The earth-shattering explosion from the direction of the Uchiha compound was like a massive boulder hurled into a calm lake, instantly shattering the false peace of Konoha Village's night. The tremendous shockwave, accompanied by towering flames, jolted the entire village awake, as panic spread like a plague.
The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi Clan's compounds, located closest to the Uchiha Clan's compound, bore the initial brunt. Their current heads, Nara Shikaku, Akimichi Choza, and Yamanaka Inoichi, rushed out of their homes almost the moment the explosion occurred.
All three were experienced Elite Jonin with extremely sharp danger perception.
"Shikaku!" Choza's large frame was unusually agile, his usually genial, chubby face was now filled with worry, "That commotion… it's from the Uchiha side!"
His voice was grave, "An explosion and disturbance on this scale... could it be...?"
"Something major has happened!" Inoichi stated grimly, his sensory abilities already picking up the chaotic and massive Chakra Fluctuations from that direction.
Shikaku's brow was furrowed, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, "Mobilize all available combat personnel! Now!"
No further orders were needed. Well-trained Ninja from the three clans swiftly poured out from their respective compounds, gathering around their leaders.
Soon, an emergency response team composed of Jonin and Chunin from the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans was assembled, the air thick with tension.
Just then, a dark figure appeared before Shikaku.
It was an Anbu from the Hokage's direct guard, wearing a mask.
"Shikaku-sama! Orders from Hokage-sama!" The Anbu's voice, filtered through the mask, sounded urgent, "The Uchiha Clan has been confirmed to have launched a rebellion! Hokage-sama is personally leading the Anbu to suppress it. By order of Hokage-sama, Jonin Commander Nara Shikaku is to immediately lead the Jonin Team and other available Ninja to maintain order within the village, evacuate civilians, and strictly prevent traitor from Uchiha Clan from causing destruction throughout the village! The suppression mission is to be handled by Hokage-sama!"
"Rebellion?!" Shikaku, Choza, and Inoichi exclaimed in unison, their faces etched with disbelief.
'The Uchiha Clan was rebelling?!'
A chill ran down Shikaku's spine.
His mind instantly flashed back to the brutal rebellion of the Kaguya Clan in Kirigakure years ago. Although Kirigakure practiced a policy of isolation, news of such a large clan's extermination still leaked out, and Shikaku was aware of it.
Shikaku knew the Uchiha Clan's strength all too well. As the number one prestigious clan in the Ninja World, with their full clan strength, they could field at least twenty Jonin and nearly a hundred Chunin!
'If this force erupted completely, could the Hokage with just the Anbu really suppress it?'
'It would likely be a battle even more brutal than the Nine-Tails Attack, one that could engulf the entire village!'
"Hokage-sama with only the Anbu... I'm afraid..." Shikaku forcibly suppressed the storm in his heart, leaving the sentence unfinished, but the meaning was clear.
Relying solely on the Anbu to suppress the entire mobilized Uchiha Clan was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!
Then, pushing down his worries, he turned to the messenger Anbu, his tone grave and urgent, "Please report to Hokage-sama immediately! The Jonin Team and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans are assembled and ready to support the suppression! The Uchiha Rebellion is no small matter, we must not underestimate the enemy!"
"Yes!" The Anbu nodded and flickered away.
Shikaku was frantic with anxiety… the Hokage's decision seemed far too reckless in his view.
He whispered to Choza and Inoichi beside him, "Choza, take some people, assist the security forces in evacuating civilians around the Uchiha Clan's compound, set up a cordon! Inoichi, use your Mind Body Transmission Technique to contact the scattered Jonin as much as possible, inform them of the situation, have them converge here! Everyone else, with me-"
Before Shikaku could finish…
Boom!!!
Another deafening explosion roared, accompanied by a towering plume of dust and smoke, erupting from a different direction!
All eyes instantly snapped towards it.
'That direction...'
'Was the Hyuga Clan's compound!'
"The Hyuga Clan's compound?! Why there too…?" Choza's eyes widened.
Inoichi's face changed dramatically. "Damn it! Did the Uchiha attack the Hyuga?!"
Shikaku's heart sank to the pit of his stomach, a strong sense of foreboding enveloping him.
'The Uchiha Rebellion was already a catastrophe. If something happened at the Hyuga Clan's compound too... Konoha might face utter ruin tonight!'
"The situation is wrong! Inoichi, Choza!" Shikaku's expression turned extremely grim; the night's upheavals had completely exceeded his expectations and control, "Take half the personnel, come with me to the Hyuga Clan's compound now! The rest, maintain order as planned! Quickly!"
Without any hesitation, led by Shikaku, with Choza and Inoichi close behind, a rapid response force of over ten of Konoha's top Jonin, including Nara Enbu, Nara Suzaku, Yamanaka Mitsu, the Inuzuka Clan's head, Inuzuka Tsume, Akimichi Clan's elite, Akimichi Todo, and Jonin like Mimura Hamaki and Shirakumo Hayama, shot towards the Hyuga Clan's compound like arrows from a bow at top speed!
