"Captain, what should we do next?" Uchiha Minami asked.
"Drive out all of Konoha's shinobi, as well as those from the other hidden villages." Uchiha Yu replied.
At that, the Uchiha all realized the possibility, and their faces lit up with excitement.
After speaking, Uchiha Yu turned his gaze toward the Hokage Building ahead. He flipped his right hand, the space around him trembling as he produced a bottle of green medicine. Uncorking it, he downed it in one gulp.
Moments later, the side effects of the Complete Body Susanoo dissipated completely.
His chakra and spirit returned to their peak, his strength surged, and his ability to manipulate Wood Release expanded further.
Just then—
From the passage behind them came a rough voice:
"Catch them! Those two girls must be from the Hyūga clan's main family. The Byakugan of the Hyūga must be in one of their hands…"
But before the voice could finish, it was followed by a cry of agony.
"Be careful of that brat! So young, yet so ruthless!"
The sound of countless rushing footsteps grew closer and closer.
The Uchiha frowned and turned to look, only to see a squad of Hyūga emerge from the dark passage's corner, about twenty meters away.
There were only four of them: a maid of decent appearance, two young girls, and a boy.
But behind this small squad surged a frenzied horde of shinobi from the three great villages—Cloud, Sand, and Stone—bloodthirsty and relentless.
Leading them was a jōnin from the Hidden Cloud.
Clack, clack, clack—
Two humanoid puppets had already closed in on the Hyūga squad.
Flying through the air, blades extended from their arms, their speed at least three times faster than ordinary shinobi.
"Hahaha! The Byakugan of the Hyūga main family—consider it property of Sunagakure now!"
In the shadows, two puppet masters sprinted wildly, eyes gleaming with excitement as their puppets closed in on their prey. Their fingers danced along chakra threads, their mouths opening to shout in triumph.
But an Iwa-nin at their side shot them a cold glance.
Then, forming seals, he shouted angrily and slammed his palms into the ground:
"Earth Style: Earth Splitting Palm!"
Boom—!
The ground of the passage suddenly split apart both above and below. Rubble crashed down on the two puppets, halting their flight, and at the same time caused the four Hyūga to tumble into the fissure.
"Bastard! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" the Sand puppeteer roared at the Iwa-nin, furious as the Byakugan slipped away before his eyes.
"Heh, among the shinobi here, who's afraid of you Sand-nin?" the Iwa-nin retorted with righteous confidence.
But at that very moment—
The Hyūga boy and girl who had fallen into the crack had already climbed out.
"Lord Neji, I beg you—please, take Lady Hinata and Lady Hanabi back to the clan. I'll hold them off here!"
Hyūga Natsu tossed the young Hanabi toward Neji, then activated her Byakugan. Spinning around, she charged headlong toward the countless shinobi.
Her gaze was firm. As she sprinted forward, she allowed a bitter smile to touch her lips, whispering softly:
"Don't forget to eat your meals on time every day, Lady Hanabi."
"Natsu!!!"
Little Hanabi turned back toward her loyal maid, chubby hand reaching out desperately to grab her vanishing figure—
But her grasp met only empty air.
"..."
Neji activated his Byakugan, clenched his teeth, and glanced back toward the end of the passage.
Upon spotting the Uchiha squad, he immediately bent down, grabbed hold of Hanabi and Hinata, and bolted forward without looking back.
At the far end of the passage—
Seeing this scene, Uchiha Yu grew interested. The corners of his lips curved upward as he flipped his hand.
In that very moment, Hyūga Natsu, who was covering the rear, was instantly swallowed by the flood of shinobi.
Though her Gentle Fist was skilled, it was impossible to withstand the sheer tide of enemies.
In the blink of an eye, Hyūga Natsu's defense faltered, and an Iwa-nin struck her hard in the abdomen.
A sharp pain shot through her.
Blood spurted from her lips.
Her petite body was hurled forward like a kite with its string cut.
