Chapter 220: What We Need Is a Pack of Mad Dogs
BANG! BANG! BANG!!
As the three crisp sounds echoed, the two Main Family elders' eyes rolled back into their heads, and they slumped limply to the floor, unconscious.
Only the Head Elder remained, sprawled on the ground, seeing stars.
Even though he hadn't completely passed out, his previous smugness was entirely gone.
"This!?"
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were frozen in their seats.
As high-ranking advisors of Konoha, they were naturally all too familiar with such power struggles.
Therefore, they also understood that the Head Elder's accusation against Hyūga Hinata was most likely a frame-up.
The goal was simply to suppress Hyūga Hinata, crush the arrogant attitude of the Branch Family, and display the absolute authority of the Main Family.
This wasn't supposed to be a big deal.
Because in their minds, even if Hyūga Hinata was accused of colluding with foreign enemies, she would most likely just face questioning from the village.
Coupled with her status and Hyūga Hiashi's maneuvering, violent methods like genjutsu interrogation would never be used.
In the end, Hyūga Hinata would just be taught a lesson and lose some face among the Branch Family.
But…
Homura and Koharu had never imagined that over such a trivial matter, Hyūga Hinata would resort to almost reckless violence to confront the Main Family's accusations, right in front of the two of them.
This was undoubtedly a slap to both of their faces!
At this thought, a hint of dread appeared in both their eyes.
"The Head Elder is worthy of his title, after all."
"Big Hinata" chuckled mockingly. "His head is even tougher than the other elders. He can truly be called hale and hearty for his age."
Her voice broke the strange silence in the conference room.
The many Branch Family members attending the meeting were now looking at each other in dismay.
This turn of events had greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.
The Head Elder, dizzy from the impact, shook his head and gradually came back to his senses.
"You… You! Hyūga Hinata! Are you insane?!"
Feeling the intense pain in his head, his body trembled with anger. "Do you know what you're doing? Do you think you're still the former young lady of the Main Family?!"
As he spoke, he furiously raised his fingers, wanting to activate the cursed seal to torture Hyūga Hinata.
But in the next second, his chakra, like a startled, untethered wild horse, began to rampage uncontrollably within his body.
The Head Elder's expression twisted further as blood surged up within him.
"Pfft! How could…"
"Heh, how does it feel? A sealing jutsu derived from the Byakugan's pressure point strikes."
Watching the Head Elder reap what he sowed and vomit a mouthful of blood, Hyūga Hinata, with fine blue veins appearing at the corners of her eyes, smiled. "I'm different from you old fossils who do nothing but occupy your positions. I don't just sit on the treasure trove that is the Byakugan without developing it."
The human body's chakra pathway system has 361 pressure points.
The Hyūga Clan's pressure point strikes rely on hitting these points to freely block or enhance an opponent's chakra flow.
Hyūga Hinata, who possessed superb chakra control and an encyclopedic knowledge of the human body's pressure points, could use her Byakugan's chakra to interfere with and control a target's chakra with even greater precision.
Forget about an old man with one foot in the grave; even a Tailed Beast would suffer if she got in close.
Just then, without any warning, the silent Hyūga Tokuma suddenly erupted into action.
Gathering a large amount of his body's chakra into his hands, he swung at Hyūga Hinata from behind with a seemingly soft force.
Unlike the direct and powerful Strong Fist, which focused on external damage, the Gentle Fist emphasized technical application—the so-called principle of using softness to overcome hardness.
A seemingly soft attack actually carried a surging and continuous force. Once hit by the Gentle Fist, it would cause internal damage to the body.
And this strike was aimed from Hinata's Byakugan blind spot, a completely merciless and determined blow.
The Branch Family members who saw this scene felt their hearts leap into their throats.
But Hinata was no fool who relied solely on her Byakugan.
She leaned slightly to the side to dodge, saying effortlessly, "A good strike."
"But, not decisive enough."
As she spoke, she blocked the palm strike with her fist, dispersing the chakra he had sent out.
Tokuma unhesitatingly aimed for her chin, changing his move and attacking again with a raised hand.
This sharp and swift strike showed he was giving it his all, with no hesitation in his move.
Just as everyone thought a fierce battle was about to break out…
"Byakugan: Pressure!"
BOOM!!
A sudden explosion, like a clap of thunder, shook the ground beneath everyone's feet.
Blood splattered in the air as a figure was sent flying from the stage, smashing hard into the conference room wall and creating a large crater.
A cloud of dust rose, and a large amount of debris flew out.
"Wh-what happened?"
Everyone looked in astonishment at Hyūga Tokuma, who was clutching his chest with a pained expression.
Homura and Koharu also looked at each other, seeing the confusion and gravity in each other's eyes.
