Chapter 221: Hiruko, a Very Interesting Fellow
How much light does it take to fill an endless darkness?
In truth, for even the greatest darkness, a single beam of light is enough.
Hyūga Hinata, once the young lady of the Main Family, voluntarily had the "Caged Bird" placed upon her to become a member of the Branch Family.
From the "pearl in the palm" who once stood high above, holding the power of life and death, she became a "bird in a cage," fallen to the dust, perched on hot coals.
In front of two high-ranking advisors, in front of the Main Family's clan head and her own father, and in front of every member of the Branch Family, Hinata used what could only be described as brutally direct action to state her position.
—Every plant, every tree is a unique existence and has the freedom to choose its own state of being.
And so, the members of the Hyūga Branch Family stood up, their pairs of Byakugan fixedly staring at the Head Elder.
Until the doors of the conference room gradually closed, until that back disappeared from the room.
Looking at the silent yet exceptionally firm expressions of the Branch Family members before them, the faces of Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were filled with both astonishment and an inexplicable sense of dread.
Although they had long heard of Hyūga Hinata's influence within the Branch Family, to be able to make the Branch Family, who had always revered virtue and feared power, so radically and uniformly resist the Main Family…
What a remarkable little girl.
"Hiashi, congratulations on raising such a fine daughter."
Homura gave Hiashi a deep look, his tone profound. "I will report this matter to Hiruzen exactly as it happened."
"We have official business to attend to, so we won't stay any longer."
With that, the two stood up, ready to leave.
It was foreseeable that after this incident, Hyūga Hinata's prestige within the Branch Family would inevitably rise dramatically.
The Hyūga Main Family had already felt somewhat constrained when dealing with Hinata before.
In the future, dealing with Hyūga Hinata would undoubtedly become even more difficult.
As for how to handle this little girl, Hinata, they would have to go back and discuss it with Danzō and Hiruzen.
"I've made a fool of myself in front of you two."
Watching their backs, Hiashi said with a blank expression, "I hope the two advisors can help me inform Lord Hokage that the Hyūga Clan does not intend to accept any missions for a period of time."
"You've seen the situation now. I need time to appease the Branch Family."
After a pause, his tone grew heavier. "Surely, you two do not wish to see a situation of internal strife break out in Konoha."
As soon as these words were spoken, the two advisors' steps toward the door came to an instant halt.
Their previous detached silence was immediately replaced by an undisguised look of shock and suspicion.
"This…"
Is this guy, Hyūga Hiashi, threatening them?
No, that's not right.
He's not lying. What he said is not wrong.
The Hyūga Clan was now a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
And the fuse for this bomb was Hyūga Hinata.
Putting aside whether the Main Family would dare to execute Hyūga Hinata, even if they did, Konoha's high command would never allow it.
Because the Hyūga Clan was an indispensable and important force for Konoha, and the Hyūga Branch Family was the absolute backbone of the Hyūga Clan.
If Hyūga Hinata were truly executed by the Main Family's cursed seal, it would likely touch a raw nerve with the Branch Family, causing a complete rupture between the Main and Branch families of the Hyūga, ultimately leading to the clan's collapse and internal slaughter.
This was absolutely not a situation that they, the high command of Konoha, were willing to see, nor was it a consequence they could accept!
After a long silence, Homura said in a low voice, "...Clan Head Hiashi, what a fine calculation."
This maneuver not only tied himself to the Branch Family but even accurately predicted the psychology of the higher-ups.
He would rather believe this was Hyūga Hiashi's scheme than believe it was the plan of that little girl.
"Advisor, why do you say that?"
Hiashi shook his head, his expression unchanging. "For this situation to arise has put me, the clan head, in a very difficult position as well. Both the palm and the back of the hand are made of flesh."
"Hmph!" Homura narrowed his eyes. "I hope Clan Head Hiashi knows what's best for him and doesn't push things to a point where no one can clean up the mess."
"That goes without saying."
Hiashi's expression turned serious, his tone firm. "No matter what the Hyūga Clan becomes, it will always be a supporter of Lord Hokage. I guarantee this point will never change."
Hearing this, Homura and Koharu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Then, with cold faces, they strode out of the conference room.
After they left, Hiashi looked down at the Branch Family clansmen below.
The conference room gradually fell silent, and everyone couldn't help but slow their breathing.
