How could a dead man possibly qualify to become the Branch Family's clan head?
Hyuga Kagami raised an eyebrow slightly.
The Branch Family members erupted!
"Holy crap! That was incredible! Does this mean our Branch Family can finally rise up one day?"
"I've hated Hyuga Shu for ages. Traitors deserve to die!"
"Good kill, Kagami! We Branch Family members aren't anyone's pawns!"
The Branch Family members were indignant.
Hyuga Kagami seemed to have become an outlet for the emotions they had bottled up for years!
They waved their arms, their eyes bloodshot as they let out all the anger in their hearts!
"Silence!"
Hyuga Deping snorted.
His gaze was sinister!
In an instant, every voice fell silent. The Branch Family members trembled, furious but not daring to speak.
They couldn't help it. After living under their rule for so long, their bodies had developed an instinctive fear!
"Great Elder... save me, save me!"
Hyuga Tenichi trembled all over, his mouth crooked and eyes lopsided. He raised a hand as if he'd seen his last hope.
He roared, "Kill Hyuga Kagami! Kill him and avenge me, Great Elder!"
Only by killing Hyuga Kagami
could he ease the hatred in his heart!
He'd been holding back until now, but with the Great Elder here, he was back to his arrogant, domineering self!
"Hyuga Kagami, you're dead! Hahaha, you're dead! The Great Elder's control over the Caged Bird Curse Seal is second only to the clan head's. You'll die without a place to be buried!"
He ground his teeth. "And I... will make you wish you were dead, but be unable to die..."
Unfortunately,
Hyuga Tenichi didn't get to finish.
Hyuga Kagami glanced at him and turned his fist into a hammer.
His fist came crashing down!
It pierced Hyuga Tenichi's chest, leaving him without a breath.
"You talk too much. You're still in my hands, and you dare threaten me?"
Hyuga Kagami looked at Hyuga Tenichi as if he were an idiot, then gave him one last glance.
Tsk.
What a gruesome way to die.
His eyes hadn't even closed.
"Get lost!"
Hyuga Kagami kicked Hyuga Tenichi's corpse away so it wouldn't be in his way!
The dozen or so Branch Family members were stunned!
Their faces were filled with shock and disbelief!
Killing a Branch Family member was one thing. After all, Branch Family members were considered worthless—that was what everyone in the Hyuga Clan believed.
But a Main Family member... they were all people who had to be protected!
Normally, no one would even dare talk back to them.
But now, one had been killed!
"A Main Family member... Kagami killed a Main Family member! That was one of the Main Family!"
"The Main Family members we're supposed to protect have been killed by someone from the Branch Family?!"
"Good! What are we protecting the Main Family for? They're enslaving us! What's the point of a Main Family like that?"
"That's right! Good kill!"
The Branch Family members were furious, waving their arms!
The lifeless despair in their eyes vanished, replaced by bloodshot gazes!
Anger and chaos flooded their minds!
"Good. You've done very well indeed!"
Hyuga Deping looked at the enraged Branch Family members.
He trembled with fury. The Main Family's authority had been challenged, and Hyuga Kagami was to blame for all of it!
What's more, Hyuga Shu had died just half a meter away from him!
If Thunderbolt had strayed even slightly, he would have been the one to die!
"Hyuga Kagami! Do you know what you're doing?"
Hyuga Deping glared furiously at the battered Hyuga Tenichi, his anger burning even hotter. "You beat a Main Family member, defied your superiors, and recklessly slaughtered a fellow clan member. Get down on your knees and confess your crimes at once! Await the clan's judgment. Perhaps the clan will show you leniency."
"I'll let you keep your dignity!"
"I'll let you die with your body intact!"
He still thought Hyuga Kagami was a Branch Family member he could control with ease.
Hyuga Tenichi had been beaten only because he hadn't reacted in time to form the Hand Seals for the Caged Bird Seal and control Hyuga Kagami.
He wore a haughty expression, as if this choice were a favor he was granting Hyuga Kagami.
"Heh. You old fool, who do you think you are?"
Hyuga Kagami looked at him with disdain.
He seemed to be looking at an idiot!
Ever since he'd acquired the Absolute Control talent, he'd removed the Caged Bird Seal from his body. He wasn't afraid of anyone's Caged Bird Curse Seal.
"Has living in luxury for too long robbed you of even the most basic intelligence?"
Hyuga Kagami smirked, too lazy to say more to the old man.
He remembered Hyuga Deping.
As a Main Family member, he'd treated the Branch Family with cruelty and humiliation. Over the years, he'd killed more than a handful of Branch Family members!
His crimes were too numerous to count!
Whoosh!
The sound of something cutting through the air rang out!
A fierce wind swept through!
Hyuga Kagami vanished in an instant!
"Caged Bird Curse Seal!"
Hyuga Deping's expression changed drastically. He formed Hand Seals and shouted, "Get down on your knees this instant!"
He was too fast!
Hyuga Tenichi must have been caught off guard for the same reason, which was why he'd been ambushed!
In the end, he hadn't been able to use the Caged Bird Curse Seal!
Buzz!
In an instant,
all the Branch Family members fell to their knees and sprawled on the ground, unable to resist in the slightest. They were like fish waiting to be slaughtered, their faces twisted in pain.
Their newly kindled thoughts of rebellion were doused like a flame under a bucket of cold water!
They were still members of the Branch Family.
The Main Family could still control them with ease!
"Was Hyuga Kagami... under control too?"
The same thought arose in all their minds.
Hyuga Kagami was now the last hope in their hearts!
Smack!
A slap cracked across the air. Hyuga Kagami had sent the Great Elder flying with a single blow!
The few teeth he had left went flying—two more this time!
Great Elder Hyuga Deping was completely stunned. He couldn't even control the Caged Bird Curse Seal anymore, and the Branch Family members regained control of their bodies.
His eyes widened in disbelief!
"How could this be? Why weren't you controlled by the Caged Bird?!"
Hyuga Deping looked at the other Branch Family members. "There's nothing wrong with their Caged Bird Seals. You're the one who's different. Why were you able to break free of the Caged Bird's restraints?"
"That's impossible. Could it be... you found a way to remove the Caged Bird?"
He realized something crucial.
He absolutely couldn't let this situation continue!
If one person like Hyuga Kagami could break free of the Caged Bird, there would be a second!
He had to... had to get rid of Hyuga Kagami!
Hyuga Deping roared, "Kill him! All of you in the Branch Family, kill him!"
He activated the Caged Bird Curse Seal!
The Branch Family members grimaced in pain. If they disobeyed Hyuga Deping's order, they would die!
In an instant, a dozen despairing Hyuga Branch Family members surrounded Hyuga Kagami and charged at him against their will!
"Hmph!"
Hyuga Deping wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
He sneered. "So what if you broke free of the Caged Bird? I refuse to believe you'd kill your own Branch Family members!"
"As long as you have a weakness, you'll remain a puppet in the hands of the Hyuga Main Family!"
Hyuga Hiashi returned from the Hokage's Office in high spirits!
"I can't believe Kagami actually became sworn brothers with the Mizukage of Kirigakure!"
He was all smiles, and even his usually placid White Eyes could barely contain his excitement!
"Lord Hokage called me in today to win over the Hyuga Clan. This means the Hyuga Clan... will have the Hokage's support! We might even become Konoha's greatest ninja clan!"
"We can use this chance to suppress the Uchiha Clan!"
Just then, a clan member hurried over, his face anxious. "This is bad, clan head! Hyuga Kagami and the Great Elder are fighting!"
Buzz!
Hyuga Hiashi's face changed. His mind went blank!
Before you continue