As clan head, Hyuga Hiashi was torn between knowing when to yield and his duty to his clan.
"Enough!"
Hyuga Hiashi stepped forward, shielding his clansmen behind him as he tried to salvage the situation with words.
"You've betrayed your mother's wishes!"
At that, Aoike formed Hand Seals with one hand. Several thick bolts of lightning pierced the last few shinobi still putting up a desperate resistance.
"Oh?"
"What wishes? To serve the Main House like slaves?"
Aoike's tone was calm, yet his words laid bare the cruelty of the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal.
It seemed to protect the Byakugan, but it also left the Main House with a key that could torment the body and control life and death.
Even a useless member of the Main House could insult the Branch House at will. They brainwashed the Branch House, soothing them or threatening them as needed.
They had never cared about the true wishes of their fellow Hyuga. The wishes they spoke of were nothing but a selfish slogan for protecting the Main House!
Just because you belong to the Main House, it becomes only natural for the Branch House to protect you.
I met her in the world of the dead. She told me,
"Live well."
And you all... make me feel sick!
As if finally releasing years of pent-up resentment, Aoike let out a long breath, then looked at the few remaining Hyuga and laughed heartily.
"So now I'm correcting the Hyuga Clan. Change requires bloodshed. Those parasites from the past have no place in the future!"
"And you, Hyuga Hiashi—have you ever thought about the future of the Hyuga Clan? Have you ever tried to change it? When your brother sacrificed himself for the Main House, did you feel even a little remorse?"
Aoike circled Hiashi, his gaze sharp, as if he wanted to split him open and take a look inside.
Hyuga Hiashi swallowed with difficulty. Faced with the man who could decide whether he lived or died, he had no answer.
He knew it all.
Ever since Hizashi had been branded with the Caged Bird Seal, Hiashi had known that their fates would never be the same again.
He had once thought about changing things, but eventually he gave up.
As someone who benefited from the system, change would mean tearing down the very foundation of his position.
The clan elders, who were all in the same boat, wouldn't agree. The Main House wouldn't agree, either. And he wouldn't challenge centuries of clan rules for his younger brother.
So the two brothers drifted further apart, and Hiashi's former passion turned into silent support for the Hyuga Clan's cold, rigid rules.
And now!
The bird that had broken free of its cage of fate had become an eagle, ready to take revenge on the cage that had confined, tormented, and humiliated him!
Hiashi assumed the Gentle Fist stance. After many years as clan head, he would not surrender, nor could he accept the Hyuga Clan's decline under his watch.
Perhaps dying in battle now would be the best ending for him.
The Gentle Fist was a style focused on technique, strategy, and inner strength. It favored winning through finesse and using stillness to counter motion, but demanded strength, reflexes, and stamina. It had limitations when facing overwhelming power, sudden attacks, or long-range suppression.
Aoike had trained in martial arts for years and knew the Gentle Fist inside and out.
With no hint of fear in his eyes, he stood ready to fight, one hand held behind his back. It was just like the first time he had fought Hyuga Hiashi—only now, the tables had turned.
In the blink of an eye, their fists met. The two figures wove between the trees, their sleeves fluttering, yet there was no clash of metal—only the faint sound of air being gently stirred. This was a Gentle Fist duel, an art of "yielding" and "redirecting."
Aoike's body moved like a willow, his arms soft as silk. His palms brushed forward, seemingly light and powerless, yet they always met his opponent's fist or arm with pinpoint precision, missing by no more than a hair's breadth.
Hiashi, meanwhile, moved with nimble grace, his footwork swift. His hands fluttered like butterflies skimming the surface of the water, stirring up ripples. His attacks came from tricky angles, yet carried no brute force. Each move seemed to probe for an opening, like spring water seeping past a riverbank, flowing with the current and using the least force to achieve the greatest effect.
Their fists and feet met without any earth-shaking crashes. There was only the almost inaudible hiss of their limbs touching—the sound of force being passed, transformed, and dispersed in an instant. With every breath, their movements flowed in perfect rhythm with their techniques.
Unlike Might Guy's Strong Fist, these seemingly gentle moves concealed tremendous power.
Some fist and palm prints on the tree trunks were deep, others shallow, but the trunks' cores and the cracks on the far sides had all been shaken open, exposing splinters.
With his final palm strike, Aoike knocked aside Hiashi's arm as he tried to grapple with him, then spun and kicked him into a tree.
Hyuga Hiashi could no longer struggle. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and let his body fall to the ground.
Aoike had taken five punches: three to his shoulders and back, and two to his arms. Based on years of experience, he had some bruising and fractures, but nothing serious.
In this exchange, the two had tacitly refrained from using ninjutsu and fought with the Gentle Fist alone.
Aoike strode forward and looked down at Hiashi, just as Hiashi had once looked down at him.
"You've gotten old. Your fists aren't fast enough, and they're not ruthless enough!"
At those words, Hyuga Hiashi raised his head, his face ashen.
"Kill me."
"Don't hurt Hinata or the others."
The despondent clan head had finally chosen to be a father, doing all he could to protect his children.
"Heh..."
Aoike chuckled and kicked aside Hiashi's right hand as he tried to take his own life.
Under Hyuga Hiashi's confused gaze, he reinforced the cage around him with Yin-Yang Release.
"Be glad you're Hinata's father, Clan Head."
"From today on, the Hyuga Clan will have no distinction between the Main House and the Branch House."
"You're not going to kill us?"
Aoike glanced scornfully at Hyuga Hiashi, who had panicked and lost his composure.
"I'm not some madman. I only cleared out the diehards earlier."
He gave Hiashi a meaningful look, then continued:
"You're just part of my past. You're not worth dwelling on. My goal has always been the rotten cage. Of course, if some blind bug gets in my way, I won't mind squashing it."
He glanced at the still-quivering scraps in the corner who hadn't turned completely rotten, then fixed his blue eyes on the once lofty clan head.
"Remember what I said. I've already taken care of the hardest part. Don't disappoint me, Hyuga Clan Head."
With that, he shook the dirt from his soles and left with a casual Body Flicker Technique.
All he left behind was ravaged land and a Hyuga Clan battered in body and spirit.
Hyuga Hiashi swept the direction Aoike had gone with his Byakugan. After confirming he was far away, he finally relaxed.
The clansmen, who had barely dared to breathe, hurried over to help their weakened clan head into a chair.
After this battle, the Hyuga Clan had lost nearly seventy percent of its shinobi, and Hiashi himself was gravely injured. This was the worst blow the Hyuga Clan had suffered since joining Konoha.
"Notify the surviving clansmen: no one is to leave without my orders. Have everyone move into the central compound. These are extraordinary times. Be wary of anyone plotting against us."
"And..."
"Effective immediately, the Caged Bird Seal is abolished. From now on, the Hyuga Clan will have no distinction between the Main House and the Branch House."