Chapter 17

The lights of the Hyuga compound illuminated half the sky. As the alarm signals spread to every corner of the grounds, a steady stream of guards rushed toward the brightest point.

Hyuga Keisuke sprinted along the narrow paths of the compound. The dark, looming shadows of the trees stood like monsters, flickering past the corners of his eyes. The night wind chilled his sweat-dampened yukata, but unlike the panic and haste of the other clansmen, his heart gradually grew calm. A cold, detached feeling—something akin to "Ah, it's finally here"—seeped from the depths of his soul.

A crow cawed twice from a tree branch, sounding mocking, or perhaps knowing. He had no time to pay it any mind; the low, chaotic noise around him made him inexplicably irritable.

"What's the situation up ahead?" a main-branch elder grabbed a guard and shouted.

"...A large portion has already left..."

The fragments of conversation carried by the night wind were blurry, and Hyuga Keisuke pricked up his ears.

"What?! No one went after them?!" the elder roared.

"...Too strong... they're blocking the South Gate, we can't get through..."

"Useless trash!" The elder scanned his surroundings and his eyes lit up when he spotted Hyuga Keisuke. "Keisuke-kun, go to the South Gate and deal with the clan traitors! The rest of you, take a squadron, circle around through the East Gate, and pursue them!"

Half of the clan elites stationed at the compound had gathered at the South Gate. A circle of empty space had cleared in the crowd; in the center stood two men. One was standing, confronting the clan guards, while the other knelt, his white robes soaked through with blood, clearly having suffered grave injuries. The image of his father's death overlapped with the scene before him, and Hyuga Keisuke's frame swayed slightly.

"Keisuke-sama?!" The branch-family ninjas in front saw him and hurriedly cleared a path. Even the attackers at the front stopped and retreated into the crowd.

The man standing in the center of the crowd withdrew his palm stance and tilted his head slightly. The bloodstains on his white ninja uniform looked remarkably like the blood-red spider lilies on his upturned collar. A bloody gash ran from his right cheek down to his jaw, yet the expression on his face remained as calm as ever.

"Hyuga Shin!" Hyuga Keisuke cried out, though his true feelings were flat. In truth, nothing Hyuga Shin did would ever surprise him.

"Ah, Keisuke-kun." The man gave a faint nod in greeting. In an instant, the guards around him began looking at him with suspicion. Hyuga Keisuke had no time to worry about being doubted; he gripped his kunai tighter, his hand trembling in a way he couldn't even perceive. "You... where is my uncle!"

"Ryosuke-sama took the others and left. Takayuki-kun and I are responsible for the rear guard."

"You dragged him into this!" he growled sharply.

"Yes."

The opponent's unhesitating admission left him choked. He knew in his heart that if his uncle hadn't already harbored such thoughts, Hyuga Shin could never have persuaded him! He spoke bitterly: "...Why!"

Hyuga Shin gently touched the white cloth on his forehead and said calmly, "You know why."

The branch-family members present felt a tremor in their hearts, their momentum waning. The main-branch elder hurriedly shouted, "This is treason against the clan!"

"As long as the Hyuga exist, the Hyuga clan exists. We are merely planning to move to a new place and live in a new way. Where is the treason in that?" Though wounded, he stood straight, his expression serene, his measured words clearly reaching everyone present.

"If everyone dissatisfied with the clan followed your example, what would become of our great Hyuga clan! How would we continue our bloodline!"

"The clan needs unity, but this—" He tore the white cloth from his forehead, revealing the Caged Bird seal. "I have always believed that what sustains this clan to this day is not hollow glory or rotting history, but the people—our living, breathing kin."

The former clan head's Caged Bird seal only suppressed ability, but Hyuga Akisetsu had created an enhanced version based on it. The main branch could control the life and death of the branch family; this mark was officially named the Death-Vow Curse Seal, and it had been used on a portion of the branch family.

"We... are family. We are not slaves, nor are we people born to be sacrificed."

As the words fell, the entire scene went silent.

Hyuga Keisuke stared at him, dazed and lost in thought. Seeing this, the main-branch elder barked, "Keisuke-kun, what are you waiting for!"

"If you are determined to think this way," Hyuga Keisuke closed his eyes, regaining his cold resolve, "then there is no point in us saying more."

"I see... you've always wanted to know which of us is stronger, haven't you?" Hyuga Shin raised his hands into the starting stance of the Gentle Fist. After a long, one-versus-many battle, the webbing between his fingers was bleeding, staining his fingertips red. "We can find the answer today. Of course, with our lives as the wager."

The turmoil within the Hyuga clan lasted until dawn. The Uchiha intelligence division consolidated the reports immediately and sent them to Madara.

Hyuga Shin was truly a genius rarely seen in the Hyuga clan in a century, holding off nearly half the clan's guards single-handedly. Because the compound walls were protected by barriers, everyone had to enter and exit through the gates, causing a bottleneck. Some from the main branch circled around through other gates to pursue, but they were delayed, allowing the fleeing branch members to put some distance between them. Later, Hyuga Keisuke intervened, resulting in a mutual injury between him and Hyuga Shin, only for the returning Hyuga Ryosuke to intercept them. Hyuga Shin left while carrying the heavily wounded Takayuki, taking a detour to a remote village in the west to rendezvous with their companions before fleeing toward the far west.

The sliding door of the Japanese-style room was open, letting in a faint scent of grass and a gentle breeze, accompanied by the crisp, melodic chirping of birds. Breakfast consisted of ten plates, each piled with two or three intricately crafted pastries that looked delicious. Madara picked up a plum cake. "What happened to that Hyuga Ryosuke in the end?"

"He committed suicide."

Madara's hand paused, then he nonchalantly popped it into his mouth and swallowed it slowly. He took a sip of water and asked, "Did they break the Caged Bird seal?"

"No. They only found a way to temporarily suppress it, and it has the side effect of weakening their chakra."

The seal established by the first Hyuga clan head could not be solved in a day or two; otherwise, the branch family would not have been under the main branch's control for centuries. The branch family must have spent generations preparing for this operation. Now, with the timing, terrain, and people all aligned, it seemed the split of the Hyuga was irreversible. Madara smiled lightly and moved past the topic. "Hyuga Shin is certainly capable."

"He didn't suppress the seal." Uchiha Etsu's tone was full of admiration. "He realized a technique on his own to compensate for the Byakugan's blind spot, called 'Heaven Abandoner'."

"Find a way to stall the Hyuga main branch's pursuit, and clean up the tracks along the way. They have to pass through the Land of Wind to head west. Help them where you can, provided you don't expose our clan's forces there."

Uchiha Etsu understood perfectly. If the Hyuga split into two clans, the rift would make it difficult for them to return to their former glory; if the main branch insisted on hunting down the defectors, both sides would inevitably suffer. In short, the division of the Hyuga clan was by no means a bad thing for the Uchiha. Having one clan like the Senju that could rival the Uchiha was enough.

"Do those two... know yet?"

Uchiha Etsu smiled. "Them? With the branch family members currently making up the majority of the Hyuga compound and the infighting between the two factions, news is blocked. They probably won't know until noon today."

Noon? By then, the official meetings between the various clans of the ninja world would have already begun! What would the two "heads" of the Hyuga do? If they stay, the clan remains in chaos; if they leave, they lose all face. Oh my, oh my... Madara stroked his chin, a rare, mischievous interest in watching the show rising within him. "Etsu-kun, go see Senju Hashirama after breakfast."