Bang!
Natsu crashed heavily onto the ground, tumbling violently until she finally came to a stop several rolls later.
Despair welled up in her heart.
Just moments earlier, countless shinobi from the three great villages had surged down from the higher levels of the inner wall into the underground refuge.
The clans of Konoha had been slaughtered to the last, leaving only the Hyūga—whose Byakugan and stronger fighting power allowed them to protect the main family long enough to flee.
But by now, among the Hyūga, only Neji of the branch family and these three girls remained.
Hyūga Natsu, overwhelmed with grief, closed her eyes, ready to embrace death.
Crack—
Suddenly, the sound of stone splitting echoed through the passage. The disturbance lasted for half a minute, accompanied by wave after wave of shrill screams that lingered ominously.
Yet the death she had braced for never came.
When Natsu opened her eyes, her expression was one of terror.
The passage ahead was now completely filled with writhing vines, like an ancient well overflowing with greenery.
All of the shinobi from the three great villages who had been chasing her were now twisted and mangled within the vines.
Suddenly, a hand gently patted Natsu on the shoulder, making her body tremble. She turned back in fright—only to see a doll-like face smiling at her.
"I see you've got some… oh, I mean talent. Rather than wasting your youth in Konoha, why not join us Uchiha instead?"
Tamao chuckled slyly.
Natsu: "…"
On the high platform by the railing—
Neji wore a grave expression as he held Hanabi and Hinata in his arms, looking up at Uchiha Yu before him.
From time to time, he glanced back at the vine-sealed passage, still shaken by Uchiha Yu's methods.
With his own Byakugan, he had witnessed firsthand how Uchiha Yu used Wood Release to instantly annihilate the shinobi of the three great villages.
Placing the two girls gently on the ground, Neji spoke in a deep voice:
"I am Hyūga Neji, a member of the branch family. I am willing to join the Uchiha!"
At that moment, Tamao returned carrying the immobilized Hyūga Natsu, handing her over to Nonoyu.
He muttered irritably, "I was asking this young lady, not you, kid!"
"…"
Neji pulled out a bundle of sealing scrolls from his robes and offered them to Uchiha Yu with both hands, speaking earnestly:
"I've been keeping a close eye on the incident of the Uchiha squad's defection. I never believed it was you who massacred the Uchiha clan. These are the Byakugan of the Hyūga main family—five pairs in total. You can verify them yourself."
Uchiha Yu asked, "How did you obtain them?"
"Taken from the main family members before their deaths," Neji replied.
In addition to following the Uchiha defection incident, Neji had just witnessed—through his Byakugan—Uchiha Yu absorbing the Zero-Tails and sealing both the Third Hokage and Danzo within the refuge.
He knew this might be his only chance.
He was willing to gamble—placing his hopes on this faction of Uchiha.
Neji believed the Uchiha's return wasn't merely for revenge.
"Brother Neji?"
Hinata's face was filled with confusion.
Those eyes should have been delivered to the Hyūga survivors outside…
Even the heavily injured Hyūga Natsu was shocked by Neji's actions, though she was too weak to move, forced to stare helplessly.
Clenching his teeth, Neji added:
"I only have one request: please take in these two little sisters of mine, and this Hyūga branch family maid."
Hanabi and Hinata looked up in terror, gazing at Uchiha Yu.
How could they not know? The man before them was their father's killer!
And now, to be taken in by the very one who had slain him…
Uchiha Yu did not even bother to check the scrolls. He simply stored them away into his personal space, then cast a glance at Nonoyu.
Nonoyu immediately understood her captain's intent. She beckoned to Neji, Hanabi, and Hinata:
"Little ones, come here!"
The weight pressing on Neji's heart finally lifted.
When Hanabi and Hinata looked at Nonoyu—especially when their Byakugan met hers—
The two girls froze, tears spilling uncontrollably down their faces as they cried out in grief:
"Father…"
°°°
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