In fact, Shimoku had already checked his system long ago.
There was indeed an option to exchange for the [Caged Bird Cursed Seal] in the mall.
But after a little research, Shimoku understood that even if he obtained the "Caged Bird Cursed Seal," he couldn't undo these Branch House ninja's cursed seals.
Because once marked, this seal was designed to be unsolvable!
Not even its original creator from the Hyuga clan could undo it.
It was like sealing a door shut without ever crafting a key.
Either you could only violently dismantle it, destroying both the seal and the ninja's brain nerves together!
Or you needed the [Recruitment Order], using this miracle force to erase the seal!
Otherwise, why would Shimoku deliberately acquire so many [Recruitment Orders] just to remove curses?
He could simply invest just a few thousand coins to acquire a 'Caged Bird Cursed Seal' through the system.
And then scam a huge profit of one hundred thousand coins—surely far more lucrative, wouldn't it be?
One could only say that the creator of the "Caged Bird Cursed Seal," that ancient Hyuga ancestor, truly was ruthless.
So ruthless as to not even leave his descendants a path to survival...
...
At this moment, deep within a dense jungle,
Shimoku was leading a large group of subdued Hyuga Branch House ninjas toward his [Homura Hidden Village].
Of course, he wasn't using the convenient Flying Thunder God technique.
After all, these Hyuga ninjas couldn't be fully trusted yet.
There might even be one or two traitors among them.
If he used the Flying Thunder God Technique to transport them back, and later any traitor revealed to Konoha that he knew the "Flying Thunder God Technique,"
it would create no small amount of trouble.
Therefore, he had no choice but to slowly lead them back on foot.
Anyway, with his current strength, things were definitely different from when he first led his clan in escaping all those years ago.
Should Konoha pursue him now,
he would kill every single one of them...
until they were paralyzed by fear!
"Lord Shimoku!"
"How many have followed us?"
Shimoku gave a brief glance at Shinkawa Hyuga who had caught up, asking indifferently.
"All the Branch House ninja whose seals have been removed, along with their families, have followed..."
Shimoku gave a slight nod—the Recruitment Order had indeed lived up to its reputation.
It was no surprise that these Branch House ninjas were willing to join the [Homura Hidden Village]. That was exactly what he had anticipated.
"What about those six ninja whose seals haven't been removed yet?"
"Three of them followed us; the other three seem determined to return to Konoha..."
Shinkawa Hyuga reported carefully, concealing nothing.
Hearing this, Shimoku slightly furrowed his brows, quietly pondering.
Frankly speaking, he couldn't determine whether those three returning Hyuga Branch members were:
loyal to Konoha, pretending to defect to gather intelligence;
or simply unwilling to join the [Homura Hidden Village] or pledge themselves to another power again.
But now wasn't the time to dwell on every possibility.
They probably wanted to play both sides—
trying to see whether Shimoku could really remove their cursed seals,
and if that failed, escape back to Konoha and betray him for rewards and recognition.
However, in this world, being a fence-sitter was never so easy!
Since they had already defected from Konoha once, discovered his identity, and cost him a significant amount of coins,
Shimoku couldn't possibly allow them to live and return!
To ensure the safety of the remaining Hyūga clansmen and prevent word from reaching Konoha that nearly half the Hyūga clan had been recruited into Homura Hidden Village, Shimoku had no choice but to act decisively.
He turned sharply to Shinkawa, his tone icy as he gave the command:
"Go. Circle back and eliminate all three of them!"
"Not a single one shall be left alive!"
"With your current strength, you should have no problem, right?"
"As you command!"
Shinkawa Hyuga accepted without hesitation.
Then he quietly withdrew from the main group and pursued the targets from behind.
His training within Root had already forged him into someone decisive and ruthless.
He clearly understood—if those three survived and returned, it would only bring greater danger upon their fellow clanspeople.
There was no choice. They had to die!
...
Since they were accompanied by over a dozen infants and many elderly people, the marching speed of Shimoku's group was indeed significantly slowed.
Originally, the journey from Konoha to the Land of Rice Fields would've taken just over a day.
