Chapter 17 - Hiashi, Are You Willing to Be a Dog?

  "But if this fails, all our previous efforts will be wasted. He’s pushing the Uchiha and Konoha to the point of no return!"

  Although Itachi had gained some respect for Renji after their st conversation, he still couldn’t fully agree with Renji’s approach.

  At the very least, he believed the Uchiha shouldn’t be pushed into complete opposition with Konoha.

  Everyone in Konoha now knew that Renji intended to recim the Uchiha’s former territory in the heart of the vilge. However, that nd had already been divided among other cns.

  Moreover, rumors had spread that the council had agreed to return the nd—but only if the Ino-Shika-Chō and the Hyūga cns returned their portions first.

  The Hyūga would never give up their nd, so the entire vilge was waiting to see who would be made a fool.

  Most people were waiting for the Uchiha to fail. With the council’s manipution of public opinion and the Uchiha’s inherent arrogance, many hoped to see them stumble.

  "Do you have a better idea? In the past, no matter how hard we tried, the cn never accepted our efforts."

  Shisui had finally realized that no matter what he did, the cn saw him as a traitor. They never accepted his efforts.

  But Renji’s current suicidal approach, if it failed, would drag the entire cn down with him.

  Yet, the cn seemed to embrace this. Clearly, they had been suppressed for too long and couldn’t follow the path Itachi had envisioned.

  If they could... they wouldn’t be the Uchiha.

  "Let’s see what Renji does. Don’t forget, he’s the cn leader now."

  Shisui’s eyes flickered, and he decided to suppress his own thoughts for now.

  The Kotoamatsukami, his ultimate genjutsu, was a st resort. He believed it could change the Uchiha’s fate, but using it on Renji now would be pointless.

  The news had already spread throughout Konoha. Forcing Renji to back down would only make the Uchiha a ughingstock. So, he couldn’t stop Renji. In fact, to prevent the Uchiha from becoming a joke, he might even have to use his Kotoamatsukami?

  Unlike Itachi, Shisui was compassionate but not extreme. He didn’t want the Uchiha to fall apart.

  "Then let’s wait and see."

  Itachi had no other options. He could only watch and see how Renji handled things.

  Meanwhile, in the Hyūga cn.

  After learning about the situation, the main family held a meeting. Hiashi Hyūga was surrounded by elders, some calm, some agitated, and others eager to see the Uchiha humiliated.

  How could they even think of asking the Hyūga to return the nd? It was impossible!

  "Hiashi, you know what to do, right?"

  The elders pressed Hiashi for an answer.

  "I know, but this nd seems rather useless to us, doesn’t it?"

  "Even if it’s useless, we can’t just give it back to the Uchiha!"

  An elder with a long beard excimed. They didn’t need the nd, but they wouldn’t give it to the Uchiha just because they asked.

  The Hyūga had always been located in this area, and after the Nine-Tails attack, they naturally remained here. Konoha had also given them some of the Uchiha’s former nd.

  Seeing no reason to refuse, the Hyūga had taken it. However, since the nd was on the outskirts of their territory, it had rgely been left unused.

  But that didn’t mean they would return it to the Uchiha. The rivalry over who was the top dōjutsu cn had always been fierce.

  "Of course, if they want the nd, they’ll have to admit that the Hyūga are the top dōjutsu cn!"

  This was the perfect condition. If the Uchiha admitted it, they would be humiliated. Even if the Hyūga returned the nd, they wouldn’t lose face.

  "Hiashi, what do you pn to do?"

  The elders turned to Hiashi. As the cn leader, the final decision rested with him.

  "We won’t return it, and we don’t need their acknowledgment. This nd belongs to the Hyūga now. After all these years, just because they ask for it, should we give it back?"

  Hiashi shook his head. He wouldn’t agree to this demand. Although he knew the Hyūga were being used as pawns by Konoha’s leaders, this was a matter of the Hyūga’s pride. He wouldn’t yield.

  "Exactly! We absolutely won’t give it back!"

  Why would they need the Uchiha’s acknowledgment?

  If the Uchiha couldn’t recim the nd, that would prove their weakness.

  The other elders agreed. No matter what, they wouldn’t give up the nd.

  "Cn Leader, Uchiha Renji is here. Should we see him?"

  A member of the Hyūga branch family rushed into the meeting room to report Renji’s arrival.

  "Don’t see him. Just because that brat wants to meet us, should we agree?"

  An elder with a white beard huffed, thinking it would be best to make Renji wait.

  Since Renji was the one asking for a favor, leaving him outside would show him who was in charge. Given the Uchiha’s current situation, Renji wouldn’t dare offend the Hyūga.

  "Sorry for intruding."

  "How the hell did you get in!?"

  Seeing Renji walk in from the corner, the Hyūga elders were shocked. The three tomoe in his eyes made them uneasy.

  They quickly stood up, only to realize that all the Hyūga members had been pced under Renji’s genjutsu.

  What!?

  His Sharingan was this powerful?

  The Hyūga weren’t known for their genjutsu, but they had their own methods to resist it. Yet, against Renji, they had all been subdued.

  If Renji decided to attack, only a few in the Hyūga cn could stand against him.

  Was this the power of the Sharingan?

  But they had fought Uchiha before. Why was Renji’s Sharingan different?

  "I just walked in. Cn Leader Hiashi, care to have a chat?"

  Renji made himself at home, sitting down and looking directly at Hiashi.

  "Do you think this attitude will make the Hyūga cooperate with you?"

  "Cooperate? Cooperation is about exchanging benefits. Since you pnned to intimidate me, and I’ve countered it, why are you getting upset?"