After a long while, Hiashi waved his hand and turned his back, signaling that everyone could leave.
Seeing this, all the Branch Family members secretly sighed in relief and silently walked out of the conference room.
Before leaving, they didn't forget to carry out the few unconscious Main Family elders.
In the end, only the Head Elder and Hiashi remained in the conference room.
The Head Elder, who had been silent for a long time, regained his spirit, came before Hiashi, and said menacingly, "Hiashi, we can no longer let Hyūga Hinata act so recklessly!"
Hiashi sat wearily in his chair and said with a frown, "Let it go."
"Let it go? How can we just let it go?!"
The Head Elder's voice suddenly rose as he said angrily, "Hiashi, can't you see it? Hyūga Hinata is challenging the authority of our Main Family!"
"Damn it, to think she grew to this extent when we weren't paying attention…"
"So? What do you plan to do?"
Before he could continue, Hiashi cut him off, questioning in a low voice, "Are you going to kill every member of the Branch Family?! Then why didn't you do it just now?!"
"I..." The Head Elder was speechless, unable to say a word for a moment.
He held a fear in his heart that he was unwilling to admit.
Fear of death, fear of the Branch Family, fear of Hinata.
It wasn't just because of Hyūga Hinata's terrifying performance, but also because of the Branch Family members standing behind her.
The scene in the conference room just now, in the Head Elder's eyes, was as if he were surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves.
And Hyūga Hinata was the "alpha wolf" of that pack.
Although he held a "shotgun" that could kill the alpha wolf, the moment he fired that shot, the other hungry wolves would pounce and devour him.
"It seems you already understand. The Branch Family is no longer the watchdog that the Main Family can manipulate at will."
Hiashi shook his head and lamented, "It has come to this. Under the leadership of this alpha wolf, Hinata, they have become a wolf pack, united from top to bottom."
"Unless you kill every single member of the Branch Family, the others will swarm you. But…"
Hearing this, the Head Elder's body went limp, and he collapsed into the chair behind him.
Although Hiashi didn't finish his sentence, the Head Elder understood his meaning.
Neither Hiashi nor Konoha's high command would allow such an absurd farce to happen within the Hyūga Clan.
If the Main Family was gone, the Hyūga Clan still had hope.
But if the Branch Family was gone, the Hyūga Clan would be completely finished.
"...Hehe, I never thought, I really never thought!"
The Head Elder hung his head low, his tone unwilling. "I've lived for decades with these old bones, only to be tricked by a little girl!"
"No, she is not a little girl."
"She is a little monster in human skin! Sooner or later, she will drag the entire Hyūga Clan down to hell!!"
Looking at the somewhat crazed Head Elder, Hiashi's expression also became complicated.
This old man wasn't like this in the past.
He used to be just a very kind, ordinary old man.
But unrestricted power will silently destroy its possessor.
"You… should look after yourself."
With that, Hiashi also stood up and left the conference room.
The Head Elder's ramblings at this moment were merely to cover up the fear and unease in his heart.
In the end, he still didn't understand.
In truth, he had already lost from the very beginning.
"From start to finish, Hinata never relied on my protection, much less on the so-called Caged Bird Cursed Seal. She relied on her own powerful strength and conviction."
Hinata was right.
The bones of the Main Family had long since gone soft.
And the current Hyūga did not need an indecisive house dog as its leader.
Meanwhile, at the Akatsuki base.
"ROOOOAR!!!"
A wail that seemed filled with pain and despair pierced through layers of walls.
It didn't sound like a sound a human could make at all; it felt more like the death cry of some kind of monster.
In the room just one wall away, Konan couldn't help but frown.
Pain, expressionless, asked Kabuto and Sasori at his side, "How is Kakuzu's condition?"
Yakushi Kabuto shook his head.
Sasori also remained silent.
The one wailing was none other than Kakuzu, who had been brought back by Sasori.
When he was brought back, he was no longer human-shaped.
Not only were all four of his limbs broken, but his body was also blasted apart, and half of his head was gone.
Sasori had only thought that perhaps he could be used as material for a human puppet.
After all, such injuries would be fatal to anyone, even to his human puppet body.
He just hadn't expected Kakuzu to have one fire-element heart left, stubbornly clinging to a breath of life.
However, although he had escaped the misfortune of instant death, he could not escape the backlash of the "Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Fear."
