บท 67: Chapter 66
Chapter 66
Hiashi wasn't impressed with the main family meeting. He might share the sentiment that Hyuga needed a strong successor and weakness wasn't allowed in the clan, but that was how far he agreed with the rest of the family. He knew well that they were stuck in the past, bound by traditions. If the clan was to get stronger, they needed to look forward, not cling to the past.
Hiashi Hyuga, the head of the clan, sat at the head of the long table. He didn't need to activate his Byukugan to observe the elders' reaction. The tension was palpable, and the elders were dissatisfied after learning about the significant tax increase imposed by the Fifth Hokage. They took it as a personal hit to their clan.
"This is unacceptable! We will not stand for this blatant extortion from the Hokage," one of the family's oldest members declared, anger clear as a day.
"I understand your concerns, Elder," Hiashi needed to choose his words carefully to appease the others. "The tax increase has affected us all, but we must consider the village's needs. The Fifth Hokage has outlined the projects that require funding, and we must contribute to ensure the prosperity and safety of Konohagakure."
"It is a clear trap," Another one pitched in. "If we refuse to pay, we will be outlined as antagonists of the village. We will be seen as greedy and self-centered."
Hiashi wanted to know how little self-aware they were. Nobody wanted to admit it, but the actual reason why they didn't like the new tax was because they felt threatened by the Uchiha. The Uchiha clan has been gone for years, with only a few surviving members. But seeing one of them ascend to a Hokage made the Hyuga clan nervous.
The rivalry between the two clans wasn't a secret, but the Hyuga cared more about it than Uchiha. It was a one-sided rivalry from the Hyuga, as Uchiha have long since proved to be a stronger clan. So, it was quite a hit to their pride when, even when Uchiha was almost gone, they still had more influence and power than the Hyuga clan.
"Everyone, please calm down," Hiashi said, trying to get the attention of the main family's agitated members. "I will personally visit the Hokage and voice our concerns. But I think we should agree to it and pay the new taxes, showing that we are willing to contribute to the village. And we should even go beyond what we were asked of and donate extra to the new hospitals being built."
"Yes, a great plan, Hiashi-sama," One of the elders quickly agreed. "We must show that even with Kaen Uchiha as our Hokage, the Hyuga clan is most important for the village's prosperity. Not only in the military power but also in influence."
Hiashi could only think of getting through them through their pride. It wasn't like they couldn't pay the taxes. It wouldn't even make a small dent in their finances. The problem was that the elders felt like Kaen Uchiha challenged them. Hiashi attributed it to them being retired and not doing much anymore. They like it when things are as they were years ago, or maybe they just like complaining.
But unlike them, Hiashi wanted a change. He didn't like how stagnant their clan was. Seeing his daughter grow so fast and strong not long after being tutored by Kaen made Hiashi realize that the clan's methods were outdated, and they held back promising shinobi. How many excellent shinobi did their stubbornness hold back from reaching their true potential? If the number isn't zero, to Hiashi, it is too many.
…
Kaen's perfect day off was tormenting his students. Since Sasuke, Shino, and Shikamaru have been promoted to chunin and left the village, Kaen's team and Sakura were taken by Kurenai Yuhi to teach. Asuma would join her and the rest of his team in training exercises. Still, Kaen held a soft spot for his team and would periodically check on them.
And when he had spare time, he would take Hinata and Kiba to see how far they progressed. Kiba grew quickly; his fighting style was almost completely changed, and he fought like an unpredictable animal. His speed became extraordinary, and his strength could rival Naruto's. Hinata, on the other hand, has become quite proficient with bow and arrow. With her Byukugan, she became a pretty good sharpshooter.
Kurenai also improved their basics and taught them how to dispel genjutsu and create basics that would help in battle. But it wasn't enough for Kaen, so he hunted Hinata and Kiba to the Forest of the Death on his day off. Kaen didn't even remember what he wanted to teach them. He just had too much fun scaring them around the forest.
It refreshed Kaen and made looking at another day filled with paperwork easier. But while he still had time, he couldn't forget his training. It would be unbeknownst to him to let his skills get rusty. So, before the night fell, he used reverse summoning jutsu to teleport to the realm of summoning cats. Once he arrived here, he was immediately surrounded by various cats.
"Yes, yes, I brought you all snacks," Kaen didn't have time to deal with them right now, so he just gave out various cat snacks and left them.
Leaving the cats to fight among themselves for the snacks, Kaen walked up to a secluded place. There stood two upright wooden coffins. Opening them wasn't difficult for Kaen, but no one besides him could break the seal on the coffins. Inside these coffins were two figures bound by chains. Hashirama and Tobirama Senju are the first and the second Hokage, respectively.
