Reversing the Heavenly Dipper

"There is certainly more than one person who resents the Main Branch. No one dared to resist before, but the situation is different now."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's gaze was complex.

"Where there is one, there will be two. Whether they are merely imitating or have already joined forces, it will be very difficult to uncover the mastermind."

Danzo's expression darkened, and he said coldly, "Even so, we cannot abandon the Main Branch; there is no possibility of winning over the Branch Family. For so many years, we have ignored the thoughts of the Branch Family—they may well harbor resentment toward us!"

"But... if the Branch Family is lost, does the Main Branch still hold any value?"

"This..."

Danzo was momentarily speechless, finally grasping the true extent of the trouble within the Hyuga Clan.

If his hypothesis was correct and the mastermind was a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, those branch ninjas who hated the Main Branch would certainly attempt to protect him.

Even the ninjas already stirred by hatred were a problem; if more and more branch ninjas began to resist, what would become of the village?

Strictly speaking, this was an internal conflict within the Hyuga Clan.

When Konoha was founded, it was established that ninja clans had autonomy, and the Hokage could not interfere in their internal affairs.

Even if they used the excuse of wartime to intervene by force, which side should the village support?

Just as Hiruzen said, what use was the Main Branch without the Branch Family?

Should they rely on them to go to the battlefield and gift their Byakugan to the enemy?

"If we continue to be tied down by hesitation, the enemy will only grow more rampant. We must cut the Gordian knot!" Danzo closed his eyes. "Leave it to me. You know that I have always had certain methods for these matters."

Sarutobi Hiruzen puffed on his pipe, but in the end, he did not provide an answer.

No companions, no power—am I destined to never fly out of this cage?

Watching Hyuga Hane walk toward the core territory of the Main Branch, Hyuga Yuki clenched his fists and turned to leave.

He would absolutely seize the hope of breaking the Caged Bird from the hands of the high-ranking officials!

"The fourth pair."

The following night.

Hyuga Hane looked at the Hyuga jonin he had struck down with a single blow and strolled over.

He grabbed the man by the neck and hoisted him off the ground.

"Hyuga Hane! Is it you who has been attacking our kin?"

Forced to meet Hyuga Hane's gaze, the assaulted Hyuga jonin gritted his teeth and spat:

"You possess strength far exceeding that of a jonin, yet you do not serve the Main Branch—you shameful traitor!"

Hyuga Hane ignored him and performed a few hand seals with one hand.

Sealing Technique: White Prison!

"Ah!!!"

A painful roar erupted from the jonin's throat, but it was muffled by the barrier Hyuga Hane had set up in advance, preventing it from spreading.

White Yin Release chakra and the ocular power of the Byakugan constructed a ribbon-like conduit between the two pairs of eyes.

The jonin felt his Byakugan, which he had awakened at the age of seven, regressing; his ocular power was draining away, gradually returning to its unawakened state, and a look of terror appeared on his face.

"What are you doing? What exactly is this sealing technique!"

"If you have questions, I will tell you after you are dead."

Feeling the throbbing in his own eyes, Hyuga Hane raised his free right hand and smiled. "Thank you for your gift!"

His palm descended, and blood splattered outward.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Accompanied by the sound of rapid movement through the air, two Anbu appeared.

"Hyuga Hane, you have killed a comrade. Come with us!"

"Heh, have you been working with the Hyuga Clan for so long that you've become like them?"

Discarding the corpse in his hand, Hyuga Hane looked at them with his sky-blue Byakugan.

"With my Byakugan, I naturally discovered you were approaching long ago. Don't you find it strange that I took my time finishing him off?"

The expressions behind the two Anbu masks changed drastically.

Bang!!!

An Anbu wearing a fox mask fell from a distance and landed in front of them, smashing a massive crater into the ground.

The sudden turn of events caused the two Anbu to quickly close ranks, standing back-to-back in vigilance, while one of them asked the comrade who had collapsed on the ground:

"What happened? Weren't you supposed to be lying in ambush?"

The Anbu wearing the fox mask stood up, vomited a mouthful of blood, and gasped for air:

"He is an accomplice, possessing the Byakugan, yet he is not in the Hyuga Clan's records."

They were sent by the Hokage to investigate the attack on the Hyuga, as Sarutobi Hiruzen ultimately dared not let Danzo interfere in the affairs of the Hyuga Clan, fearing he would seize the opportunity to control the Hyuga Branch Family.

Therefore, they had reviewed the files of every member of the Hyuga Clan.

And this Anbu Jonin was certain that the Hyuga Clan absolutely did not possess such a terrifying powerhouse!

"The enemy is at seven o'clock, possessing the Byakugan, with strange cracks on his body. Be careful, his strength might not be inferior to Lord Hokage!"

"Inferior to Lord Hokage? What kind of joke are you making?!"

The two Anbu exclaimed, but the next moment... they understood.

Clack, clack.

Accompanied by the sound of rattling armor, a Hyuga ninja dressed in Warring States period armor appeared before the three of them, his intense chakra manifesting like a physical substance, a sight that inspired awe!

Seeing this, Hyuga Hane also strolled toward the three Anbu.

"Being locked inside the village, surrounded by surveillance, and finding it difficult to even locate sacrifices for Impure World Reincarnation—it is quite agonizing for a researcher."

"Although I don't have the habit of disturbing the peace of the dead, it is actually more convenient to ask the dead about certain secrets directly."

"I shall trouble the three of you to become the sacrifices."

As soon as his words fell, a Bagua formation appeared beneath the feet of the reanimated ninja.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"

The lightning-fast Gentle Fist sealed their chakra before the three could even react.

The techniques of the Gentle Fist were used by the reanimated ninja with such divine mastery.

"Using a Main Branch ninja as a sacrifice, with the same Kekkei Genkai and the same ancestral bloodline, the reanimated ninja possesses seventy percent of his original strength."

Hyuga Hane witnessed all of this and offered a word of praise: "However, if the original strength is insufficient, it is meaningless. You are truly worthy of being Hyuga Meigoku, the Main Branch patriarch of the Warring States period; in this era, you are a powerhouse comparable to a Kage!"

"Vicious Branch Family brat!" Hyuga Meigoku clearly still retained his consciousness. "To actually develop a jutsu that profanes the dead—are you not afraid that you will find no peace after you die?"

"Heh." Hyuga Hane chuckled softly, not bothering to defend the Second Hokage's copyright, and merely said: "What are you angry about? Being controlled?"

"I am merely enraged that such an unfilial descendant has emerged!"

"Even the gentle pupils of the Byakugan cannot mask your anger."

Hyuga Hane shook his head, applied seals to the three ninjas, and stored them inside a scroll.

"You are only angry that you have been controlled, controlled by a member of the Branch Family. Just like the Branch Family members you dominated in the past, you cannot accept a fate similar to theirs."

Words that made Hyuga Meigoku even more furious spilled from his mouth: "Finding your personal information in the Main Branch cemetery yesterday went very smoothly."

"I encountered no obstacles, and no accidents occurred."

"I initially only sought stability and to increase my combat power, but having truly summoned you, I cannot help but feel it is a form of karmic retribution."

"In life, you dominated the Branch Family. In death, you are dominated by the Branch Family—is that not wonderful?"