"Senior Kakuzu's life force is truly tenacious."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses and said with sincere admiration, "This is also the first time I've learned that the black tentacles created by the Earth Grudge Fear technique are actually living entities."
Hearing this, Konan asked, unwilling to give up, "Is there no other way?"
Kakuzu had always been part of Nagato's faction. His experience and strength were more than sufficient, and critically, his ability to make money was also worthy of recognition.
Therefore, Konan was unwilling to easily give up such a powerful subordinate.
Sasori shook his head. "His body has almost been taken over. Even my puppet mastery is powerless."
Kakuzu's current body was not human at all, but a "monster" composed of the black tentacles within him.
To be honest, Sasori was a little impressed with Kakuzu.
Although he had always found Kakuzu disagreeable, he never expected him to be able to withstand such terrifying torment.
In Sasori's view, incorporating such a thing into one's body, where a moment of carelessness could lead to a backlash, was no different from seeking death.
Even as material for a human puppet, he found it somewhat disgusting.
Konan then looked at Yakushi Kabuto beside her.
Seeing this, Kabuto scratched his head in some distress.
"Cell tissue transplantation carries enormous risks. A mistake could lead to backlash or death."
"What's more, that secret technique called Earth Grudge Fear itself has huge hidden dangers. Senior Kakuzu is currently unable to suppress the rampaging black tentacles at all. It's a miracle he has lasted this long."
On the verge of death, the chakra in Kakuzu's body was gradually dissipating, and even his consciousness was beginning to fade.
This directly triggered the self-preservation instinct of the "fire mask" within his body, twisting his body into a complete mess in just a few dozen minutes.
By the time Sasori brought him back to the Akatsuki base, Kakuzu's body was already in shambles.
Now, the operating room was covered in tentacles, looking completely like a monster's lair.
Seeing that neither Sasori nor Kabuto had any solution, Konan could only sigh and accept the reality.
"Then what will happen to him? Will he just die wailing like this?"
Kabuto shook his head. "No one knows what he will become. Perhaps he will die because of the tentacles in his body, or perhaps he will turn into some kind of mindless monster."
He had never heard of such a situation; it was outside his area of expertise.
Without detailed information on Earth Grudge Fear, Kabuto was unable to predict the outcome of the technique running rampant.
But, no matter what Kakuzu would become later, or what he would turn into, it would no longer be "Kakuzu."
According to Kabuto's estimation, if Kakuzu's body could merge with the Earth Grudge Fear, he would likely become a mindless mask monster with only instinct and powerful regenerative abilities.
"Speaking of which…"
As if suddenly remembering something, Kabuto turned to look at the silent Pain beside him.
"Lord Pain, now that Senior Kakuzu is beyond saving, do we need a new member to join?"
Pain was taken aback, then nodded. "Mm, I just haven't decided who to look for yet."
The current Akatsuki did not need weaklings.
What they needed were powerful shinobi.
But powerful shinobi were mostly concentrated in the ninja villages of the Five Great Nations. The number of S-rank rogue ninja wandering outside was negligible.
Moreover, most S-rank rogue ninja had their own abilities, and finding a trace of them was not an easy matter.
Taking a step back, even if they found a trace of these S-rank rogue ninja, whether the other party would join or not was another question.
"I actually have a suitable candidate in mind."
Kabuto adjusted his glasses and smiled faintly. "If it's that guy, he might even be able to solve Senior Kakuzu's problem."
Hearing this, Sasori frowned. "Who are you talking about?"
Although he wasn't fond of Kabuto as a person, Sasori had to admit his talent.
A ninja whom this guy would personally recruit must have some extraordinary qualities.
"Speaking of which, like me, he also comes from Konoha."
From Konoha?
Sasori was stunned for a moment, then said sarcastically, "As expected of the land of outstanding people, Konoha. There are quite a few S-rank rogue ninja."
There were already two in the Akatsuki now. Adding the previously defected Orochimaru, that made three.
Then adding the person Kabuto mentioned, there were now a total of four.
The high command of this Konoha was truly impressive.
Kabuto smiled nonchalantly and looked at Pain beside him. "I happen to know where that guy is."
Pain asked with a blank expression, "What's the name of the person you're talking about?"
"Hiruko. A very interesting fellow."
(End of Chapter)
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