After saying this, Hyūga Hiashi patted Hinata's head, then reverted to the calm, even cold, mode of the Hyūga Clan Head.
He looked at Nojuro Ryun and said, "Nojuro-kun, while I agree to let Hinata train under your guidance, it does not mean she must obey you completely."
"She is still the daughter of our Hyūga Clan, with our Hyūga Clan as her backing. I hope you understand this point."
Ryun also put away his smile, his expression serious as he replied, "I understand."
Although Hiashi spoke of 'training,' both he and Ryun knew that Hinata was to shoulder the significant role of connecting Ryun, Tsunade, and the Hyūga Clan.
If an analogy must be made, Hinata's current role was similar to Uchiha Itachi serving within Sarutobi Hiruzen's Hokage's personal Anbu, his mission being to maintain communication between both sides and prevent misunderstandings.
As for the difference, it naturally was that Ryun definitely would not treat Hinata as an outsider, and Hiashi along with the entire Hyūga Clan had no thoughts of rebellion.
It was clear to see that Hinata would attain a good status and position in the future. As for how far she could go beyond that, not even Ryun could predict.
"Very good. The rest, you young people can discuss amongst yourselves."
After saying this, Hiashi turned and left, leaving behind Hinata, whose face still wore a bewildered expression.
She probably realized that Hiashi had entrusted her to Ryun, but why was that?
Was Father abandoning her again?
Having just emerged from the life predicament of losing her father, was she now to return to the past?
Ryun naturally saw Hinata's confusion and gently took her hand.
Hinata looked at Ryun blankly, finding him nearly pressed against her. Her face abruptly flushed bright red.
"No-Nojuro-kun, wh-what are you doing!"
"I just want to explain what your father meant by his words earlier."
Hearing this, Hinata perked up and nodded.
The next second, she nearly fainted from Ryun's words.
"Your father intends to betroth you to me in the future to be my wife."
Hinata turned red as a lobster, her body going limp and tilting backward.
This time, however, Ryun caught her, letting her lean against his shoulder.
"You're lying!"
Hanabi rushed out, saying, "Father definitely didn't mean that!"
She snatched Hinata from Ryun's arms, holding her dearest sister herself.
Ryun didn't mind this. He just wanted to test if he could get the simulator usage reward for reaching Hinata's level 3 favorability.
The facts proved that even with Hiashi's permission, there was still some distance from Hinata's heart fully acknowledging the relationship between the two of them.
"Alright, it was just a joke with Hinata."
"Your father also said Hinata is still the young lady of the Hyūga Clan. It's just that a clan can only have one head. He has found the right path for his daughter."
"Isn't that good?"
Hanabi pursed her lips and said, "But didn't you say you wanted to join forces with us sisters to resist the Hyūga Clan's fate?"
"Aren't we doing exactly that right now? Alright, Hinata should live her life as usual. I won't snatch her away from your side."
"Really?"
"I swear by the electric light above our heads."
Hanabi couldn't hold back and was amused by Ryun.
Then she tried to put on a stern expression, but her efforts twisted into a funny face, which made Ryun laugh.
Ryun now noticed that Hinata had woken up but didn't expose her feigning sleep. He said, "I'll take my leave first. If you have any problems with training or life in the future, you can come find me."
"Of course, if you just want to find me to play or keep me company, I'd be even happier."
"We absolutely won't do that!"
Hanabi waved her little pink fist. Ryun turned, about to leave.
Suddenly, he heard Hinata's faint voice. "Nojuro-kun, p-please wait a moment."
Ryun turned back in surprise, seeing Hinata kneeling upright, her face red. "Um, I have something I want to ask you."
"Hanabi, please leave us for a moment."
Hanabi wore an expression of disbelief, but seeing her sister's serious look, she could only mouth the words "Don't bully my sister" at Ryun before walking out of the room.
Ryun sat cross-legged and said, "Hinata, is there still something you don't understand?"
"No, I completely understand Father's and... Nojuro-kun's good intentions now. It's just one thing puzzles me."
"Go ahead."
"Nojuro-kun should like Tenten-senpai, right? And Ino and Sakura. They are all more outstanding than me. Why did Nojuro-kun agree to something like this with Father?"
"Even though we may not necessarily reach that step in the future, shouldn't such matters involve exclusivity?"
Ryun smiled slightly and said, "Ah, that. It's because I want a large family like the Hyūga Clan."
