When Hyuga Hiashi saw Shinichi Hyuga pause, he felt somewhat relieved. The deepest secret had not been exposed.
Shinichi noticed the look on his face.
This clan head sure had plenty of secrets hidden away, but Shinichi had an even more diverse range of sources.
He had information hidden in the memories of his past life, wild ideas inspired by the abilities of several template characters, and everything he had witnessed and learned in this world.
His knowledge surpassed that of most people in the Ninja World.
The other Hyuga Clan shinobi were filled with indignation.
Their former lack of understanding toward their ancestors had now shifted to the Main Branch.
They shouldn't have had to endure this.
"Does our esteemed clan head still not understand?
You Main Branch members are pitiful victims of deception, too!
I obtained some documents on the Second's research into the Caged Bird. The Caged Bird Seal back then was different from the one used today.
The difference is that the current seal has an added part that siphons away the Byakugan's power.
The caster can exert control over the person the seal is placed on, and even your personalities can change.
Some of the essence in the Branch Family's eye power is constantly transferred into the Main Branch's eyes, making their Byakugan purer.
Why do you think that is?
Perhaps you're still congratulating yourself that your Byakugan is growing purer and getting closer to the legendary Tenseigan.
Even if you can't awaken it, your children—or even your grandchildren—might awaken the Tenseigan.
You've already fallen into someone else's trap.
Once the purity of your Byakugan reaches a certain level, it will be harvested!
Your eyes will be devoured by the Otsutsuki Clan's bloodline on the moon, creating a Tenseigan!
They've already set their sights on your unborn child."
Shinichi looked up at the moon. A force there was monitoring the changes within the Hyuga Clan. That was why he had sealed off the entire Ancestral Hall before using this eye.
He still had no idea what was happening on the moon!
Had the Giant Tenseigan been created yet?
"Impossible! How could you know about that clan on the moon?
No!
Our true purpose is to protect the Byakugan from falling into outsiders' hands. Absorbing eye power to purify our bloodline is just a side effect of the Caged Bird!
No, that's not it. Our Byakugan's perception is too powerful, but its side effects are minor. The Ninja World would covet it!"
Hyuga Hiashi could no longer stay calm. He looked up, disbelief written all over his face.
Every member of the Branch Family could hear the panic in his words.
He still didn't believe Shinichi. He was just making excuses for himself.
The information Shinichi had revealed was too shocking, and some of it was news even to him.
They really had been in contact with the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon, but hadn't they been friendly?
They had even offered plenty of advice and helped him examine his bloodline.
The Hyuga Branch Family members present were absorbed in the information Shinichi had revealed. As they connected it to what had happened to them, they became more and more certain that it was true.
"Has the Main Branch changed?" The Third Elder recalled how the Great Elder had changed. Before becoming part of the Main Branch, he hadn't been so utterly ruthless.
Now, he found himself hoping that the Caged Bird Seal's influence was what had made him so cruel.
"Then the blind spots in the Branch Family's Byakugan—are they not simply a side effect of the Caged Bird? Are they because the Main Branch is absorbing our bloodline to purify their own?"
Hizashi Hyuga was even more suspicious of Hyuga Hiashi.
His talent had originally surpassed Hyuga Hiashi's.
But after he became a member of the Branch Family, he was the one who fell behind?
The members of the Branch Family in the Ancestral Hall began talking among themselves.
A few of the more naive Branch Family members still believed the Caged Bird was meant to protect the Byakugan's Kekkei Genkai from falling into outsiders' hands.
They'd heard that excuse for a thousand years. It was already ingrained in their minds.
But after being enslaved by the Main Branch, they would rather let their Kekkei Genkai fall into outsiders' hands than remain slaves.
The murmurs in the Ancestral Hall grew louder and louder.
At first, they had only discussed the Main Branch, but the talk soon grew chaotic. The belief that had sustained them for a thousand years had been shattered.
Shinichi raised a hand, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
He had to give them a new goal to hold on to.
"What I'm about to tell you concerns the hidden secrets of the Ninja World. I'll leave a jutsu in your Caged Bird Seal that prevents you from speaking of them.
If you're ever in danger, your final memories will be sent to me.
That was the Caged Bird's original protective function.
I promise that from now on, the Caged Bird Seal will only reappear in the Hyuga Clan when you ask for protection."
Shinichi looked around, watching their reactions.
Then he spoke.
"Are the Byakugan's side effects really minor?
There isn't enough data to say. The only example is the Byakugan Ao took, but even he needs to keep it sealed at all times.
Do you know the true secrets of the Ninja World?
Everyone knows the Ninja World's three great dojutsu are the Byakugan, Sharingan, and Rinnegan! They all originated with the Otsutsuki Clan, and each has its own unique abilities.
But that's only a few scattered words passed down by the followers of the Sage of Six Paths' Ninjutsu Sect.
The true story is that the Sage of Six Paths was born with the Byakugan.
After meeting the toad of Mount Myoboku, he awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Later, he mastered Yin-Yang Power, and his eyes evolved into the Rinnegan.
That's how the three great dojutsu came to be—or rather, that's how the Sage of Six Paths' eyes evolved!"
Before Shinichi could finish, Hyuga Hiashi interrupted him.
"Impossible! Our Byakugan has never been inferior to the Sharingan. Everything you're saying is just an excuse!"
Hyuga Hiashi had found a point he could use to refute Shinichi, and seized on it.
The Hyuga Clan had never produced a super shinobi, but they had always stood on equal footing with the Uchiha Clan.
Now, Shinichi's words made their Kekkei Genkai seem like an inferior version of the Uchiha Clan's.
Some of them surely couldn't accept that.
He saw every change in their expressions.
Then he continued, "Every Kekkei Genkai in the Ninja World can be traced back to the Rabbit Goddess, Kaguya Otsutsuki.
One of her two sons was Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Sage of Six Paths.
Nearly all the Kekkei Genkai users on this planet inherited their bloodline from him.
The Otsutsuki Clan on the moon, on the other hand, inherited the bloodline of her other son, Hamura Otsutsuki.
The Byakugan of our clan has two paths of evolution.
One leads to the Rinnegan, following the Sage of Six Paths' path of bloodline purification.
The other leads to the Tenseigan, following Hamura Otsutsuki's path of evolution.
And now, this eye of mine has already evolved into the Tenseigan."
Shinichi's body rose high into the air, freed from the pull of gravity. Pale blue light flickered in one of his eyes.
Every Hyuga shinobi present had their Byakugan activated against their will. Their eye power was forcibly siphoned away, thread by thread.
When Shinichi closed his Byakugan, every member of the Hyuga Clan felt weak.
At that moment, they completely believed what Shinichi had said.
They had no power to resist Shinichi's Byakugan.
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