157 Chapter 157: Neji's Determination
"Thank you."
Afterwards, outside the meeting room of the Konoha Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi stood at the doorway and sincerely thanked Yu.
"Thank you? What are you thanking me for?"
Turning his head to look at Hyuga Hiashi, Yu revealed a meaningful smile as he gazed at the stern-faced leader of the Hyuga Clan.
Upon hearing Yu's words, Hyuga Hiashi was momentarily stunned but quickly reacted. He looked at the young boy before him and sighed, "Thank you for rescuing Hinata, and for saving Hizashi's life."
"Also, thank you for persuading Hokage-sama to prevent Konoha from compromising with Hidden Cloud, preserving the dignity of all of us as Konoha Ninja."
If it weren't for Yu's appearance today and his successful persuasion of the Third Hokage and the Konoha Ninja present, this Cloud Ninja incident would have had only two possible outcomes.
His daughter, Hyuga Hinata, the heir to the main family of the Hyuga Clan, would have been taken by the Cloud Ninja, and the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai would have fallen into the hands of Hidden Cloud. Alternatively, his younger brother, Hyuga Hizashi, would have become a sacrificial lamb, handed over by the Konoha Elders and the Hyuga Clan's head elders as a sacrifice for peace and interests.
Therefore, even the stern and strict personality of Hyuga Hiashi genuinely harbored gratitude towards Yu in this matter.
"Hiashi-sama, you are too kind..."
"I did this not only for you but also for myself."
Facing the gratitude of the head of the oldest and most prestigious clan in Konoha, the Hyuga Clan, Yu smiled faintly. His gaze fell on Hinata, who was still sleeping peacefully in Hiashi's arms, and his lips curled slightly. "Besides... your daughter, Miss Hinata, is really adorable..."
Hinata, huh...
Seeing Yu express such fondness for his daughter Hinata, Hiashi subconsciously lowered his head to look at the peacefully sleeping Hinata in his arms, and a hint of a smile appeared on his stern face.
"Neji, come and thank Yu-sama."
At this moment, Hyuga Hizashi, accompanied by a small boy of about four or five years old with pure white eyes and black long hair, walked over.
Neji?
Noticing the slightly timid expression of the young Hyuga Clan boy who followed Hyuga Hizashi, Yu's gaze flickered, immediately recognizing his identity.
Hyuga Neji—the only Ninja among Konoha's famous twelve who perished in the anime, and also the first to become a Jonin solely through his own strength, earning him the title of a genius Ninja among the twelve.
"Th... Thank you, Yu-sama."
Approaching Yu alongside his father, Hyuga Neji, with his curious white eyes, looked at the handsome white-haired elder brother before him.
Although he, being young, did not fully comprehend what had happened today, the young Neji still timidly expressed his gratitude.
"Yu-sama, if it weren't for you today..."
"I would surely have become Hiashi-sama's substitution. It's an inevitable fate for a Ninja from the Hyuga branch family."
Standing before Yu, Hyuga Hizashi, who looked almost identical to his elder brother Hiashi, spoke with an expression that conveyed a sorrow and gloominess not present in Hiashi.
Fate?
Yu remained silent. The harsh system of the Ninja world was something he had understood from the beginning when he arrived. That's why, upon crossing over, he had diligently trained. For what purpose? To break free from such a fate and not be controlled by anyone.
Fortunately, with the help of Devil and his own efforts, he finally attained the strength he currently possessed. Coupled with his identity as a disciple of the Third Hokage and the merits and reputation earned on the battlefield, he could finally take control of his own destiny.
"I don't believe in fate. I believe that as long as one's strength reaches a certain level, everyone can master their own destiny."
Coming back to his senses and looking at Hizashi and Neji walking beside him, Yu seemed to hint at something as he spoke.
"Reaching a certain level of strength, huh..."
"As a disciple of Hokage-sama and possessing talents beyond the reach of ordinary people, Yu-sama can naturally control his own destiny. Whereas we, as Ninjas from the Hyuga Clan's branch family..."
Hearing Yu's words, Hizashi let out a light sigh. He then glanced at the somewhat bewildered Neji by his side, and a glimmer of hope and anticipation appeared in his eyes. "If it's Neji... perhaps he could change the destiny of the Hyuga Clan in the future."
"Yu-sama, everyone says you're the most talented Ninja in our village. Is that true?"
Neji, who had been following Yu and Hizashi, still couldn't fully understand what they were saying at the moment. He was simply curious, staring at Yu with his pure white eyes.
"The most talented Ninja?"
Hearing Neji's innocent words, Yu smiled slightly, reaching out a hand to ruffle Neji's adorable little head. "To some extent, I suppose."
"No!"
However, Neji forcefully pushed away Yu's hand that was tousling his head. He adjusted his disheveled hair with a bit of dissatisfaction and declared, "In the future, I will definitely surpass you! Become the most talented Ninja in the village!"
"Nonsense! Don't disrespect to Yu-sama!"
Hearing Neji's childish commotion, Hyuga Hizashi's expression immediately turned stern. "Neji, you need to understand, Yu-sama is now as formidable as Hokage-sama!"
"As formidable as Hokage-sama..."
Neji was momentarily stunned. In his young mind, Konoha's Hokage was the most powerful Ninja in the Ninja world. But he quickly pouted again, "I don't care! Anyway, I will definitely surpass him and become an even more formidable Ninja, hmph!"
"Hahaha... What an adorable little rascal."
Hearing Neji's innocent and stubborn commotion, even before Hizashi could reprimand him, Yu was already amused by his adorable demeanor.
Indeed, when he intervened today to persuade the Third Hokage and others, the primary goal was to avoid handing over the body of the Third Raikage, who had already been turned into Kaio by him.
However, being able to incidentally change the tragic fate of Hyuga Hizashi and Hyuga Neji in the anime, Yu couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
In the blink of an eye, dawn was approaching, and the distant sky was already turning pale. A new day was about to begin.
As the three of them continued to chat and laugh along the way, they reached a fork in the road before parting ways.
...
Time passed, and the Cloud Ninja incident came to a close.
Under the leadership of the Third Hokage, Konoha's Elders once again negotiated with the Hidden Cloud emissaries.
With two Hidden Cloud Jonin dead in Konoha and no acquisition of the Hyuga Clan's Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan, the Hidden Cloud Elders were furious. They demanded Konoha to hand over the culprits and the body of the Third Raikage.
However, the attitude of Konoha's Elders this time was surprisingly firm. Even with the Hidden Cloud's threat of launching another war, they did not show the slightest concession or compromise.
Helplessly, Hidden Cloud had no choice but to reluctantly abandon their demands. After all, having endured the consumption of the Third Great Ninja War, the Land of Lightning, externally strong but internally weakened, had no intention of igniting another war.
...
The 51st year of Konoha.
In this year, the long-standing enemies, the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, signed a peace agreement. The people of both nations rejoiced, marking the end of many years of war. The Third Great Ninja War finally came to a close.
However, few knew that a person named Hyuga Hizashi came close to becoming a small ripple in the hard-won peace, among the many sacrifices that went unnoticed.
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