Chapter 202: Internal Branch House Conflict
"Have—have you all gone mad?"
"What are you doing?"
The shinobi nearby who'd been focused on fighting reanimated bodies had no idea why the situation had suddenly turned this way. They pointed at the Branch House members wielding blades and shouted in confusion.
"Haha, we're doing what should have been done long ago!" Those Branch House members' faces twisted with savage determination, yet their laughter rang with unprecedented liberation.
"These Main House members treat us Branch House as expendable materials, using our Byakugan to synthesize Tenseigan! They specifically developed the Caged Bird seal for this purpose, then lied to us, claiming the seal was meant to protect us Branch House!"
"They've been deceiving us for hundreds of years!"
"We've been slaves to the Main House for hundreds of years!"
"Not only do they want us as their slaves, they want our children and grandchildren to be slaves for them forever!"
"If they hadn't stopped pretending and directly forced us to surrender our Byakugan, we might never have learned the truth. We would have gone on stupidly accepting this as normal forever."
"This ends today!"
"We Branch House will now rise up in rebellion and launch a war of vengeance against these shameless Main House members!"
"Today we'll slaughter every last Main House member!"
"Once there's no more Main House, naturally there'll be no more Branch House!"
"Our children and grandchildren will finally be free!"
"Fellow Branch House comrades who are still resisting—stop fighting! Stand down!"
"All of us Branch House must unite and wipe out the Main House!"
Indeed, all reactionaries are paper tigers.
The Main House members who'd strutted about with such arrogance daily now resembled a pack of terrified rabbits.
They naturally knew that once all Branch House members united, they'd have no escape today. Immediately, they deployed every possible tactic to preserve their lives.
Some tried appealing to relationships and currying favor.
"Santai, I've always treated you well! I've always included you when good things came up, never oppressed you!"
"Brother, we grew up together! If you swing that blade, it should be cutting me down from my suffering, not adding to it! You can't kill me!"
Others tried deflecting responsibility.
"Misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding! It was all that Hishi fellow insisting on synthesizing the Tenseigan. It had nothing to do with us!"
"Don't blame all of us Main House members for one person's mistake!"
"I swear to everyone—the clan will absolutely never continue synthesizing Tenseigan from now on!"
Still others compromised without limit.
"Everyone! Listen to me!"
"No, no—after today, there'll be no more distinction between Main House and Branch House! We're all brothers! We can discuss everything slowly. No one will act rashly anymore."
"Also, all newborn children won't receive the Caged Bird seal anymore. Let this seal completely disappear from the Hyuga clan."
Of course, there were also those whose minds weren't right, using borrowed authority to bellow threats.
"You have such audacity—daring to rebel?"
"Aren't you afraid of the village's punishment?"
"While village shinobi haven't arrived yet, surrender now! We can still plead for leniency on your behalf, spare you from lighter punishment, and prevent implicating your families!"
People in this world come in all varieties. Though they were all Branch House, everyone's experiences differed, their personalities and habits varied, their positions and environments weren't the same—naturally, their final decisions couldn't be identical either.
Among the Branch House members present, some were willing to stand with Neji, risking their lives to settle accounts with the Main House and secure freedom for future generations.
Naturally, there would also be those loyal to the clan and village—those who, even when treated like dogs by the village and clan, only remembered kindness and never grievances, feeling the clan's benevolence could never be fully repaid.
In an instant, the Branch House of the Hyuga clan split apart.
Some indeed hesitated and lowered their weapons, while others surrounded the Main House members even more resolutely, forming a protective circle around them.
"Hyuga Neji, can you face Lord Hizashi, who sacrificed himself for the clan, when you do this?" One Branch House member shouted toward Neji with heartbroken anguish.
But the next moment, a figure flashed before his eyes. Hizashi himself, face expressionless, appeared before him.
"Um... I'm very sorry. I died too early and failed to raise my son properly, allowing Neji to be led astray, resulting in today's disaster."
Hearing Hizashi's words, this Branch House member immediately fell silent.
Because if examined closely, Neji "going bad" was partly because Hizashi died early and lacked proper guidance. The other part was that after Hizashi's death, the Main House neglected to care for Neji.
Or rather, not only did they not care for him—they stole his Byakugan. Not only did they steal his Byakugan, afterward they sent the severely weakened Neji back onto the battlefield.
This was clearly the Main House's fault.
Speaking of which, why did Hizashi die early?
Because of Main House actions!
"But—but even so, he can't do such a thing!"
"You're absolutely right."
Hizashi agreed verbally, then with a "bam," punched the man flying. He quickly closed in, targeting a Main House member and delivering a barrage of blows to the head.
"Ah, terribly sorry—I can't control my own body."
"Haven't seen you in years—your footwork has gotten rusty!"
"I'm about to use Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation—watch out!"
Hizashi spoke with utmost respect, but his hands showed no mercy. He spun in place like a whirlwind, flinging away all the guards protecting that Main House member.
Another Branch House shinobi seized the opening and rushed in, his short blade stabbing down viciously.
Having apparently gained support from numerous Branch House members, this Main House member immediately rallied.
"Don't underestimate Main House shinobi!" He shouted loudly, pointing at the Branch House member with hand seals already formed, activating the Caged Bird seal.
The Branch House member screamed and collapsed to the ground, but several more Branch House shinobi immediately surged forward from behind.
They paid no attention to their fallen comrade on the ground, simply striding over his body with their sights locked on that Main House member alone, faces twisted with hatred as they roared and charged forward to kill.
That Main House member hastily switched the curse seal's target to another person, immediately knocking them down as well.
But more and more Branch House shinobi kept coming in endless waves, every one disregarding life and death, locked onto him like rabid dogs.
Those knocked down by the curse seal, once it moved away, gritted their teeth and rose again, enduring the pain as they continued fighting forward.
Add to that numerous reanimated bodies rampaging through, using mutual destruction tactics that gave everyone splitting headaches.
Finally, after several rounds of assault, the defensive line was breached.
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