Unmatched Haki!
Not backing down an inch!
"How dare you be so arrogant! I'll report this to Lord Hokage, and your Hyuga Clan will be finished!"
Gekko Hayate's face darkened.
He hadn't expected Hyuga Kagami to be so stubborn, refusing to back down at all. At that moment, it was as if he, Gekko Hayate, were the one in the wrong!
"Hyuga Wa, is this how your Hyuga Clan conducts itself?"
His voice turned hoarse as he threatened, "If this is the Hyuga Clan's attitude, I'll definitely report this to Lord Hokage!"
"You should know what the consequences will be!"
Gekko Hayate hadn't even finished speaking
when he was interrupted.
"That's enough!"
Hyuga Wa stared coldly at Gekko Hayate and stepped toward him, one step at a time. "Did you just say... that everyone in the Hyuga Branch Family is a useless Caged Bird?"
"That they're pawns in the hands of the Main Family, is that it?!"
The veins at the corners of his eyes bulged. He was furious!
The Hyuga Clan was divided into the Main Family and the Branch Family. The members of the Branch Family were branded with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal—a scar and a source of pain in every one of their hearts!
And now Gekko Hayate had torn that wound open.
Exposing an ulcer that would never heal!
Gekko Hayate froze, dumbfounded. The situation... didn't seem to be developing the way he'd imagined.
"There's no need for you to report this to Lord Hokage. We'll report your attempt to drive a wedge between the Hyuga Main Family and Branch Family to Lord Hokage ourselves. We hope the Gekko Clan will give us a reasonable explanation!"
Hyuga Wa's White Eyes were icy. "Kagami did nothing wrong today!"
"Our Hyuga Clan doesn't believe Kagami was in the wrong!"
His eyes were filled with coldness and murderous intent!
Everyone in Konoha knew that the members of the Hyuga Branch Family were branded with the Caged Bird, and that they obeyed the Hyuga Main Family!
But publicly, the Hyuga Main Family and Branch Family were equals!
Gekko Hayate's words were now upsetting the balance and relations between the Hyuga Branch Family and Main Family!
"Let's go!"
Hyuga Wa turned and left with several members of the Branch Family, no longer sparing Gekko Hayate a glance.
"What... What's going on?"
Gekko Hayate was stunned.
Things seemed to have gotten out of hand.
A chill ran through him, and he couldn't help panicking!
"I wasn't trying to drive a wedge between the Hyuga Main Family and Branch Family!"
Gekko Hayate shouted, but Hyuga Wa couldn't be bothered to look back.
How had things turned out this way?
He was clearly the victim. He was the one who'd been beaten until his face was black and blue. So how had he ended up being the one in the wrong?
"Hyuga Kagami! This is all your fault!"
Gekko Hayate gritted his teeth and glared at Hyuga Kagami. "I did nothing wrong! I did nothing wrong! You were the one who attacked first!"
Hyuga Kagami raised a hand slightly.
Gekko Hayate's expression changed, and he fled in a panic.
"What a coward. You dared to pick a fight with me? What a joke!"
Hyuga Kagami couldn't be bothered to deal with Gekko Hayate any longer, so he turned and left.
Still, he had Gekko Hayate to thank this time.
Getting into the Hyuga Clan's secret chamber to sign in wouldn't be easy. Only the clan leader knew where it was, and only the clan leader could enter. So... it'd be better if Hyuga Hiashi were brought down from his position!
"Besides, I don't like anyone ordering me around!"
Signing in was secondary.
The important thing was not having anyone order him around.
"Kagami-kun..."
Uzuki Yugao watched Hyuga Kagami's straight back as he walked away, her beautiful eyes trembling.
What kind of man was he?
He'd shown no reaction to her beauty, and he'd dealt with Gekko Hayate's provocation with thunderous force, never backing down!
"That's... what a real man is like!"
Nearby, Gekko Hayate saw the look on Uzuki Yugao's face, and his eyes reddened with hatred!
"Yugao! Hyuga Kagami is just an unreasonable, useless brute!"
He roared, "And he's a member of the Hyuga Branch Family, branded with the Caged Bird. All it takes is one order from the Hyuga Main Family, and he'll have to bow his head and obey. Do you really want to be with a man like that?"
"A man like him isn't worthy of you!"
His eyes were red.
He and Uzuki Yugao were the ones who'd been Childhood Sweethearts. The two of them had always been so close, but everything had changed after Hyuga Kagami appeared!
He couldn't stand it!
Uzuki Yugao turned around, disappointment in her beautiful eyes. "He's not worthy of me, but you are? Besides... Kagami-kun doesn't seem to have any interest in getting close to me..."
She turned and left, her lovely silhouette cold and distant.
She couldn't understand.
How could Gekko Hayate, who'd been so close to her since childhood, shamelessly say something like that?
"Yugao..."
Gekko Hayate's face turned pale. His outstretched arm dropped limply, and that silhouette seemed forever beyond his reach.
His face twisted with rage as he gritted his teeth. "Hyuga Kagami, this is all your fault!"
Elsewhere.
In the Hyuga Clan compound.
Hyuga Kagami followed Hyuga Wa to the shrine, Hyuga Hiashi's favorite place to spend his time.
It was also where reports were usually made.
"Clan Leader, I have something to report!"
Hyuga Wa looked furious, his expression grim. He recounted what had happened with Gekko Hayate, breathing hard and clearly agitated.
"Hyuga Kagami did beat Gekko Hayate, but I don't believe Kagami-kun did anything wrong!"
"Our Hyuga Clan has always been kind and treated others well, but that doesn't mean just anyone can bully us!"
The members of the Hyuga Branch Family were branded with the Caged Bird.
They already felt pain in their hearts over it. Gekko Hayate's words had only made things worse!
It had just added fuel to the fire!
Hyuga Kagami sized up Hyuga Hiashi. He didn't yet look like the middle-aged man he would become in the future. Right now, he looked more like a strong man in his thirties!
His White Eyes were sharp and scrutinizing!
And haughty, as if he were above everyone else!
This was the Hyuga Clan's Main Family!
He lifted his head, his White Eyes fixed on Hyuga Kagami. "You attacked someone from the same village. Hyuga Kagami, you broke the Hyuga Clan's rules!"
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