Chapter 14: From Now On, You'll Be the Clan Head's Wife
"Hyuga Akiba pays respects to the Clan Head."
"Hyuga Arima pays respects to the Clan Head."
"Hyuga Takuma pays respects to the Clan Head."
The three initially froze but quickly recovered. Internally cursing Hizashi—the clan head's, the former clan head's younger brother—for lacking backbone, they nonetheless followed his example. Moving swiftly, they dropped to one knee and shouted at the top of their lungs.
Their loud shouts pierced through the rain, reaching the Branch Family members' ears, fanning the wildfire in their hearts into a raging inferno!
Then the three began calling to friends.
"Torasaburo, you idiot, hurry and pay respects to the new clan head!"
"Kaju, what are you standing there stupidly for? Have you forgotten the new clan head saved your life from Mist ninja?"
"Kyoko-nee, hurry over! Don't you want to pursue Ritsu-nii anymore? If you marry him, you'll be the clan head's wife from now on!"
They were indeed a small group, but ultimately everyone was the same clan. Outside this circle, they still had quite a few friends. Though what Akiba said left Ritsu somewhat speechless—what was this girl spouting?
Setting aside Akiba's unreliability, overall their friend-calling was effective. Combined with Hizashi—someone with an unusual status—taking the lead, after Branch Family members exchanged glances, the bold ones stepped from the crowd, came before Ritsu, knelt on the ground, and loudly proclaimed, "Pay respects to the Clan Head."
Thus, the dominoes toppled.
The hundred-plus observing Branch Family members knelt one after another. The cries of "Pay respects to the Clan Head" continued endlessly, resounding through the clouds.
In the end, only Ritsu stood alone in the rain, accepting the clan members' prostrations.
"Everyone, go wash up and change clothes. In twenty minutes, all jonin and special jonin assemble at Tamaeda Shrine's hall."
Ritsu issued his first command as clan head.
The rain grew heavier.
Staying here to talk was truly inconvenient.
Now that the general situation within the clan was settled, there was temporarily no need to worry about reversal.
Therefore, Ritsu didn't impatiently rush to seize power immediately. He gave everyone a slight buffer period. After all, every Main Family member capable of managing affairs had been killed. Hiashi and others were far away at the Eastern Front. Power within the clan had become completely vacuous—he needn't fear anyone daring to compete with him.
Moreover, even if someone regretted and planned to reverse course during this period, Ritsu wasn't afraid. One or two jumping clowns posed no threat whatsoever.
Furthermore, the Caged Bird Seals hadn't been removed yet.
Anyone daring to reverse course was seeking death.
"Yes, Clan Head!"
Everyone answered in unison.
"By the way, Takuma, find a few acquaintances to handle these corpses, then take these guys down and send them to the prison to sober up. See if there's any hope of salvaging them."
Ritsu gave Takuma the task of cleaning up the scene.
He casually handed over the severed heads he still held.
These Main Family corpses required careful handling. They had no Caged Bird Seals—their Byakugan could be extracted and used, as long as one's body could withstand it. Though the burden wasn't as great as the Sharingan, it still wasn't plug-and-play for everyone. The threshold was merely somewhat lower than the Sharingan.
Clan members rose, scattering in twos and threes. The jonin and special jonin moved especially quickly—they had to assemble at Tamaeda Shrine in twenty minutes. Time was quite tight.
"Hizashi."
Ritsu called to Hizashi, who was preparing to leave.
"Clan Head?"
"Why support me?"
"My child was born recently. I named him Neji—Hyuga Neji. He's so lively and adorable. I don't want him to bear this slave-brand-like Caged Bird Seal on his forehead like I do."
Hizashi answered with exceptional candor and sincerity.
This was an expected answer.
Yet hearing Hizashi say it aloud still inevitably stirred Ritsu's heart. When parents love their children, they plan far ahead for them!
He spoke seriously. "From now on, our Hyuga clan will never again use this slave-brand-like Caged Bird Seal on our own clan members!"
"I look forward to you accomplishing this."
Having said that, Hizashi hurriedly departed.
"Arima, Akiba, let's go too!"
Ritsu called to the two.
Ritsu and Akiba were cousins, and their families lived adjacent to each other, located in the compound's outer ring. The distance to Arima's home on the compound's edge wasn't too far either.
"Akiba, you don't need to go to the shrine. Go explain this situation to my parents and Aunt." Upon reaching his doorstep, Ritsu assigned Akiba a task.
"Huh? No way! I want to attend the meeting too."
The girl released an unwilling wail.
"This is the clan head's order."
Ritsu spoke with an unchanged expression.
"Ritsu-nii, you—you're cheating."
Akiba was on the verge of tears but had no choice but to accept this thorny task. She could already foresee being surrounded by her mother, aunt, and uncle—well, forget uncle, he was a closed-mouthed gourd—but either her mother or aunt alone could match five hundred quacking ducks.
"Akiba, do well and I'll teach you Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists afterward."
Ritsu dangled a carrot before his cousin.
"Promise?"
"Promise!"
Akiba's face immediately lit up with joy.
Though being surrounded by her mother and aunt would be "painful," thinking about how cool she'd look after learning Twin Lion Fists made enduring the pain worthwhile.
The two parted at the door. Ritsu took out his key, opened the door, and entered. A middle-aged woman in the kitchen poked her head out at the sound.
"Ritsu? You—how did you come back?"
The woman was both surprised and delighted, but worry soon clouded her brow. "I heard the Main Family was going to punish you. Are you alright?"
"Mom, everything's fine now. The Main Family won't trouble me anymore. I still have things to handle. I'll change clothes and head out. If you and Dad have questions, go next door and ask Akiba."
Ritsu rushed into the bathroom with swift steps. A few seconds later, he opened the door and stuck his head out. "Mom, bring me a set of dry clothes—something formal."
"What?"
The woman looked somewhat bewildered.
Seeing her husband walking from the living room, the couple exchanged glances for several seconds.
"I'll get Ritsu some clothes."
Hyuga Kikue wiped her hands and hurried upstairs. In Ritsu's bedroom, she found a set of white wide-sleeved robes and placed them outside the bathroom door.
Then she looked toward her husband still standing at the living room entrance.
"What are you standing there stupidly for? Let's go find Akiba quickly. If Ritsu says everything's fine, it's definitely fine. But we need to understand what exactly happened. How could those Main Family people possibly be so reasonable?"
"Alright."
The taciturn man answered.
The couple hurried out to the neighboring house.
Two minutes later, Ritsu finished bathing, changed into neat clothes, grabbed an umbrella, and walked out. Opening the umbrella, he leaped onto the compound wall and headed straight toward Tamaeda Shrine located on the compound's north side.