If Not So, Regret Will Never Be Quelled

Hyuga Hiashi looked at them in silence, then turned his gaze toward the outside and closed his eyes.

Sensing that the atmosphere was somewhat strange, the Main Branch members present exchanged confused glances.

Just then, a thick, pungent scent of blood drifted into their noses. Their expressions shifted instantly, and their gazes converged on the doorway.

Hyuga Hiashi sighed, "I didn't expect you to be the first to arrive, Miyuki."

At the entrance of the conference room, a figure paused in the act of opening the door, but quickly regained her composure and pushed it open gently.

"Hyuga Miyuki, what do you think you're doing!"

Through the open door, they saw two guards lying in a pool of blood in the distance. The Third Elder stood up and shouted angrily, "Are you trying to betray the clan? Your parents died honorably fighting for the Main Branch; do you want to bring shame upon them in the afterlife?"

A visible rage flickered across Hyuga Miyuki's cold face. Before the Main Branch members could react, she appeared behind the Third Elder with unexpected speed and, fueled by fury, drove a punch directly into his heart.

Hyuga Hiashi, the only one with the ability to intervene, simply watched the scene unfold without taking action.

His aged body, combined with combat instincts that had atrophied from years of peace, left the Third Elder unable to mount any effective defense. His heart was pierced through, leaving a hole from front to back, and his body swayed before collapsing to the ground.

Thud...

"..."

The silence lasted for several seconds. The Main Branch elders' pupils constricted, and they all used Body Flicker to distance themselves from Miyuki, watching her with guarded expressions.

"Honor? Is this so-called honor what I receive as a daughter after they died—that I am still not treated with kindness?"

Hyuga Miyuki smiled with biting sarcasm.

"I don't want this kind of honor!"

"Since it has come to this, there is nothing left to say. Because the Caged Bird has had its punitive function removed, has it made you forget your place?"

The Second Elder raised his hands and sneered, "Then let your life be the reminder that you will always be a Caged..."

The technique to activate the Caged Bird had already been initiated, but Hyuga Miyuki remained standing where she was, causing the Second Elder's words to cut off and his movements to freeze.

"The Caged Bird is ineffective? How is that possible?"

"Did Tsunade help you remove it?! Does that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen really want to wipe us out?"

Several elders looked at the Fission Technique placed in front of Hiashi, a chill rushing straight to their minds.

How many people had their Caged Bird seals removed? What were they all doing right now?

Only the First Elder looked at Hiashi, seemingly understanding something, his tone incredibly complex, "You anticipated this long ago, Clan Head?"

"I didn't want to understand, but looking at all of you, I knew this day would come sooner or later."

Watching the Main Branch elders, who lacked direction and had lost their composure, Hiashi felt a sense of sorrow, yet upon seeing the corpse of the Third Elder, he felt a strange sense of gratification.

He looked at Hyuga Miyuki, "You aren't the only one who came, are you? There were many guards on the way to the conference room; it's impossible for them all to have betrayed us, and you couldn't have broken in this quickly alone."

"The Clan Head is perceptive."

A calm voice and the sound of dense footsteps arrived simultaneously.

Several Hyuga ninja, led by Hyuga Yuki, entered the conference room as if no one else were there.

The Fourth and Hyuga Hane and the others arrived at the front line using the Flying Thunder God. Minato exchanged a few words with them, sent Rin to the medical unit first, and then led them toward the command center.

There, a man with a stern expression was waiting for them.

"Clan Head Fugaku, where are Senior Orochimaru and Master Jiraiya?"

The current head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku.

"Lord Orochimaru is currently scouting the troops led by the two Jinchuriki, and Lord Jiraiya is waiting for you in the command room, Fourth."

Looking at the Hokage cloak behind Namikaze Minato, Uchiha Fugaku revealed a sincere smile.

Hyuga Hane watched Uchiha Fugaku's performance with a flat gaze.

In this generation, too many people were born at the wrong time.

The Fourth was like this, and Uchiha Fugaku was the same.

Did the Second really not give the Uchiha a chance to integrate into the village?

The Uchiha were a ninja clan of Konoha and part of Konoha's foundation; he could not have hoped for such a clan to be destroyed, as that would represent the decline of Konoha.

The Military Police Force did indeed offend people, but the root cause of this situation was essentially the personality of the Uchiha clansmen themselves.

At the very least, the Obito of the early days showed no signs of being disliked by the villagers or his peers.

The Second hoped that more people like Kagami would emerge from the Uchiha clan—people who truly integrated into the village. If not, the Military Police Force would be a restriction preventing the Uchiha from becoming Hokage and moving into the upper echelons.

Losing the hearts of the people... these four words were usually enough.

