Hyūga Sōga was an elder of the Hyūga main family.
The Byakugan stored by the Hyūga clan needed constant guarding, a duty rotated among the main family elders. Today happened to be his shift.
The existence of these Byakugan had to be kept secret from the entire village. Otherwise, who knew if that old bastard Danzō might set his sights on them?
After all, Danzō had always shown a keen interest in the kekkei genkai of every clan in the village.
But who would have thought? While Danzō hadn't targeted their clan's Byakugan, a group of branch family members had.
His gaze fell on the branch family members who had no business being here. He knew every face in the main family—none of these were familiar.
Their identities were self-evident.
"This is not a place for you," Hyūga Sōga said sternly to the six intruders.
The six remained silent, turning their attention to Sōga.
Hyūga Kiyoshi stepped forward, but Hyūga Kuma blocked him. The other five moved seamlessly to shield Kiyoshi from view.
Kuma stepped forward, his voice trembling with rage.
"Why did you take our clansmen's eyes?!"
Sōga's expression remained impassive as he shook his head. "They volunteered."
"After all, serving the clan is their honor."
Kuma and the others didn't buy it for a second. None of them would want their eyes gouged out after death.
The branch family's subjugation to the main family was anything but voluntary.
They couldn't be the only ones in the entire clan who felt this way.
"Bullshit!!"
Kuma gritted his teeth so hard the others could hear them creaking, on the verge of shattering.
The others shared his fury.
Sōga sighed. "As members of the branch family, why must you entertain such thoughts? Wouldn't it be easier to simply follow the main family's arrangements?"
The branch family existed only to serve the main family—nothing more.
"Where are the bodies?!" one of the branch family members shouted.
"Where are their bodies?!"
Their loved ones had vanished without a trace after their corpses were taken by the main family.
The eyes were one thing, but the bodies mattered too.
"Burned after research."
Sōga saw no reason to lie. Now that they'd discovered this place, none of them would leave alive.
As their clansman, answering their questions before their deaths was the last mercy he could offer.
Every branch family member delivered to the Hyūga compound had their eyes extracted while still alive. Their bodies were then sent to the clan's private research facility.
Once deemed worthless for study, the remains were cremated.
Not that their research had yielded any results.
"Any other questions?"
Sōga waited.
The six fell silent. They'd learned everything they needed to know.
At this moment, their faith in the main family shattered completely.
A family like this… was no longer worth belonging to.
"None. Then, prepare to die!"
Sōga formed hand seals.
Caged Bird Seal, activate!
He expected the six to collapse instantly. Instead, they vanished from sight.
"Six Styles: Finger Gun - Soft Spear!"
A sharp whistling sound came from his flank. Sōga's pupils contracted as Kuma appeared at his left, a finger wrapped in chakra like a spear thrusting toward him.
Impossible!
Sōga's mind reeled. The Caged Bird Seal failed?!
But there was no time to think. Kuma's finger was already inches away, the wind pressure alone staggering.
This strike was no weaker than the Eight Trigrams Empty Palm.
"Rotation!"
Sōga expelled chakra from his hands, forming a spherical barrier around himself.
Kuma's finger collided with the spinning shield.
A violent gust of wind erupted from the impact.
Neither yielded, locked in a stalemate.
The Rotation couldn't repel him—the force behind that finger was immense, threatening to pierce straight through.
Sōga's fury burned.
A Hyūga jonin, daring to commit such treason?!
But he was no ordinary shinobi. Even aged and weakened, he wouldn't fall so easily!!
Chakra surged from his body.
"Bang!"
Finally, Kuma was sent flying, flipping midair before landing gracefully.
Then Sōga realized something was wrong.
Why is there only one?
He turned—and his rage exploded.
The others were rapidly sealing every Byakugan into scrolls.
"How dare you?!!"
As he moved to stop them—
Kuma reappeared behind Sōga in an instant, a fierce kick aimed at the back of his skull.
The Byakugan detected the attack. Sōga ducked, barely avoiding it, then spun to engage Kuma in close combat.
Their hands became blurs, exchanging dozens of blows in seconds, neither gaining the upper hand.
Sōga's mastery of the Gentle Fist far surpassed Kuma's, but Kuma's hands were impossibly hard. Every clash sent pain shooting through Sōga's arms.
"Iron Body: Steel Gentle Fist!"
The Iron Body technique amplified his strikes, making them devastating.
Sōga's attention was divided—the others were sealing away every last Byakugan.
"You animals!!"
Those were the Hyūga clan's entire reserves—even main family eyes were among them!
"Who's the real animal here?!"
Kuma roared, his attacks growing fiercer. He tanked a Gentle Fist strike with Iron Body, then slammed a palm into Sōga's stomach, sending him flying.
Sōga twisted midair, landing in a defensive stance.
I need to end this quickly.
Kuma was stalling him while the others stole the Byakugan.
How dare these branch family rats—!!
This chamber was soundproof. The clan wouldn't know the eyes were gone unless he stopped them—or warned them.
"Gentle Fist Technique: Sixty-Four Palms of the Eight Trigrams!"
In a flash, Sōga closed the distance, his hands a whirlwind of strikes aimed at Kuma's chakra points.
But his fists met only air, slicing through wind.
"Old man, times have changed!"
Kuma appeared behind him—he'd used Shunshin to evade.
An old fossil who didn't even know the Six Styles was no threat, no matter how much more experience or chakra he had.
"Six Styles: Finger Gun - Soft Spear!"
Once again, his chakra-wrapped finger shot forward like a spear.
"Rotation!!"
Sōga barely raised the barrier in time.
Kuma was flung back, flipping to land smoothly.
But Sōga's brow furrowed. His peripheral vision caught movement behind him—his escape route was cut off.
A young Hyūga clansman helped Kuma up.
Softly, he said:
"We've got them all."
(End of Chapter)