  Renji had anticipated that the Hyūga wouldn’t let him in.

  Since they wouldn’t let him in, Renji simply used genjutsu to control them. After upgrading to the Mangekyō Sharingan, even the three-tomoe Sharingan’s power had become far stronger than before.

  "Renji, what exactly do you want?"

  Hiashi Hyūga’s face darkened as he stared at Renji. He was puzzled. Renji shouldn’t be this reckless.

  If he wanted to recim the nd, angering Hiashi would only make things worse.

  So why was Renji acting this way?

  "Cn Leader Hiashi, as I said, we need to have a proper discussion about the nd beneath our feet. I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors in Konoha, right?"

  "This is now the Hyūga cn’s nd. There’s no question of returning it. You should leave."

  Hiashi made his stance clear.

  Now that the nd was in his hands, there was no way he would give it back to Renji.

  If he did, Hiashi had no idea how the vilge would view the Hyūga. Would they think the Hyūga were afraid of the Uchiha?

  "The Uchiha and Hyūga cns are now in a situation where if one falls, the other will follow. Yet, Cn Leader Hiashi, you still have the energy to feud with the Uchiha?"

  Renji spoke, then turned to a controlled Hyūga branch member and said, "Go get me a cup of tea."

  "Yes!"

  Watching this scene, Hiashi’s veins bulged, and his Byakugan activated, ready to strike Renji at any moment.

  He couldn’t stand Renji’s nonchant attitude. Was this the Uchiha cn or the Hyūga cn?

  "What do you mean?"

  Hiashi tried to stay calm. "Don’t forget, it’s not us who are being targeted—it’s the Uchiha. Do you really want to make enemies of us too?"

  "Of course, it’s us who are being targeted now. But once we fall, who’s next? The Hyūga cn has a group of ninja who only obey the main family and don’t take orders from the vilge. Do you think Konoha is comfortable with your existence?"

  Although in the original story, the Hyūga cn never faced major issues, Hiashi didn’t know that. Renji could use this to intimidate him.

  "Don’t forget, when the Cloud ninja kidnapped your daughter, you killed one of their ninja. To appease the Cloud and avoid war, they were ready to hand you over. You were expendable. The current Konoha is a pything for the council. Do you think they won’t target you once we’re gone? Think about Hizashi, who died for you!"

  After speaking, Renji fell silent, giving Hiashi time to think.

  No matter how much Renji said, it wouldn’t be as effective as Hiashi coming to the realization himself. Besides, Renji wasn’t wrong. Given what Konoha had done, he didn’t believe Hiashi wouldn’t hold a grudge.

  Gncing at Hiashi, whose expression kept shifting, Renji calmly sipped his tea.

  After a while, Hiashi looked up at Renji and asked, "What exactly do you want?"

  He wasn’t in a hurry to kick Renji out now. Could he not hate what had happened?

  Neji still resented him, and did Hiashi really want to hand over Hizashi?

  Back then, he couldn’t understand why Konoha had compromised.

  "I think we’re not enemies. In fact, we could be allies. Once the Uchiha fall, the Hyūga will be next. Unless you’re willing to be the Hokage’s pdogs like the Ino-Shika-Chō, I don’t see that happening.

  "Besides, don’t forget that Danzō has always been recruiting members of other kekkei genkai cns into his Root. He once conducted experiments with Orochimaru on kekkei genkai. Aren’t you afraid of your Byakugan falling into the wrong hands?"

  If there was one cn in Konoha most afraid of their kekkei genkai being stolen, it was the Hyūga.

  "What do we gain?"

  Hiashi looked at Renji. He had an idea—a piece of nd they didn’t need in exchange for the Uchiha taking the brunt of the vilge’s hostility. It didn’t seem like a bad deal.

  Hearing this, Renji smiled. It seemed things were falling into pce.

  From a god’s perspective, the Hyūga cn would be fine in the future, but Hiashi didn’t know that. He was worried Konoha might turn on them. There was precedent—sacrificing Hizashi to the Cloud Vilge was a clear example.

  Now, Hiashi didn’t dare to gamble. If Konoha could do this to the Uchiha, the Hyūga might be next.

  In fact, after the Uchiha massacre, although Hiruzen and the others hadn’t directly participated, the other cns in Konoha became much more subdued. Hiruzen’s control over the vilge reached its peak.

  "What you gain is the Uchiha cn taking the heat for you. You can only pray we don’t fall, or you’ll be next."

  "Wouldn’t Konoha be afraid of retaliation from other vilges?"

  One of the elders asked, unwilling to accept Renji’s point, though he couldn’t deny its validity.

  But he believed Konoha wouldn’t go that far.

  After all, doing so would weaken Konoha’s strength.

  "Can’t they just weaken you?"

  "..."

  "Cn Leader Hiashi, this nd is useless to you. Returning it to us would also curb Hiruzen and Danzō’s arrogance. Over the years, the Sarutobi and Shimura cns have taken so many resources that don’t belong to them.

  "And the Hokage has been in power for too long. Don’t you think it’s time for a fairer leader?"

  He wants to repce the Hokage!?

  Hiashi’s head snapped up as he stared at Renji.

  He understood now.

  He finally understood what Renji was pnning!

  Renji wanted to overthrow Hiruzen. Everything he was doing now made sense.

  But had Renji overlooked one thing?

  "Do you have the strength for that?"

  Hiashi activated his Byakugan, but in the next moment, Renji’s three-tomoe Sharingan transformed into a sinister pattern, visible only to Hiashi. Seeing this, Hiashi was stunned, unable to speak.

  (End of Chapter)

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