This time, it took a full day longer—more than two days in total.
They finally returned to their own Hidden Homura Village on the morning of the third day.
At this moment,
Seeing that the village had suddenly welcomed over two hundred members of the Hyūga Branch House,
many Uchiha living in the village were initially taken aback.
However, once they learned that these newcomers had been brought in by the Young Master, none of the clan members objected—in fact, most were delighted.
After all, if someone else's family from Konoha had come seeking refuge,
the Uchiha Clan would certainly have viewed them with hostility.
Back then, it was precisely those families who had looked down upon and harassed them within Konoha.
But since these were members of the Hyūga Branch House, there were no issues.
Because earlier in Konoha, the Branch House members had never treated them like enemies.
Back then, when it came to social hierarchy within Konoha,
it went roughly like this:
Hokage's House of Sarutobi > Hyūga Main House > other major clans > commoners > Uchiha Clan > dogs > Hyūga Branch House > Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
To exaggerate slightly, the status of the Hyūga Branch House ninja was even lower than that of stray dogs—
so how could they possibly look down upon or mistreat the Uchiha Clan?
If you say that
among everyone in Konoha, the Uchiha Clan hated the village itself the most,
then these Hyūga Branch House ninja would certainly be second in line for hating the village the most.
After all, both groups had suffered under Konoha's oppression and bullying.
Now reunited, it was naturally heartwarming and harmonious between the two sides.
Of course, Shimoku had deliberately considered exactly this point before specially recruiting the Hyūga Branch House.
If it were any other family from Konoha,
even if they begged on their knees, pleading to join Homura Hidden Village, Shimoku would absolutely refuse.
Therefore, with this shared history,
with the help of many Uchiha clansmen,
the process of settling these Hyūga Branch House ninja into the village went very smoothly.
Plus, on top of everything else, this expedition also brought back a staggering ten billion gold pieces in cash!
All of a sudden, the entire Hidden Homura Village became extravagantly wealthy.
They could now expand the village as freely and extravagantly as they pleased—no longer bound by financial worries.
This made several elders from the Uchiha Clan practically ecstatic, their faces beaming with pride, as if they'd entered a second youth.
After settling in these Hyūga Branch ninja,
Shimoku didn't rush into forming the "Long-range Sniper Unit".
Instead, he decided to let these Hyūga ninjas first become familiar with the "Homuragakure", and integrate more with the Uchiha Clan.
After all, Shimoku was quite looking forward to it.
Just what kind of terrifying Kekkei Genkai could come from the union between Uchiha wielding the Sharingan and Hyūga bearing the Byakugan?
Truly exciting!
Of course, aside from that,
Shimoku had plenty on his plate recently.
First and foremost,
was handling the Byakugan of the former head of the Hyūga Main House.
Honestly speaking, such a pair of eyes whose lens had turned cloudy with age—nearly developing into 'true cataracts'—didn't impress Shimoku at all.
After all, considering how many Hyūga ninjas who'd already broken free from the "Caged Bird Cursed Seal" were under his command now, would he be short of usable Byakugan?
While Shimoku himself didn't care for them,
others certainly would!
Take the Kumogakure, for example.
Once, they had even been willing to start a war just to obtain a single Byakugan!
Had the Hyūga not backed down back then
and offered Hizashi Hyūga's body as compensation instead—
the Fourth Great Ninja World War might have erupted much earlier...
Without question, Kumogakure must have longed desperately for a Byakugan!
Therefore, in exchange for this pair of eyes, Kumogakure would surely pay an enormous price!
Plus, once the deal went through,
Kumogakure would take the blame for last night's attack on the Hyūga Main House—and be seen as the real perpetrator!
After all, Hiashi Hyūga had personally witnessed that the ninja who abducted Hinata was none other than a Kumogakure shinobi capable of using the Lightning Release Armor!
Such blame would inevitably fall squarely on Kumogakure!
Even if they understood clearly that this was a heavy frame-up,
just for the sake of obtaining those eyes,
Kumogakure would definitely accept the trap willingly.
This was an open and blatant move—one that left Kumo no choice but to comply!
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