They had to find out what was happening there!
…
Hyuga Clan's Compound.
The epicenter of the explosion was shrouded in smoke, the acrid smell of burning mingling with the metallic tang of blood.
The explosion had destroyed an elegantly decorated courtyard belonging to a Hyuga Clan's main family's elder.
Hiashi, having activated his Byakugan, was the first to rush to the scene as the smoke settled.
His vision pierced through the dust. He saw the main family's elder lying amidst the wreckage, his chest pierced completely through by some sharp object, his noble clan robes stained crimson with blood. He was already dead!
"Third Elder!" Hiashi was shocked internally, quickly moving forward to check, confirming the man had no life left.
"Hiashi-sama!"
"What happened?"
"Where is the enemy?"
At that moment, chaotic footsteps and shouts approached as a large number of Hyuga Clan's Ninjas, alerted by the explosion, rushed to the scene.
Among them were Hizashi, along with several branch family's Jonin he led, and even the small figure of Neji!
Hiashi's gaze lingered on Neji for a moment, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind: 'Why was Neji brought to such a dangerous place?'
But the situation was urgent, and he didn't dwell on it.
Simultaneously, three other main family's elders, having heard the news, arrived on the scene.
Though they had lost their eyes, they possessed perception abilities similar to [Mind's Eye]. Learning of their colleague's brutal death, they were both shocked and furious.
"Hiashi! Was it that Shura attacking us again?!"
"Daring to attack the Hyuga Clan's main family once more!"
The pain Shura had brought the Hyuga Clan years ago by attacking their compound twice and stealing the eyes of four of their elders was still etched deeply in their memory!
Hiashi stood up, his gaze sweeping over the assembled crowd, including Hizashi and the others, "When I arrived, the Elder was already… The enemy is gone. Everyone, be careful-" His words were cut off.
A sudden, drastic change occurred!
Hizashi, standing beside Hiashi, seemingly also on alert, struck without the slightest warning!
His right palm, condensed with highly concentrated Chakra, shot towards Hiashi's completely unguarded back with a sharp sound of tearing air!
Bang-!
Caught completely off guard, Hiashi felt a tremendous force smash into his back, his protective Chakra dispersing instantly.
He was sent flying forward like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily into a ruined wall. A sweet taste rose in his throat, and he violently spat out a mouthful of blood!
"Hizashi-sama?!"
"What are you doing?!"
This sudden betrayal stunned everyone present!
Including the ordinary guards from branch family!
They couldn't believe their eyes!
However, Hizashi's betrayal was only the beginning!
At the same moment Hiashi was sent flying, the several branch family's Jonin behind Hizashi, like Hyuga Tetsu, Hyuga Tokuma, and the others, who were already prepared, sprang into action as if receiving a signal!
Tetsu and Tokuma, coordinating flawlessly, pounced like phantoms towards the three shocked and furious main family's elders!
Their target was clear… kill!
"You!" One elder exclaimed, both shocked and angry, trying to form hand seals to resist, but how could he, caught off guard, block the assault of two Jonin who had long planned this?
"Traitors!" Another elder roared, attempting to activate the most fatal seal for the branch family… the [Caged Bird] Cursed Seal!
He formed hand seal, Chakra surging!
However, what happened next made his soul nearly flee in terror!
The Caged Bird mark on the foreheads of Tetsu and Tokuma, which should have responded to the summoning and inflicted excruciating pain, showed no reaction whatsoever!
It's as if they had never existed!
"Impossible?!" The elder was horrified, a despair that even his empty eye sockets couldn't hide!
Thud!
In that moment of stunned disbelief, Tetsu's palm, sharp as the finest kunai, precisely pierced this elder's heart!
Crack!
Beside him, another elder was struck in a vital point by Tokuma's palm, vomiting blood as he was sent flying backwards.
The third elder reacted slightly faster, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow, but was then struck hard in the ribs by a Gentle Fist strike from Neji… the eight-year-old child with icy cold eyes!
A clear sound of breaking bone echoed, and the elder screamed as he staggered back, his voice filled with utter horror.
Neji didn't pause, his movements without the slightest hesitation. Like the coldest hunter, he closed in again, his small palm carrying fierce Chakra, and slammed it down hard towards the elder's crown!
"Stop!" Hiashi struggled to his feet from the rubble, witnessing this brutal scene, his eyes cracking with fury!
He watched helplessly as three esteemed main family's elders were slaughtered before his eyes in the span of a few seconds by branch family's Ninjas he once considered comrades!
One of them was even killed by his own nephew!
"Hyuga Hizashi!!" Hiashi's voice was hoarse and distorted with rage and pain. He stared fixedly at the betrayer… his own twin brother!
