Naruto: Cultivating to Immortality

Chapter 114 Leaving Konoha

Hyuga Kanan sat cross-legged under a tree in the courtyard, quietly waiting for Orochimaru's arrival.

Today is the last day of the deal agreed upon with Orochimaru, but Orochimaru still hasn't sent any word. Hyuga Kanan is preparing to leave Konoha tomorrow.

Around noon, Hyuga Kanan stood up from under the tree and walked towards Hyuga Hiashi's courtyard. He planned to tell Hyuga Hiashi his address so that when Hyuga Hiashi needed his help, he could come to his secluded place to find him and fulfill Hyuga Kanan's promise.

Walking through the Hyuga clan's territory, looking at the still peaceful Hyuga clan area, Hyuga Kanan felt that the situation was different from before.

In the past, when Hyuga Kanan walked through the clan, the other clan members would completely ignore him, pretending not to see him. But today, the situation was completely different. When the clan members encountered Hyuga Kanan, they all stayed where they were, and when Hyuga Kanan approached, they would bow their heads and greet him, calling him "Lord Hyuga Kanan."

This behavior made Hyuga Kanan very uncomfortable; the enthusiastic greetings that drew attention and respect made him feel somewhat out of place. He could only quicken his pace and hurry towards Hyuga Hiashi's courtyard.

However, you can still hear the clansmen greeting you warmly from afar, and then a few people gather together to talk about Hyuga Kanan.

Hyuga Kanan could only pretend not to hear their enthusiastic conversation, but her pace quickened involuntarily.

Soon, Hyuga Kanan arrived at the entrance to Hyuga Hiashi's courtyard. Just as he was about to knock to announce his arrival, the door opened. It was one of Hyuga Hiashi's guards, who walked straight up to Hyuga Kanan and bowed to greet him.

"Lord Hyuga Kanan, please come in! I'll go inform the clan head immediately. Please go to the reception room first. The clan head will be here shortly."

After the guard respectfully finished speaking to Hyuga Kanan, he instructed the maid beside him to lead Hyuga Kanan there, while he himself quickly headed towards the backyard, even using the Body Flicker Technique to speed up the process.

Just as Hyuga Kanan was led to the reception room by a maid and sat down, Hyuga Hiashi arrived at the door and strode into the reception room with a smile.

Hiashi Hyuga was quite surprised that Kanan had taken the initiative to come looking for him. He now had a general understanding of his younger brother; he never came to his courtyard on his own initiative, nor did he usually wander around the clan grounds. He was usually the one who went to Kanan's courtyard to find him.

Hiashi Hyuga knew from his unexpected visit today that the other party must have something to discuss with him, and it was probably not something trivial. After all, with his aloof personality, Kanan Hyuga never actively sought help from others; even when he needed something from someone, it was always in the form of a transaction.

"I don't know what you want from me, Chia Nan!"

Hyuga Hiashi didn't even sit down before asking Hyuga Kanan what he wanted to ask him. He was actually quite curious about why Kanan had come to him.

"I plan to leave Konoha Village tomorrow and return to my old training place to go into seclusion. I will give you the address. If you need to use that promise in the future, come to this address to find me. I will stay in that place to train."

Hyuga Kanan didn't waste any words and directly stated his purpose.

Hiashi Hyuga was very surprised. Hyuga Kanan was now the strongest member of the clan, and the fact that he was saying goodbye so suddenly caught Hiashi Hyuga completely off guard.

"Why must you leave Konoha? You can cultivate in seclusion within the clan's territory. I will arrange a place where no one will disturb you. I can guarantee that I will arrange a quiet courtyard so that you can cultivate in peace, and I will not let the clan members disturb your tranquility."

Hiashi Hyuga tried to persuade Kanan to stay, genuinely not wanting him to leave the clan and Konoha. Having a top-tier ninja like Kanan was crucial to the clan's status and prestige within Konoha. Even though the Uchiha clan was currently suppressed by the clan, any ninja who knew of Kanan would maintain a friendly attitude towards him. However, if Kanan left Konoha, the clan would revert to its former state. While Kanan possessed secret techniques, they required a long time to materialize into real power.

Hiashi Hyuga was planning to have Kanan Hyuga stay in the clan for over a decade, believing that by then the other clan members would have grown up and the clan would truly become the number one clan in Konoha.

"How long do you think the Konoha leadership can tolerate me staying in Konoha, someone they can't control at all, and someone who can still threaten their strength? As long as I stay in Konoha, the Hyuga clan will probably be suppressed by the Konoha leadership in the future."

Hyuga Kanan spoke calmly to Hyuga Hiashi, whose face was somewhat anxious. He didn't believe that someone who could become the head of a powerful family wouldn't be able to see the wariness Konoha was now towards him.

