Chapter 400: Destined to be a Tragedy
Spurred on by the upcoming selection of the Fifth Hokage, Naruto trained even harder, and his resistance to beatings increased by a notch. It even made Masahiko slightly hesitant to hit him.
However, for the sake of his growth, Masahiko could only add a little more force.
Yes, for his growth.
Mm, just a little more force.
...
Meanwhile, at the Hyuga clan compound.
Hiashi, Hizashi, and several elders of the branch family sat in a circle in the Clan Head's Hall.
"This time... the Uchiha clan will probably produce a Hokage." Hiashi's expression was grave.
"Are the Senju really willing to give up?" one elder asked. "If they give up, then Clan Head, what about you..."
Hiashi waved his hand and shook his head. "I will try my best to compete, but there is almost no hope. Obito Uchiha is the Fifth Hokage candidate jointly agreed upon by the Third, the Senju, the Uchiha, and Sensei Masahiko. His advantage is too great."
Everyone present fell silent.
After a long while, Hiashi spoke again. "I called you all here because I have other considerations. The Senju had two Hokages, and the Uchiha will likely have one... By the time of the Sixth, it should be our Hyuga's turn. I plan to start nurturing a candidate now!"
"Nurturing a candidate?" The group exchanged glances, and an elder frowned, speaking up, "Hinata's talent is average, and apart from Mei Terumi of the Hidden Mist Village, no other woman has become a Kage; this is somewhat too difficult... Hanabi is still young, and for the same reason, it's also unlikely for her to become Kage. Clan Head... could it be that you want to nurture Neji? He won't do either. Konoha would never allow a member of our Hyuga branch family to become Hokage!"
Hizashi sighed silently, looking up at his older brother.
Hiashi fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Not Neji. Among Hinata's classmates, there is a child named Toneri Otsutsuki who has been pursuing her. I've had people observe this child for over a year... You know his origins, right?"
The elders exchanged glances, revealing thoughtful expressions. "That child can be considered part of our Hyuga clan, and I've heard his talent is not bad. If he can really union with Hinata..."
Hizashi interrupted, "That child was brought by Sensei Masahiko. He's only attending the Ninja Academy in Konoha, and will probably return to the Land of Whirlpools after graduating."
Hiashi spoke calmly, "What did the Third Hokage do back then to keep Kushina Uzumaki?"
Hizashi's expression changed. "Brother..."
"I have two daughters."
Hizashi remained silent. He knew Hiashi's words didn't mean 'I have two daughters, so it doesn't matter if I marry one off', but rather 'I have two daughters, I must marry one off'. If he didn't do this, either Hinata or Hanabi would eventually have to be branded with the Caged Bird seal.
The elders didn't grasp this underlying meaning from Hiashi. They looked at each other and asked, "We wonder what the Clan Head plans to do?"
Hiashi pondered for a moment. "I will first tell Hinata not to resist that child's pursuit. We won't bring up anything further for now... Wait until the dust settles on the selection of the Fifth Hokage, I want to personally meet that Toneri Otsutsuki!"
...
Kushina's house, Naruto's room.
A soft white light emanated from Masahiko's right hand, one by one eliminating the bruises on Naruto, who was lying face down on the bed.
"Hahahaha... it tickles so much..."
"It should tickle. Growing muscles tickles." Masahiko smiled and slowly withdrew his right hand. "Alright, put your clothes on. That's all for today's training. Get ready to sleep!"
Naruto scrambled up, clumsily pulling on his shirt, still muttering, "Why do I always have to sleep with clothes on? It's so uncomfortable..."
Masahiko paused, a burst of repulsive force pushing Naruto against the wall. "You brat, don't covet Great Ancestor's body."
"Mmph, mmph, mmph..." Naruto's face was pressed against the wall.
Masahiko raised an eyebrow, using attractive force to flip Naruto over so he was lying spread-eagle on the bed. "Go to sleep like a good boy... Stop fooling around!"
...
