After clearing the Root ninja out of the Orphanage,
Natsume immediately sent several of his clones inside with Nonō to search for survivors.
They rescued as many of the children in the Orphanage as they could...
Meanwhile,
Natsume's real body continued working on Hyuga Fukagawa.
"How do you feel?"
"Excellent!"
"What are you planning to do next?"
"I'm willing to serve you, Lord Natsume!"
Without hesitation, Hyuga Fukagawa dropped to one knee and solemnly pledged himself to Natsume.
It was hardly surprising.
First, having been controlled by the Caged Bird Seal for so long, he already had little affection for the Hyuga Main House or Konoha.
Second, thanks to the Recruitment Order, his favorability toward Natsume and the Flame Hidden Village had risen considerably.
Third, with the Cursed Seal gone, there was no place for him in the Hyuga Clan anymore.
So, besides pledging himself to Natsume, he had no other choice.
Besides,
willingly serving someone out of gratitude
was an entirely different feeling from being forced to serve the Main Branch because of a Cursed Seal.
The choice went without saying.
"Good. Welcome aboard!"
His scheme had succeeded, and Natsume, having recruited Fukagawa, broke into a broad smile.
Then he pressed on:
"By the way, will the Main Branch know that your Caged Bird Seal has been removed?"
Hyuga Fukagawa replied, "They will."
"The moment the seal disappears, the Main Branch will sense it. It'll be hard to hide..."
Natsume said, "That's not a problem."
"When we're done here, I'll burn the whole Orphanage and all the bodies to ashes, destroying the evidence."
"That way, the Main Branch will just think you died here, too. They won't investigate any further..."
"Thank you, sir!"
Hyuga Fukagawa was taken aback, then delighted.
With the Branch Family's Hyuga Fukagawa dead, he could