"You guessed right. I was the one who had the Cursed Seal studied and then removed the caged bird seal. But there's no reward for you." Genya's gaze met Eighth Elder's shocked eyes directly, a playful smirk on his face, as if toying with a trapped beast.
His tone was full of sarcasm. After all, the Eighth Elder and the others often abused their authority as heads of the Hyuga main family, bullying branch family members like Neji without mercy.
Now, seeing them suffer such a miserable fate, Genya thought it was exactly what they deserved.
"Who? Who exactly removed the caged bird seal?" Eighth Elder's voice trembled, his eyes suddenly wild with fury, as if they could shoot fire.
It was Genya and the one who unlocked the caged bird seal who had brought the Hyuga main family to ruin!
His hatred had reached its peak. His teeth ground together as he wished he could tear Genya and the others limb from limb.
Damn it… if he could do it all over, he would have killed Neji the moment he got the chance, and then eliminated Genya and whoever could remove the caged bird's seal.
Without them, how could the Hyuga main family have fallen to such a state?
"You won't get the chance." Neji's tone was cold as he slowly approached the Eighth Elder. His eyes burned with the fire of revenge, clearly intent on continuing to torment the elder and his grandson.
Eighth Elder had already resigned himself. Slowly, he closed his eyes. Rather than endure endless suffering, he would rather die and find peace.
"Wait…" Genya acted quickly, intercepting Neji.
"Genya, you still want to stop me? This man is the one responsible for my mother's death. I have to make him suffer, make him pay a painful price for what he did!"
At the mention of his mother, Neji's eyes ignited with furious rage, the violence in his gaze boiling like molten lava.
"No. Right now, many ninja are gathering this way. We cannot start a conflict with all of Konoha's ninja." Genya's expression was serious, his gaze steady on Neji. Then he continued, "Take these Hyuga elders back with us."
He paused briefly, as if choosing his words carefully. "Besides, your mother isn't dead yet. We need to return so Toshi can treat her."
Those words hit Neji like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, making his chest tighten suddenly.
He quickly turned around, his eyes fixed on Genya, filled with eagerness and disbelief. "Genya, what did you say? My mother isn't dead?"
Neji's heart raced with excitement. Everything he had done until now was for avenging his mother. And now, he suddenly heard that there was still hope to save her.
"Yes," Genya said, "I used Wood Release chakra to lock her life, increasing her cellular activity. It's enough to temporarily keep her alive."
He looked at the excited Neji and sighed helplessly, having to give him the harsh truth.
"But whether your mother can be fully healed from here depends entirely on Toshi. Her injuries aren't physical; they're at the soul level, which makes them extremely difficult to treat."
"Go back, quickly go back!" Neji shouted. The thought of revenge vanished instantly, replaced only by the desperate desire to save his mother.
"Let's move!" Genya spoke slowly. As his words fell, the bone chains seemed alive, spreading rapidly.
The chains first bound several elders of the Hyuga clan tightly, then wrapped around Hyuga Sosuke and the others.
Next, the chains extended to Hyuga Aomatsu, Hinata, and Neji.
The surrounding space began to tremble slightly.
In this vibration, their figures started to fade, becoming translucent and ghostlike.
The moment they disappeared, Genya's hoarse yet piercing voice echoed over the Hyuga lands. "Retreat!"
As the voice fell, their forms vanished like bubbles. Even the massive Eight Trigrams Formation dissipated completely, leaving everything peaceful again, as if nothing had happened, unusually quiet.
At the outskirts of the Hyuga clan…
"Retreat…" That hoarse voice, like a ghost, reached the ears of those present. Everyone froze, as if time itself had stopped.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression instantly turned icy. His face darkened, heavy with the oppression of a storm about to arrive.
"Is it him? That black-clad assassin?" At this moment, the image of the short assassin flashed quickly in Sarutobi's mind.
Thinking of him, his fists clenched unconsciously, knuckles whitening from the force.
His hatred for that black-clad assassin was unmatched. That assassin had taken many of his clan members' lives. This blood debt was etched deeply in his memory.
"Who? Which assassin?" Hyuga Hiashi's body tensed suddenly, as if struck by lightning.
In recent years, he had trained relentlessly, driven by the shame of having once been defeated by that person's clone.
Now, to see that person appear again stirred complex emotions within him, a mix of lingering resentment from past failures and fear of the unknown.
"Genya…" Kakashi clenched his fists, his expression grave, as if facing a major crisis.
In his mind, Genya's figure appeared clearly.
Sure enough, in the end, Genya had gotten involved in this matter.
But from the current situation, it seemed Genya only wanted to take Neji back and had no intention of clashing heavily with Konoha's ninjas.
For Konoha, this was, at the very least, fortunate.
At least for now… it didn't seem like Genya had carefully orchestrated this in advance, nor did he intend to act against Konoha.
Compared to the anger and tension among Konoha's people, the mood of the three Atsukara members instantly relaxed.
When the Clay Bird saw Genya, Deidara had already known that this matter could end smoothly. He appeared completely at ease, a confident smile spreading across his face.
Upon hearing the order to retreat, he lifted the corners of his mouth, smiling brightly: "Old folks, it's time for us to go. See you next time!"
As he spoke, a gigantic clay bird descended like a massive eagle from the sky, hovering steadily above the three.
The trio moved swiftly, leaping onto the bird, which then flapped its enormous wings and soared away from Konoha.
At the same time, the other clay birds from different directions also rose, forming a neat formation and gradually disappearing into the distant horizon.
For a moment, those left behind—Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others—stood there, dumbfounded, unsure what to do.
****
Support me on my patreon and read upto 15 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/AniScout