For a moment, the air in the room seemed to freeze completely.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared intently at Hiashi Hyuga, searching the man’s stoic face for even the slightest hint of a joke.
There was none.
Hiashi’s expression was deadly serious.
He genuinely intended to obtain the Flying Raijin Jutsu and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags for his six-year-old daughter.
“Hiashi, both of these are S-rank secret techniques belonging to the village,” Hiruzen began, a thread of stern warning lacing his voice.
“You of all people should understand the risks involved.
Handing jutsu of that caliber to a six-year-old child is no different than tossing Hinata straight into a bonfire packed with explosive tags.
A single misstep could cost her life.”
“I am aware,” Hiashi replied, his tone neither overly proud nor subservient.
“I will personally supervise Hinata as she practices both techniques.
I only hope Lord Hokage will grant my request.
In exchange, the Hyuga Clan is willing to trade the military merit we have accumulated for the Leaf ever since its founding.”
Those words caused Hiruzen’s steady composure to waver.
The military merit accumulated by the Hyuga Clan since the village’s founding…
Because the Hyuga had always pursued absolute stability and maintained a strict policy of non-interference regarding political power, the sheer volume of military achievements they had banked in the Leaf was staggering.
If the clan were to use that merit to demand an Advisor position, it would be more than enough.
An Advisor held the authority to mobilize the village’s resources, putting them on equal footing with Danzo Shimura of the Foundation, as well as Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane!
Trading all of that just for the Flying Raijin and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags was, frankly, an overpayment.
Unlike the Uchiha Clan, who had been pushed to the political periphery by top village officials, the Hyuga—alongside clans like the Inuzuka, Aburame, and Shinobi Alliance staples like the Ino-Shika-Cho—had never missed a single Great Shinobi War.
In fact, while a battlefield might manage without the Uchiha, the Aburame, or the Inuzuka, it could never manage without the Hyuga.
The Byakugan.
This dōjutsu was something every major force across the shinobi world lusted after, and it was precisely why the Hyuga were constantly deployed to the front lines.
A 360-degree field of vision with zero blind spots, telescopic perception over vast distances, and unblockable X-ray vision—it was, bar none, the single most lethal strategic tool on any battlefield.
Simultaneously, the ability to see the flow of chakra enabled Byakugan users to completely disregard the vast majority of genjutsu.
Even Ao of the Mist, a shinobi of modest talent, had skyrocketed to global fame simply by managing to claim a Byakugan from a main house Hyuga.
That was the undeniable worth of the Byakugan.
“Hiashi, you are exaggerating matters far too much,” Hiruzen sighed, offering a gentle wave of his hand.
“They are merely the Flying Raijin and the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
Even setting your military merit aside, based solely on the Hyuga Clan’s monumental contributions to this village, I would gladly grant you this favor.”
The Hyuga were among the most indispensable lineages in the Leaf, and they had always abided strictly by the law.
Now that the sitting clan head was personally requesting two secret techniques for his daughter, Hiruzen truly had no legitimate reason to refuse.
“In that case, thank you, Lord Hokage,” Hiashi bowed deeply, a visible sense of relief washing over him.
“There is no need for such formalities between us, Hiashi.
However…” Hiruzen’s expression turned serious once more.
“I must ask: does Hinata truly possess the capability to master these two techniques?”
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags aside, the Flying Raijin Jutsu was a technique that placed utterly absurd demands on an individual’s innate spatial talent and comprehension.
Hiruzen himself had never been able to master spacetime ninjutsu.
After his era, even figures like Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang, or the Legendary Sannin—Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Tsunade—had lacked the specific spatial talent required to learn it.
It wasn’t until the arrival of the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, that the technique was mastered once again.
That alone proved how astronomically high the talent bar was for the Flying Raijin.
Yet Hiashi had walked in today specifically asking for it.
Did that mean Hiashi genuinely believed his six-year-old daughter was capable of mastering it?!
Back during the Third Great Shinobi War, Minato had used the Flying Raijin to flash across battlefields, single-handedly turning the tide of a global conflict in the Leaf’s favor.
Now that the Fourth Hokage was gone, could the Leaf truly be on the verge of nurturing another Flying Raijin user…?
Hiruzen wasn’t entirely certain how talented Hinata actually was.
But he knew Hiashi wasn’t the type of man to lose his mind to reckless doting.
Rather than believing blindly in a six-year-old girl, Hiruzen put his faith in Hiashi’s sharp, calculating judgment.
“Whether Hinata can master them or not is beside the point,” Hiashi said slowly.
“What matters is that this is the very first time Hinata has ever asked something of me as her father.”
Hiruzen’s eye twitched violently.
So you ARE just doting on your daughter!
You absolute doting fool of a father!
“Hiashi, what if I come along to see Hinata myself?” Hiruzen let out a long, internal sigh.
Regardless of the girl’s actual talent, he had to hand over the two jutsu today.
As Hiashi had noted, this was Hinata’s first request to her father, and the Hyuga’s first formal request to the village leadership.
“Of course.
If Lord Hokage wishes to visit Hinata, you are welcome at any time,” Hiashi nodded slightly.
“Then I shall trouble you…”
The Ninja Academy.
“Hiss…
ow, ow, ow!”
“That violent monster girl didn’t hold back at all!”
Inside the classroom, Kiba Inuzuka rubbed his swollen face, groaning incessantly.
“Kiba, stop looking for trouble with Hinata.
You can’t beat her,” a chubby boy holding a bag of potato chips leaned over, offering advice mid-chew.
“Am I the one looking for trouble?!” Kiba snapped back furiously.
“She’s clearly the one picking on me—no, she’s picking on everyone!”
He had fought that violent monster girl in a honorable duel for the sake of the whole class!
And Choji was actually taking her side?!
Where was the solidarity?!
“And you, Naruto!” Kiba turned his frustration toward the blonde boy sitting beside him.
“Why didn’t you warn me earlier that she was so ridiculously strong?!”
“I tried to tell you, but I didn’t get the chance!
Who told you to get knocked out in a single hit?” Naruto pouted, looking away.
“You!” Stung by Naruto’s words, Kiba fumed, utterly speechless.
“Choji is right.
That Hinata Hyuga is way too strong; we’re no match for her.
If you ask me, it’s better to just get some sleep,” a pineapple-haired boy slouched at the desk behind Kiba chimed in with a lazy yawn.
As the boys bickered, none of them noticed a dark-haired boy sitting nearby, listening intently to every word.
Sasuke recalled his father’s strict instructions at the dinner table last night and sighed inwardly.
Fine.
Since I’ve already accepted Hinata as my rival, I’ll treat this as getting a head start.
After school today, I will publicly issue a formal challenge to her!