just like when you never confessed your crush on Liu Yan."
"Damn it, stop bothering me, Akeno."
"Oh, come on. What is seriously stopping you? I thought that after coming back from spending a year away, you would have finally tried your luck. If you keep saying at every opportunity that you never take risks, you will never get far." Akeno smiled.
Taking a few seconds to watch the exchanges in the arena, Wang Tao gave in. "I will tell her when I break through to Organ Fortification."
"Pfff, by then she will already be married… You are still only at the initial stage of Bone Reinforcement, even after two years."
"Maybe…"
At the center of the arena, the match was gradually reaching its end, and the officials calmly prepared to call the next competitors in order to keep the transitions between fights smooth.
The surrounding audience was amazed. Adults and children admired the spectacle before them with joy and excitement.
And high above in the seats of honor, where the highest-ranking members of the sect sat, a second seat had been installed at the same level as that of the Sect Master for an honored guest.
While the Sect Master's seat remained empty, the faces of the sect elders displayed false smiles as they cast attentive glances toward this guest.
Some felt their hands growing clammy but made no move to wipe them, preferring to act as though nothing was wrong.
The guest in question was dressed magnificently. Brilliant white armor covered his body, crossed by delicate golden patterns, its perfectly fitted plates seeming to capture the sunlight. His finely decorated helmet completely concealed his face, revealing only a narrow dark slit where his eyes were located.
Behind him, two more figures stood motionless like statues. They too wore the same immaculate armor. Not a movement, not a single unnecessary breath. Their presence alone was enough to remind everyone watching that they were not ordinary guards.
ILLUSTRATION
One of the sect elders coughed lightly to break the oppressive silence.
"The Empire… does us a great honor today," he said with a rigid smile.
No response came immediately.
The armored man remained seated, upright and motionless, calmly observing the arena below. The fights, the crowd's shouting, the disciples' agitation… none of it seemed to particularly interest him.
Then finally, a calm voice echoed from behind the helmet.
"Stop trembling. The Empire has nothing to hold against you, Elder."
The voice was neither harsh nor threatening. It was simply composed… as though stating an obvious fact.
And yet, the elder felt his back stiffen even further.
For a brief moment, only the distant noise of the crowd continued to rise from the arena.
None of the elders dared to speak first. Every one of them knew that this man, together with a single other member of his order, could condemn every one of their clans if he doubted their loyalty to the Holy Spirit Empire even slightly.
Unlike the Empire's ordinary officials, whose duty was to maintain peaceful coexistence between the Empire and the sect, this man would not play any games of politeness.
He belonged to the Empire's elite, answering only to the Emperor.
This was the Order of the Shining Heavens!
The fanatics of the Empire!