The ones who had rushed in were none other than Hiashi Hyuga, the current clan head of the Hyuga clan, along with two clan elders.
The Third Hokage quickly gestured for them to enter.
"Clan Head Hiashi, what a rare visit," Hiruzen said with a smile. "I take it you saw the projection?"
"If the Hokage is asking that… then you saw it too?" Hiashi replied, his voice stiff.
"Which likely means all of Konoha saw it," the Hokage said calmly, "and quite possibly, the entire shinobi world."
There was a flicker of amusement in his tone as he spoke.
Because really, if a genjutsu had enough range to cover all of Konoha, or even the entire shinobi world, then obviously that boy Aoki Sora couldn't be the one responsible.
Which, in turn, meant the possibility of Sora being the culprit could be ruled out almost completely.
Of course, since the video did happen to prominently feature him, it might still be worth having someone investigate quietly behind the scenes, just to be thorough.
But now that they were reasonably sure Sora hadn't orchestrated this whole thing, one rather inconvenient truth became hard to ignore.
The Hyuga clan's eldest daughter, Hinata Hyuga, would apparently fall in love in the future and confess to an obscure, powerless orphan with no notable background, no clan ties, and only distant relations to the Yuhi family.
Well then.
Congratulations, Hyuga. You just lost a political asset.
Whether Hinata inherited the main family's leadership or not, her future marriage was still of considerable importance to the clan.
They could've arranged a union with a strong branch member to consolidate the clan's internal power.
Or, better yet, married her off to another prominent ninja clan's heir, forging a new alliance for the Hyuga.
Either way, it would have strengthened the clan.
But instead… she had fallen for Aoki Sora. A nobody. A political zero.
And now her feelings had been broadcast worldwide.
A Hyuga heiress in love with a powerless commoner?
Of course Konoha would support that.
Free love and all that. We're one big happy family, right? No more of that "strong clan marries strong clan" tradition. That's so last generation.
In fact, even if Hiashi hadn't come to the Hokage Tower himself, Hiruzen had already been planning to pay the Hyuga a visit to personally ensure the freedom of love between two young Konoha citizens.
Because really…
Who Aoki Sora was didn't matter. What mattered was who he wasn't.
He wasn't powerful, he wasn't privileged, he wasn't connected.
Which meant… he posed no threat.
And if someone like that walked off with a chunk of the Hyuga's influence through marriage?
Even better.
"So, Hokage-sama," Hiashi said, unaware of the Third's mental gymnastics. "What's your take on this incident?"
Though outwardly calm, Hiashi was still internally fuming. His daughter, the clan heiress, had just publicly confessed to someone with zero standing. He wanted to know if there was more to this than met the eye.
"We've been reviewing that question ourselves," Hiruzen began slowly. "If this was genjutsu, it had to cover the distance between the Hokage Tower and the ninja academy, at a minimum. Iruka and the students saw it at the same time we did here."
"Now, if you and your clan also saw it from the Hyuga compound, that would suggest the projection covered the entire village, if not more."
"And with a genjutsu of that scale, we find it highly unlikely that this was created by any human technique."
"So our current theory is that this may have been a temporal anomaly, some event or rupture in time-space, causing a vision from the future to be projected into the present."
"You're saying… that what we saw actually happened? In the future?" Hiashi said, narrowing his eyes.
"Yes," the Hokage nodded. "Which means your daughter, Lady Hinata, truly falls deeply in love with Aoki Sora down the line."
He gave a faint smile. "Surely, Clan Head Hiashi, you wouldn't seek to interfere with such a natural and heartfelt bond between two Konoha children, would you?"
"..."
That last line struck home like a kunai.
The subtle pressure in Hiruzen's voice was impossible to miss.
Hiashi had felt that tone before.
Back when the Cloud Village envoys tried to abduct Hinata, and her captor was killed in the attempt. Despite it being self-defense on Konoha soil, the Third had pressured Hiashi to offer his own life in order to preserve peace between the villages. In the end, Hiashi's brother, Hizashi, took his place and died in his stead.
That scar hadn't faded in years.
And the Hyuga weren't eager to be "gently reminded" of their position again.
Still, even if he couldn't oppose the Third directly, Hiashi wasn't about to let this go entirely.
"The future is shaped by the choices we make today," Hiashi replied after a pause. "If they truly fall in love, I won't interfere. But for now, I'd like to know what team Hinata will be assigned to. After such a… public event, it would be unwise to place her on the same squad as that boy. It may stir unwanted rumors."
What if it was this team assignment that caused them to get close in the first place?
If so, then he had to make sure they were not put together.
If it's true love, fine. I'll play along for your 'village harmony.' But if it's just proximity romance from working side by side, then I'll nip it in the bud, thank you.
"There's no need to worry, Clan Head Hiashi."
The Third Hokage gave a cryptic smile.
"As far as I'm aware, Hinata Hyuga and Aoki Sora are not on the same team."
He flipped open the folder in front of him and tapped the page with a fingertip.
"Not the same team?" Hiashi blinked.
A strange unease settled into his chest.
Had he been played?
"Hyuuga Hinata," the Hokage began, "will be grouped with Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka as part of Team 8. Their instructor will be Kurenai Yuhi."
"That team arrangement, if I recall, was actually suggested by Kurenai herself. And approved by you, if I'm not mistaken."
"And Aoki Sora will be on a newly formed Team 11 with Yugao Uzuki as their temporary Jonin instructor. His teammates will be Hazan Shiranui and Minori Mizumura. This team was added to balance numbers when the original groupings didn't divide evenly."
"So you see," the Hokage said with a gentle smile, "there's no special connection between their squads. No reason for concern. If they still manage to fall in love despite that, well, I imagine the village will be watching… and cheering for them."
Message received: don't go against the will of the village.
Hiashi: "..."
He had walked right into it.
"…If they truly develop feelings like the video showed," Hiashi finally said, his tone half-defeated, half-hopeful, "then of course… I will offer my blessing."
"But," he added pointedly, "no one can say for certain that the image we saw is the future."
I'll never admit that video as truth. Not unless it becomes unavoidable.
"Well, I suppose that's fair."
The Third Hokage's expression remained neutral, but inwardly, he was grinning.
The Hyuga heiress falling for a powerless nobody? Excellent. If he could further prove the projection was real, that would only solidify his position.
And just then,
The light in the room shifted.
The ceiling turned transparent once again.
A new image began to bloom in the sky above them.
"…Don't tell me," someone muttered.
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Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 450,800,1200 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!