Several days later.
The Land of Fire, the Hyūga clan compound.
It was located deep within a dense forest.
There were no tall platforms or grand pavilions here, only a relatively plain village-style stronghold.
Generally speaking, ninja were not a group that cared much for luxury. Their pursuit of power far outweighed everything else.
On top of that, the Hyūga clan had a strict family culture. With those above setting the example for those below, the entire clan lived very frugally, spending every resource they obtained where it mattered most.
Developing a country was the business of daimyo and nobles.
Ninja only needed to use their blades.
Even the Hyūga clan, which outsiders saw as relatively gentle and refined, followed this principle in such a chaotic age.
One could feel it clearly. Every Hyūga clansman patrolling the forest around the village was wrapped in a dense aura of killing intent and blood.
In this chaotic era, even the Hyūga clan had been forced to adapt to the times, resulting in the birth of many hard-liners within the clan.
Therefore, this place did not need pleasure. It did not need leisure.
It was a highly militarized village.
Ordinary clansmen raced against time to handle logistics, forge weapons, move grain, and prepare every kind of resource required by the ninja.
The children of the clan were also managed collectively. From the age of three or four, they had to learn how to use kunai, how to mobilize chakra, and how to kill enemies.
At this moment, near the center of the village stood a tall wooden building that looked somewhat higher class than the rest. Outside it was a sizable courtyard, large enough for more than a dozen people to live in.
Compared with the other houses in the village, it could already be considered luxurious.
That represented the fact that the Hyūga living here held a core position within the clan.
And that was indeed the case.
One of the main family elders of the Hyūga clan, Hyūga Hidejin, lived here.
Although he was not yet fifty, Hyūga Hidejin had already become one of the elders of the Hyūga main family.
Unlike those main family elders who relied on seniority and refused to step down even if they had to attend meetings leaning on a cane, Hidejin had entered the ranks of the elders through the powerful strength he had carved out on the battlefield.
The most dangerous incident had happened two years ago, when he encountered the wandering Two-Tails near the border of the Land of Fire.
Even though he had been no match for the Two-Tails at the time, and had even been forced into a desperate situation by its Tailed Beast Ball, he had still successfully led his clansmen away without losing anyone.
"Kichō, after the high-level meeting, it has been decided that you will marry the Puppet Master Shogun of the Land of Night. I trust you possess the dignity and wisdom expected of a daughter of the Hyūga main family."
Hyūga Hidejin, a middle-aged man with a somewhat cold expression, informed his daughter, Hyūga Kichō, of the highest order the clan had now fully settled.
"Naturally, Father. Kichō has no objections."
The girl named Hyūga Kichō wore a white kimono embroidered with red maple leaves. At this moment, she knelt before her father Hidejin in an impeccably proper posture, a smile on her face.
She had snow-white, delicate skin unlike that of an ordinary female ninja. Her slender fingers had no calluses either, which likewise did not fit the image of a ninja.
Her pure white pupils were flawless, revealing only an utterly pure smile, as if they were alive and capable of speaking.
Her long, smooth black hair fell over her shoulders and down to her waist. Her straight-cut bangs hung along both sides of her cheeks, making her look like a noble princess raised deep inside a secluded mansion.
Yet the thick scent of blood that constantly emanated from her made others understand that this beautiful princess-like girl was an executioner who had already killed countless people.
As one of the leaders of the Hyūga clan's new generation, the sixteen-year-old Hyūga Kichō had long since stained her hands with endless blood.
Her mastery of the Byakugan had also reached a level many adult clansmen had never attained.
Even so, she held not the slightest dissatisfaction toward the clan's arranged marriage. She simply smiled and obeyed the clan rules.
Even if this order was for her to marry and bear children for a man she did not know, a man eleven years older than her.
As a woman of the main family, she had mentally prepared herself for this very early on.
She would either marry a powerful man within the clan, or become a tool of marriage alliance, seeking new support for the clan from the outside world.
Hearing his daughter's reasonable answer, Hidejin's stern face softened slightly.
He had known for a long time that his daughter Kichō was a girl with strong opinions. Because of that, he had been worried that, after hearing such an order, she might do something irrational that would harm the clan's growth.
Fortunately, she had not done anything foolish that went against the Hyūga clan's family style.
"Do not worry. Although the man you are marrying is quite a bit older than you, your father can assure you that he is an outstanding man. He will not disgrace your bloodline or status."
Yes, an outstanding man.
But would he be a husband who could cherish her?
Kichō felt neither joy nor excitement in her heart. She simply smiled like an exquisite doll and respectfully listened to her father Hidejin's teachings.
"Not long ago, I heard that the Puppet Master Shogun subdued the Seven-Tails. That is a tailed beast. Even within the Hyūga clan, the only person who could likely accomplish such a feat would be the clan head."
Hidejin spoke with emotion.
A tailed beast.
That was an existence ordinary ninja would die upon seeing.
When he had encountered the Two-Tails before, it was not that he had been completely powerless to resist. But even then, he had understood that subduing such a creature was not something he could do.
Leading his clansmen away safely had already been his limit.