"It seems… it wasn't chakra?"
"A force erupted in an extremely short period of time… what exactly was that strike just now?"
A full-grown adult had been sent flying so cleanly. What terrifying force would be required to do that?
No matter how you looked at it, it didn't conform to the traditional Gentle Fist, but rather resembled the powerful and domineering style of the Strong Fist.
As the dust settled, Hinata's figure emerged. Apart from some dust on her clothes, she was completely unscathed.
Her Byakugan returned to normal. She directly ignored the distant Hyūga Tokuma and walked toward the Head Elder on the ground.
Feeling the surging chakra fluctuation from Hyūga Hinata, a layer of fine, cold sweat slowly appeared on the Head Elder's forehead.
Under this immense pressure, he even felt a little breathless.
"What… what do you want? This is a clan meeting! Are you planning to make a move here?"
Hinata was unwavering, her pace steady.
This girl, does she really want to kill me?!
The Head Elder's face showed terror. He propped himself up with his hands behind him, clumsily kicking his legs, trying to retreat.
But then, as if remembering something, he whipped his head around and roared at the many Branch Family members, "What are you all waiting for? Hyūga Hinata is defying her superiors! Can't you see?!"
"Take her down! Take her down!"
However, facing Hinata's attack on the Head Elder and his furious questioning, not a single one of the dozens of Branch Family members in the conference room came forward to stop her. Everyone just sat silently in their seats, as if nothing had happened before them.
"How could you all…"
Noticing the eerie silence in the conference room, the Head Elder finally realized just how much resentment had been building up in the hearts of the Branch Family members.
"Hiashi…" He then looked at Hyūga Hiashi at the side.
But Hiashi knew very well in his heart that although his daughter had a somewhat strange personality, she was by no means the type to act without considering the consequences.
She has her own plans.
What plans?
I don't know. I'll ask her after she's calmed down.
And so, the clan head chose to close his eyes and remain silent.
Seeing this, the Head Elder turned to look at the two advisors beside him.
Of course, Homura and Koharu noticed the Head Elder's plea for help.
But at the same time, they also sensed the intense chakra fluctuation from Hyūga Hinata.
"This little girl is serious!"
In an instant, this thought flashed through both their minds.
As Konoha advisors, they also had the duty to maintain order in the village.
Logically, Hinata's actions had to be stopped.
But…
"With Hyūga Hinata's aggressive posture, our old bones can't take a single palm strike from her."
The still-downed Hyūga Tokuma, coughing up blood, was a prime example.
What's more, since the clan head Hyūga Hiashi hadn't said anything, it wasn't really appropriate for the two of them to interfere in their "family affairs," was it?
To interfere in the Hyūga Clan's internal struggles for a favor that wasn't really a favor, this deal was not worth it no matter how you looked at it.
Let Danzō handle this kind of money-losing business.
What?
What about our dignity?
If the two of us actually stepped up to block her and were sent flying with a single palm strike, wouldn't that be even more humiliating?!
At this thought, Homura and Koharu followed suit and closed their eyes, both choosing to ignore what they saw.
And so, in the entire conference room, only the sound of Hinata's footsteps remained, completely extinguishing the Head Elder's last glimmer of hope.
"You're insane! You're all insane! You… gurgle!"
The Head Elder tried to say something, his voice hoarse.
But he was grabbed by the neck by Hinata's hand and lifted directly into the air.
"Gasp! You…"
The feeling of suffocation gradually washed over him. The Head Elder's face turned crimson, and he flailed his legs, struggling constantly.
But as Hinata's chakra surged out, his limbs completely lost all feeling.
"Do you feel it?"
Hinata raised her other hand, extending her index finger and pressing it against the Head Elder's forehead. A stream of chakra slowly gathered at her fingertip.
As the fingertip gradually drew closer, a sharp, fine chakra blade cut the skin of his forehead.
A drop of blood slowly seeped out, gradually sliding from his forehead, down his nose, and finally into his mouth along with tears and snot.
"This feeling of your life and death being out of your control… can you empathize with it now?"
Listening to Hyūga Hinata's calm voice, feeling the metallic tang of blood in his mouth, the Head Elder's body began to tremble. An bone-chilling cold suddenly surged through his heart, and the fear of death overwhelmed his brain.
"Gasp… gasp…"
As the intense feeling of suffocation grew, the Head Elder's face turned an even deeper shade of red.
Looking at the pair of Byakugan that remained calm and unruffled, the pampered Head Elder finally understood just how terrifying it was to have one's life and death controlled by another.
Thud!
"Cough, cough, cough!! Cough, cough, gasp!"
