Chapter 31 – True Identity: Hyūga Hiashi
In the official Naruto setting, the Hyūga clan are descendants of the Ōtsutsuki clan and one of the elder families that joined Konohagakure during the founding of the Land of Fire. Similar to the Uchiha clan's experience, they are considered one of Konoha's oldest clans. Clan members, like the Uchiha, inherit a unique ocular jutsu, the Kekkei Genkai—the Byakugān.
It could be said that to a certain extent, the Hyūga and Uchiha clans are very similar in many aspects. The only difference lies in… their attitudes toward the Konoha leadership.
The Uchiha clan is relatively radical, hoping to protect their clan's position within Konoha through sheer force. But the Hyūga clan is different… The Hyūga clan once faced similar scrutiny as the Uchiha clan and were also highly distrusted at one point. However, the Hyūga clan's approach was very shrewd: they did not participate in Konoha's political affairs, instead developing quietly and maintaining a low profile within the clan… As a result, although the Hyūga clan's influence in Konoha wasn't weak, they didn't attract the same level of attention from the Konoha leadership…
On the other hand, the Uchiha clan fared rather poorly…
…
"The Uchiha clan…" After a few moments, Hyūga Hiashi repeated Izaya's words, a flicker of light passing through his eyes. After observing for a long while, Hyūga Hiashi asked solemnly, "Are you from the Uchiha clan?"
"No…" Izaya shook his head, then calmly stated, "I'm just a Konoha civilian."
"Only…"
"Only what?" Seeing Izaya hesitate, Hyūga Hiashi immediately pressed.
"Only… I intend to help 'him' this time…" After speaking, Izaya smiled…
"Help him?!" Upon hearing this, a trace of shock flashed across Hyūga Hiashi's face. When he first saw the person before him, Hyūga Hiashi had merely thought he was some kid from who-knows-where trying to sneak into the Hyūga compound. But as these words left Izaya's mouth, Hyūga Hiashi realized this youth must know something…
Although Hyūga Hiashi did not involve himself in Konoha's political affairs, as a Konoha elite jōnin and the current head of the Hyūga clan, he was still aware of recent events. Following the accidental death of Uchiha Shisui, the youngest genius of the Uchiha clan, the entire Konoha village had instantly been plunged into a strange atmosphere. Among Konoha's various factions, the scent of impending conflict between the Uchiha clan and the Konoha leadership was palpable.
Hyūga Hiashi had even heard some rumors… that the Uchiha clan was planning a coup… Whether it was true or not, this news made Konoha's atmosphere even more tense… But what Hyūga Hiashi truly hadn't expected was that during such a tense time, a little guy claiming to be a civilian would appear, wanting to help a certain "him." This "him" was intriguing… Was it the Uchiha clan? Or someone from the Uchiha clan?
For a moment, Hyūga Hiashi felt a flicker of interest in this young boy whose face still bore traces of immaturity.
"Little guy, do you know that if the words you just spoke were heard by others, you might not live to see the next morning…" Soon after the atmosphere between Izaya and Hiashi fell into silence, Hiashi took the lead in speaking. He then slowly walked toward Izaya.
Suddenly! He extended a broad palm and abruptly slapped Izaya's shoulder!
Thump!
A dull sound instantly shattered the surrounding silence.
"Lord Patriarch, stop…!"
"Bad uncle! You can't bully Big Brother Izaya!" The moment this happened, Tenten and Neji, standing at a distance, spoke simultaneously, their faces filled with conflict and surprise.
And Tenten immediately pulled out two black and white sealed scrolls from her bag.
"Tenten already has these at such a young age?!" The two scrolls in Tenten's hands were exactly the ninja tool scrolls she used against Temari during the Chūnin Exams!
Izaya, witnessing this, broke out in a cold sweat. Although Tenten's body currently contained only extremely weak Chakra, there was absolutely no problem with her unsealing these two scrolls. And if the massive number of tools inside burst forth at such close range… even Izaya would find it very troublesome…
Thinking this, Izaya didn't have time to deal with Hyūga Hiashi standing beside him for the moment. Instead, he hurriedly said, "Tenten, put those things away! Your brother is fine!"
"But I think…" Seeing that Izaya seemed okay, Tenten, holding the scrolls, didn't know what to do for a moment.
"Your brother is really fine…" After swatting Hyūga Hiashi's hand off his shoulder with a slap, Izaya immediately went to Tenten. As he put the scrolls back into her bag, he said, "Who gave you these? Don't take them out so casually next time, understand?"
"My mom gave them to me. She said to open them if there are bad people."
"Her parents…" Upon learning the origin of the ninja tool scrolls, a look of helplessness flashed in Izaya's eyes. After securely closing the scrolls in Tenten's hands, Izaya returned to Hyūga Hiashi and smiled, "Uncle, bullying a child isn't a very glorious thing."
"Hmph! In the shinobi world, there's no such thing as seniority or juniority!" Seeing that Izaya was completely unharmed, a trace of shock also appeared on Hyūga Hiashi's face. Although his earlier strike against Izaya was merely a test… that attack was definitely not simple. Not only had he used the Gentle Fist, but Hyūga Hiashi had also injected Chakra into Izaya's body, intending to teach this brat who didn't know his place a little lesson…
But what Hyūga Hiashi hadn't expected was that Izaya remained completely unscathed…
"Byakugān, open!" Seeing Izaya so unaffected, Hyūga Hiashi could no longer remain calm. He directly activated his Byakugān and stared intently at the Izaya before him.
But this single glance… made Hyūga Hiashi even more shocked!
As the Hyūga clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugān's abilities are naturally formidable. It can be used for reconnaissance and assistance, provides a 360° field of view, and allows the user to see the flow of Chakra in the surrounding environment. Moreover, depending on the user's proficiency, the Byakugān can be divided into the Telescopic Vision, which can see far distances, and the Insight Eye, which can see through objects.
In terms of reconnaissance, the Byakugān's abilities even surpass the Naruto world's primary dōjutsu, the Sharingan! And the Byakugān Hyūga Hiashi used now was the Insight Eye, capable of seeing through objects.
Using the Byakugān to peer into Izaya's body… Hyūga Hiashi was shocked…