He was close to fifty years old. His strength had basically reached its final form. In a few more years, age would push him into decline.
But his future son-in-law was still only twenty-seven.
He was far from reaching a ninja's peak.
Looking at the carefully maintained smile on his daughter Kichō's face, Hidejin had to admit that his daughter was extremely beautiful. If she were not a ninja, she might have been a peerless beauty capable of bringing ruin to a nation.
However, she was a ninja.
Although beautiful, she did not possess the things an ordinary woman should.
The scent of blood on her was proof that she had killed many people.
She could reveal the kindest and gentlest smile while mercilessly killing enemies, regardless of whether they were men, women, old, or young.
Thinking of this, Hidejin could not help feeling satisfied.
His daughter was that cold and that excellent.
So Hidejin walked to the side, took out a samurai sword with a purple hilt, and handed it to the girl.
"Father, this is..."
Kichō tilted her head, not quite understanding what Hidejin meant.
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"This is a trophy I obtained in the past after destroying a samurai family. Spider-Cutter."
"Is it a chakra blade?"
Kichō accepted the sword, held the blue hilt, and gently drew a small section of the blade.
A chilling light shone from it.
Just by looking at it, she could feel a terrifying aura that made her skin prickle with pain.
She immediately sensed that this was different from an ordinary chakra blade.
Ordinary chakra blades contained only a small amount of chakra metal, but this sword had been forged entirely from extremely precious special chakra metal, supplemented by top-level craftsmanship.
"This is a spiritual blade. In the past, aside from tailed beasts, the ninja world also had monsters formed from resentment and chakra. The top swordsmiths of the time forged spiritual blades to counter those creatures. In addition to excellent chakra conductivity, these spiritual blades also suppress evil entities. When I retreated safely from the Two-Tails back then, this spiritual blade, Spider-Cutter, also played a part."
Tailed beasts and monsters were different, but in the end, tailed beasts also possessed negative energy. With a spiritual blade like Spider-Cutter in hand, facing a tailed beast would become somewhat easier.
"I will now hand the spiritual blade Spider-Cutter to you. If your husband loses his value in the future, use this Spider-Cutter to end him. Then let the Land of Night become the Hyūga clan's backyard and replace him. So, make full use of your beauty to win his affection, and then..."
Hidejin's words were cold. He did not continue, but his eyes revealed extreme cruelty and calculation.
"Is that so?"
Kichō carefully stroked the blade of the spiritual sword. For a moment, the look in her eyes became strange, and her smile turned meaningful.
"Perhaps one day, this blade may point at you too, Father."
Hidejin froze. Then displeasure appeared on his face.
"Kichō, do not make such treasonous jokes. I know very well that you are not the kind of foolish woman who would throw everything away for love."
"Yes, Father. Ninja do not need things like emotions."
Kichō smiled brightly as she sheathed Spider-Cutter.
"You may leave. Once the betrothal gifts from the Land of Night arrive, the clan will arrange for you to head there."
Hidejin waved his hand. He felt there was nothing else he needed to explain to his daughter, so he told her to stay home during this period and wait peacefully for the day she would be married off.
"Yes. Then I will return to my room and rest, Father."
Kichō rose and turned to leave the room.
◎
Whether it was Yayoi or the Hyūga clan, both sides were satisfied with the conditions.
Because of that, after roughly a month of discussion, the marriage alliance encountered no resistance and was settled naturally.
The Hyūga clan naturally would not migrate to the Land of Night.
They could not let go of their ancestral property in the Land of Fire, nor did they like leaving their homeland. That was the fate of losers.
At this, Yayoi quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Unlike the Aburame clan, the Hyūga clan was a great household with deep roots and a vast foundation. If they decided to merge into the Land of Night, Yayoi would be the one with the biggest headache.
At that point, whether he could sit firmly in the position of shogun would become a question.
He could suppress the Aburame clan.
But a powerful clan like the Hyūga would absolutely become a hidden danger to the current Land of Night.
Therefore, a marriage alliance was the best outcome.
The Hyūga clan obtained access to the Land of Night's resource channels, while Yayoi obtained the Hyūga bloodline and established an alliance with the Hyūga clan.
It was a win-win situation.
Although Yayoi did not like bloodline theory, in the world of Naruto, no matter how much one refused to admit it, bloodline was synonymous with power.
Because kekkei genkai could truly be passed down to the next generation through reproduction.
Yayoi hoped that his next generation would have a higher starting point.
For a ruler, outstanding descendants were a matter of first importance, not something optional.
In short, the marriage between the two forces was now unstoppable.
Aside from marrying off one daughter of the main family, the Hyūga clan also provided two women from the branch family to serve as the main family daughter's attendants and accompany her to the Land of Night.
Naturally, there were also some branch family guards and their relatives, who likewise followed the daughter of the main family into the territory of the Land of Night.
These people were both support from the Hyūga clan to the Land of Night and also represented the power and foundation that the main family daughter would possess in the Land of Night.
That was the support in terms of manpower.
Apart from that, the Hyūga clan also provided some ninjutsu materials. Among them was the thing Yayoi valued most: Yin-Yang Release.
