"Have you ever cheated?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at Kyusei's utterly serious face and was momentarily dumbfounded.
He had thought the kid was troubled by something heavy—something worthy of the Hokage, the so-called "head of the village," stepping in to guide the future of Konoha.
…Well, to be fair, this was a mess of epic proportions.
But why the hell was this little brat asking him that kind of question?!
He, Hiruzen Sarutobi, had lived an upright life—loyal to Biwako to the end!
How dare this punk slander an old man like that?!
"You—!"
"You little bastard!"
"You shameless, womanizing brat!"
"Who did you set your sights on?!"
Seeing the red-haired delinquent in front of him putting on an innocent face, Hiruzen instantly understood what this mess was really about.
Letting a girl like Kaoru go to waste, and now he had his eye on someone else?!
Unforgivable!
"I—I didn't…"
Kyusei's eyes drifted away guiltily.
"Confess. Now."
"Or I'll go tell Kaoru myself."
Hiruzen was furious. This kid was obviously lying.
"Eh?!"
"You old geezer, don't slander me out of thin air!"
Kyusei stubbornly shot back.
"Slander?"
"You think you still have any innocence left?!"
Hiruzen looked at him coldly, not buying a single word.
Kyusei felt his teeth ache.
He should never have brought this up with the old man.
"…It's Naori."
The moment the name left his mouth, Hiruzen's breathing stalled.
Hyūga Naori.
Of course. Of course it was her.
Who else but the White-Eyed Princess of the Hyūga?
Back then, when this kid had insisted on keeping Naori by his side, he must've already had those thoughts!
This was… bad. Very bad.
"You little bastard!"
Hiruzen suddenly stood up and smacked Kyusei hard on the head.
Anyone else would've been fine—but why did it have to be Hyūga Naori?!
Just recently, Hiruzen had even wondered why Naori was already twenty-two and still unmarried.
Turns out she'd been right under his nose the whole time!
"How far did you go?"
Hiruzen's mind was already racing.
If this were anyone else, he'd laugh it off as gossip.
But with Kyusei, it was a political landmine.
Kyusei's partner was Kaoru—his chosen Fourth Hokage.
Kyusei himself was the Nine-Tails jinchūriki, a power the Hokage must control.
If a rift formed between the Hokage and the jinchūriki, the consequences would be catastrophic.
And Hyūga Naori was the next head of the Hyūga clan.
The Byakugan might not surpass the Sharingan in single combat, but it had one overwhelming advantage the Sharingan could never match:
Vision.
Penetration.
Kilometers-wide battlefield awareness.
Strategic value of the highest order.
Now imagine this—
The Nine-Tails jinchūriki, partner of the future Hokage, and the future head of the Hyūga clan…
mutually involved.
What kind of dog-blooded melodrama was this?!
No one involved could be offended.
No one could be easily replaced.
Hiruzen's frustration boiled over. He grabbed Kyusei by the ear and twisted.
"You little shit!"
"Are you trying to give me more work on purpose?!"
The fact that the Hokage was cursing outright said everything about his mental state.
"Ah—ah—ah—old man, let go! That hurts!"
"I was wrong, okay?!"
Hiruzen finally released him, his thoughts spinning at full speed.
The Nine-Tails jinchūriki could not be replaced.
Kyusei's combat power was irreplaceable.
So the choices were:
Change the future Hokage.
Change the future head of the Hyūga clan.
Or cut things off now, before it went any further.
Hiruzen looked at Kyusei coldly, irritation etched deep into his face.
He was over fifty years old—and still had to clean up a brat's love life.
But no matter what, he had to handle it.
If the Hyūga side were changed, the fracture between Kyusei and Kaoru would still remain.
If the future Hokage were changed…
Hiruzen thought of Kyusei's teacher—Hatake Sakumo.
If Sakumo became Hokage, then with Kyusei's temperament, there would never be conflict between them.
That would naturally secure the bond between Hokage and jinchūriki.
But then Kaoru would be the one who suffered.
Hiruzen stared at Kyusei and asked coldly:
"Who do you think should be the Fourth Hokage?"
"Kaoru, obviously. Who else?"
Kyusei answered without thinking.
The next second, his eyes widened as he realized what Hiruzen meant.
"Old man, you're not thinking—?!"
"The Hokage and the jinchūriki must never be divided,"
Hiruzen said flatly.
"If there's even a chance of a rift between you and Kaoru because of this, then for the sake of the future, Kaoru must be replaced."
Kyusei's scalp went numb.
Becoming Hokage was Kaoru's dream.
If that dream was destroyed because of him, he'd never forgive himself.
"You can't do that!"
Kyusei panicked.
"You think I want to?!"
"This is because of you!"
Hiruzen had once been extremely satisfied with Kyusei and Kaoru's relationship.
Hokage and jinchūriki becoming husband and wife—that was the most stable bond imaginable.
But this little pervert had to go chasing after someone else!
Kyusei clenched his teeth, thoughts racing.
"I… I'll go talk to Naori…"
"And what will that solve?"
Hiruzen asked coldly.
"I'll make things clear…"
"You need to understand,"
Hiruzen said sternly,
"the Hyūga clan is vital to the village. Personal feelings cannot be allowed to affect the bigger picture."
Kyusei understood perfectly.
The Byakugan was too important.
Otherwise, other villages wouldn't be so obsessed with it.
They didn't care half as much about the Sharingan.
Because the Sharingan made one person strong.
The Byakugan made an entire village strong.
Kyusei sat on top of the First Hokage's stone head, clutching his hair, completely at a loss.
"…Um…"
"…Actually, if Kaoru could accept Naori too, that wouldn't be impossible…"
A completely unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded from within Kyusei's chest.
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