Uchiha Fugaku's personality was not strong enough, and his attitude regarding the coup and the matter of Itachi was ambiguous. But judging by the fact that he had befriended the Fourth before he rose to power, his initial direction had been correct.

Unfortunately, the Fourth died.

And Hyuga Hiashi... was also born at the wrong time.

"I understand."

Returning a smile to Uchiha Fugaku, Minato turned his head to the others and said, "Hane, come with me to the conference room. Kushina, you take Kakashi and the others to familiarize yourselves with the environment here."

Looking into the determined eyes of Hyuga Yuki, Hyuga Hiashi sighed and said:

"After what you have done today, you can no longer remain in Konoha."

"This place never welcomed us to begin with; I have come for the Fission Technique."

With the blood of the guards still clinging to his palms and face, Hyuga Yuki's expression was cold: "I suggest you hand it over sensibly. Perhaps then, your death will be less painful."

"So that is how it is... you have not yet completely removed the Caged Bird?"

The First Elder frowned deeply, activating his Byakugan to see that behind the headbands of the ten Branch Family members, including Hyuga Miyuki and Hyuga Yuki, the Caged Bird seal remained.

However, the Caged Bird on Hyuga Yuki and the others appeared to be sealed; a complex sealing incantation lay over the location of the curse mark.

And Hyuga Miyuki... she seemed different.

"It hasn't been undone?"

The elders, who had been preparing to berate these traitors, were stunned, followed immediately by a surge of joy. The Second Elder spoke directly to Hiashi: "Clan Head, destroy it quickly! We cannot let these traitors undo the Caged Bird."

As he spoke, he moved closer to Hiashi, hoping to destroy it himself while staying in a safer position.

As the current clan head, Hyuga Hiashi's strength was no less than that of an elite Jonin. These rebellious Branch Family members lacked the secret techniques of the Main Family, and their strength was insufficient; they might not be able to take down Hiashi.

With them, these old men, present as well, these people would not have enough to kill them!

Just as the Second Elder reached out with a savage expression to grab the Fission Technique, Hiashi suddenly rose and struck. A swift, violent palm landed on the elder's head, instantly splattering blood and extinguishing his life.

Blood stained Hiashi's kimono. He looked coldly at the Second Elder's corpse as it collapsed to the floor, then knelt back down.

The sudden turn of events left the Main Family elders and the Branch Family members staring at him in shock, unable to believe what they had seen.

Only the First Elder sighed deeply, knelt back down on the floor, and closed his eyes.

"Take it."

Hyuga Hiashi picked up the scroll and tossed it to Hyuga Yuki, then retrieved another from his robes and handed it to him as well.

"There are likely many people you intend to take with you. If you remove the Caged Bird, they will be targeted by the Shinobi World, and your strength is not enough to protect yourselves. Since that is the case, you will need this curse mark."

"It is a technique I asked the Third to refine—a way for the Main Family to protect the Byakugan. Consider for yourselves whether you wish to use it."

This was the price the Third had paid to have Tokuma infiltrate Root.

It possessed all the functions of the Caged Bird, with the sole exception that no one else could control their life or death!

Perhaps... this was what the Caged Bird was always meant to be.

"The special order the Third gave me is also inside. It will allow you to leave Konoha safely."

He was one of the Third's hidden hands; the special order was his trump card, granting him the authority to mobilize Hyuga shinobi for independent action in an emergency to resist Danzo.

Regrettably, from the very beginning, Hiashi had never intended to protect the Main Family. His pale-faced departure from the Sarutobi Clan had been a performance for the Third to see.

If he could use Danzo's hand to dispose of certain people, he could initiate reform, but since the Branch Family had acted first... then so be it.

Having finished speaking, Hiashi, like the First Elder, closed his eyes, leaving the remaining elders to look on in panic.

Looking at the two scrolls with a complex expression, Hyuga Yuki said in a low voice: "That person said someone would survive today. I thought it meant we had made a mistake, but it turns out he meant you."

He looked at Hyuga Miyuki, and amidst the equally complex look in her eyes, he said coldly:

"After today, only you and your wife will remain of the Hyuga Main Family..."

"..."

The First Elder's eyes snapped open. "Must it be this way?"

"If not, we... cannot find peace!"

As the words fell, the previously quiet Branch Family members behind Hyuga Yuki revealed bloodthirsty smiles, their eyes filled with madness as they charged at the Main Family elders.

Screams and manic laughter echoed through the narrow conference room, traveling far, far away, yet heard by no living soul.

Only Hyuga Meigoku witnessed it from afar. Sorrow, astonishment, and a multitude of other emotions welled up in his heart, his expression infinitely complex.

In the future, there would be no more Hyuga Main Family... the Main Family was already dead in all but name.