However, this was still an incomplete Yin-Yang Release scroll.
In the entire ninja world, the only clans that could likely gather the complete Yin-Yang Release were the Senju and Uchiha.
The incomplete Yin-Yang Release scroll provided by the Hyūga clan was somewhat more complete than the fragment Yayoi had obtained after destroying the Hagoromo clan.
Returning favor for favor, Yayoi was not stingy either. He gave the Hyūga clan the Yin-Yang Release fragment he had obtained from the Hagoromo clan, along with the parts he had improved, as part of the betrothal gifts.
He also included some original medical ninjutsu and knowledge he had created through his special chakra.
Without his special chakra, these medical techniques would be difficult to fully reproduce, but they could still greatly reduce the Hyūga clan's medical pressure.
In addition, the betrothal gifts also contained many precious medicinal herbs.
Yayoi likewise gave large quantities of ninja tools and money.
He did not care much about these external possessions. The Land of Night's economy was currently taking off. He would not dare say it was transforming year by year, but in the field of economic and resource development, it was catching up to the great nations.
The Land of Fire, the Hyūga clan.
After more than ten days of waiting, the wedding escort team sent by Yayoi had already lined up neatly.
It was led by Kakuzu, the head of the Military Department's Combat Operations Division, and consisted of twenty elite ninja and two hundred elite samurai skilled in chakra swordsmanship.
Their ninja uniforms and armor were all marked with the pattern of the red spider lily.
Aside from them, several ninja wearing black high-collared coats and sunglasses also appeared within Kakuzu's group.
They had a cold and silent air, giving others a mysterious and ruthless feeling that warned strangers to keep away.
As the leader of the Hyūga clan's send-off party, Hyūga Hidejin stared at the black high-collared ninja in some surprise.
On their high-collared coats was embroidered the crest of a ninja clan.
That clan crest resembled a simplified drawing of an insect.
The aura of each of them was deep and steady, proving they were no ordinary ninja.
Even in a great clan like the Hyūga, they would be considered elite forces.
Especially the man in sunglasses leading them. He gave Hidejin a sense of danger.
Hidejin knew this man.
They had even fought each other in the past, and their strength was roughly on the same level.
Aburame Orochi.
The newly appointed clan head of the Aburame clan.
He was only in his thirties, yet after the previous clan head died in battle one year ago, he had swiftly taken office and stabilized the internal crisis of the Aburame clan.
The insects he controlled were strange and unpredictable, and they had made Hidejin suffer quite a bit in the past.
He had not expected the man to appear in the Land of Night's wedding escort team.
After thinking carefully, Hidejin understood what had happened.
While the Hyūga clan and the Land of Night were discussing the marriage, the Aburame clan had silently joined the Land of Night.
At this moment, the Aburame clan's compound in the Land of Fire was probably already abandoned, becoming unoccupied territory.
Hidejin took a deep breath.
Unexpectedly, his future son-in-law had given him another surprise at a time like this.
"It has been a long time, Orochi."
Hidejin greeted Aburame Orochi.
They had once been enemies.
Now they were allies.
The affairs of the world were truly unpredictable.
"It has been a long time."
Orochi also nodded slightly.
His entire body was hidden within his black coat, revealing only the upper half of his face and the sunglasses over his eyes. No one could tell what he was thinking.
He was like a snake hidden in the darkness, ready to strike a fatal blow at any moment.
"I did not expect the Aburame clan to leave the Land of Fire."
Hidejin spoke with deep emotion.
The Aburame clan was also an old ninja clan of the Land of Fire. They had existed in the Land of Fire for over two hundred years.
Although they were not considered a powerful clan in the Land of Fire, they were not some weaklings that anyone could provoke either.
Aburame ninja generally did not stand out in any single area, but their strength was extremely balanced.
Once they matured, their abilities became stable. When they cooperated with one another, they had made many ninja clans suffer bitterly.
"The Shogun gave us conditions we could not refuse. Also, the Land of Fire has become too dangerous."
Orochi's tone was indifferent, but anyone could hear the gravity in his words.
Hidejin nodded.
He knew Orochi was referring to the alliance between the Senju and Uchiha. It had indeed left many ninja clans in the Land of Fire uneasy.
The Aburame clan was far weaker than the Hyūga clan and did not have any decent allies. Facing such a situation, leaving might truly have been their best choice.
By comparison, the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans, who were also secret jutsu clans like the Aburame, were much luckier.
The secret techniques of those three clans could complement one another. From the very beginning of their founding, the three clans had maintained friendly relations and had already formed a single whole.
Especially several decades ago, when the Sarutobi clan also entered this alliance system and began advancing and retreating together with them.
After that, through the communication of the Sarutobi clan, the Shimura clan, Koharu clan, and Mitokado clan also began drawing closer.
Facing these ninja clans that had formed a solid bloc, aside from the Senju and Uchiha, no clan could easily ignore this powerful force.
Therefore, in the face of the current tense situation in the Land of Fire, these clans did not need to worry as much as the isolated Aburame clan.
They could remain calmly in place and watch how the situation developed.