Chapter 31
Under the arrangement of the Konoha leadership, everything in the village after the war was proceeding in an orderly manner, gradually restoring it to the peaceful and prosperous scene it had been before the war.
Uchiha Yuki returned to the Anbu. When she heard that Hyuga Hizashi had left the Anbu and was preparing to officially succeed as the head of the Hyuga branch family, she was taken aback. After the Hyuga clan extended invitations to the other major clans of Konoha, Yuki, along with Uchiha Fugaku and several elders, went to the Hyuga clan territory and attended the succession ceremony.
In the territory of the Hyuga clan, there are large areas of pine trees, which stretch endlessly as far as the eye can see.
Her long, slightly wavy hair was casually tied back with a thin black hair tie. A Konoha headband adorned her forehead, below which were almond-shaped eyes with jet-black pupils, revealing nothing of her thoughts. She wore a green Jonin vest, the Uchiha clan's fan emblem embroidered on her shoulder. Sunlight slanted across her, and although it was early spring, she gave off the feeling of being in the dead of winter, as if the surrounding temperature had dropped several degrees.
"Uchiha Yuki?"
Hearing the sound, Yuki turned around and saw Hyuga Hizashi wearing a dark green kimono. Beside him was a woman in a light green kimono, her belly slightly protruding, indicating she was quite far along in her pregnancy. Both of them had white bandages wrapped around their foreheads.
"Captain... who is this?" Xue's gaze fell on the woman's lower abdomen, somewhat curious.
Hyuga Hizashi gently patted Yuki's head with his large hand, his smile unlike the restrained one he displayed in the Anbu.
“This is my wife, Hyuga Hana.” Hyuga Hizashi turned to his wife and introduced the black-haired girl in front of him: “This is Uchiha Yuki, my former partner.”
"Hello, my name is Hinata Hana. You can just call me Hana." The woman smiled kindly and gently, but she looked very fragile, as if a gentle breeze could blow her away.
Xue replied somewhat bewilderedly, "Hello, Xiaohua."
The woman called Xiaohua is not a ninja, but she still has the curse mark of the Caged Bird on her forehead.
Xiao Hua looked to be only in her early twenties, and Xue didn't feel uncomfortable calling her Xiao Hua.
"Hello, Xue." The woman smiled gently, her gaze frequently lingering on her lower abdomen.
She covered her mouth and laughed, then took her hand and gently placed it on her lower abdomen.
Xue's thoughts were somewhat scattered as she looked down, feeling the subtle fetal movements in the woman's lower abdomen.
Have you chosen a name yet?
Xiaohua smiled and said, "We've chosen a name, Neji. The baby will be born in mid-summer. Yuki must come then too!"
Hyuga...Neji.
Xue paused for a moment, then subconsciously looked at Hyuga Hizashi. Hyuga Hizashi returned her a gentle smile.
Xue simply smiled faintly: "Yes, I will."
"Who is this?" A man who looked remarkably like Hyuga Hizashi walked over from the side and asked.
Yuki's gaze fell on his smooth forehead, which was free of any curse marks. She lowered her head slightly and said, "Lord Hyuga."
Hyuga Hizashi introduced Yuki's identity from the side, while Hyuga Hiashi's gaze slowly fell on the girl.
The man's demeanor was very stern, in contrast to Hizashi Hyuga, whose temperament was much gentler.
"The succession ceremony is about to begin. All the invited outsiders are in the outer quarters." Hiashi Hyuga said in a serious tone, just like an elder in the clan who adheres to tradition: "Please, Miss Uchiha, wait in the outer quarters."
The ceremony proceeded in a very streamlined manner, not much different from Fugaku's succession as clan head. Yuki stood beside Fugaku, while Shisui was absent due to a mission with the Anbu. The visiting large clans seemed more interested in Shisui, all asking if the "Shutter-Flicker Shisui" was present.
However, Xue did see a few familiar faces.
Like Hyuga Tokuma and Nara Shikara, but due to the relationship between their families.
They could only exchange glances before staying behind their respective clan leaders.
-
When the Konoha leadership proposed that Minato Namikaze succeed as the Fourth Hokage, they also demanded that he marry Kushina Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Minato Namikaze refused almost immediately; how could he possibly agree to such a thing?
How could you use the threat of forcing him to marry Kushina as a condition for becoming the Fourth Hokage?
They treated him and Kushina like pawns to be manipulated!
Jiraiya looked at Minato, who was firmly supporting him on this matter, and sighed helplessly. His disciple was excellent in every way, but his emotional affairs were a real headache for him.
Jiraiya asked, "So, what are your thoughts now?"
Minato Namikaze sat in the office assigned to him by the Third Hokage, responding with a frown as he dealt with various affairs within Konoha Village.
"Teacher, I have someone I love. We made a promise a long time ago to spend our lives together."
"I cannot agree to the idea of you asking me to marry Kushina."
"Moreover, my relationship with Kushina was just that of ordinary classmates."
