The night sky above the Hyuga Clan Grounds was stained dark red by firelight.
Xiao stood in the shadow of an ancient tree at the edge of the grounds. The Tenseigan's vision pierced through layers of walls and barriers, taking in the scene at the central square. Samui crouched beside him, her ice-blue eyes sweeping over the chaotic battlefield. "Your Hyuga Clan's internal conflict is worse than the intelligence described."
"This isn't internal conflict," Xiao said calmly. "It's an uprising."
In the square, more than two hundred Branch House ninja faced off against the Main House Guard. Most of the Branch House members were raggedly dressed, and many had blood-seeping bandages wrapped around their foreheads—wounds left behind after failed attempts to break the Caged Bird Seal. They gripped kunai, shuriken, and some even held dismantled door panels as shields, their eyes blazing with rage suppressed for decades.
The Main House Guard numbered only around sixty, but they were well-equipped, all dressed in white ninja uniforms with no curse marks on their foreheads. They formed a standard Hyuga Gentle Fist formation, their Byakugan fully activated as chakra flowed through their meridians in a pale blue glow.
"We tried the curse mark structural diagram Lord Xiao sent!" a middle-aged Branch House man roared. His left eye was already blind, black traces of curse mark backlash lingering in the socket. "My younger brother, my wife, my three children... they all died! Just because they wanted to look at that diagram one more time!"
"The Main House deceived us our whole lives!" a young Branch House kunoichi cried. "Protecting the Branch House, family honor... the Caged Bird Seal is nothing but an instrument of torture that bleeds us dry!"
"Hand over the real method to undo it!"
"Abolish the Caged Bird Seal!"
Roars rose