Hiashi Hyuga: Not only am I blind? I'm also paralyzed?

"Caged Bird! Why does such an ugly thing exist!"

"I hate this! I refuse to accept this..."

On the tatami mats, Hizashi Hyuga, the head of the Branch Family, listened to the words of the Main Family elder, his entire being filled with anger, sorrow, and despair.

He was treated like merchandise, a bargaining chip used by the Main Family elder to appease Kumogakure.

The elder and Danzo spoke at length, and not a single person even asked for his thoughts.

"Main Family? Branch Family? Heh... Why? Just because I was born two minutes later?" Hizashi Hyuga's heart was filled with unwillingness and hatred for the Main Family.

He clenched his fists, his fingernails digging into his palms, crimson blood dripping.

He wanted to resist, to stand up and roar, to tear apart the ugly faces of the Main Family elders!

But when he saw the hand seal his own brother, Hiashi Hyuga, was forming opposite him, it was as if his spine had been instantly removed.

That was the activation jutsu for the "Caged Bird" Seal.

With just one seal and a thought, he could be stripped of all power to resist.

His own brother, Hiashi, his eyes filled with such coldness and ruthlessness, stabbed him through and through like a sharp sword.

He was not a person without a sense of the bigger picture; the outcome was difficult to change, but all he wanted was some comforting words.

An apology, a word of care for little Neji.

Even if it was just some false comfort for his heart.

However, Hiashi Hyuga didn't even give him that cheap thing.

All he ever did was coldly raise his finger and activate the seal.

"Family bonds? Heh... How can the Hyuga deserve such a noble thing!"

Hizashi accepted his fate.

He knelt on the tatami, not listening to what the elder and Danzo were saying; it didn't matter anymore.

His only thought now was of his four-year-old son, Neji, who had recently had the Caged Bird Seal carved onto him.

"My son, Neji, I'm sorry, your father is incompetent."

"If I had been more capable, born a few minutes earlier, you would be the future head of the Main Family, and you wouldn't have had the Caged Bird Seal carved on you."

"This is fate, something no one can resist."

"I'm sorry, Neji."

Hizashi's eyes were dull and lifeless. The thought that Neji would also become a sacrifice for the Main Family like him made his guilt and sorrow almost tangible.

The hatred for the Main Family that had accumulated since childhood grew even deeper.

"If only I were in the Main Family..." A fleeting thought suddenly appeared in his mind, but it vanished in an instant.

It was only because Hiashi opposite him hadn't lowered his hand from the seal.

The Caged Bird Seal was always poised to strike, a fatal blow.

Meanwhile, the power struggle between Danzo and the elder concluded.

A group of eyes focused on Hizashi, watching his dejected and resigned demeanor, each person's expression different.

The Main Family elder, holding the seal, was aloof and never cared about Hizashi's thoughts.

Danzo's old face was full of wrinkles, a dark light flickering in his single eye, his fingers moving slightly as he stroked his cane.

Hiashi still held the seal, but the worry on his face had lessened considerably.

As for the remaining three, Aburame Ryoma and the other two members of Root Organization were unfazed; they had personally ended the useless thing called emotion many years ago when they passed Root's final trial.

Only Kazama Kaguya sighed silently, "Brothers fighting brothers, pathetic and laughable. That's why it's best to have your life and destiny in your own hands. It's better to die than to live such a stifled life."

Now, everything was set in stone.

Danzo, attending as Konoha's representative, had struck the Hyuga, so he naturally had to offer some compensation.

He forced a smile onto his face and consoled, "Hiashi, starting tomorrow, the village will allocate an entire commercial street for the Main Family to manage. At the same time, mission rewards for the Hyuga will be significantly increased. The village still needs you to continue leading the Hyuga clan."

As he spoke, he handed his cane to Aburame Ryoma, stepped forward, and gently patted Hiashi Hyuga's shoulder, saying kindly, "Don't blame the Third Hokage. He's old and can't suppress public opinion. I hope you understand."

Kazama Kaguya, standing nearby, rolled his eyes and muttered inwardly, "This old geezer is still trying to poison the Third Hokage's reputation. How badly do you want to be Hokage?"

However, Danzo's performance wasn't over.

He put on a kind and approachable demeanor, first offering tempting benefits, then patting Hiashi's shoulder in comfort, and finally looking at the dejected Hizashi, he turned to the Main Family elder and said:

"Elder, although the matter is settled, the necessary procedures must still be followed. How about this: I will supervise Hiashi's actions from now on, and I will take Hizashi's body afterward to hand over to Hiruzen."

The Main Family elder didn't suspect anything and wasn't interested in watching such a gruesome spectacle. He nodded:

"Then we'll trouble you, Lord Danzo. I'll go prepare some tea first, and please stay for a while afterward. After all, a portion of the profits from the entire commercial street will be donated to the Root Organization. It must be extremely taxing for you, Lord Danzo, to silently cultivate talent for the village."

The words of an old hand were always pleasing.

Danzo was slightly taken aback, then his smile widened. "Haha, of course, of course. I haven't had the chance to taste the fine tea collected by the Hyuga clan yet."

Soon, the Main Family elder departed.

In the room, besides Hiashi and Hizashi, everyone else was Danzo's subordinate.

Hiashi's expression was conflicted, his fingers trembling slightly, seemingly reluctant to personally gouge out his brother's eyes.

Danzo narrowed his eyes, made a gesture, and two members of the Root Organization walked behind Hizashi, grabbed his shoulders, and lifted his head.

Hizashi's eyes remained vacant, like a walking corpse, without any resistance.

Danzo walked up to Hiashi, formed a hand seal with one hand, and said, "Hiashi, I know it's asking a lot for you to personally gouge out your brother's eyes. How about I do it instead?"

Upon hearing this, Hiashi breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Lord Danzo."

Killing his own brother with his own hands was completely different from the usual punishments.

He forced a grateful smile at Danzo, and his tense body completely relaxed.

However, his stiff smile had not yet fallen before it could no longer fall.

"Ninjutsu: Self-Induced Curse Mark."

A killing intent erupted, accompanied by Danzo's cold voice. On Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Main Family, black patterns suddenly appeared.

These patterns quickly climbed and spread, restraining Hiashi's body and sealing his chakra flow.

His face still wore a stiff smile of gratitude. His heart skipped a beat, and before he could react, he saw the two Root Organization members who had been holding Hizashi suddenly teleport over. One reached out both hands towards his eyes, while the other summoned a chakra scalpel and attacked his cervical spine.

"???"

Looking at the rapidly enlarging fingers before him, Hiashi's mind went blank.

But before he could figure things out, he felt a sharp pain in both eyes, and then the world plunged into darkness.

Slash!

Aburame Ryoma gouged out his pair of Byakugan.

But that was only the beginning. The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his neck and then lost all sensation and control of his body.

Tanuki used a chakra scalpel to sever his spinal cord.

He was not only blind but also paralyzed from a high spinal cord injury.

This scene unfolded in the blink of an eye.

The three members of the Root Organization, through pre-arranged traps, precise timing, and impeccable coordination, executed a perfect surprise attack, a textbook example of the art of assassination.