The Hyuga Clan's Way of Survival (Third Update)

At this moment, the Caged Bird Curse Mark was no longer that important. Having just felt what vast, majestic power truly was, and experienced how even a weak person's own will could be manipulated at will,

Hyuga Hiashi had realized that before true, absolute power, everything else was meaningless—mere mortal toys that the strong could casually tear apart and destroy.

The intense unease he had suppressed since this morning had made him comprehend the truth of the world. The strong decided everything; the weak could only adapt passively. If they could not adapt, they died!

Therefore, the Hyuga Clan had to possess strength of its own. The weak had no room for choice, and for that, any price could be paid!

Faced with Hyuga Hiashi's eager, hopeful gaze, Daren Yi sneered and said mercilessly, "You won't do!"

"..." Hyuga Hiashi looked embarrassed, then hurriedly said, "My daughter Hinata... If she won't do either, there's my younger daughter Hanabi. And if she still won't do, I—I can have more..."

Daren Yi nearly spat out a mouthful of tea water. Hyuga Hiashi, usually such a rigid and proper clan head, had truly cast all dignity aside before such tremendous benefits and power!

"Pfft!"

Neji Hyuga, whose personality was livelier and more optimistic than in the original story, tried hard to hold back his laughter, but ultimately failed. From the clan head's behavior, he seemed to understand a little of the secret to why the Hyuga Clan's Main Family lived such comfortable lives!

Thick-skinned, black-hearted, pliant before the strong, able to pick things up and put them down, and even knew how to flatter... They truly understood the way of survival!

"Enough. The Shamate Organization has its own complete set of procedures and methods for selecting members and observing their potential. It will not be influenced by any outside interference.

"Clan Head Hyuga, why don't you consider whether you'll cooperate and help Neji pass the assessment? I'm rather curious how you'll choose."

Daren Yi darkened his face as he rejected Hyuga Hiashi's request to voluntarily become a "stud stallion," wildly sowing seeds in hopes of stumbling upon "immortal fortune."

He then threw a question back at him, his face once again wearing an expression of wanting to watch the excitement and enjoy the show.

It was impossible for Hyuga Hiashi not to have noticed Neji's hatred toward the Main Family, but his feelings toward Neji were also complicated.

Neji was both a servant of the Main Family and his own nephew, toward whom he felt guilty. He harbored hatred for the Main Family, yet his talent was better than his own daughters'...

If Neji had the Caged Bird Curse Mark removed and gained power unmatched within the Hyuga Clan, would that be a good thing or a bad thing for himself and the Hyuga Clan?

Neji Hyuga also held his breath, waiting for his answer, not knowing what he was expecting.

"I choose... to help Neji pass the assessment!"

After struggling for a long time and taking a deep breath, Hyuga Hiashi made his decision with difficulty.

"Why?" Neji asked before anyone else could.

Hyuga Hiashi gave him a complicated look, then turned to Daren Yi and said respectfully with a bitter smile:

"You have already made your decision. What the Hyuga Clan thinks is no longer important. Following the wishes of the strong and displaying one's own value in the process—this is the only choice for the weak!

"Neji... from the moment he entered your sight, his fate had already changed. He is no longer a caged bird that the Hyuga Clan can restrain!"

Neji Hyuga stood there in a daze, his chest rising and falling violently with each breath. Reality was completely different from what he had imagined!

Was this the influence of the strong upon the world? Even before doing anything, everything in the world had already begun to turn according to his will...

What kind of power was this! And how pitiful had his past been!

Hyuga Hiashi turned to Neji again and apologized sincerely. "All the humiliation the Main Family has inflicted upon you, all your hatred—you may vent it all upon me.

"I accept all of it. I only hope that in the future, you will not forget that you are also a member of the Hyuga Clan, that Hyuga blood flows through your veins.

"Hanabi is still young, and Hinata has always been close to you. They are both your younger sisters. Do not pass the effects of hatred on to the next generation!"

Neji Hyuga struggled to keep his little face taut, unwilling to reveal his weak side, and said coldly, "Then what if I want to completely abolish the Caged Bird Curse Mark for every branch family member?"

Hyuga Hiashi had already noticed the emotional changes Neji was desperately concealing. Because of that, he lowered himself even further. Bowing his head, he smiled kindly and encouraged him:

"Then leave it to the you of the future! The stronger you become, the more the Hyuga Clan will compromise and yield to you, and the more changes will naturally come about because of your influence! So, Neji, work hard and become stronger!"

Daren Yi clicked his tongue as he watched from the side. Clan heads and other high-ranking figures truly were not simple people. When they needed to be ruthless, they were ruthless even to themselves; when they needed to give something up, they could abandon any principle.

With just a few words, he had moved Neji beyond measure and secured a guardian deity and guarantee of safety for the Hyuga Clan's future! Compared to him, eight-year-old Neji was still far too green!

"Lord God, may I ask whether the organization has some special purpose in gathering so many powerful ninja?"

After securing Neji, Hyuga Hiashi sincerely asked Daren Yi again, doing his best to gather as much intelligence as possible within the permitted bounds.

It was time to make up another story! Daren Yi set down his teacup, cleared his throat, and solemnly explained the significance of the Shamate Organization's existence to the two before him:

"To protect the world, to protect the planet we live on! To confront the Otsutsuki Clan, enemies from the stars, in the Thousand-Year Blood War!"

"The Otsutsuki Clan?" Hyuga Hiashi's eyes filled with surprise as he thought of something.

Daren Yi understood what he had thought of from his expression and explained:

"Not the Otsutsuki related to the Hyuga Clan living on the moon, but the true Otsutsuki Clan from the distant stars. They use galaxies as pastures and planets as nurseries,

harvesting all the life force contained within a planet as food. Their lifespans are so long that they are nearly immortal and undying. Every member of their clan possesses godlike power capable of shaking a planet!

"Every thousand years, a group of their clan members arrives at the planet we inhabit. The organization's bitter war against the Otsutsuki has lasted for who knew how many millennia!

"A thousand years ago, the Shinobi World was still an era where all manner of gods ruled the world. That era was called the Era of the Gods!

"The arrival of the Otsutsuki Clan, enemies from beyond the heavens, changed everything. Countless gods fought the Otsutsuki Clan in blood-soaked battle. The battlefield covered the entire present-day surface of the planet, as well as multiple nearby planets.

"The brutal war of the gods destroyed every civilization and brought the glorious Era of the Gods to an end, burying it forever.

"In the end, the gods either died completely or fell into a long slumber. The Otsutsuki Clan was also reduced to only two people, a master and servant, who had arrived last.

"Through the contingencies left behind by the gods, the Otsutsuki branch family member serving as the slave ambushed and killed his master. Later, through further arrangements left by the gods, he was sealed inside the present-day moon by his own two children.

"Those two children were the direct ancestors of powerful ninja clans such as the Senju Clan, Uchiha, Uzumaki, Hyuga, and Kaguya.

"They were also the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Otsutsuki, and his younger brother, Hamura Otsutsuki, who are spoken of in the present-day Shinobi World!"