Chapter 41 – Hiashi's Worry
"Talk"
'Think'
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei.
A/N: Thank you DraaIzilUss for your support.
"Well, here we are, Uzu no Kuni" said Kakashi. He turned to his team and saw them panting on the ground. Well, they had just running on the sea for the past hours. The worst was Tenzō, who has the least amount of chakra amongst all members from Team Kakashi.
'Though it was a comparison against jincūriki and jōnin, not a fair one' thought Kakashi with a smile. Tenzō, to his credit followed their strides staunchly without asking for a breather.
Naruto was the first to recover. He looked around at the vast grassland, hills and ruins; the whole setting with the orange lighting from the sunset was very poignant to him.
"Sensei, can we…can we explore?" asked Naruto.
Kakashi looked at the sunset, and then he looked at Tenzō who was still not recovered before saying "I think we'd better set up camp since it's almost dark. Tomorrow, you'll have the whole day to explore and we'll begin training the following day"
"Ok" said Naruto, a bit sad but was mollified with the promise of having the whole day to explore.
Hokage Office
Shisui was reading Kakashi's report regarding Team 7's mission in Nami no Kuni when the door was knocked.
"Enter"
The door opened, revealing Hyūga Hiashi who greeted Shisui "Hokage-sama"
"Hiashi, what can I do for you?" asked Shisui.
"I heard rumour that team Kakashi is on an extended mission thus they will not be able to make it on time to participate in the upcoming Chūnin Exam?"
"That is correct" said Shisui "Is that why you are here? To verify a rumour?"
Hiashi was silent.
"Is there something wrong with the Hyūga clan that you need to see Noriko's prowess?"
The question caught Hiashi off-guard that his calm mask was stripped off. Underneath was a man that was worried with the resentment that has been accumulated amongst the Branch Family, especially his twin brother, Hizashi.
"You knew something Hokage-sama or was it a wild-guess" asked Hiashi.
"It was a wild guess. It is rather unusual for a clan head to worry about a genin team that comprises none of his clan members. The only link is Noriko who has a byakugan, so I took my shot" Shisui smiled "What do you need Noriko for?"
"To prove to the Elders that the Hyūga no longer need the Cursed Seal" answered Hiashi.
"Would you mind walking me through that?" requested Shisui.
"The Hyūga possesses byakugan for as long as we've existed, rumour has it since the time of Rikudō Sennin, but we've lost the records to war. During the early time, members of Hyūga family were kidnapped left and right because of the byakugan, thus the development of the Cursed Seal as well as the Main and the Branch Family. As you know, my twin brother was sealed with the Cursed Seal because he was borne few minutes later. He resented it" Hiashi closed his eyes as he said it, as it was painful for him to admit it.
"Traditionally, siblings will spar and the weaker one will be sealed, but since history has shown that the stronger one generally was the elder one, my father put the seal on Hizashi without testing our strengths, thus the source of Hizashi's resentment. He believes that he is the stronger one between two of us and that belief has strengthened when his son, Neji displayed an ability that is beyond his years. Especially when compared with my eldest, Hinata" Hiashi's voice softened, he loves his daughter and it pained him to be tough on her as his father had been on him. It was the only way to toughened her, the only way he knew of.
"I know my brother is struggling between his resentment and his loyalty to the family. Unfortunately, the resentment was passed to Neji. I can see his disdained towards Hinata" Hiashi's heart broke at the thought of the cruel words that were said to Hinata.
"I believe that the Cursed Seal was no longer needed at this time, since the Hyūga has become part of Konoha. But some of those Elders…" at this, Hiashi has lost his words. Well, not really, he only has profanities to describe them, but that would be impolite to say in front of Hokage, or impolite to say out loud, for a Hyūga.
"I heard from Hinata that you niece is strong, to the point that she was the only female managed to befriend the Uchiha heir, Sasuke and the children of Kazekage. I was hoping to make a case, with her as an example, that we, the Hyūga no longer need the Cursed Seal. I know for a fact that many from the Branch Family is observing her, waiting for the moment when they can jump ship should she wants to start her own clan. In fact, two of the male members from the Branch Family had begun to court females from the Uchiha clan, and they are just fourteen and fifteen!" Hiashi said indignantly.
"So, is your issue here because they are underage or…?" asked Shisui with a twinkle in his eyes.
"No, I have no issue with their age, as long as they don't go overboard. My issue is with the Elders who, despite possessing the All Seeing Eye, failed to see that we'll lose our clan members in a heartbeat if they refused to change" said Hiashi wearily.
"I am sorry to hear that. There's nothing I can do to rectify the situation at the moment. However, when Team 7 returned, we'll revisit this discussion" said Shisui.
"Thank you, Hokage-sama" said Hiashi, feeling slightly better.
End Chapter 41
Nami no Kuni – Land of Waves
Rikudō Sennin – Sage of Six Paths
Uzu no Kuni – Land of Whirlpools