17 Chapter 17

After the tense meeting with the Hokage, Hyto cautiously rushed home, much to the surprise and glee of his clan who expected him to still be on the battlefield. The first one to jump on him excitedly was a huge black tiger with white stripes and golden eyes, excitedly licking him with her wide, prickly tongue.

"Haha hey, Yami, I missed you too girl." Hyto said as he laughed and pet his Nekonin as she aggressively snuggled with him.

As he stood up, the next person to embrace him was Midori, as she pulled him into a tight embrace, tears streaming down her beautiful features. She couldn't believe that Hyto not only matched her height now, but was slightly taller than her and was noticably more muscular as well, which made her slightly blush as well when she felt his strong arms wrapped around her as well.

"Hyto, we've heard so many incredible stories about you, but I never expected you back home so soon! Amagi already sent a message telling me everything about Majin expanding, but your face is telling me something else. What's wrong?" Midori asked as she pulled back and was able to see past Hyto's fake smile.

"You've always been able to read me like a book. Gather the other Elders and meet me at my home. We need to discuss something urgently." Hyto said with a serious expression, as Midori nodded and rushed off to do as he asked.

After saying a quick hello to everyone, and walking through the compound with Yami by his side, Hyto noticed how much the Clan has developed in his absence, and regretted that they would all soon be uplifted to find a new home for themselves, as every member of the Clan has been through unprecedented times at one point or another. The difference this time is, the Rasugi Clan isn't falling or breaking apart like it did before, Hyto will do whatever he needed to, to ensure his Clan has a great life.

As he got closer to his house, he saw a few familiar faces, grouped together from the rest of the Clan, which made Hyto slightly sad.

"When I invited you to join the Clan, separating yourselves wasn't what I was expecting." Hyto said as he walked up to the group of people with cream colored skin and dyed brown or black hair that once belonged to the great Uzumaki Clan.

"Hyto-sama! We weren't expecting you back so soon! Lady Midori told us who you really were once we settled in. We were shocked that our new lord was someone so young, but we are grateful none the less. And to answer your question, we aren't separating ourselves completely, as everyone here has been extremely nice and welcoming, especially Lady Midori. But, I can't deny that we have bonded from the fact that we were all once Uzumaki. Is Hyto-sama upset?" asked Fuso, who seemed to be the voice of the ragtag group of Uzumaki.

"I'm not upset, I just want us all to be unified Clan one day, but I'm not foolish enough to believe it'll happen overnight. As long as you aren't being persecuted against and everyone gets along well together, I know that it'll happen one day. In the mean time, if you all have any worries or just want to talk, my door is always open!" Hyto said with an amiable, genuine smile, as he walked to his home.

Not long after Hyto got home, Midori and the other Elders arrived in the conference room, waiting patiently for Hyto to start the meeting.

"Thank you all for not only joining me today, but also taking such great care of the Clan in my absence. The Rasugi Clan is truly in trusted hands with you all at the helm." Hyto said as he bowed his head slightly to the Elders, who grew proud smiles from being praised for their hard work.

"As I'm sure you all suspect with my presence here, the war is over and has ended in an overwhelming victory for Konoha." Hyto said to the cheers of all of those in the room, as they all have children and other family members who also left for the war.

"But, I'm here today for a different matter that is far less pleasant. What I'm about to speak here today must not leave this room, even under threat of your lives, as it could put the entire Clan at risk." Hyto cautioned, immediately putting a damper on the mood, as they all grew equally serious.

After Midori activated the seals that completely isolated the room from eavesdropping, and she confirmed it was safe, Hyto continued.

"I won't mince words with you here. I barely made it here today alive, and it's not from the dangers from war like one would expect, but from dangers far closer to home. In short, I was betrayed by the Leaf. After I left Kiri and got confirmation of the end of the war, I traveled to The Land Of Hot Springs, where I was ambushed and poisoned by the Raikage and dozens of Cloud Shinobi." Hyto said, and everyone's face immediately grew horrified as they have all heard how powerful the Raikage was.

"How can this happen?! We should go to the Hokage about this right away! You are the villages best Shinobi who from what I hear, could one day even be the Hokage! I'm sure he will fix all of this!" said one of the Elders.

"That's the thing, the only ones who knew my exact location was the Hokage himself and the other Elders. Not only that, when the Raikage caught me and had me at an inch of my life, I revealed my identity to him. He then spared me and told me that Hiruzen and the others meant to trade my life for Kumo to end their side of the war and sign a peace treaty. It was the Hokage who sent me to my death." Hyto said, shocking everyone there, as they didn't know how to process such terrifying news.

Seeing that they didn't know how to react to such news, Hyto decided to continue to the biggest part of his announcement.

"I know it's shocking, but this village and it's leaders are far darker than they project themselves to be. That is why when I returned and confronted Hiruzen, Danzo and the other Elders, I put in my resignation and told them Clan Rasugi will no longer be apart of Konoha. Knowing his guilt and wanting to keep me silent, the Hokage approved. When the war is completely over and all of our members return, we will be leaving this village." Hyto said, dropping yet another bomb on the stunned Elders.

On one hand, they were reluctant to leave the land they worked to hard to develop, but they knew and trusted Hyto, as he had no reason to lie about something this serious. With that, there was no way they could raise their families and businesses in a village that not only betrayed their Clan Leader, but the villages most promising Shinobi. The only thing that made sense to them was that Hyto was growing too powerful, which was a threat those who wanted to hold their power.

After discussing the details of their future relocation, Hyto revealed that their prospects weren't as bleak as the Elders might've thought. Not only did he reveal some of the deeds they had, Hyto also decided that it was time for the Rasugi Clan to finally return to it's homeland, The Land Of Frost.

