Chapter 47 – Hyūga Yokohachirō
The middle-aged man with his back to Minamoto Ren was tall and broad-shouldered.
From the silhouette alone, Ren could see seven or eight points of resemblance to Hyūga Ganghachirō.
No surprise—they were brothers by blood.
The funeral was still in progress.
These ceremonies often lasted the whole day: the bereaved would speak of the departed, while attendees offered white condolence envelopes—money given to express their grief and respect.
Ren placed a thick bundle into the offering box.
The one recording the gifts was a young girl, her face bearing a faint resemblance to Hyūga Haining, though softer in expression.
He looked at her a moment longer and noticed the white cloth covering her forehead, the streaks of dried tears still marking her cheeks—but her eyes were unwavering.
A branch house member.
So young, and yet attending Ganghachirō's funeral… she must be Hyūga Haiko—Haining's younger sister and Ganghachirō's daughter.
Ren quietly took a seat beside a group of Anbu who had come to pay respects.
The funeral was divided into two halves: the morning session, followed by a brief lunch, and then the afternoon, which was usually reserved for close family.
Guests could take their leave after the midday break.
At lunch, Ren sampled the Hyūga family fare: kelp-and-plum rice balls, a few pieces of fish sushi—nothing exceptional.
But during the meal, a small incident caught his eye.
Haining brought two plates of food to Haiko, kneeling before her father's memorial tablet—only to be pushed away.
Haining silently gathered the fallen rice balls, tossed them into the pond to feed the fish, his face neither happy nor sad.
Ren shook his head.
No matter how close the previous generation might have been, once a branch house member died for the main house—even willingly—the next generation's ties would inevitably sour, often turning to outright enmity.
Hyūga Hiashi and Hyūga Hizashi were proof of that.
Ganghachirō and Yokohachirō, most likely, were no different.
What, then, did Yokohachirō himself think?
And what about Haining—someone who owed much to Ganghachirō, yet was still a beneficiary of the main house–branch house system?
Ren didn't know.
So, he would probe.
With his current rank and standing, he could just barely qualify to meddle in the power games of a great shinobi clan.
Carrying his tray, Ren stepped outside and found Haining.
The two sat down at a courtyard go board to eat.
Neither spoke at first.
They both ate the same plum rice balls: the savory kelp balancing the plum's sweet-tartness, the soft rice binding it all together.
"How does human blood taste?"
Ren had finished first, and as soon as he set down his chopsticks, he dropped the sharp question.
"...?"
Haining froze, caught off guard. He hadn't expected Ren-nii to speak like that.
"I don't just mean you," Ren went on, "I'm talking about the Hyūga main-and-branch system. The main house feeds on blood—their own kin's blood—every single day. Tell me, how does it taste?"
A faintly mocking smile played on Ren's lips.
He was not just questioning Haining personally, but tearing at the very foundation of the Hyūga clan.
Haining put down the half-eaten rice ball and pointed to his mouth.
"Sweet."
Then, after a pause, he touched his chest.
A single tear slid down his pale eyes.
"Bitter."
Ren's mocking smile faded, replaced by his usual cool detachment.
"You feel both the sweetness and the bitterness. So tell me—do you want to follow the mouth, or the heart?"
Haining said nothing, only thumping his chest twice with a clenched fist.
Ren nodded.
Then came the question he truly cared about:
"What about your father? Does he prefer the sweet… or the bitter?"
Haining's eyes widened in disbelief.
Was Ren seriously planning to step into the internal affairs of Konoha's second-largest clan—and in such a dangerous way?
"Father has always felt bitter," Haining answered plainly.
"He's never thought otherwise."
Ren rose immediately.
He had his answer.
The lunch break soon ended.
One by one, the shinobi visitors took their leave of Yokohachirō—most had other duties to return to in these wartime days.
Yokohachirō's pale eyes bore no tearstains, but the skin around them was reddened.
His cheeks were hollow, and there was a haunted look about him.