Hinata didn't understand at first, but within a few minutes, she was sweating all over as if she had just stepped out of a sauna.
"That's roughly the situation. If you don't like all this, Hinata, I will take the initiative to speak with Lord Hiashi and explain."
"Of course, you don't need to decide now either. In three or five years, you can refuse then. For now, you can follow me for training with peace of mind."
"I promise I won't have any improper thoughts towards you."
Having said this, Ryun prepared to give Hinata enough time to think.
After all, he hadn't simulated Hinata yet. Even if Hinata directly refused him now, he wouldn't suffer any loss.
What Ryun didn't expect was that Hinata asked another crucial question.
"Nojuro-kun, please answer one last question for me."
"Okay."
"Have you... discussed what you just said with my father?"
Ryun smiled slightly and said, "Last time, he almost punched me to death. But this time, he entrusted you to me."
Ryun gave an ambiguous answer, but Hinata was completely 'cooked,' curling up and not daring to look at Ryun anymore.
Hearing Hanabi rushing over from afar, Ryun didn't linger any longer. He dodged Hanabi's wild charge and walked out of the Hyūga residence.
Just after stepping out, Ryun once again felt the chilly, solemn atmosphere on the streets.
Tsk, it seems it will still be some time before things return to normal!
In the following days, while focusing on his training, Ryun did not forget to periodically send out a shadow clone to leave Konoha and gather intelligence.
Soon, Ryun found out that Konoha had adopted the tactic of releasing false information to create confusion, successfully throwing the ninja world's situation into complete disarray.
In truth, Konoha wasn't the only one with skeletons in its closet. Every village had its share of dark history, more or less.
Konoha's case was particularly obvious because the Third Hokage's greatest mistake was that, to this day, he had not cultivated or designated a successor, leading to Konoha's morale never fully recovering since the Nine-Tails' attack.
No matter how many times he preached the Will of Fire, Ryun, familiar with the history of his past life, understood that an unstable transfer of power was the greatest source of calamity. Everything else was merely an extension of this calamity.
However, Ryun knew that relying solely on such tactics, Konoha still could not extinguish Iwagakure's and Kumogakure's ambitions to replace Konoha.
Subsequent developments further confirmed this. Sarutobi Hiruzen employed powerful measures, proving that Konoha's position remained as solid as Mount Tai.
He began promoting the Chunin Exams half a year in advance and publicized that the alliance between Konoha and Sunagakure was as solid as a rock!
"Pfft!"
After receiving this information from his shadow clone, Ryun spat a mouthful of soda onto Moegi.
"Ahhhhh!"
Moegi screamed, "I'm going to kill you!"
Then she pounced on Ryun, raining down a flurry of punches and kicks, making Ino and Sakura shake with laughter.
Ryun helplessly lifted Moegi by the back collar of her shirt and said, "It's getting late. You two take her to get cleaned up. As usual today, I'll cover the hot spring fees."
"So generous!"
"Nojuro-kun is truly quite extravagant!"
Ryun earned a thumbs-up from Sakura and a blown kiss from Ino, then pushed both of them and Moegi out of the room.
Only then did Ryun fail to hold back his laughter. As a transmigrator familiar with future events, Ryun knew Sarutobi Hiruzen had made a decision sufficiently ruinous to destroy his reputation.
When the Konoha Crush Plan erupts, it would be best if Sarutobi Hiruzen died in battle as per the original course of events.
Otherwise, if he survived, he would be nailed to Konoha's pillar of shame, wouldn't he?
At that point, it would be unclear who would be Konoha's number one disgrace, him or Danzo.
Ryun even felt that Orochimaru, who was already secretly preparing to ambush the Fourth Kazekage, probably had his tongue laughing so hard it was about to split.
Thinking of this, Ryun felt it was time to conduct a simulation to ensure the ninja world's situation wouldn't spiral out of control.
He also wanted to obtain that [thing] he had wanted for a while. Perhaps it would come in handy in the future to prove his legitimate identity as a member of the Senju Clan.
Ryun opened the simulator, and Moegi's panel appeared before his eyes once again.
[Ninja Eight Attributes: Ninjutsu 8, Taijutsu 7, Genjutsu 5, Intelligence 6, Strength 6, Speed 8, Spirit 7, Hand Seal 7. Total 54 points.
Chakra Affinities: Intermediate Earth, Water, Yin, Yang Release Chakra.
Special Talent: Low-level Wood Release Talent.]
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