Saul didn't hear back from Sakura during the very next week. She was on the Land of Waves mission he presumed, or it had already happened maybe. He wasn't sure. He was chilling with Hinata this morning as he always did before missions when he heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it, Hinata?"

"Some ninja... they look like Anbu."

Saul got up to open the door. 

"Are the ones known as Saul and the girl formerly known as Hyuuga Hinata present?"

Saul nodded. "That's me. Hinata's still in the house."

"The Lord Hokage requests your presence. Please follow me."

The pair gathered their gear and followed the Anbu as requested to the Hokage's office. There, the old man stood facing a window with his back turned to them. He had grown short in his old age, yet he radiated unfathomable levels of chakra. There was no question how strong he had been in his prime, and Saul was certain he'd stand no chance in any kind of confrontation.

The Third Hokage waved his hand at the window, and the Anbu dispersed. 

"Do you know why I called you here?"

This is why Saul hated old men. Always starting off with the games, the manipulation tactics. Most others would not have recognized his question as a test, but as a man who once lived in the contemporary era, he was much wiser than most in Konoha. 

The question was two-fold. Firstly it was a test of loyalty. If he didn't answer the question, he might be considered as someone lacking it. Second, it was a test of intelligence. Any answer aside from 'I don't know' would be technically fine, but he didn't want to reveal anything the Third didn't already know while still avoiding coming across as 'playing dumb.' A short pause to gather his thoughts however was enough for Saul to determine his answer.

"You called just Hinata and I here, so that already narrows things down quite a bit. As for the reason, well, I can only be certain of one thing. It has something to do with the Hyuuga clan, correct?"

"Indeed. But not fully."

The Hokage turned around to face them. His hat was tilted down over his face, yet the presence he radiated was still extremely strong. His aged voice resounded, 

"I've also received a certain request from the Kurama clan for its heiress and only inheritor of its legendary Kekkai Genkai, Kurama Yakumo, to join the Jonin-Genin team of the civilian ninja, Saul. Not to join Team Eight specifically, but to join the team with you."

Then was the long silence after a statement, meant to pressure the individual to immediately explain everything about the situation. Saul wasn't fooled, merely nodding along, but Hinata broke under the pressure, stammering,

"Saul-kun is Yakumo-chan's first friend. He visits every day to make sure she doesn't feel lonely, and he even helped her get a nice place to move in! Yakumo-chan just wants to repay him somehow..."

Hinata was still loyal - she didn't mention anything that could possibly get him in trouble like the fact that he had snuck into the Kurama clan mansion. She was just trying to defend him from what she saw as an accusation. She was so sweet, even if her sincere efforts were misguided.

The Hokage coughed a little, caught off guard by the sincere girl's defense. Don't you realize? You're taking the side of the boy who's clearly two-timing you!

Not wanting to break it to her outright, the Hokage continued. "Jonin-Genin squads have traditionally always been three Genin and one Jonin. This was the case even with myself; it's a tried and true formula that's withstood the test of time. I will not make an exception for your team. If Yakumo is to join Team Eight, one of the three Genin on your team has to leave."

Hinata went pale. The Hokage gave her a little time to adjust before continuing.

"Coincidentally, the Hyuuga clan also contacted me. They expressed deep regret over exiling you, and they wish to reinstate you as a branch member of the clan. If you do so, you will receive their blessing in being allowed to create a new branch family with whomever you please."

Hinata immediately gazed at Saul with fervent, smoldering eyes. This was it! This was her chance! Every time they had sex, she really just wanted to wrap her legs around him and make him have no other choice but to cum inside. She wanted his babies so badly! However, she knew they'd be forcibly taken away by the Hyuuga even in the best case scenario. But if she accepted this now...

"Being a branch clan member means being marked with their seal, correct?"

"Indeed."

The Caged Bird seal was a special type of Fuinjutsu called Juinjutsu. Juinjutsu were seen as cursed, because they often had the ability to control the people who bore it. The Caged Bird was shaped in an 'X' shaped seal with two long lines that curved like two crowbars extending horizontally away on either side. As a mark of slavery reserved for the branch members of the clan, it had two functions. 

The first was to destroy the all seeing eye, the Byakugan, whenever it was taken out of the socket or its bearer died. This was helpful, as it prevented the Hyuuga from being overly targeted and kept their bloodline eyes out of the hands of the enemy.

The second function however was a lot less benign. The curse mark could be activated by any of the main clan members to cause extreme pain to the bearer of the mark. It could even kill them if the punishing main clan member was so inclined. Thus, the rigid rules of the Hyuuga clan were enforced with swift impunity to any of the branch members. This enforcement would also damage the eye and restrict the potential of the Byakugan.

Saul bowed. "I see. No matter what, I will not accept Hinata being branded with such a seal. What if we refuse?"

Saul-kun... Hinata hugged his arm.

"If she does not accept becoming a branch member of the clan... Then, the Hyuuga clan has requested me to separate the two of you. It is not proper for a man and woman, of age, to be living together under the same roof who are not married. They also requested Hinata's removal from Team Eight to do missions under a Chunin squad."

Hinata's face grew redder and redder as she heard the Hyuuga clan's 'requests'. The girl straightened up her back, and her palms instinctively curled into fists. She was absolutely livid!

"So what!? I was kicked out from my own clan, exiled. I no longer bear the Hyuuga clan name! No matter what they consider proper, or their requests, it's no longer any of their concern! Only Saul-kun was there for me after I, who had just graduated from the academy, was kicked out of my home! I had nothing. Should I have starved on the streets and slept out in alleyways like a stray dog?"

The Hokage sighed. If it were Saul who said something like this, he would have silenced the boy and showed his authority. But he was already an old man, tired. Should he really be doing things like oppressing a sweet, shy, and by all accounts incredibly kind young lady not even old enough to be his daughter?

Saul openly eased the tension, but also took the chance to manipulate things in their favor. "It's alright Hinata. It's just a request. The Hyuuga clan cannot dictate your life anymore, they lost that right when they kicked you out. Hokage-Sama is a paragon of the Will of Fire - he would not unjustly assist the Hyuuga clan in this matter."

Hinata calmed down with trusting eyes, then bowed towards the Third Hokage.

"I am sorry for my outburst, Hokage-sama. Please forgive me."

"You are forgiven. But please, tell me Hinata. What are your plans regarding the situation with the Hyuuga? The Kurama clan also, they might wish for your removal from Team Eight, considering their Heiress's current attitude towards Saul. After all..."

He seemed to be speaking to Saul at this moment, as he glared at him from the corner of his eye, "Marriage consists of merely a man and a woman. One cannot have more than one at a time."

Saul was about to speak, but the Hokage waved his hand to silence him.

"Let Hinata make her decision."

"...I-"

Author's Note: One thing I wanted to showcase in this chapter in particular is actually the intelligence and method gaps between people. When reading certain novels, I always find that everyone either has some absurd intelligence level surpassing most humans, or they're all dumbasses.

Of course the dumbass side can't be helped since you can't write a character that surpasses your own intelligence by much (said authors are stupid sadly, nothing they can do about it), but the supposedly 'intelligent' novels are also shooting themselves in their own foot by making everyone so intelligent. The average IQ is 100, so that means just as many have an IQ of 70 as those with an IQ of 130. For every genius, there is also a dumbass to balance things out.

Hinata is not a character who is smart enough to understand the complex battles of manipulation between the Third Hokage and Saul, but that doesn't mean that her presence isn't valuable. Rather since both sides know her capabilities, her words and input are more valuable as they're less likely to be lies / manipulation. So her opinion is pretty important to the Third Hokage.