Chapter 61: Honestly, Just Be a Proper Sacrificial Pawn
"Kazekage, is your eldest princess always this violent? Or do you not intend to cultivate her as the next Kazekage at all?"
After witnessing the scene, Terumi Mei spoke toward the "Kazekage" seated nearby.
"Hehe, Mizukage-dono, are you perhaps hoping that all Five Great Ninja Villages will have women serve as Kage?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen stroked his beard and chuckled.
When he had ordered Jiraiya and Tsunade to be recalled due to the crises caused by Iwagakure and Kirigakure, Hiruzen had already considered having one of the two succeed him as the Fifth Hokage.
The situation in the ninja world was changing too rapidly. He was already advanced in age and increasingly unable to keep up.
"Oh? Could it be that the Hokage, even at your age, is still planning to undergo… a transplant?"
Terumi Mei looked mildly surprised.
"A transplant of what? Uh…"
The moment the words left his mouth, Hiruzen thought of Kakashi's infamous book, on par with 'Icha Icha Paradise', and his face immediately darkened.
—
On the other side, Temari, despite winning her match, didn't feel happy at all.
She returned to the spectator stands with a heavy heart.
"Gaara, you need to be careful of the Konoha ninja."
After some thought, Temari still spoke up. As an older sister, she had to warn him.
"Careful? Are you saying I'm inferior to them?"
Gaara, who had yet to be Talk-no-Jutsu'd by Naruto, was still extremely cold. The moment he opened his mouth, it was something straight out of Uchiha Madara's playbook like "You mean you can kill me at any time?".
"I, I mean you should watch your butt."
After struggling to force the words out, Temari turned and left immediately.
"…Huh?"
Gaara frowned.
What did "watch your butt" mean?
Gaara turned to look at Kankurō.
"Uh…"
Kankurō scratched his head, racking his brains.
Under Gaara's gaze, the pressure mounted, and Kankurō subconsciously glanced at the puppet Crow (Karasu) behind him.
Huh?
"I've got it!"
Kankurō leaned in close to Gaara and whispered, "All my puppets were made by Granny Chiyo's grandson. I looked into it before, Granny Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law were both killed by Konoha's White Fang."
"Then I asked some of the older ninjas in the village about White Fang, and it turns out…"
"Turns out what?"
Gaara was listening intently when Kankurō suddenly stopped, wearing a mysterious expression that made Gaara frown.
"They say Konoha's White Fang knew a terrifying taijutsu technique. He'd form the Tiger hand seal, then aim straight for the enemy's backdoor…"
"The White Fang was Kakashi's father. And apparently Kakashi's Chidori, later called Raikiri, was named after he combined Chidori with Thousand Years of Death and sliced off the Raikage's hemorrhoids."
"?!"
Hearing this, even with his current cold and ruthless mindset, Gaara felt a sudden tightening in his rear.
His gaze shifted to the opposite spectator stands.
Among Team Kakashi's three members, was there anyone who had inherited Kakashi's teachings?
Gaara's eyes landed on Sasuke.
According to some intelligence Baki had casually brought back, Sasuke was the one who trained most frequently with Kakashi.
So… he needed to be wary of Uchiha Sasuke?
Gaara silently committed this to memory.
—
At that moment, the next match in the arena began.
A confrontation between the main house and branch house of the Hyūga clan.
In the stands, Hyūga Hiashi sat in the very front row with Hanabi, watching Hinata and Neji below.
Seeing Hiashi appear, Hinata's team leader, Yūhi Kurenai, showed a look of surprise.
When she had first become Hinata's sensei, she had paid a visit to the Hyūga estate.
According to the clan's traditions, Hinata was meant to be the heir, and taking her on missions carried risks.
Back then, Hiashi had simply said, "Do whatever you want. She can't even beat Hanabi, who's five years younger. The Hyūga clan doesn't need that kind of heir."
He then directly ordered her to leave.
And true to his words, he never interfered with Hinata's affairs again.
Logically speaking, Hiashi shouldn't have come to watch Hinata's match today.
"Hm?"
While Kurenai was still puzzled, she suddenly noticed that little Hanabi had somehow left the front row and returned pulling someone along.
"Hanabi seems quite close to that person, smiling so happily… but Clan Head Hiashi's expression…"
Kurenai muttered to herself, analyzing the situation.
—
On the other side, the moment Hyūga Hiashi saw Hanabi dragging Shiromo over to sit down, his face instantly darkened.
This was the enemy who had threatened the Hyūga clan!
But recalling that Hanabi had gone to apologize earlier, Hiashi chose to ignore it.