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, a week had gone by.
The news that the Fifth Hokage was about to be selected spread throughout Konoha Village. However, Masahiko's focus was not on this right now.
During Naruto's training last night, an unintentional complaint from Naruto made Masahiko pay a little attention.
"That bastard Toneri refuses to spar with me now. All he knows is to hover around Hinata all day, and he even walks her home after school..."
It was normal for Toneri to hover around Hinata all day, but walking her home was a bit problematic.
Hinata was the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family. Every day, branch family members picked her up and dropped her off at school. Toneri walking her home meant the Hyuga clan approved or was even actively playing matchmaker.
If it was mutual consent, that would be fine. But Masahiko was worried that Hiashi, for the sake of the next generation's talent, would force Hinata and Toneri together. That would probably become his fault again.
"There are too many faults, it's very annoying. Let Great Ancestor go take a look." Humming a randomly pieced-together tune, Masahiko arrived at the Konoha Ninja Academy towards evening.
Unexpectedly, he bumped right into Toneri... walking out all alone.
"Damn it! That brat Naruto lied to me!"
"Great Elder, why are you here?" Toneri asked, puzzled.
The corner of Masahiko's mouth twitched. He probed, "Where's Hinata?"
Toneri's face flushed. "You know? Did Naruto tell you? Naruto and Sasuke insisted on pestering me for a spar, so I let Hinata leave first and gave Naruto and the other one... a beating."
Masahiko was stunned. So he really could walk Hinata home. It seemed he had to go to the Hyuga clan to ask about this.
"You only took five minutes to beat both of them?"
Toneri shook his head. "School ended fifteen minutes early today. They said some teachers had other things to attend to."
Masahiko was speechless. "I was wondering why there were so few people around... Are Naruto and Sasuke still inside? You go back first, I'll go check on them."
...
Inside the Konoha Academy, Masahiko familiarly walked towards Naruto's classroom and bumped into Sasuke.
Sasuke was startled and bowed in greeting. "Great Ancestor. Are you here to pick up that bas... Naruto? He's still packing his things in the classroom."
As he said this, he tried hard not to show an envious expression. Under Masahiko's training recently, Naruto's progress was indeed very fast, making even him feel the pressure.
Masahiko smiled. "Go back and have your brother guide your training. Don't let Naruto catch up."
"Mm!"
After sending Sasuke off, Masahiko didn't rush into Naruto's classroom because he sensed another chakra besides Naruto's.
"Why hasn't Hinata left yet?"
Inside the classroom, Naruto asked the same question.
Hinata replied softly, "Naruto-kun, where is Toneri-kun?"
"That bastard Toneri has already left. He never carries a schoolbag. I don't even know how he takes his exams every time! He must be using his eyes to cheat!"
Hinata: "..."
Naruto slung his bag over his shoulder, turned, and started walking. "Aren't you leaving yet? No need to wait, that bastard Toneri really left."
Hinata's voice was as soft as a mosquito's. "But Father told me... to walk with Toneri-kun."
Outside the door, Masahiko sighed deeply.
Naruto also heard Hinata's words, a mischievous smile appearing on his face. "Don't you like that bastard Toneri yourself?"
Hinata's voice became even softer. "It's Father... Although Toneri-kun treats me very well... but..."
Naruto dug his ear, suspecting he was going deaf, and muttered, "Who can hear when you talk like that?"
Naruto suddenly raised his volume, his loud voice startling Hinata. "Why are you talking so softly? Whether you like him or not, say it out loud! Just like I like Sakura. If you don't like him, who cares what your father says? Just train hard and beat that bastard Toneri to the ground!"
"Na... Naruto-kun..." Hinata was stunned.
Naruto turned and waved. "I'm off! Eh, Great Ancestor, why did you come to pick me up?"
Masahiko's expression was odd. Looking at Hinata's flushed little face, then at the bratty Naruto, he thought, This child Toneri, it seems... he's destined to be a tragedy.
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