novelzi 76. The Journey to The Konoha Council Meeting
76. The Journey to The Konoha Council Meeting
76. The Journey to The Konoha Council Meeting
As night transitioned into morning in Konoha, the dawn brought with it a palpable shift in the village's atmosphere. The usual tranquility was tinged with a sense of urgency and anxiety.
By now, word had spread throughout the village that Konoha was embarking on a large-scale mobilization in response to the looming threat of global war.
The streets, once bustling with the daily routines of its inhabitants, now echoed with the sounds of military preparations.
It wasn't until the afternoon began to wane that the Hyuga clan's delegation made its prominent departure from their compound, setting a course towards the crucial pre-war council.
This assembly was designated for Konoha's elite decision-makers to deliberate and define the village's involvement and strategy in the impending war.
The delegation was led by Patriarch Hirayoshi himself, his successor Hiashi, Takumi, the Fifth Elder, and Hikari as well, as the three of them would lead the Hyuga clan forces on the battlefield.
They were also walking closest to the center of the group, protected from all sides, and talking quietly about various matters regarding the upcoming meeting as they walked.
Their entourage comprised dozens of Hyuga clan Jonin and Elite Jonin, accompanying them were also selected highest intelligence assistants, tasked with providing analytical support to navigate the upcoming discussions and the intricate landscape of the village shinobi politics and warfare.
As the Hyuga delegation continued their march toward the council meeting, their ranks swelled with the addition of their closest allies first.
The Inuzuka and Aburame clans, led by their respective heads—Tsume Inuzuka and Shibi Aburame—converged with the Hyuga group, from the other side, bringing with them the combined strength and strategies of their clans, although they led considerably less numerous groups.
After brief, yet meaningful exchanges between the three clan heads, the two groups seamlessly merged with the Hyuga at the helm. Everyone was a little uneasy and wanted to arrive at the destination as soon as possible.
As the combined forces of the Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans made their way across the Naka River towards the village center, there, on the opposite side of the bridge, stood the delegation from the Uchiha clan.
But, Hikari knew that if he hadn't been secretly assisting Kiyomi through various indirect means, in her shinobi journey, especially regarding her 'eyes', during the last two years, then it would've been probably completely different.
Yet, what intrigued Hikari the most was precisely the status of Fugaku's own Sharingan. Despite his relatively formidable abilities, there were no signs of Fugaku having activated the Mangekyo Sharingan as of today, in terms of his chakra potency or the reservoir in general.
Hikari's Byakugan could now be activated and deactivated almost instantly, thanks to his intense exercise of it, and talent, alongside chakra control and quick processing speed, allowing him to gauge many things about anyone he was in contact with without them realizing it at all. It was his analytical ability and the processing speed that also made it possible to gauge many different things in milliseconds.
Additionally, that power necessitated profound emotional distress or a significant personal loss to unlock at this point in time. Given Fugaku's steady leadership roles—overseeing the clan and the Konoha Military Police Force—it seemed he hadn't been subjected to the kind of traumatic experiences that typically precipitated the awakening of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Hikari speculated about the impending war's potential to change this. The conflict might provide the conditions for Fugaku to unlock this deeper power, should he face extreme emotional turmoil. However, the uncertainty surrounding Fugaku's Sharingan and the exact circumstances that might lead to the Mangekyo's awakening remained a complex puzzle.
Hikari's thoughts drifted to Fugaku's sons, particularly Itachi, born the previous year already. He also remembered how Shisui Uchiha should have been born three years earlier as well.
He recalled how, during the later stages of this very war, Fugaku took a young Itachi to witness its horrors firsthand.
This experience, Hikari considered, was pivotal in shaping Itachi into the figure he became—a staunch 'pacifist' and a betrayer, driven to make extreme decisions for what he was led to believe was the 'greater good'.
So, Hikari pondered whether Itachi's 'extraordinary' eventual path could be attributed to Fugaku's parenting, which he regarded clearly as a horrible failure, as seen from that example, or if Itachi's brain was simply inherently different and programmed with some kind of a 'mistake', from the beginning, due to the exceptional talent he possessed with the Sharingan, which was said to be able to influence one's personality in significant ways.
As for Fugaku himself, Hikari simply considered him indecisive and not competent enough. He neglected his sons for the so-called clan and village responsibilities used as excuses, yet he simply failed in those areas as well, so what was the point?
And he also let his older son, one of the biggest talents in Uchiha history, betray their clan to Hokage's faction, 'in front of his eyes'. He may or may not had the Mangekyo Sharingan, but he should've at least done something instead of always going with the flow, in the end even peacefully allowing his elder son to slay him and his wife like animals. In Hikari's mind, in his limited exposure, Fugaku didn't seem like a very capable individual.
However, despite Hikari's bad opinion of him, he still had to cooperate with him as the leader of the Uchiha clan in the future. Hikari could just hope that his 'Butterfly Effect' makes him more competent this time around in this timeline, as he didn't need any substandard allies.