He reviewed the documents at lightning speed, his pen scratching across the paper.
Jiraiya shrugged, coughed lightly, and tried to persuade him, "Feelings can be cultivated slowly... but the position of Fourth Hokage won't wait for anyone. Everyone is eyeing this position. Besides you, recommended by the Third Hokage, the Uchiha clan is also keeping an eye on it."
Minato Namikaze stopped writing and looked at Jiraiya with his deep blue eyes: "Teacher, you know that I have someone I love."
Jiraiya seemed hesitant to look his disciple in the eye. He spoke weakly, "Minato, don't forget what you did to that Uchiha child... like deceiving her about the death of her closest relative. That child has no blood relatives left..."
“That was due to the circumstances.” Minato was taken aback, and he clenched his fist. “Besides, Obito and she are not related by blood.”
Furthermore, regardless of whether the two were related by blood, under those circumstances, if the truth had been revealed to Uchiha Yuki, she would absolutely not have continued to obey the Third Hokage's current orders. Therefore, that temporary decision was made to prevent her from doing anything that would harm Konoha's interests.
Jiraiya thought to himself, "But that person genuinely considers Obito Uchiha as family." He continued to gently persuade him, "You think it's due to circumstances, but that child might not see it that way. Look at how few times you've met and spoken since Rin Nohara's funeral. And with the Uchiha clan's growing power, they won't allow that brat to marry you. The Uchiha clan usually practices endogamy; I think Fugaku might even let his eldest son marry Yuki Uchiha. Minato, you always make perfect choices in other matters, so why do you become so confused when it comes to your own feelings?"
"Besides, the Konoha leadership wouldn't allow a village chief's wife to come from the Uchiha clan."
That would only embolden the Uchiha clan.
Minato Namikaze was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Master, I understand. I will handle these matters."
Jiraiya looked at Minato's seemingly gentle yet enigmatic smile, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, shrinking back slightly.
Sometimes he couldn't figure out what his disciple was thinking.
-
After finishing her mission, Xue was walking down the street when she passed a flower shop and spotted a bunch of white magnolias in full bloom.
She asked the shop assistant to wrap up the flowers, held them in her arms, and then passed by the dumpling shop.
She remembered that Obito loved eating the three-colored dumplings from this shop.
Thinking this, she paused for a moment, then shook her head.
However, they still asked the shop assistant to pack two portions of the three-colored dumplings.
She stopped in front of Orochimaru's residence and rang the doorbell.
After a long time without any response, he turned to leave.
A voice came from behind: "I'm not planning to climb over the wall this time, Uchiha Yuki."
Xue looked up and saw Orochimaru standing not far away, his narrow golden eyes fixed on her. Clearly, he too had just finished a mission, still wearing his green vest. Orochimaru watched the girl try to force a smile, but it looked very strained.
He sneered, "If you don't want to laugh, then don't. Nobody's forcing you to laugh."
Upon hearing this, Xue put away her stiff expression and relaxed her facial muscles.
Upon hearing Orochimaru's words, she couldn't help but chuckle.
"Teacher, you're just as good as ever."
Orochimaru took out his key, opened the door, and turned to the side to gesture for her to go in first.
"They came to visit me, and they even brought a little tail with them."
Xue was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously turned around and frowned. She saw Kakashi with silver hair standing quietly under the street lamp. His figure was almost blending into the afterglow of the twilight, and she hadn't noticed his presence at all.
"Want to catch up?"
"No."
Kakashi watched as Yuki entered Orochimaru's house, then lowered his head and remained silent.
Upon entering the house, Xue replaced the withered white magnolia in the vase with fresh flowers.
Orochimaru changed into a loose kimono, and held a sweet chestnut in his hand, pushing it forward.
Xue couldn't help but laugh. Orochimaru stared at her, and when he saw that her smile had finally become more natural, he said coldly, "What are you laughing at?"
"It's just... thinking about the teacher queuing up in Ganligan feels a bit strange."
Orochimaru paused for a moment, then spoke up: "No matter what, I am still a human being."
"What do you think about the selection of the Fourth Hokage?" Orochimaru changed the subject.
Xue was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "Me?"
"After all, you are only subordinate to Shisui of the Body Flicker, a rare genius within the Uchiha clan." Orochimaru's eyes were fixed on her: "So, will you support Minato Namikaze, whom you admire and love, or your elder brother who grew up with you, and also the clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha?"
At this point, Orochimaru chuckled: "Of course, you have a third option."
To be honest, Xue isn't particularly interested in political matters.
“I…I don’t know.” Xue hesitated for a moment, then said, “But I think if Minato-senpai were to become the Fourth Hokage, his decisions would often be in the best interests of Konoha Village on a moral level.”
"For example, keeping Obito Uchiha's death a secret from you?" Orochimaru sneered.
When Yuki heard Obito's name, her heart skipped a beat.
She lowered her head, without denying it.
Yes, teacher.
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