Hinata's tightened hand suddenly relaxed. The Head Elder, his limbs limp, fell directly to the ground, his face, streaked with tears and snot, twisted in terror.
Looking down at the constantly gasping Head Elder, Hinata's expression remained impassive.
At this moment, Hiashi, the head of the family, finally spoke.
He didn't look at the pathetic Head Elder, but instead gazed at Hinata and asked in a serious tone, "Hinata, it is a fact that Neji led the intruder to the clan grounds, nearly getting Hanabi injured."
Hinata looked up at Hiashi.
"Father, of course I know that." After a pause, Hinata said indifferently, "But as a ninja, as the future head of the clan, Hanabi should be prepared to die at any time."
"When a ninja entrusts their own life and death entirely to others, they are no longer a qualified ninja."
"If she can't even be considered a qualified ninja, on what grounds will she lead the Hyūga Clan in the future?"
"The Hyūga Clan bears the title of one of Konoha's two great dōjutsu clans. Do you all really not know the reason why it has fallen to its current state?"
Hinata shook her head, looked at the Head Elder who had just survived a brush with death, and said mockingly, "Just like these old geezers, their eyes have been blinded by power and honor."
"Those Byakugan of theirs, how far can they see now?"
With that, Hinata turned around and, while walking towards the exit of the conference room, said indifferently, "If there is nothing else, then I will take my leave."
But, just as she was about to leave…
"Hyūga Hinata!"
The Head Elder struggled to get up from the ground and roared hysterically at Hinata's back, "Don't think that just because you have the clan head's protection, you can do whatever you want and ignore everything!"
"As long as you don't kill me! The moment the seal on me is released will be the moment you are executed by the cursed seal!"
In the Head Elder's view, the reason Hyūga Hinata dared to be so reckless was that she was banking on being the clan head's daughter.
Even so, she still wouldn't dare to actually kill him.
"You really are a hopeless fool."
Hyūga Hinata stopped, speaking without turning her head. "The reason you're still alive to shout at me is that I don't want to be splattered by your blood. That would only disgust me."
"As for releasing the seal…"
As she spoke, the Head Elder felt the rampaging chakra in his body suddenly calm down.
"I have already released your seal now."
Hinata slowly turned around, looking at the astonished Head Elder. "If you still have the guts, you can activate the cursed seal on me."
"Hinata! You…"
These words not only caught the Head Elder off guard but also greatly surprised Hiashi, Homura, and Koharu at the side.
"Hahaha! You think I don't dare?!"
The Head Elder came to his senses, looking at Hinata with venomous hatred, and directly raised his fingers.
But just as he was about to activate the Caged Bird Cursed Seal…
Rustle, rustle, rustle…
The many members of the Branch Family, who had been as silent as the dead, stood up in unison at this moment.
They stared at the Head Elder with blank expressions, without saying a word.
The atmosphere became exceptionally solemn and heavy.
"You all…"
Stared at by those pairs of indifferent Byakugan, under the gazes of the numerous Branch Family members, the Head Elder was first stunned, then his body began to tremble involuntarily. Besides anger, his eyes held an unconcealable fear.
The meaning of these people was obvious.
To kill Hinata, you'll have to kill every member of the Branch Family first.
Otherwise, if Hinata dies, he will die too.
How dare these people?!
But, if the entire Branch Family died, then even the Caged Bird Cursed Seal wouldn't solve any problems.
Because without the Branch Family, the Hyūga Clan would be a toothless tiger. The few remaining Main Family members wouldn't be able to support a large clan.
"You're insane! You're all truly insane!"
The Head Elder roared hysterically, "The Branch Family is supposed to protect the Main Family! That is the natural order of things! What are you all doing?!"
On what grounds does this little girl Hyūga Hinata deserve this?!
On what grounds is she worthy of every member of the Branch Family willingly protecting her with their lives?!
The Head Elder looked at Hinata's back, his eyes no longer filled with dread and venom, but only with fear and powerlessness.
However, in his subconscious, he was still unwilling to face it, unwilling to admit that he, a member of the Main Family, was actually afraid of Hyūga Hinata.
A person whom all the Branch Family willingly entrusted their lives to.
Hyūga Hinata slowly said, "The Caged Bird is just a tool. What can truly convince people is true strength and conviction, not the intimidation of the Caged Bird. When the Main Family takes the protection of the Branch Family for granted, the bones of the Main Family have already gone soft."
"The Main Family only wants a group of obedient watchdogs, but in this chaotic Shinobi World, a pack of leashed house dogs cannot protect the clan."
"What we need is a pack of mad dogs, and I will be the one charging at the very front."
After this faint reply, under the gazes of everyone, Hyūga Hinata left the conference room without a backward glance.
(End of Chapter)
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