"The clan has decided—you will serve as the deputy envoy to the Daimyo's court!"
The Hyuga Clan Leader announced to his younger son, Hizashi Hyuga, who had just arrived in haste upon receiving the summons.
"An envoy mission to the Daimyo's court?"
Still not up to speed on things, Hizashi felt kind of confused.
And how had such an opportunity suddenly fallen into his lap?
Truthfully, Hizashi couldn't even believe it himself.
Instinctively, he glanced upward toward his elder brother, Hiashi Hyuga, but quickly realized his mistake and corrected himself, humbly bowing to reply,
"As you command!"
"The personnel arrangements and communication with the nobles at the Daimyo's court are all matters I will handle. All you need to do is show up when the time comes. You won't need to deal with anything else."
The Clan Leader caught sight of his younger son's expression and instantly knew what he was thinking. "Hizashi, learn to think more carefully. Take care."
This was already a heavy reprimand. That alone made Hizashi shudder.
"Also, Hyuga Soushu, you will accompany Hizashi as his aide on this mission."
With a wave of his hand, the Clan Leader assigned another task to Soushu Hyuga, who stood aside watching indifferently.
Without waiting for Soushu's response, the Clan Leader rose and prepared to leave.
There were no specific instructions, no clear deadlines, not even any promises of future rewards—just like that, the mission was casually thrust upon both Soushu and Hizashi.
The two exchanged puzzled glances, uncertain about everything.
"I'll give you the list of personnel and operational strategies tonight... or rather, tomorrow morning."
Hiashi felt that their father had acted rather improperly and decided to intervene by saying, "As for the details, the clan will arrange them. You will depart in three days. Just wait for further notice."
Hearing these words, Soushu didn't really mind anymore.
He wondered if there was any way to pull strings and get Mahiru-san assigned to the escort unit from the Policing Department. A paid vacation with her would be great! However, there was a problem—Mahiru-san was still officially a regular Konoha ninja, not yet part of the Policing Department.
"Fine."
As soon as their father left, Hizashi stopped pretending. He just nodded glumly and went silent. The look on his face suggested he was probably reflecting on what mistake he might have made to upset their father again.
Even after leaving the Main House mansion, Hizashi still wore that lost and dazed look, as if he were a loyal hound who'd been kicked for no apparent reason.
"Hyuga Soushu, what exactly did I do wrong?" Hizashi couldn't help asking.
In terms of strength, he was considered a top talent among his generation in the Hyuga clan. Except during sparring matches against his older brother Hiashi—where the threat of the Caged Bird Seal kept him cautious—even most Branch House Jonin couldn't match him.
While Hyuga Soushu certainly had some inexplicable, unfathomable methods to defeat him, at least Hizashi still held a certain psychological edge in the Gentle Fist techniques, believing that after a few years on the battlefield he could develop his own unique skills.
Yet no matter what, today's actions by the Hyuga Clan Leader left him completely baffled.
He really hadn't done anything wrong—so why the scolding?
"Maybe he was just trying to mind-game you," Soushu casually replied.
"What's 'mind-game'?"
Predictably, Hizashi's attention immediately shifted.
"Nothing. I said the wrong thing."
Soushu didn't bother explaining terms that couldn't be clarified due to differences in their times and understandings.
"But I've already tried my best!"
And just like that, Hizashi was once again overwhelmed by negative emotions.
"Look," Soushu sighed, almost exasperated at how pitiful Hizashi looked. "Instead of making things hard for yourself, better make things difficult for others. Once we set off in a few days, just focus entirely on giving Danzo a hard time."
"Why?"
This only made Hizashi even more puzzled.
Since he'd been summoned last, he still didn't know the full details of Danzo's visit.
"The head of our house dislikes Danzo greatly, so we must find ways to make Danzo dislike him even more; when Danzo becomes unhappy, our clan leader will be satisfied; and when our leader is happy, you won't need to feel troubled anymore."
That's what Soushu explained.
"Uh..."
The reasoning seemed somewhat valid, yet truthfully speaking, it contradicted entirely the education Hizashi had received.
"So what I'm saying is, instead of stressing yourself out, sometimes you've just gotta lose your cool and act."
Soushu patted Hizashi's shoulder. "Just drop those morals once in a while and live a little—life looks way better that way."
Without waiting for Hizashi to respond, Soushu immediately body flickered away.
Better to avoid catching the emo vibes from some brooding guy and just focus on enjoying Mahiru's warmth and sweetness instead.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over those three days, Soushu brought up joining the envoy with Mahiru. She was interested, but after a moment's thought, she regretfully turned him down.
After all, the Policing Department wasn't her family business. Her father might be one of the high-ranking commanders, but there were still bigger bosses like the Chief Commander above him, and according to protocol, he couldn't get involved in external operations anyway, so she could only sadly bid farewell to her lover temporarily.
As for this, Soushu could do nothing either, since obviously the Uchiha Clan's list couldn't possibly include Mahiru's name. So they could only part ways for now.
But needless to say, while both were noble ninja clans, there were still clear differences between the Uchiha and the Hyuga.
Mahiru Uchiha accompanied Soushu Hyuga directly to the clan's weapon shop, where they purchased a huge quantity of specially-made explosive tags, high-quality kunai, and other elite martial arts supplies, practically arming him to the teeth.
If it weren't for Hyūga Sōshu's protest, Mahiru-chan would've still dressed him in torso armor bearing distinct Uchiha clan characteristics for this envoy mission.
After the two finished their last day of cuddling before departure, Sōshu finally received the envoy member list from Hizashi on the eve of their departure.
Besides Danzō Shimura, who served as the head envoy under the title of Hokage's second-in-command, and Hizashi Hyūga, who acted as deputy leader with Jonin status, he didn't recognize anyone else on the list.
However, judging merely from the clan names listed, this delegation composition appeared extremely complex!
It included not only fifteen Branch House members from the Hyūga Clan and ten Uchiha personnel from the Policing Department, but also three advisors from the Ino-Shika-Cho triad, one ninja named Utatane from the Administrative Department, one named Mitotou from the Foreign Affairs Department, and two named Sarutobi from the Finance Department. Additional delegates came from various other Ninja Clans.
Pretty much every notable Ninja Clan in Konoha had managed to sneak in at least one representative. Honestly, instead of looking like a formal envoy heading to pay respects to the Daimyo, it seemed more like a sightseeing trip for Konoha's Powerful Clans to show off and boost their reputation!
As a result, among Konoha's Big Four, the Shimura Clan—represented by Danzō—stood out absurdly for failing to squeeze even a single family member into the delegation!
That was completely absurd!
Words like bureaucratic complacency, corrupt officials, and power-hungry Powerful Clans perfectly summed up the impression conveyed by this delegation roster.
Sōshu couldn't help but laugh out loud.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>