Chapter 90 – The Price of Hinata and the True Byakugan
The four girls instantly adopted the new little sister with maximum enthusiasm.
When it was time to part ways,
"Oh, right!"
Aike suddenly called out to Kurenai.
"When you report to the Hokage Tower, pass a message to Tsunade for me."
"We're leaving tomorrow. If she wants the deal, she'd better move fast. Otherwise…"
Hokage Tower
"That's exactly what he said?"
Tsunade frowned at Kurenai.
Kurenai nodded.
"He said if she misses it, she'll have to wait years."
Tsunade's heart clenched. All desire to work vanished.
"…Got it. You're dismissed."
"As for Kurama Yakumo, if it's her own choice, I have no objections."
"Thank you for your understanding, Lady Hokage."
Kurenai exhaled in relief and left.
Once the office was empty, Tsunade walked to the window.
Her gaze fixed on the inn where Aike's group was staying.
Jiraiya had left that morning for Myoboku Mountain—new prophecy.
Shizune was sent to help with the hospital staff shortage.
No one left to talk her down.
She was alone with the war in her head.
"Nawaki… what should your big sister do…?"
Meanwhile,
not long after Aike's group returned to the inn,
Hyuga Hiashi, who had been holding back for days, finally came knocking.
First order of business: Hinata.
He needed a clear answer.
Aike gave it straight.
Translation: "I'm taking her. Name your price."
Hiashi's reply was not what Aike expected.
"You could force the complete abolition of the caged-bird seal with your power, correct?"
Aike blinked.
"You want me to dismantle the whole system?"
"Correct. Neji told me the rules you follow."
"I am willing to request your help in the form of a formal trade."
As a father, he refused to barter his daughter.
He would pay with something else—anything the Hyuga could offer.
Aike actually thought about it for a few seconds.
"You know… you really don't need me for that."
"Once Hinata comes with us, her strength will eventually outgrow the entire Hyuga clan. She'll be able to do it herself."
"After all, it's your family's internal affair."
He said it casually.
Hiashi hesitated.
He knew his daughter's talent better than anyone.
Decent, but not exceptional.
Better than average clansmen, but nowhere near enough for the main family's standards.
That's why the heir position had gone to Hanabi.
Aike just smiled and gave him a tiny taste.
"Clan head, have you ever wondered why the Sharingan can evolve—one tomoe, two, three, Mangekyou, while the Byakugan supposedly can't?"
Hiashi frowned, then shook his head.
"I… don't know."
"Simple. It's not that the Byakugan can't evolve."
"It's that the next stage is so ridiculously powerful that evolution is extremely difficult."
As he spoke,
his eyes suddenly changed.
Pure white.
The Byakugan he had taken from Neji.
"Byakugan: Pressure."
The instant the words left his mouth,
an unimaginable surge of ocular power exploded from his eyes.
The air in his line of sight compressed into visible rings of pressure.
Space itself rippled.
The full force slammed into Hiashi like an invisible titan's grip.
His lungs seized.
Every bone and cell screamed.
For a split second, the Hyuga clan head genuinely felt his body was about to explode.
Then Aike turned it off.
Five seconds total.
Less than half power.
And the leader of one of the strongest clans in Konoha was already on his knees, gasping.
That was the gap between a normal Byakugan and the one in Aike's hands.
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