The Great Elder of the Hyuga Clan kept releasing his ocular power, activating the Caged Bird Seal and trying to make Shinichi Hyuga experience its torment.
At that moment, the Caged Bird Seal began to take effect.
The seal's mark started invading Shinichi Hyuga's body.
It began at the mark between his brows, then invaded his mind like countless iron needles wriggling through it, destroying every intact part they reached.
But Shinichi Hyuga had inherited the Ajin bloodline and experienced Tanaka Koji's suffering. This little pain had no effect on him at all. Compared with the ten years of torment Tanaka Koji had endured, it was child's play.
In those ten years of memories, his body had been cut apart countless times. The brain inside his skull had been studied over and over again.
Being cut, roasted, frozen, and stirred—those torments were child's play in Tanaka Koji's memories. Some members of the disgusting ruling class in Japan had even tried to obtain the Ajin bloodline by consuming it, but they had all failed.
The pain stirred a familiar feeling in him and roused Shinichi Hyuga's killing intent.
The Caged Bird Seal's effects were instead felt by the Hyuga Branch Family members around them. The people nearby could no longer hide their pained expressions.
"Great Elder, please stop. Today is the Fourth Hokage's wedding day."
The Third Elder frowned. He, too, was affected by the Caged Bird Seal, but endured the pain to remind the Great Elder.
"Hmph."
The Great Elder gave a muffled snort and turned toward the center of the venue.
Only then did the many Hyuga Branch Family shinobi breathe a sigh of relief. That pain had felt as if swords were stabbing into their minds and stirring them around.
And they were only the ones caught in the crossfire.
What about Shinichi Hyuga, the Great Elder's primary target?
Shinichi Hyuga's expression hadn't changed at all. At least, no one could tell that it had.
Some of the Hyuga Branch Family's jonin wore indifferent expressions. They had experienced this pain many times; to them, this was child's play. Only those who had endured the Caged Bird Seal knew how much agony Shinichi Hyuga, its primary target, had suffered.
Even without saying a word, they were all deeply shocked by Shinichi Hyuga's performance.
They began to consider their options. Even as members of the Branch Family, they had a degree of influence as jonin.
The clever ones had already begun to suspect that this was a trial run for the clan meeting a month from now.
That clan meeting would be the real battleground!
"Shinichi, why do this? The outcome's already been decided. You need to think about your child. Why provoke him at a time like this?" the Third Elder advised, unable to hide the dejection in his eyes.
It was just like the relationship between Hiashi and Hizashi.
The Great Elder and the Third Elder had once been brothers, too. But the Main Branch and Branch Family system had set their lives on different paths.
"Third Elder, if I remember correctly, the Main Branch Byakugan that was taken away belonged to someone from the Great Elder's line. And your son was executed with the Caged Bird Seal around that time. Was that eye your son's?"
Shinichi Hyuga didn't answer the Third Elder's advice. Instead, he asked a question of his own.
During the Second Ninja World War, some members of the Branch Family had died under the Caged Bird Seal. To warn the Branch Family shinobi, those executions had been made especially painful.
Some outstanding members of the Branch Family had been invited to watch. Shinichi Hyuga, who had shown promise even then, had been among them. But the reason for the execution had never been disclosed; they'd merely claimed that the victim had defied the Main Branch.
The Third Elder's son had been among those executed. From that day on, the Third Elder and the Great Elder had become bitter enemies, and the Third Elder had opposed him at every turn.
"You... It's all in the past!" The Third Elder couldn't keep the gloom from flickering across his eyes.
That incident was a hurdle he'd never been able to overcome.
"So the Byakugan in Kirigakure really did come from the Great Elder's line? Or was it his son's eye? How could the Branch Family bear all the blame for such a serious crime?"
Shinichi Hyuga pressed him. He didn't believe a father would let his child die without knowing why, while bearing a crime he hadn't committed.
"He was Main Branch. The Main Branch can't be allowed to have any stain on its name!"
Something inside the Third Elder seemed to drain away. At last, he managed to force out the words.
"That won't be true for much longer! A month from now, at the clan meeting, there can only be one Main Branch: the current clan head!"
Shinichi Hyuga leaned closer to the Third Elder and spoke without the slightest attempt to hide his words.