"What are you doing?!"
In the smoke and blood-filled courtyard, Hizashi slowly turned to face the nearly hysterical Hiashi.
"What am I doing?" His voice was calm, yet carried decades of suppressed humiliation and resolve, "Isn't it obvious enough?"
"Of course, it's to end this humiliation that has lasted for centuries!" Hizashi's voice was icy, echoing clearly in the deathly quiet courtyard.
"My dear brother."
Under the horrified gazes of Hiashi and all the still-uncomprehending branch family guards, Hizashi slowly raised his hand and tore off the forehead protector from his brow!
Following suit, Tetsu, Tokuma, and the other rebels did the same!
Neji, who had just killed a main family's elder and returned to his father's side, also removed the cloth strip that had once covered his Caged Bird.
Smooth foreheads!
Devoid of any mark!
The Caged Bird Cursed Seal that had bound them, tormented them, made them slaves for generations, the symbols of the branch family's humiliation… had all vanished!
"This... this is impossible!!" Hiashi cried out involuntarily, his body trembling slightly from the immense shock.
"The Cursed Seal... disappeared?!"
"How... how did they do it?!"
The surrounding branch family guards fell into complete chaos and extreme astonishment!
They looked at Hizashi and the others' smooth foreheads, then at the indelible green marks on their own brows. An unprecedented emotion sprouted wildly in their hearts.
Was it longing?
Envy?
Or... despair?
After a brief, dead silence, came utter madness!
"Capture the traitors! Protect the Clan Head!!" The loyal branch family guards who had regained their senses roared, though equally shocked inside, the long-standing authority of the main family and the latent threat of the curse mark drove them to instinctively charge at Hizashi and the others.
Hizashi, leading the five rebel branch family's Ninjas and the young Neji, six in total, formed a defensive circle back-to-back. Facing enemies dozens of times their number, their eyes held no fear, only the determination of those with nothing left to lose!
"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!"
"Gentle Fist Art: Revolving Heaven!"
A fierce internal war instantly erupted!
Hiashi, though injured, was still powerful, engaging Hizashi in an intense close-quarters fight, the collisions of their Gentle Fist producing dense, dull thuds.
Within the courtyard, the sounds of whipping Gentle Fist strikes, clashing Chakra, the thuds of flesh and bone meeting, and the screams of the injured instantly filled every inch of space!
Hizashi's group, vastly outnumbered, fought like cornered beasts against their numerous attackers.
Though few, each was resolved to die, and freed from the threat of the Caged Bird, they fought without restraint, momentarily pushing back the encircling guards.
While the core of the Hyuga Clan's compound erupted in civil war, another group of rebel branch family's members, led by Hyuga Natsu, totaling over fifty people, mostly weaker Ninjas, women, children, and elderly, took advantage of the explosion and the chaos created by Hizashi's group to swiftly escape the Hyuga Clan's compound via a pre-planned route, desperately fleeing towards the outskirts of Konoha Village.
Their movements were tense but orderly, clearly the result of long planning and rehearsal.
Soon, they met up in a secluded forest at the village's edge with the Star Ninja's Second Squad, led by Kanon, who was waiting for them.
"Land of Stars, Uzumaki Kanon. Here by order of Shura-sama to provide support!" Kanon stepped forward, announcing loudly.
Natsu, seeing the dazzling red hair and Star Ninja's forehead protector, gasped excitedly and quickly reported, "Hizashi-sama, Neji-sama, and five other clansmen stayed behind to cover our escape, creating a larger distraction at the clan center to draw all attention!"
Kanon's delicate brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this.
She quickly scanned the group of frightened yet determined Hyuga Clan's members and made a swift decision, "Hotarubi! Take three people, escort them to the border transmission point immediately! Ensure their safety!"
"Hai!" Hotarubi acknowledged without hesitation, selecting three Star Ninja and signaling for Natsu and the others to follow.
Kanon then turned to Natsuhi, Chino, Shunji and Hazuki, "The rest of you, with me to support Hizashi and the others!"
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, the Konoha's Jonin support force led by Shikaku arrived at the Hyuga Clan's compound at top speed.
However, when they charged in, what greeted them was not the expected enemy invasion, but a brutal, jaw-dropping internal conflict!
Seeing the scene of civil war, so horrific it surpassed imagination, even these elite battle-hardened Jonin couldn't help but suck in a cold breath!
The once solemn and dignified Hyuga Clan's compound was now in shambles, littered with the bodies of main family's elders and their loyal guards. The Hyuga Clan's head, Hiashi, was fighting fiercely, blood at the corner of his mouth, against his own twin brother, Hizashi.
All around, a large number of branch family guards were besieging the mere seven rebels led by Hizashi, which included the eight-year-old Neji, his eyes filled with grim determination!
