The clan leader was willing to step forward and assured everyone that what happened with Hyūga Suzune was an exception, promising that such an outrageous situation would never occur again.
Only then did the main branch mbers, who had been emotional, furious, and unwilling to accept the situation, finally begin to calm down.
Once the clan eting ended, the Hyūga Grand Elder stayed behind.
"Clan Leader, the past few family etings haven't included the branch family elders. They might start to feel so resentnt."
"The Grand Elder can convene a eting tomorrow and explain it to them."
Hyūga Hiashi didn't care about the branch family's concerns. As long as the Caged Bird Seal remained in place, the branch family's fate was forever controlled by the main family.
Even if no explanation was given, the branch mbers wouldn't dare to act out.
"Fine..."
Seeing Hyūga Hiashi's calm, emotionless expression, the Grand Elder had to admire his composure. Even at a ti like this, he remained as steady as ever.
The next day, Anbu surrounded the Hyūga Clan's compound.
Fortunately, the Hyūga Clan had been inford in advance that the Anbu were only there to conduct a census of the clan's shinobi, not to arrest anyone or place the clan under surveillance.
The reason for surrounding the compound was simply to prevent anyone from escaping and being missed in the census. That was all.
Of course, this was the official explanation given by the Hokage's Office. In reality, surrounding the Hyūga Clan's compound was also a form of warning—a subtle reminder for them to behave and cooperate, for everyone's sake.
After handing over the clan's affairs to the main and branch family elders, Hiashi confird with the Anbu that Takuya was currently at the Hokage Office.
He then set off alone, heading to et with Takuya to discuss Hyūga Suzune's situation.
Takuya had co to the Hokage Office because Tsunade had summoned him.
The supplies sent by Iwagakure and Kumogakure had arrived, and he needed to oversee the handover before passing them on to the logistics departnt.
"They're making deal with this kind of hassle too?"
Takuya sat lazily in his chair, casually munching on the at pie Minato had brought him.
His role was just to oversee things. The actual task of inventorying the supplies was left to Nara Shikaku, the Hokage's secretary. There was no need for him to bother with it.
If the Anbu hadn't co knocking on his door, he would still be in bed, dreaming.
"By the way, where's Nawaki?"
"Haven't seen that guy in a while."
The three of them used to spend a lot of ti together, but lately, Nawaki had distanced himself from their small circle. No one knew what he was busy with.
"Matchmaking..."
Minato's expression turned strange.
"Apparently, the girl cos from a distant branch of the Senju clan. Their family took on a civilian surna after becoming commoners, and there's no close blood relation to the main house."
"...I see."
So Nawaki had really been pulled into the never-ending cycle of matchmaking?
There were still plenty of people with Senju ancestry. Even after becoming commoners, many families could trace their lineage back to the clan. For soone like Nawaki, such matches were ideal.
Still, Takuya couldn't help but feel bad for him. If he wasn't actively being set up for a date, he was on his way to one.
Takuya observed a mont of silence for the poor guy, hoping he'd at least manage to expand the Senju bloodline.
Tsunade was a lost cause at this point. No one even knew what her future child's surna would be, let alone how to revive the clan.
"Hey, Takuya."
Minato nudged him with his elbow.
"Hmm?"
"What is it?"
"Soone's looking for you."
Hearing that, Takuya looked up.
Well, well, if it wasn't Hyūga Hiashi.
Wasn't today supposed to be the Hyūga Clan's census day?
What was this guy doing here?
Looked like he ca specifically to see him.
"I'll go check it out. Keep an eye on things here."
It didn't matter who handled the watching.
Honestly, if Tsunade hadn't insisted that he co, Takuya wouldn't even be here.
"Clan Leader Hyūga, looking for ?"
"I have so matters to discuss with Lord Takuya. I wonder if you have the ti?"
Despite both becoming clan leaders at a young age, Hyūga Hiashi and Uchiha Fugaku were two very different types of people.
At first glance, both seed cold and expressionless, but the difference lay in their reasons.
Fugaku wore a serious face to intimidate his clan mbers.
Hiashi, on the other hand, had been forced into his deanor by the rigid traditions of the Hyūga Clan.
This was likely about Hyūga Suzune's situation. He might also be testing the waters regarding Takuya and Tsunade's stance.
After thinking for a mont, Takuya nodded. "Let's talk over here."
At a teahouse two streets away, Hiashi sat upright on the floor, carefully preparing tea with precise, deliberate movents.
anwhile, Takuya sat across from him, one foot on the ground, the other propped up, resting his chin on his knee.
It wasn't that Yagami Takuya was being rude. It was just that when dealing with the Hyūga, the more formal and serious you were, the more exhausting it beca.
"Clan Leader Hyūga, get to the point."
Takuya wasn't interested in tea ceremonies, nor did he have the patience to sit and watch Hiashi fiddle with tea for over ten minutes.
Finally, after Takuya's urging, Hiashi set down the teapot, poured two cups of tea, and pushed one toward him.
"Have you heard that the Third Hokage once made many promises to the Hyūga Clan?"
"Honestly? No."
Takuya took a sip. Didn't taste any different from regular tea. Maybe he just didn't appreciate the art of tea-making, but he wasn't about to waste his ti on it.
He'd rather be lying on a couch, or out training until he was drenched in sweat.
"Besides, now that Tsunade is the Fourth Hokage, aren't those promises irrelevant?"
"If the Hyūga Clan still expects the sa promises to hold, that's not going to happen. And there's no need to test —I have no particular bias against the Hyūga Clan.
"Though, to be honest, you people do have quite a few ridiculous traditions. But that's your business, not mine.
"To be frank, this whole situation could've been avoided if you weren't so stubborn."
"As for Hyūga Suzune, there's no point asking about her. Since you've already spoken to Tsunade, you should know by now that I won't release her."
"Likewise—"
Takuya paused, downing the rest of his tea in one gulp before continuing.
"This won't happen again. You have my word on that.
"As long as your clan doesn't deliberately cause trouble for , I, Yagami Takuya, won't go out of my way to make things difficult for you. The sa goes for Tsunade. I can speak for her."
Hiashi: "..."
His plan was to approach this gradually, to probe bit by bit.
But Takuya had just laid everything out in one go—so decisively and efficiently that he was already getting up to leave.
Did he really dislike talking to him that much?
Had he done sothing wrong in terms of etiquette?
Takuya left without looking back.
If he had known what was going through Hiashi's mind, he probably would've spat out blood.
Seriously? You think this is about etiquette?
I just can't stand your clan's endless rules. That's why I cut straight to the point and left. And now you think your etiquette wasn't good enough?
I beg you, stop tornting . I did nothing wrong, okay? I'll change if that's what it takes. Just don't put through this again.
Spending over ten minutes just making tea? That's worse than dealing with Uchiha Fugaku.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING
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