As expected, after hearing Hyuga Kanan's words, Hyuga Hiashi regained his senses. He had already noticed that the Konoha leadership was wary of Hyuga Kanan. Those ANBU ninjas hidden in the shadows were no secret to the Hyuga clan, but they were still sent over. This was a warning and precaution against the Hyuga clan.

Thinking about the current Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hiashi Hyuga also had the idea of ​​changing the Hokage, but he quickly gave up the idea. The Hyuga clan never interfered in the politics of Konoha's upper echelons. This was a decision made by the current clan head when the Hyuga clan joined Konoha. Over the years, the special status of the Hyuga clan was not only due to the Byakugan, but also because of their attitude that made the Hokage feel at ease.

We can't just change things now. The Hyuga clan's neutral stance has always been their way of surviving in Konoha. Unless the clan relinquishes its special status in Konoha, they can't easily change their position, as that would cause other Konoha ninjas to lose the special treatment the Hyuga clan receives.

He also knew that someone like Hyuga Kanan was a huge threat to Hiruzen Sarutobi at the moment. Even if Hyuga Kanan had no intention of becoming Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't possibly trust him.

Hiashi Hyuga nodded, indicating he understood, but also felt somewhat aggrieved. His clan had finally produced a powerful ninja, and just because the Hokage was wary of him, he had to leave Konoha. He now truly felt that Konoha had changed; it was no longer the Konoha of the past. It was truly laughable that a village was afraid of producing a powerful ninja. Other villages only worried about their ninjas not being strong enough, but Konoha now acted in the opposite way.

It seems Konoha's decline was inevitable. A village that cannot tolerate strong individuals is destined for ruin; its fall was only a matter of time. Only the Land of Fire's favorable environment and abundant resources allowed Konoha to cultivate more ninjas; otherwise, Konoha would probably be engulfed in war by now.

Hiashi Hyuga sighed softly. The Hyuga clan needed time to grow and couldn't possibly defy the Konoha leadership. Otherwise, the Hyuga clan would likely find themselves unable to advance in Konoha and would lose their room for growth.

Seeing Hiashi Hyuga resign himself to his fate, Kanan Hyuga simply nodded and left. Kanan had actually anticipated Hiashi's choice; he lacked the resolve to change Konoha. In truth, if the Hyuga clan united with the Uchiha clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't be able to continue oppressing them so recklessly. But clearly, neither clan had produced a decisive clan leader.

As soon as Hyuga Kanan returned to his courtyard, a message came from outside requesting an audience with an ANBU ninja. This told Hyuga Kanan that Orochimaru must have reached a conclusion with Hiruzen Sarutobi.

As expected, the ANBU ninja entered and announced that the Hokage wanted Hyuga Kanan to come to the Hokage's office for a meeting. He then disappeared to report back.

Hyuga Kanan wasted no time, leaping into the air and floating towards the Hokage Building.

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Danzo Shimura, and other high-ranking members of Konoha were all present.

Danzo Shimura's face was extremely grim. He was clearly not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion and strongly opposed the deal with Kanan Hyuga. He believed that this would allow Kanan to grow faster and stronger, posing a huge threat to Konoha. Moreover, Kanan had no respect for Konoha and no regard for them, the Konoha's high-ranking officials. Sooner or later, Kanan would become a cancer in Konoha. Trading with Kanan now would be aiding the enemy.

Orochimaru changed Hiruzen Sarutobi's mind with just one sentence: Orochimaru told Hiruzen that Hyuga Kanan would leave Konoha after completing this transaction. Hiruzen was immediately tempted. What Hyuga Kanan offered in exchange was completely equivalent to, or even exceeded, what Hiruzen needed. Previously, he disagreed with the transaction because his thoughts were exactly the same as Shimura Danzo's—he didn't want Hyuga Kanan to grow stronger after obtaining these things. Therefore, he was willing to give up this opportunity for Konoha to greatly improve rather than trade with Hyuga Kanan. But Orochimaru's last words swayed Hiruzen. As long as Kanan left Konoha, no matter how powerful he became, it wouldn't affect his rule over Konoha.

Orochimaru is now truly disappointed in his teacher. His former teacher has completely lost his former ambition and has become nothing more than a politician who manipulates power, with no ambition whatsoever.

When Shimura Danzo saw that Sarutobi Hiruzen had arranged for an Anbu ninja to invite Hyuga Kanan, he flew into a rage and roared at Hiruzen, "Hiruzen, you'll regret this! I won't let Konoha's ninjutsu be traded to them!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi also spoke only one sentence without any politeness.

"Danzo, I am the Hokage!"

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's words, Danzo Shimura finally lost his temper, walked out of the Hokage's office, and slammed the door shut behind him.