Chapter 30 — No One Starts Out Standing in the Heavens
Strictly speaking, Hyūga Ritsu was not a particularly qualified clan head.
He wasn't skilled in managing internal affairs, nor did he have the patience—or interest—to study administrative processes.
After briefly trying his hand at it, he simply delegated everything to the elders.
Luckily, though the elders were thrown into the role half-prepared, the fact that they were unanimously recommended by the clan's jōnin and tokubetsu jōnin already meant they possessed considerable prestige and connections within the clan.
With that reputation and network to support them, most clan matters could be resolved smoothly.
After some initial chaos, even they gradually adapted.
Meanwhile, Ritsu himself spent the next few days living a quiet, almost monotonous routine between the shrine and his home.
During the day, he squatted in the Treasure Hall of Tametsu Shrine, devouring the Main House techniques he previously had no access to—studying every scroll like a starving man discovering food.
He absorbed knowledge greedily and worked tirelessly to convert it into his own strength.
Whenever clan members came to learn the complete Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, he personally instructed them.
His guidance earned unanimous praise.
At night, he dragged his exhausted, foggy mind home to sleep—though more often than not, one elder or another would come to his house to discuss matters, pushing his bedtime later and later.
This continued for five days.
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On the sixth day—
The sky turned dark and heavy.
After several days of clear weather, the air once again held the taste of incoming rain.
Moisture drifted through the wind, and the trees lining the streets shook violently as gusts swept past like they were dancing.
Pedestrians hunched their shoulders, clutching their collars as they hurried along the road.
At 8:10 a.m., shortly after breakfast, Ritsu led twenty clan members to the Hokage Building.
Sarutobi Hiruzen received him in the Hokage's office.
The twenty clan members, led by Elder Hyūga Shinichirō, waited downstairs.
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"Hokage-sama, I am ready to head to the Eastern Front and continue serving the village."
Ritsu's tone was respectful and composed.
Hiruzen smiled behind his desk, pipe in hand.
"Hyūga Ritsu—'clan head' still feels too formal.
May I call you by your given name?"**
"Of course.
"Then, Ritsu-kun… Is everything within the clan settled?"
"All arrangements have been made."
Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction.
"I knew I wasn't wrong about you.
You and Minato… the two of you are the future of this village.
Under your leadership, the Hyūga clan will flourish sooner rather than later."
"You flatter me, Hokage-sama."
Ritsu kept his reply brief, neither arrogant nor humble.
Although Hiruzen Sarutobi sounded eager to chat, Hyūga Ritsu had no intention of engaging in small talk.
He knew very well that the Third Hokage would never truly admire someone who had openly defied the Main House and overturned the clan order.
If anything, the more Hiruzen "praised" him, the more likely it was that he wanted to remove him as soon as possible.
Trying to curry favor would be pointless.
So why waste his limited reserve of "polite fake smiles" on Hiruzen?
"Humility is a virtue,"
Hiruzen said with a leisurely smile,
"but too much humility can look like showing off.
Some ill-tempered fellow might even take a swing at you because of it."
Ritsu narrowed his eyes slightly.
There was definitely subtext hidden in those words.
He quietly waited, expression unreadable, letting Hiruzen continue his performance.
"Ritsu-kun, you are now the head of the Hyūga clan—a prestigious position.
But once you are on the battlefield…"
Hiruzen paused, wearing a troubled, hesitant expression.
Then, as if making a difficult choice, he gritted his teeth and said:
"What I'm about to say may be harsh, perhaps offensive—but someone who has crawled out of a mountain of corpses should understand this well."
He leaned forward, eyes fixed on Ritsu.
"On the battlefield, there are no clan heads, no department chiefs, none of those fancy titles.
When an order comes down, you carry it out.
No exceptions."
He stared hard, waiting for Ritsu's response.
"Please rest assured, Hokage-sama. I understand perfectly."
Ritsu answered calmly, meeting Hiruzen's gaze without wavering.
"Once I reach the front lines, I am merely a jōnin. If there is a mission, I will complete it with everything I have. I will not shirk."
"Good!"
Hiruzen's face glowed with approval.
"I believe you will teach the Mist-nin a harsh lesson and bring back the stolen Byakugan!"
Ritsu smiled faintly.
He wasn't fooled.
"No rank privileges on the battlefield" sounded righteous—but was utter nonsense.
Whenever clan heads were deployed, even if they weren't commanders, they were always assigned advisory or supervisory positions, staying inside the main camp most of the time.
They rarely needed to risk their lives in the vanguard.
Yet Hiruzen clearly had no intention of giving Ritsu any such protection.
Once Ritsu reached the Eastern Front, he would still be thrown into the thick of battle—sent to the most dangerous places, dancing with death alongside Mist shinobi.
He would be used as a blunt instrument.
But Ritsu didn't argue.
After all, this "unwritten rule" of giving clan heads cushy positions was just that—unwritten.
Hiruzen could ignore it without anyone being able to accuse him of breaking protocol.
There was nothing to fight over.
He had come mentally prepared for exactly this kind of "arrangement."
And he could accept it.
Because he wasn't going to the front to relax in a command tent.
He was going there to reclaim the stolen Byakugan and firmly cement his authority within the clan.
Afterward, he would continue studying the Chimera technique, climbing higher—reaching for a greater view atop the world.
A certain pretentious sage once said:
"No one starts out standing in the heavens—not you, not me, not even the gods."
So why couldn't he be the one to sit on the vacant throne of the heavens?
Hyūga Ritsu's ambition grew like wild grass—untamed and relentless.
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"Hokage-sama, here is the list of clan members accompanying me to the Eastern Front."
Ritsu handed over a scroll.
Hiruzen scanned it and couldn't help remarking:
"Impressive, as expected of the Hyūga.
Seven jōnin and thirteen tokubetsu jōnin… quite the show of force!"
He picked up a brush and signed a pre-prepared deployment directive authorizing reinforcements for the Eastern Front.
Then stamped it with the Hokage's seal.
Moments later, an aide was summoned to transcribe the names—including Ritsu's—onto the official document.
And just like that—
a fully authorized, perfectly legitimate deployment order was ready to go.
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