Ren waited at the very end of the farewell line.
When the room finally held only the two of them, he smiled.
"Yokohachirō-dono—an honor to meet you, though I didn't expect it would be at your brother's funeral."
The smile was just a little too sharp, and Yokohachirō's brow furrowed.
"Tell me, Hyūga Yokohachirō—" Ren's voice dropped to a low, deliberate weight—
"Do you want to be clan head?"
The question landed like a thrown kunai.
Minamoto Ren didn't give him a moment to respond.
He pressed on:
"Becoming clan head might not be enough to end the Hyūga tragedy.
We'd need a way to break the Caged Bird seal.
But even before that day comes, maybe we can at least stop brothers from turning into enemies.
Don't you think?"
Hyūga Yokohachirō's pale eyes widened.
Part of him wanted to scold this insolent man—an Anbu, no less—who thought he had any right to meddle in clan affairs.
But when he opened his mouth… nothing came out.
Was anything Ren had said wrong?
Even Yokohachirō found much of the main–branch system revolting.
Why must brothers be bound to die in each other's place?
Why must a branch house man lay down his life for a main house child?
His younger brother's body was barely cold, yet he and his own son, Hyūga Haining, still had their lips stained with that brother's blood.
Could such a thing be allowed to go on?
Silence stretched between them.
Ren said nothing, but his sharp, beautiful eyes seemed to pierce straight into Yokohachirō's heart.
The older man's gaze dimmed; he no longer knew where to turn.
"Please," Yokohachirō said at last, "come into the tea room so we may speak in private."
He slid open the door behind him.
Inside, it was almost pitch black.
Ren stepped in without hesitation.
In the darkness, Yokohachirō poured tea for his guest before speaking first.
"You have a way to break the Caged Bird seal?"
Ren took a sip before answering.
"I'm Lady Tsunade's disciple. I have close ties with Lord Orochimaru.
I don't have the solution—but Lord Orochimaru does."
Yokohachirō gave a slow nod.
If Ren had claimed he himself could solve it, he'd never have believed him.
Even genius has limits… but Orochimaru's reputation as a "master of forbidden techniques" held weight.
"You mean to help me become clan head… That position is passed down through the generations.
The current leader is Hyūga En; when he dies, it will go to Hyūga Hiashi—that's already been approved by the elders.
I have little support within the clan.
What is your plan?"
Ren listened carefully.
When Yokohachirō finished, he smiled.
"Elder approval?" Ren shook his head with a laugh. "This is why your clan is so insular—you have no idea what real power is.
Getting you the seat won't depend on me.
It'll depend on us."
He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder.
There was no one standing behind him—yet Yokohachirō felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"You mean…?"
Ren stood, his expression unreadable.
"If the Legendary Sannin, Hatake Sakumo… and others nod in your favor at the jōnin council six months from now—
would Hyūga En dare defy them?"
Yokohachirō's body stiffened as if a needle had been driven into his spine.
He bowed deeply.
"If I should one day sit as clan head, I will serve at Lord Hannya's side without hesitation, taking on any task!"
Ren was not even half Yokohachirō's age, and his formal rank might not even be higher—yet the weight of his political backing made the older man uneasy.
Ren knew exactly what was running through Yokohachirō's mind:
He believed this was a sign that the Hokage's direct circle was unhappy with the Hyūga clan's long-standing independence, and that Ren had been sent to make contact, laying the groundwork for high-level pressure.
Ren patted Yokohachirō's damp shoulder, grinning as he left the darkened room.
---
[You have stepped fully into the Hyūga clan's power struggle.]
Hyūga Clan Power Index: 1
Reward acquired: Byakugan Bloodline Limit
You may freely switch between Sharingan and Byakugan until one evolves to a higher form.
Leaving the Hyūga compound, Ren felt more than satisfied.
The reward was one thing.
But the real pleasure came from this—he could now begin building his own faction, rallying allies…
and perhaps make things a little more troublesome for that dog, Danzō.
---