Kakuzu had always treated the Hyuga child, Tenriki, a little differently.
Curiosity?
Fondness?
Even Kakuzu himself wasn’t entirely sure.
A year ago, he had still been a kind little angel—
No.
That wasn’t right.
A murderous demon taking a temporary break from killing.
For reasons he couldn’t quite explain, Kakuzu had returned to Konoha while reminiscing about his battle with the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
He wandered through the village, lost in old memories, until his attention was suddenly caught by a mask modeled after the First Hokage.
He wanted it.
Then he reached for his money.
Nothing.
Kakuzu had stood there in stunned silence.
For a man who valued money more than almost anything else in the world, forgetting to bring any was practically a personal disgrace.
And that was when a two-year-old child dressed from head to toe in dazzling gold appeared in front of him.
“Uncle, you forgot your money, didn’t you? Here. I’ll buy the mask for you. Consider it a gift.”
The child practically radiated the aura of someone born rich.
Gold clothes.
Casual spending.
The effortless confidence of someone who had never needed to check a price tag in his life.
Kakuzu’s interest was immediately captured.
For reasons even he couldn’t explain, the money-loving mercenary found himself instinctively approving of the boy.
A kid like this is worth knowing.
Only afterward did Kakuzu learn that the walking pile of gold was none other than one of the young masters of the Hyuga Clan.
A rich heir?
Kakuzu’s eyes practically lit up.
Then I absolutely need to expand my business connections.
Since he was still in Konoha, he struck up a conversation with Tenriki.
That conversation only made the child stranger.
Tenriki was two years old, yet his thinking was far more mature than it had any right to be.
Even more importantly, many of his ideas were completely new to Kakuzu.
Especially the ones about creating companies and making money.
Those ideas nearly made Kakuzu’s eyes turn into little red hearts.
Of course, there were also some incomprehensible remarks about things like Boss & Me, My Sunshine, The Domineering CEO Falls in Love with Me, and The CEO’s Private Darling.
Kakuzu had no idea what any of that nonsense meant.
But the money-making ideas?
Those he understood perfectly.
And just like that, an unlikely friendship formed between an infamous mercenary and a toddler.
Tenriki invited Kakuzu several times to work with him and “start a company.”
Kakuzu always refused.
Being ordered around by a two-year-old would have been devastating to his dignity as a veteran underworld boss.
Still, whenever Kakuzu thought back on the days since meeting Tenriki, his expression inevitably softened.
The corner of his mouth even rose slightly.
“We’re here.”
The voice of his temporary teammate pulled Kakuzu from his memories.
His faint smile vanished instantly.
His expression returned to its usual hard, cold mask.
“Begin Plan A.”
The two shinobi beside him nodded.
Three figures melted into the darkness.
Not long afterward, at the compound housing Kumogakure’s diplomatic delegation, two Cloud shinobi sleeping peacefully in their rooms were silently incapacitated.
No alarm was raised.
Hizashi Hyuga sat alone in his room, his thoughts in turmoil.
The words Hiashi had spoken not long ago continued to echo through his mind.
“If Kumogakure insists on taking my corpse, then the clan will have to depend on you after I’m gone.”
“You are my younger brother. Main family or branch family… I have wronged you.”
“After I die, please take care of Hinata.”
Hiashi had left prepared to die.
That realization filled Hizashi with grief and confusion.
He had hated the main family.
Hated its cruelty.
Hated the fact that he had no freedom.
Hated the destiny imposed upon him simply because he had been born into the branch family.
But now…
He couldn’t bring himself to hate his brother.
Clan.
Blood.
Children.
Resentment.
Family bonds.
Countless thoughts tangled together in his mind.
The Hyuga Clan was facing one of the greatest crises in its history.
Kumogakure coveted the Byakugan.
They were threatening both Konoha and the Hyuga with war, demanding the corpse of the Hyuga Clan Head as compensation.
Hizashi lowered his gaze.
Then slowly, determination replaced the turmoil in his eyes.
“Maybe… there is another way.”
He rose and walked to the table.
Paper.
Ink.
Brush.
Hizashi began to write.
Brother, by the time you read this letter, I may already be dead.
Forgive me for making this decision without asking you.
The branch family exists to protect the main family.
That is the fate imposed upon us, and perhaps it was through such sacrifices that our ancestors preserved the Hyuga bloodline.
But I still hate the main family.
I hated it before, and I hate it even now.
That is why I am not doing this to protect the main family.
I am doing it to protect my brother.
For me, this is the first time I have ever truly been free to choose.
All these years, Neji has only seen a powerless father bound by the fate of the branch family.
But now, at last, I understand what I want.
There is something else.
Neji should have received the Caged Bird Seal a month ago, on Young Master Tenriki’s third birthday.
He did not.
For that, thank you, Brother.
Please don’t mourn me.
For someone like me, being able to choose my own death is also a kind of freedom.
In truth, I have wanted to defy the fate of the Hyuga for a very long time.
Even if it is only once…
I want to decide my own destiny.
When he finished, Hizashi set the letter aside.
Then he took out another sheet of paper.
This one was for Neji.
Neji.
I am not choosing death to protect the main family.
I am choosing it to protect you, my brother, our family, and the people of Konoha.
So please, don’t mourn me.
You are a genius of the Hyuga Clan.
There were times when I wished you had been born into the main family.
But that no longer matters.
Neji, you can change your destiny.
Believe your father.
With your own hands, you can choose a different future.
Perhaps knowing that death was near had made Hizashi unusually sentimental.
He carefully rolled both letters into scrolls and set them aside.
Then he looked around the room.
His gaze lingered on everything.
There was reluctance there.
Attachment.
Memories.
And finally—
Hizashi drew his blade.
“Uncle Hizashi! What are you doing?!”
The sudden shout nearly scared him badly enough to drop the sword straight into his pants.
“Father, what’s wrong?”
Hizashi froze.
Tenriki and Neji were standing nearby, staring at him with identical expressions of curiosity.
For one horrifying second, Hizashi simply stared back.
Then he hurriedly sheathed the sword.
At the same time, he discreetly pushed the two farewell letters into a corner.
The tragic resolve he had spent so long building vanished without a trace.
“…Ahem.”
Hizashi straightened his back, hurriedly recovering as much dignity as possible.
“What are you two doing here?”
Neji tilted his head, his innocent Byakugan fixed on his father.
“Father, what were you doing just now?”
He looked at the sword.
“Were you… cutting fruit?”
“Cough!”
Hizashi’s face turned red.
What was he supposed to say?
No, son.
Your father was just about to kill himself.
Absolutely not.