Chapter 297: Hiashi's Intention
Hyuga Hotaru left after speaking mysteriously.
In the end, she didn't say what the matter was. Looking at her, it didn't seem like it was that important, as if it was something she could just casually refuse.
To be honest, it was a little baffling.
Sakura herself pondered for a moment. The Hyuga clan probably wouldn't see that she had potential and strength and want to latch onto her, right? The Hyuga clan, which was known as the number one great clan in Konoha, shouldn't be so fawning. And if that were the case, they should have sent a representative to find her, not invite her over.
Or perhaps they were looking for her to cooperate in developing a secret technique? That would be a bit too presumptuous and too sudden.
So the biggest possibility... could it be that the Hyuga clan had taken a liking to her and wanted to marry Neji to her?
Emmmmm... it's possible!
This kind of unprovoked invitation, Haruno Sakura had originally wanted to refuse. However, for Hinata's sake, she still decided to accept the appointment. The date on the post was noon, the day after tomorrow. Sakura really wanted to see what Hiashi was up to!
With a belly full of doubts, Haruno Sakura returned home.
The family members were actually all gathered. Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Yi, and Uncle Wan were all there. They were going to hold a celebration party for her.
"The Haruno Family's First Jonin Celebration Party," hn, that seemed to be what they had said.
"Our Haruno family has finally produced a Jonin!" Grandpa said, his old eyes brimming with tears as he held Haruno Sakura's hand excitedly. "Sakura-kun, you've really brought glory to the family!"
"Don't get excited! Sit down, take your time!" Sakura quickly helped him to a chair.
As soon as Grandpa sat down, he began to ramble on about the old days. It was the same old stuff. Haruno Sakura and her uncles had already heard it so many times their ears were growing calluses, but right now they had to listen to it again.
This was the real "old and rotten" stuff.
The Haruno family didn't have much of a story to tell. It was a typical, run-of-the-mill civilian ninja family. They had pretentiously put a clan crest on their clothes, but they had no family-inherited ninjutsu, no Kekkei Genkai, and not even a glorious history. The only thing worth boasting about was that they had followed the Senju clan from very early on. That should have been something that had started in Haruno Sakura's great-grandfather's generation.
At first, they were just ordinary people under the protection of the Senju clan. Later, the Second Hokage began to popularize ninja education, and the Haruno family was the first to answer the call. Grandpa's father had honorably become the Haruno family's very first ninja.
...He had been a Genin for his entire life.
Since then, they had been sending their family's children to the Ninja Academy. Unfortunately, the Haruno family's ninja talent was very average. The highest they had reached was only Tokubetsu Jonin. Sakura's uncles and her father were only Chunin.
In short, the Haruno family could be considered a clan that Konoha had cultivated itself, an iron-clad member of the Hokage's faction—counting back to the first five generations, it could be said that their roots were proper, and they were a trustworthy ninja family.
This was also part of the reason why Haruno Sakura had always been trusted.
"So, the history of the Haruno family having no Jonin, today, is officially over!" the old man said, suddenly tapping the floor with his cane, his voice full of excitement. "In the future, no one will dare to say that our family has no ninja talent!"
No, no, no, I'm the one who's been complaining that our family has no excellent talent to pass down... Sakura complained secretly in her heart.
Next was the family dinner. Uncle Yi's first daughter had just entered the Ninja Academy. He said that he must train her well and cultivate her to be the next Haruno Sakura, the next Jonin.
Poor little loli. Sakura looked at her pure and ignorant eyes and felt a little sorry for her... Haruno Sakura could see that this girl's talent was no higher than hers. If she wanted to become a Jonin, she would really have to work very hard.
Although Haruno Sakura's Jonin assessment had been passed, she still had to go through a procedure. Before the official certificate was issued, she was still just a Tokujō.
Despite this, the people around her had already begun to adapt to her change. When she had gone out in the morning, her next-door neighbor, Mr. Terumi Inin, was watering his flowers. When he saw her, he had almost called out "Lady Haruno Sakura"—according to stricter etiquette, a lower-ranked ninja should address a Jonin with a suffix like "Lady."
So, among the nearby neighbors, there really were a few people who were not very familiar with her who called her "Lady Sakura"...
These were all small matters, not worth mentioning, but they were a part of Sakura's life. After all, she wasn't fighting, carrying out missions, or training every moment of every day. She also had her leisure time.
Her current leisure was mainly because her various ninjutsu were temporarily in a bottleneck state and needed to be slowly ground through. So, it was rare for her to have free time. It was a matter of relaxing and tensing. In the year and a half since she had been promoted to Chunin, she had almost never stopped fighting and training. She took this opportunity to adjust her state.
Two days later, Haruno Sakura put on her formal uniform and went to the Hyuga's house for the appointment.
Before she even entered the door, she had sensed two astonishingly large chakras clashing. When she walked in, she found that it was Hyuga Hotaru and Hyuga Hiashi, the siblings, sparring.
The Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist, after being cultivated to a certain level, would begin to dig out its long-range striking ability: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, Eight Trigrams Vacuum Wall Palm, Four Sky Palms, and Crushing Mountain Strike, etc. It was rumored that there was also a move called the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, but unfortunately, it only existed in written records.
Regarding these skills, Sakura had only heard about them from Hinata and had never formally seen them. This time, it was the first time she had seen how the Gentle Fist was used in the later stages of combat!
On the field, the two figures in white were clashing with their palms and fists, emitting a continuous, dull thudding sound. The two figures, both with long, flowing hair, were almost indistinguishable. Their steps crisscrossed, their figures weaving and turning, their fists and feet as fast as lightning, dazzling the eyes!
On the field, the two's figures were light and ethereal, their fists and feet sticking and following, either in a close-range entanglement, their offense as fluid and leaping as flowing water, or in a long-range exchange, their attacks like a storm!
The two, who represented the highest level of the Hyuga clan's Gentle Fist, had contributed to a dazzling spectacle of a Gentle Fist battle for Sakura.
Although it did not have the "fist-to-flesh," hard and heavy feel of the Strong Fist, nor was it as gorgeous and varied as Sakura's ninjutsu, with its heaven-and-earth-shaking presence, the Gentle Fist also had its own outstanding style, in no way inferior to other ninjutsu and taijutsu!
Haruno Sakura watched silently from the side of the field for a few minutes.
At the level of Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hotaru's Gentle Fist, their fists and feet were no longer confined to the word "gentle," but were a mix of soft and hard, with feints and reality being unpredictable. Sometimes, a palm strike would look light and powerless, but when it hit the ground, it could create a deep pit!
Purely in terms of taijutsu, this was a completely different combat style from Gai's Strong Fist system.
As Sakura watched from the side, she couldn't help but wonder, if she were the one on the field, what would the fight be like?
When fighting against the Gentle Fist, she would probably be more wary. Taijutsu like tenketsu strikes and Rotation are very tricky. If Tsunade had named Hyuga Hotaru yesterday, Sakura's fighting style might have been adjusted to be ninjutsu-based, with taijutsu as support.
She would only know after fighting! In any case, first, she would probe, and then she would choose her tactics based on the intelligence she had gathered.
After fighting for a while, the two were evenly matched. They stopped without a winner being decided.
Hyuga Hiashi walked over, welcomed Haruno Sakura into the main house, and sat her down in the main hall. "Welcome to the Hyuga's house, Miss Haruno Sakura. I apologize for making you wait."
"To be able to see such a wonderful battle, it's worth the wait, even if it's for a moment!" Sakura said, kneeling on the cushion and praising him. Her face, which had just shed its childishness, speaking such old-fashioned words, even Haruno Sakura herself felt it was particularly awkward. So after saying this, she went straight to the point. "Lord Hiashi, may I ask why you have invited me here this time?"
At this time, Hyuga Hotaru was helping Hiashi set up the tea set and the low table, inviting Sakura to drink tea. Hearing this, she smiled and said, "Brother, I told you not to bother with these superficial things. Everyone is very busy, and we don't have time to be kept in suspense. You'd better just say it!"
Hiashi, who was steadily showing off his tea-making skills, didn't even raise his eyelids when he heard Hyuga Hotaru's words. He brewed his tea on his own, as if completing a fixed etiquette—inviting a guest, one must at least finish the first cup of tea before bringing up the main topic.
Then he placed a cup of brewed tea in front of Sakura. "Please."
Haruno Sakura hadn't had tea like this in many years. She took it and took a light sip. "Good tea! Although, I don't really know what kind of tea is good tea..."
This straightforward statement had blocked the way to continue with the pleasantries about the tea ceremony. Hiashi smiled slightly. He knew that ninja had always liked to be direct and were impatient with these formalities. A ninja like Sakura, who at least had the patience to seriously taste the first cup, was already a rare sight.
He also didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Miss Sakura, what do you think of our family's Hanabi?"
Haruno Sakura's body trembled, and the water in the teacup in her hand almost spilled out.
Wait!! It's actually Hyuga Hanabi, not Hyuga Neji!!
I never thought that Hiashi would be such an open-minded and daringly progressive person!
Before the tea in her mouth could spray out, Sakura had managed to hold it in. By the way, she also blocked out words like "yuri is infinitely good, it's just that they can't have children" from her mind. She said seriously, "Lord Hiashi, you mean...?"
Of course, he wasn't trying to marry Hanabi off.
"Hanabi is also at the age where she should be attending the Ninja Academy," Hiashi said, taking a sip of the clear tea. "I was wondering if it would be possible to ask you to be Hanabi's supervising Jonin-sensei?"
Haruno Sakura blinked. Only then did she realize that she was already a Jonin.
A Jonin could become a new team's leader!
Therefore, some of the stronger Jonin, if they came out to lead a team, would be in high demand. Of course, who would be whose team leader could only be decided by the higher-ups. It wasn't as if the ninja below could just say who they wanted to lead. However, with the Hyuga clan's influence, it wouldn't be difficult to get the Hokage's approval for this not-so-excessive request.