He would just pretend Shiromo didn't exist.
The outcome would be clear soon anyway.
That was what Hiashi thought, until the next second, when veins bulged on his forehead again.
Hanabi had started chatting with Shiromo as if no one else was around.
—
At the same time, down in the arena, Neji began delivering his speech before the fight officially started.
Although Neji possessed the Byakugan, his entire attention at that moment was focused on Hinata.
Earlier, after confirming that Hyūga Hiashi wasn't in the stands, Neji had assumed he wouldn't be coming to watch Hinata's match.
That was precisely why Neji dared to say what came next.
If he had known Hiashi was watching, he would have remembered the living hell imposed by the Caged Bird Seal the moment he opened his mouth.
"Hinata-sama, you really are the main family's eldest daughter. Humans cannot change! The dead last will always be the dead last, and geniuses will always be geniuses, this will never change!"
"Give it up. You're simply not suited to be a ninja. Go back and live comfortably as a noble lady!"
Neji let out a cold laugh and assumed the Gentle Fist stance, loudly venting the bitterness and resentment in his heart.
Hinata was already bad with words. Now she was rendered completely speechless, flustered and at a loss.
Naruto, watching from the stands, couldn't take it anymore.
Dead last?
Someone was indirectly criticizing him!
"Hinata, you can do it! Beat him up good!"
"N-Neji-niisan… I also want to change…"
After forming seals, Hinata activated her Byakugan and assumed her stance.
From that single opening movement alone, the gap between them was obvious.
"…Father, look!"
Although confused by her sister's sudden burst of fighting spirit, Hanabi was delighted and looked excitedly at Hiashi beside her.
Hiashi was indeed somewhat surprised by Hinata's change.
"She can't even use her strongest weapon, Talk-no-jutsu. Being called a dead last isn't exactly unjustified."
Shiromo chuckled as he mocked casually.
"Huh? Talk-no-jutsu?"
Hanabi tilted her head in confusion and looked at Shiromo.
"It's a way of speaking, refuting the other person's views and making them turn over a new leaf."
"Naruto's Talk-no-Jutsu always revolves around just a few lines: 'I'll definitely become Hokage,' 'I'll work hard to earn everyone's acknowledgment,' always framing everything around himself…"
"…Uh, Hanabi, do you understand?"
Halfway through explaining, Shiromo remembered Hanabi was only seven.
"Yes, yes, I understand."
Hanabi nodded earnestly.
Oh. Never mind then, another genius capable of "thinking from the Hokage's perspective" at age seven.
Listening to Shiromo and Hanabi's exchange, Hiashi couldn't help but feel proud of Hanabi.
Even if Hinata had changed a little, she was still far behind his younger daughter.
"Actually, to refute Neji, she only needs to ask him one question."
"If he believes destiny is fixed, that the Hokage's son becomes Hokage, the daimyō's son becomes daimyō, and a sacrificial pawn's son remains a sacrificial pawn."
"Then why doesn't he just obediently be a sacrificial pawn? Why train so hard? Why vent his anger at the main family's eldest daughter, whom he's supposedly meant to protect?"
"Isn't it precisely because he wants to rebel against fate?"
Hanabi's eyes lit up after hearing this. She stood up, leaned over the railing, and shouted down at the arena: "Neji-niisan!!!"
When Neji looked over, Hanabi cleared her throat.
"Neji-niisan, let me ask you, since you believe destiny can't be changed…"
She repeated Shiromo's words almost verbatim.
Finally, she pointed forcefully at Neji.
"Then wouldn't it be enough to just honestly be a sacrificial pawn? Why train so hard! Why be so angry at my sister! Deep down, you want to defy fate too, don't you?!"
Neji was stunned by these words.
His scars were ripped open, his true thoughts laid bare. He didn't even have the mental space to notice Clan Head Hiashi suddenly appearing in the stands.
"Little idiot."
Shiromo shook his head with a smile.
Hm?
Hanabi froze, was that supposed to be the next line?
"Idiot!"
Hanabi shouted at the dazed Neji.
But because she was cute and her voice was soft, it carried zero lethality.
"Stupid pig."
Shiromo looked speechless.
"Stupid pig!"
Hanabi continued pointing at Neji.
"Moron."
"Moron."
"Hedgehog."
"Hedgehog! …Eh? Is 'hedgehog' even an insult?"
Hanabi scratched her head.
"Ahem!"
Hyūga Hiashi coughed twice.
He had been slightly moved at first, but in less than two seconds, he personally witnessed Shiromo teaching his daughter "polite language."
The Hyūga clan's upbringing has been completely destroyed.
(End of this chapter)