The Hyuga Clan's Main Branch had two lines: the public one, represented by the clan head, and the Hidden Branch, the Great Elder's line, which secretly controlled the Eight Trigrams Palm and Air Palm traditions.
Was Shinichi Hyuga planning to abolish the Hidden Branch?
Or did he want to take it over and become its head?
The Hyuga Branch Family jonin around them speculated among themselves. They knew Shinichi Hyuga had a daughter who was almost three years old.
That was also why the Great Elder had always targeted him. Shinichi was a prodigy, and could threaten the Great Elder's position in the Hidden Branch.
During the two Ninja World Wars, Shinichi Hyuga had built up enough strength and connections.
"What... are you really trying to do? The system separating the Main Branch and Branch Family can't be changed." The Third Elder looked at the man before him with a complicated expression. Once, even he had looked up to Shinichi.
When he was young, he had also tried to fight for his child.
He had wanted his child to escape this fate. Every member of the Hyuga Branch Family had tried in their own way, but all of them had failed!
"Of course, someone who's done wrong doesn't deserve to be Main Branch."
Shinichi Hyuga wasn't about to reveal his entire plan. The Third Elder's intentions were already clear to some people.
Many had their eyes on that one position in the Hidden Branch, including the Third Elder.
He'd also coveted it a little. His reason for meeting Minato Namikaze today was to secure that position.
When it came to a powerful interest group, trying to destroy it from within often brought unexpected results.
The system dividing the Hyuga Clan into the Main Branch and Branch Family was deeply rooted in the clan's blood.
The servility inside some people only faded when they were hurt; only then did they yearn for freedom.
So he would begin at the roots and gradually correct the Hyuga Clan's warped ways.
First, he would deal with the people who were hostile to him.
"Shinichi, your ideas are too dangerous!" The Third Elder's face twisted with indecision.
An old man like him had become a beneficiary of the system, and beneficiaries would defend it.
His son was dead, but he still had a grandson.
He still wanted to fight for a place for his grandson in the Hidden Branch.
"The Great Elder has pledged himself to the Third. This time, the Hidden Branch will still go to the Great Elder's grandson. Do you understand?"
Shinichi Hyuga looked at the Third Elder as if he were an idiot. In the end, he was no different from the rest.
"What? Then what about you?" The Third Elder was shocked, but powerless to change anything. His confusion only deepened.
"I told you: someone who's done wrong can never become Main Branch. Then the Hidden Branch might as well not exist, right?"
This time, Shinichi Hyuga made no effort to conceal his words from the Hyuga Branch Family jonin around them.
These people were all key participants in the clan meeting.
Some of them had already received the Third's hint. The future meeting that would decide the head of the Hidden Branch was nothing more than a formality!
Others had no idea. The Third Elder's supporters were among them.
Those who were in the dark looked at the faces of their companions around them and could actually see something there.
The jonin began weighing their options. They looked toward Shinichi Hyuga, their thoughts conflicted.
If Shinichi Hyuga hadn't been injured—if he were still the genius who could rival Minato Namikaze—they would of course have chosen his side.
But now?
Shinichi Hyuga's crippled body had become his greatest obstacle.
Shinichi Hyuga looked at them with undisguised contempt.
Most of these people had probably already been won over by the Great Elder, the Third Elder, or someone else.
Though a few had clearly said they would support him.
"Looks like everyone's already made their own plans." Shinichi Hyuga's gaze swept over the Hyuga Branch Family jonin around him.
Their expressions varied, but most avoided his eyes.
A hubbub rose from the center of the hall. The Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki emerged from the flower-lined aisle, while the Third officiated the wedding.
Laughter rang out from the center of the hall.
But the Hyuga Branch Family jonin nearby had their own thoughts as they considered the solution Shinichi Hyuga had offered them.
Shinichi Hyuga stood as well, his gaze fixed on Minato Namikaze.
He waited for an answer.
After a long while, the Fourth Hokage, wearing his genial smile, finished attending to the shinobi in the center and looked toward Shinichi Hyuga.
But his gaze held a trace of evasion.
At that moment, Shinichi Hyuga knew the answer he wanted. He sat down quietly.
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