Though vastly outnumbered, the rebels fought with desperate courage, momentarily holding off the siege.
"This... this is a Hyuga Clan's civil war?!" Inoichi exclaimed.
"Has the Caged Bird failed?" Choza stared at Hizashi and Neji's unmarked foreheads in disbelief.
Shikaku's heart sank to the depths.
'The Uchiha Rebellion wasn't quelled, and now the Hyuga were in civil war!'
'Tonight, Konoha would likely suffer unprecedented damage!'
He immediately made a judgment, "First, control the situation! Stop them! Capture the rebels!"
At his command, Enbu and Suzaku's Shadow Imitation Techniques instantly unfolded, attempting to restrict Hizashi's group's movement.
Inoichi prepared his Mind Destruction Technique. Tsume and her ninken coordinated to block escape routes. Choza and Todo's massive frames stood like fortresses at the front.
Jonin like Hamaki and Hayama swiftly spread out, their powerful Chakra Fluctuations locking onto the core of the battlefield.
The addition of the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans and the Konoha's Jonin instantly tilted the balance of the battle.
Hizashi, Neji, and the others were heavily surrounded, their space to maneuver drastically compressed, the pressure skyrocketing!
Hizashi pushed back a guard with a palm strike, his back pressing tightly against Neji's.
He could feel his son's slightly rapid breathing and the firm will emanating from that small body.
"Neji," Hizashi's voice was a bit hoarse but exceptionally calm, "Are you afraid? Do you regret staying behind to cover the retreat?"
Neji's young face was smudged with dust and a trace of blood, but his Byakugan was clear and sharp, without a hint of wavering.
He clenched his small fists tightly and shook his head firmly, his voice crisp and resolute:
"Never, even unto death! Father!"
Just as Shikaku, his expression grave, prepared to order the capture of these 'traitors' and inquire about the details from the injured Hiashi...
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
A clear, authoritative female shout, like a clap of thunder, cut through the battlefield's din!
Following it, several dazzling golden chains, like the light of dawn, tore through the air with immense sealing power and a sharp whistling sound, descending with pinpoint accuracy!
Whoosh! Crash!
The golden chains, like living divine dragons, swept through violently!
The branch family guards besieging Hizashi and Neji, along with several support Jonin Shikaku had brought who were trying to approach, were caught completely off guard and struck hard by this overwhelming force!
Thuds sounded one after another as dozens of figures were sent flying like scarecrows hit by a giant hammer. The offensive instantly collapsed!
The entire battlefield seemed to have been put on pause!
All eyes, shocked, turned to the dazzling golden chains, looking towards their source… the roof of a higher building beside the courtyard.
Under the moonlight, a woman stood against the wind.
She wore a form-fitting dark blue outfit, very different from Konoha's style, which outlined her graceful figure, with a dark coat casually draped over it.
Her long, curly red hair, like burning flames, flew wildly in the night breeze. On her forehead was the Star Ninja's five-pointed star protector.
Behind her, several thick, pure golden energy chains unfurled like a peacock's tail, emanating a heart-palpitating, massive Chakra Fluctuation and sealing aura!
"That forehead protector... Star Ninja!" Someone exclaimed.
"And that technique..." Tsume's eyes widened.
Shikaku, Choza, and Inoichi, these three experienced clan heads… the moment they clearly saw the golden chains, their pupils contracted sharply, their faces showing an expression even more shocked, even horrified, than when they saw the Hyuga Clan's civil war!
"Ad-Adamantine Sealing Chains?!" Shikaku's pupils shrank, he cried out involuntarily!
"Uzumaki Clan?!" Choza's large body swayed slightly from shock.
"Kushina-sama?... No... that's not right! Who are you?!" Inoichi's sensory perception instantly picked up the other's powerful Chakra, but it was completely different from the Fourth Hokage's wife he remembered!
This signature secret technique, belonging to the Uzumaki Clan's top sealing masters, had become a legend after the Nine-Tails Incident and the Uzumaki Clan's decline!
Now, it had reappeared in the world!
Beside the red-haired woman, four other figures stood quietly, also wearing Star Ninja' uniforms and star-shaped forehead protectors.
One was a woman with a curvaceous figure, wearing a Star Jonin's flak jacket. Another was a white-haired girl with blood-red eyes. The other two were a young man and woman wearing dark blue Chakra Armor, their auras sharp.
It was Kanon's team: Natsuhi, Chino, Shunji and Hazuki!
Kanon's jade-green eyes, cold as a deep pool under the moonlight, swept over the Konoha's Ninjas below, who were plunged into great shock and confusion, and over the temporarily protected Hizashi father and son, and the others.
Her voice rang out clearly in the silent night sky:
"Land of Stars, Uzumaki Kanon. By order of Shura-sama, here to receive the Hyuga Clan's branch family's... 'caged birds' who have broken free!"