The lights of the Hyuga Clan Compound illuminated half the sky. The alarm spread throughout the compound, and guards rushed toward the brightest point in a steady stream.
Hyuga Keisuke raced along the narrow paths of the compound. Dark tree shadows loomed like monsters, flickering past the corners of his eyes. The night wind blew through his sweat-soaked yukata, making it feel even colder. Unlike the other clan members, who hurried about in a panic, his heart slowly grew calm. A detached feeling, almost like Ah, it's finally here, welled up inside him.
A crow cawed twice from a branch, as if mocking him, or perhaps understanding. He had no time for it now. The low din around him made him inexplicably irritable.
"What's happening up ahead?" A Main Family elder grabbed a guard and shouted.
"...A large number have already gotten away..."
The words carried on the night wind were too faint to make out clearly. Hyuga Keisuke strained to listen.
"What?! No one went after them?" the elder yelled furiously.
"...They're too strong... They're blocking the south gate. We can't get past..."
"Useless!" The elder looked around and spotted Hyuga Keisuke. His eyes lit up. "Keisuke, go to the south gate and deal with the clan traitors! Send a squad around through the east gate to pursue the rest!"
Half of the clan's elite guards, who had stayed behind to defend the compound, had gathered at the south gate. A circle had opened up in the crowd. Only two people stood within it: one stood facing off against the clan guards, while the other knelt on one knee, half his white clothes soaked in blood. He was clearly badly wounded. The sight overlapped with the memory of his father's death, and Hyuga Keisuke swayed slightly.
"Lord Keisuke?!" A branch-family ninja at the front spotted him and hurriedly stepped aside to make way. The attackers at the very front stopped and retreated into the crowd.
The man standing amid the crowd withdrew his hand from its striking position and turned his head slightly. Bloodstains on his white shinobi clothes resembled the red spider lilies on his flipped-up collar. A streak of blood ran from his right cheek to his jaw, but his expression remained calm.
"Hyuga Shin!" Hyuga Keisuke cried out, though he felt no real emotion. In truth, nothing Hyuga Shin did could surprise him.
"Ah, Keisuke." The man gave him a faint nod in greeting. At once, the guards around them began looking at Hyuga Keisuke differently. He had no time to worry about their suspicions. His grip tightened around his kunai, his hand trembling in a way even he barely noticed. "You... where's my uncle?!"
"Lord Ryosuke took some people and left. Takayuki and I stayed behind to cover their retreat."
"You dragged him into this!" he growled.
"Yes."
The man's unhesitating admission left Hyuga Keisuke speechless. He knew that if his uncle hadn't already been... considering it, there was no way Hyuga Shin could have persuaded him alone! He forced the words out, his voice rough. "...Why?!"
Hyuga Shin gently touched the white cloth on his forehead and replied calmly, "You know why."
The branch-family members present shuddered, their resolve faltering. The Main Family elder hurriedly shouted, "This is a betrayal of the clan!"
"As long as the Hyuga remain, the Hyuga Clan remains. We only intend to move somewhere else and live another way. How is that betrayal?" Though wounded, he stood straight, his expression calm. His measured words carried clearly across the crowd.
"If everyone who resented the clan followed your example, what would become of the Hyuga Clan? How would our bloodline survive?"
"The clan needs unity, but this—" He tore off the white cloth from his forehead, revealing the Caged Bird seal. "I have always believed that what has sustained this clan to this day isn't some empty glory or decayed history. It's people. It's our living relatives, bound by blood."
The seal imposed by the Hyuga's first clan head had only restricted the branch family's abilities. Hyuga Akisetsu had built upon it and created an enhanced version that allowed the Main Family to control the life and death of branch-family members. This mark had been officially named the Death-Vow Curse Seal and used on some members of the branch family.
"We... are family. We are not slaves, nor are we people born to be sacrificed."
His words fell, and the entire scene went silent.
Hyuga Keisuke stared at him, dazed. The Main Family elder saw his hesitation and scolded him under his breath. "Keisuke, what are you waiting for?"
"If that's what you insist on believing." Hyuga Keisuke closed his eyes briefly, then regained his steely composure. "Then there's no point in saying more."
"I see... Haven't you always wanted to know which of us is stronger?" Hyuga Shin raised his hands and assumed the opening stance of the Gentle Fist at the same time. After fighting several opponents for so long, blood seeped from the web between his thumb and forefinger, staining his fingertips red. "Today, we can find out. With our lives on the line, of course."
The turmoil in the Hyuga Clan continued until dawn. The Uchiha intelligence department compiled the reports at once and delivered them to Madara.
Hyuga Shin truly was a once-in-a-century genius of the Hyuga Clan. He had single-handedly held off attacks from nearly half the clan's guards. Because barriers had been erected along the compound walls, the gates were the only way in or out, and everyone ended up bottlenecked there. Some members of the Main Family had gone around through another gate to pursue the escapees, losing time and falling behind the branch-family members. Later, Hyuga Keisuke joined the fight and both he and Hyuga Shin were badly wounded. Hyuga Ryosuke returned and held the pursuers off. Hyuga Shin carried the gravely wounded Hyuga Takayuki away, taking a detour to a remote village in the west to meet up with their companions before fleeing farther west.
The sliding doors of the Japanese-style room stood open. A gentle breeze carried the faint scent of grass, while birdsong rang out in clear, lilting notes. Breakfast came with ten plates, each piled with two or three exquisitely made pastries that looked delicious. Madara picked up a plum pastry. "What happened to Hyuga Ryosuke?"
"He killed himself."
Madara's hand paused, but he calmly put the pastry in his mouth and chewed it slowly. After taking a sip of water, he asked, "Did they break the Caged Bird seal?"
"No. They only found a way to suppress it temporarily, and it has the side effect of weakening their chakra."
The seal imposed by the Hyuga's first clan head wasn't something they could undo in a day or two. Otherwise, the branch family wouldn't have been controlled by the Main Family for over a century. The branch family had likely spent generations preparing for this move. Now that everything had fallen into place, the Hyuga's split seemed inevitable. Madara smiled and moved on. "Hyuga Shin really is capable."
"He hasn't suppressed the seal." Uchiha Etsu looked full of admiration. "He figured out a way to make up for the Byakugan's weakness on his own. He calls it 'Heaven Abandoner.'"
"Find a way to slow down the Hyuga Main Family's pursuit. Also, help clean up their tracks along the way. They'll have to cross the Land of Wind heading west. Help them if you can, as long as you don't expose the clan's influence there."
Uchiha Etsu understood. If the Hyuga split into two clans, the rift between them would make it difficult for either to regain their former glory. If the Main Family insisted on attacking the branch-family members who had left, both sides would suffer heavy losses. In any case, the Hyuga Clan's split could only benefit the Uchiha. One clan capable of matching the Uchiha, like the Senju, was enough.
"Have those two... heard yet?"
Uchiha Etsu smiled. "They... The Hyuga compound is mostly occupied by branch-family members now, and the two factions are fighting, so word isn't getting through. They probably won't hear until around noon."
Noon? By then, the formal gathering of the Ninja World's clans would already have begun! What would the Hyuga's two "clan heads" do? If they stayed, the clan would be in turmoil; if they left, they would lose face. Oh, dear... Madara rubbed his chin, unexpectedly amused at the thought of watching the spectacle. "Etsu, after breakfast, go see Senju Hashirama."
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