All he was worried about was the question of whether Haruno Sakura was willing. If Sakura didn't agree, the other party was the Hokage's disciple. Even the Hyuga clan couldn't go against her will.
"Lord Hiashi, did you invite me here just for this small matter? If so, why didn't you just say so on the invitation?" Sakura said, sipping her hot tea faintly, and gave no comment on Hiashi's request.
"This concerns Hanabi's future. It is not a small matter," Hiashi replied sincerely. "The reason it was not written on the invitation was to see what Miss Sakura's impression of my family and me was. If you were unwilling to come, then this matter would naturally not be possible, and there would be no need to waste everyone's time."
So it was to test if I hated the Hyuga clan or Hyuga Hiashi, right? Haruno Sakura thought, her eyebrows raised.
Hyuga Hiashi had some self-awareness. He knew that Sakura was dissatisfied with the treatment Hinata had received in the Hyuga family. He had barely cared about his eldest daughter. As Hinata's close friend, Sakura naturally had a problem with him. Of course, after the Chunin Exams, seeing that his eldest daughter had improved, the father and daughter were not so stiff anymore.
After all, blood is thicker than water. It was human nature for Hinata to choose to forgive her father and restore a normal, harmonious father-daughter relationship. But it was also human nature for Sakura to have an opinion of Hiashi. Hiashi had known this for a long time.
Sakura sipped her tea and pondered for a while.
"I like Hanabi-chan very much," Sakura said after finishing her cup of tea. She handed the cup over and watched as Hiashi brewed her a second cup with his beautiful tea ceremony. Hyuga Hotaru was giggling on the side. Haruno Sakura's words were equivalent to her saying that she didn't like Hiashi. Yet Hiashi could still take this with a smile. Seeing her brother lose face, she squinted her eyes and smiled like a cunning fox.
"Then...?" Hiashi asked, handing the second cup of tea over, while watching Sakura's expression.
"I don't object to becoming Hanabi-chan's supervising-sensei," Haruno Sakura gave her answer. "However, that is at least six years from now. No one can make a promise for such a distant future, can they?"
"Your words are enough. I'll thank you on behalf of Hanabi, Miss Sakura," Hiashi said with a slight smile.
"You're too kind... Hanabi-chan is Hinata-chan's dear sister, so she's also my sister," Sakura said with a smile. Hanabi and Hinata's relationship was very good, and she would not transfer her dislike of Hiashi to that cute little loli.
"However, Lord Hiashi, aren't you going to have Hanabi-chan inherit the main family? Why are you letting her walk the path of being promoted from a Genin?"
Hiashi put down his teacup, sat up straight, and looked at Haruno Sakura solemnly.
He said slowly, "The Hyuga clan, as the strongest clan in Konoha, should naturally follow the Hokage's steps even more closely, and integrate more tightly into Konoha's system..."
Haruno Sakura was stunned.
Hiashi's words were so high-sounding, but the meaning inside was actually saying that the Fifth Hokage had now gained a firm footing. With the Third Hokage backing her, the recognition of the young and middle-aged generations, and the support of a batch of powerful rookies headed by Haruno Sakura, the Hyuga clan, of course, had to start adapting to the new situation brought by the new Hokage.
You know, Konoha's tradition was to strike down the number one clan in the village.
The Second Hokage, although he had come from Konoha's largest clan, the Senju, had, after coming to power, broken up his own clan into countless small clans. To this day, there was not even a single person in Konoha with the surname Senju. Even Tsunade had not been given this surname. Then he had ruthlessly suppressed the Uchiha for decades.
Under the rule of the Third Hokage, the Uchiha clan, known as the number one great clan in Konoha, had been restless and had tried to stir up trouble. After a few years, the Third had seen that the matter was irreversible and had directly slaughtered the Uchiha.
The Fourth Hokage had died early, so let's not talk about him.
And now, seeing that Tsunade was gradually gaining power and the recognition of the entire village, becoming a new generation of a strong Hokage, the Hyuga clan, which had been calling itself the number one great clan in Konoha for several years, was now also beginning to tremble!
According to this tradition of Konoha, if the Hyuga clan didn't tuck their necks in and do their work, Tsunade would really find a reason to slap them in the face. The simplest way was to have Hyuga Hotaru use the "bitter-flesh" trick and have the Caged Bird seal carved on her. Do you think Tsunade, for the sake of her subordinate, would tearfully dismantle the Hyuga clan? The corrupt main and branch family system, how many Konoha ninja had it harmed! In order to save her comrades in the Hyuga clan, Tsunade would tearfully slay the main family. The Hyuga clan would from then on be scattered into several medium-sized branches. Wouldn't the whole village clap their hands in applause?
Hiashi's painstaking efforts!
And, with Hanabi following Haruno Sakura, it would also be very beneficial to her growth...
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