Hearing that they were returning to their homeland with deeds from not only many businesses, but land as well, the Elders grew excited and we're eager to leave the treacherous Konoha as soon as possible.

Over the next week, though Hyto said to keep it quiet, rumors that Hyto was betrayed by the village and leaving with Clan Rasugi began spreading surprisingly not from Clan Rasugi or even Konoha, but from the streets of Kumogakure. It wasn't hard to piece together what happened the more the news spread. The Raikage, being the one who told Hyto about his betrayal and also has his own spies within the Hokage's office, knew that Hyto was livid and quit being a Konoha Shinobi, as well as his identity as the infamous, Huntsman.

After he got this information, the Raikage spread it to all of the other villages as well, and soon the whole world knew of Konoha's supposed actions, which greatly affected the the negotiations between Konoha and the other villages. Before, Konoha had Hyto as a deterrent, as he was a huge part in ending the war, but Konoha not only lost this chess piece they had, but potentially made it an enemy.

The biggest thing is, that many overlooked at first which became one of the biggest factors for everyone moving forward, was that even poisoned, severely outnumbered, and against the feared Raikage, Hyto not only made it a full day with those odds, but also survived virtually unscarred. This singlehandedly marked Hyto as a Kage-leveled Shinobi, or even the potential to become Kage level to the whole world. This was the only reason Konoha has yet to attempt to kill Hyto, much to Danzo's dismay.

It was clear that if Hiruzen and the others tried to kill Hyto or any of his Clan members, and with the whole world already against them, Konoha might not live through such a struggle. Konoha was already forced to take far less than they would've gotten in the negotiations due to this situation, not counting the impact this had on villages image, Konoha just couldn't afford what it would cost to go after Hyto.

In light of the news, all of Majin were rushed back ahead of the negotiations ending, which relieved Hyto greatly. He didn't know what he'd do if any of them ran into any "accidents" as revenge for all of this happening. He personally made sure to take all of their gear that he funded or invented, intent on not allowing Konoha to profit off of his work. But, what surprised Hyto the most was the request that Nono made to him when she returned.

"Nono, are you sure? This is a very huge step that you won't be able to take back." Hyto asked as he held the blushing Nono in his arms.

Knowing how shy and timid she was, she forced herself to confessing her feelings for Hyto and wanting him to take her and her family with him when they leave. Hyto was shocked as he wanted to stay with Nono as well, but didn't expect her to take the initiative or confess her feelings. They were nearly 14 as this point, and Hyto would be lying if he didn't have to stop himself from noticing Nono's rapidly developing body. If she continued growing the way she was, she'd soon give even Tsunade a run for her money.

There was also only two years until he was 16 where he originally had to choose a wife, but since he was leaving the village now, he didn't have to follow that timetable any more. Plus, he could still show his affection and develop a relationship without rushing into sex. But, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't struggling fighting with his raging teenage hormones.

"Y-yes. I've loved you since we met, and I don't want to be apart from you! Especially after you got betrayed!" Nono said as she buried her face in Hyto's chest.

"Nono, I love you as well, but I'm not going to lie to you, there may be other girls in the future as well. But, you will always be the one I want to call my wife. Knowing that, are you still okay with being with a guy like me?" Hyto asked.

Hyto wanted to be completely transparent, as he genuinely cared about Nono and also didn't want to be a sleazeball and cheat on her.

"I-I know there will be other girls. You are such a great guy and have to rebuild your clan as well, so I always knew I wouldn't be able to have you to myself. But, as long as I can stay by your side as your wife on day, I'll be happy!" Nono said as she held Hyto even tighter, her love for Hyto as clear as day.

Hearing her, Hyto did feel slightly guilty for not making her his only girl, but he refused to have any regrets in this second life, and there were plenty of girls he wanted to play with.

A week later, Nono and her family, which consisted of her father, mother, and two younger siblings, moved into Hyto's home temporarily, as the whole clan was packing up the whole compound for their move. As he was overlooking the packing of the Clan from the balcony in his home, he felt the presence of a familiar chakra appear behind him.

"Tsuna, I'm glad I got to see you before we left. I thought they would try to keep you on the Frontline as long as possible-" Hyto said as he turned around, only for his words to get stuck in his throat as Tsunade hugged him tightly, his bones creaking under the pressure.

"I can't believe that fucking old bastard! I-I wouldn't have known what to do if I lost you as well! Are you really leaving?" Tsunade asked, tears trailing down her face as she buried her face in the crook of Hyto's neck.

Tsunade and Hyto have always been close, but after the death of her lover, Dan, and Hyto being sent away to different battles, when Tsunade heard that he was poisoned and forced into a life or death battle with the Raikage thanks to Hiruzen's betrayal, she nearly lost it and almost had a mental breakdown.

"Yes, Hiruzen already signed the paperwork. I wish things didn't come to this, but no matter what, you know I'll always have love for you and my home will always be welcome to you." Hyto said, as he wasn't sure if Tsunade would still leave the village like she did in canon since Nawaki was still alive.

"Really? Then I'll take you up on that offer then. I put in my resignation to the old man already. After Dan, and now you, I can't stay here and put Nawaki at risk either." Tsunade said, stunning Hyto from the development.

Clan Rasugi leaving was already a huge hit to Konoha, but if a sober Tsunade left the village and took all of Clan Senju and their wealth with her, that will become a hit the village may never truly recover from. As much as he hated to admit it since he fought so hard for it, he may be witnessing the fall of the Hidden Leaf.