They couldn't move until Kaen removed the chains sealed with hundreds of sealing techniques. But they still had a command implemented into them by Orochimaru. It was a command to kill him, and unless Orochimaru didn't release them, for now, Kaen couldn't send them to the afterlife. No matter how often he destroyed their bodies, they would regenerate back to normal.
Still, it wasn't a perfect jutsu. Their strength wasn't what it used to be, and they still could think for themselves and speak. It was great for Kaen, as he could study them and find where Orochimaru made mistakes. If he could perfect the jutsu, Konoha would undoubtedly be the strongest village in the world. And if nothing else, it would be a lethal secret weapon Kaen could use.
Nonetheless, it wasn't the reason why he came here. Putting his hands upon the chains, Kaen released the bounding seals and freed them. Hashirama was the first to regain his senses, but Tobirama followed close behind. It gave Kaen time to back off and draw his weapons. They were perfect sparing partners for Kaen.
"Well, are you ready for another round?" Kaen smiled, excited to fight them again.
"You Uchiha are truly mad," Tobirama said as he got into his stance.
"It is a reckless method, Kaen-kun, and I would never approve of it," Hashirama added, but Kaen could see a smile on him. "But it seems I can't do anything but follow your wishes."
That was all their talk before they weaved their hand into seals and unleashed powerful wood and water jutsu at Kaen. Kaen responded by creating a powerful fire jutsu to counter them. The steam and ash rose from the collision of the three different nature jutsu. It was good that the area was secluded as it was already scorched with the first attack.
The skirmish showcased the prowess of three powerful shinobi, each pushing their abilities to the limit. But Kaen knew that both of them could be even more powerful than they were now, and Kaen still had two shadow clones with bows and arrows hidden in the distance. Kaen didn't want to rely on them unless he genuinely needed help.
Kaen has planted seals into their bodies to seal them at any time. So, he wasn't too concerned about his safety and could fight however he wanted. And today, Kaen wanted to fight only using taijutsu and ninjutsu. He had plenty of room to improve, and what better way was there to improve than a fight with legendary shinobi?
As the steam and ash began to settle, revealing the aftermath of their jutsu collision, Kaen moved swiftly, weaving through the dissipating mist. With incredible speed and precision, he launched a series of shuriken and kunai toward the Senju brothers, as his sharingan allowed him to see clearly through the steam and ash. The first to attack always had an advantage in a fight.
Hashirama and Tobirama responded with swift dodges and countered with another barrage of jutsu. The fight continued with a relentless exchange of attacks and defenses. Kaen demonstrated the prowess of his Sharingan, predicting the Senju brothers' movements and countering with calculated strikes.
Hashirama's Wood Release and Tobirama's Water Release proved a formidable combination, but Kaen's mastery of fire jutsu was a perfect counter for both of them. When Hashirama tried to bind Kaen with vines from under Kaen's feet, Kaen jumped into the air and released a powerful fireball at Hashirama that was blocked by Tobirama's water.
Ultimately, the three of them got too close to each other and were forced to use taijutsu. Even though Kaen was less skilled in taijutsu among them, his sharingan let him keep up with Hashirama's and Tobirama's movements. The battle continued for hours until Kaen was completely exhausted, and the Senju brothers pushed him back to the point where Kaen couldn't properly defend himself.
Although his pride hurt, Kaen was forced to use the help of his shadow clones to keep the Senju brothers back before sealing them. Even though he didn't use his bow or haven't unleashed the seal on his body, Kaen still felt terrible for losing. His taijutsu and ninjutsu were still below the God of Shinobi, and he knew he had to improve. If he wanted to defeat the foes, the future would present him.
…
The following day, Kaen's body hurt like hell. He wished he could sleep for a day or two, but he had work to do. He had to plan out the projects he wanted to build with Tsunade, as the village should now have enough funds for them. He also needed to read through Kakashi and his team's reports on their mission. He still needed to know it, no matter how little information they contained.
When he arrived at his office, a pile of paperwork was already waiting for him on his table—a constant reminder of the administrative responsibilities that came with being the Hokage. Sitting down on his wooden chair, he went to work. It was tedious work, but with the help of his shadow clones and sharingan, he finished it quite quickly.
Finally, he came upon the reports he was waiting for. As he delved into the details of Kakashi and his team's mission reports, Kaen's analytical mind absorbed every piece of information. Even the seemingly insignificant details were scrutinized; a Hokage couldn't afford to overlook anything. But in the end, it was just a daily report, and nothing significant was mentioned.
So, he focused on the funds he needed to finish the projects before he found an invitation from a noble family of the Land of the Fire to visit him. He knew he needed to tread carefully with nobles, especially Daimyo, as they held immense power and influence. Still, he didn't want to have anything to do with them, so he hid the invitation in another pile of paperwork. Kaen planned to do the same until the date for the invitation expired, and he could claim he hadn't seen it due to all the other work he had to do.
A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.
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