Dead?
The Main Family Elder, Hyuga Masamune, had been beaten to death just like that?
He lay dead by the roadside, like a dog.
Everyone stared blankly at Hyuga Masamune's corpse, at those pure white eyes staring straight up at the sky. Some invisible shackle had also taken a blow powerful enough to shatter metal and jade, and the sound of chains breaking rang out in many people's hearts.
"Crack!"
Deafening thunder echoed through the clouds.
"Drip! Drip!"
Fat raindrops began to fall.
The long-brewing storm arrived right on schedule, and the "pattering" rain washed away the pool of blood beneath Hyuga Masamune's body.
"Run! Run! Scatter and get away!"
The seventy-something elder, Hyuga Mizuki, finally came to his senses. The chill of the rain soaking through him and the feel of his clothes clinging to his skin reminded him that this wasn't a terrible nightmare, but an even worse and more brutal reality.
Then,
The old man came around and roared, "Go find the Hokage! Ask the Third to deliver justice for us!"
Regret gnawed at his heart like a worm.
He had thought that with Hyuga Masamune and the others joining forces, taking down Hyuga Ritsu, the brat who had rebelled against his superiors, would be easy. There had been no need to let this family scandal reach the village.
But now it seemed they had been far too overconfident.
They had underestimated the first genius of the Branch House.
If only they had known,
They should have gone to the Hokage from the start and used the village's power to capture Hyuga Ritsu, the traitor.
"Did you really think you could escape me? I told you, I'm going to destroy the Main House and Branch House system. You washed-up trash should stay right where you belong—in the garbage heap!"
Hyuga Ritsu struck from afar.
Three consecutive Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palms tore through the curtain of rain and hit their targets precisely: Hyuga Shunsuke, Hyuga Taiga, and Hyuga Atsushi, who was over seventy years old yet still remarkably spry.
Three corpses hit the ground.
Only Elder Hyuga Mizuki remained alive among the Main House members at the scene.
"Hyuga Ritsu, you'll die a horrible death!"
Hyuga Mizuki roared in fury. Bracing his aged body, he stomped through the rainwater on the ground and charged at Hyuga Ritsu, launching a suicidal attack like a moth flying into a flame.
But
His old, decaying body couldn't muster much strength.
Hyuga Ritsu easily dodged Hyuga Mizuki's sluggish, feeble attack and said with a smile, "Elder Mizuki, you're still hoping the clan head and the others will take my life, aren't you? Too bad they weren't capable of killing me. On the contrary, they'll soon be joining you down below."
The moment the words left his mouth,
His palm, wrapped in dense Chakra shaped like a blue lion's head, slammed into Hyuga Mizuki's chest, killing the elder, who had been old enough to remember the founding of Konoha.
With that,
Not a single member of the Hyuga Main House at the scene was left alive.
The Branch House members stood in the rain, at a loss. They had no idea what to do.
Should they rush Hyuga Ritsu without fear of death and avenge the Main House? Or should they go inform the Hokage and tell the Third that a rebellion had taken place within their clan?
But no one moved.
Instinctively, they resisted choosing either of those paths.
At the same time,
The weight of the Hyuga Clan's thousand-year-old traditions pressed down on them, making it hard to take even a step toward Hyuga Ritsu and openly support the rebel.
So they could only stand motionless.
The ones most loyal to the Main House were still wailing on the ground.
The Caged Bird Seal left them with splitting headaches. They couldn't even stand, and continued to writhe on the ground.
"Takuma, Arima, Akiba, tie up all these brainless fools. I'm going to clear out the remaining threats in the Main House."
After giving the order, Hyuga Ritsu leaped up and returned to the Main House estate.
There were seventeen members of the Main House in all.
Clan Head Hyuga Hiashi and three others were at the Frontline Camp in the east. Hyuga Masamune and four others had all died at Hyuga Ritsu's hands. That left eight Main House members at the estate, and not one of them was a Jonin.
A short while later,
Hyuga Ritsu returned.
He carried four still-dripping heads: three middle-aged men and one old man.
With that,
Every adult member of the Main House in the clan was dead. Only four children remained, the oldest no more than five. Even the wives of Hyuga Masamune and the others were still alive, since they weren't members of the Main House.
"The Main House is finished. I'll replace Hyuga Hiashi as the head of the Hyuga Clan. Who objects?"
Hyuga Ritsu stood in the rain with the severed heads in his hands and shouted.
Silence all around.
No one spoke.
Only the torrential rain poured down like a breached heavenly river, drenching everyone to the bone.
Ten seconds later,
Hyuga Ritsu wiped his face and was about to speak.
"Hyuga Ritsu, are you serious about not giving the children the Caged Bird Seal anymore?" A tall man stepped forward from among the Branch House members.
Hyuga Ritsu's gaze sharpened.
The other Branch House members also looked shocked.
There was a reason for that. The man who had stepped forward was named Hizashi Hyuga. He was the younger brother of the current clan head, Hyuga Hiashi. Though he belonged to the Branch House, the Main House didn't boss him around or use him as freely as they did the other Branch House members, treating them like cattle or dogs.
Hyuga Ritsu smiled and replied loudly, "Of course. The Caged Bird Seal is the foundation of the Main House and Branch House system. I said I would destroy this wretched system, so naturally I won't put the seal on our children anymore. I'll even ask my teacher, Hiruko, to continue researching ways to break the Caged Bird Seal and help everyone remove theirs!"
"How did you remove the Caged Bird Seal?"
Hizashi Hyuga asked.
"I used a Forbidden Jutsu. It can't be copied or replicated."
"A Forbidden Jutsu..."
Hizashi Hyuga narrowed his eyes slightly. The answer made sense. It would have been a lie to claim that the Caged Bird Seal could be broken easily. He didn't press Hyuga Ritsu about what Forbidden Jutsu he had used, but instead asked,
"Though I don't like saying it, there's no denying that the Caged Bird Seal has reduced outsiders' desire to covet the Byakugan. Without it, how will you protect the Byakugan from leaving the clan, now that you intend to take the clan head's position from my elder brother?"
"Ah, that question!"
Hyuga Ritsu scratched his chin, his smile growing brighter. "The answer is simple: get stronger. As long as we're strong enough, whoever the hell covets the Byakugan, I'll beat them to death!"
He released an intense killing intent, almost tangible.
It was the real thing, tempered through his deadly battles with the Mist Shinobi.
That killing intent alone was enough to scare inexperienced Genin.
Hizashi Hyuga wasn't frightened, of course. But the sight of Hyuga Ritsu forcibly breaking through Hyuga Masamune's Rotation was still fresh in everyone's mind, making it easy to believe that Hyuga Ritsu could back up his words.
"One last question. Does my brother have to die too?"
Hizashi Hyuga stared at Hyuga Ritsu as he asked.
"Do you think I'm some bloodthirsty fiend who loves killing?"
Hyuga Ritsu chuckled softly. "Hyuga Masamune and the others' children are all alive. Hyuga Hisho and his son, Hyuga Daisho, must die. Hyuga Daichi must die too. None of those elders are any good. But Hyuga Hiashi—"
"Considering that he hasn't oppressed the Branch House members and has often protected them, he can live—as long as he doesn't insist on resisting to the bitter end!"
Hyuga Ritsu gave his word.
"Then, Hizashi Hyuga pays his respects to the clan head."
The younger brother of the current clan head, Hizashi Hyuga, knelt on one knee before Hyuga Ritsu under the gaze of the many Branch House members.
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