Bang!
The exquisite sliding door of the tea room was kicked open by a brute force, slamming heavily against the doorframes on both sides, letting out a piercing bang that was particularly startling in the dead of night.
Inside, the room was brightly lit, and sandalwood incense curled into the air.
Five elders, who usually held high positions and wielded the power of the Hyuga Clan, were sitting around the tea table.
But at this moment, their faces no longer held their usual composure and arrogance; each was pale, their eyes filled with panic, like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.
The sudden, loud bang of the door being broken open made them all shudder in unison. They didn't even notice their tea spilling as their terrified gazes snapped toward the doorway.
As the dust settled slightly, they saw the silhouettes of two people standing against the light at the door, especially the tall figure in the front wearing a black cloak.
The elders' tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and they almost slumped over in relief.
The Grand Elder even subconsciously forced a lucky smile and stood up shakily, trying to hide his previous loss of composure with a light tone:
"Oh, it's... it's the Clan Head!
You, you've returned just in time!
Just now, a vicious criminal somehow broke in, and the clan..."
As he spoke, he instinctively moved forward, as if he had found his pillar of support.
However, before he could finish, his sleeve was suddenly grabbed by the Third Elder, who was staring at the doorway with a face turned ashen.
"What is it?"
The Grand Elder turned back, somewhat displeased at being interrupted.
The Third Elder didn't look at him. His old eyes were wide open, and one hand was forming a seal, attempting to activate the Caged Bird Seal on the person before him. Filled with horror, his finger trembled as he pointed at the "Hiashi" at the door, his voice as dry as rubbing sandpaper:
"You... look closely, what kind of blade is he holding in his hand!"
Hearing this, the Grand Elder and the others finally shifted their gaze from "Hiashi's" face to the long blade gripped tightly in his hand.
That was Hizashi's blade from when he was alive, the dainichi gatsukiri.
What was the problem with that?
After Hizashi died, it wasn't strange for his belongings to fall into the hands of his brother or son; Neji was even standing behind Hiashi.
Then, the Third Elder's voice rang out, even more terrified: "And, and... look at his forehead!"
The elders' gazes snapped upward, focusing on "Hiashi's" forehead.
Under the interplay of moonlight and the indoor lamps, there was clearly a complete, distinct Caged Bird Seal!
Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Main House, how could he have the Branch House's Caged Bird Seal on his forehead?
A chill instantly shot from the soles of the elders' feet to the crowns of their heads, even more intense than when they faced that mysterious black-robed ice swordsman just now!
"Hi... Hizashi?"
The Fourth Elder cried out in shock, his old face deathly pale as he scrambled back, knocking over the chair behind him.
"Impossible! Hizashi died long ago!"
The Fifth Elder's voice also trembled.
The smile on the Grand Elder's face froze completely, turning into an expression of utter despair.
He looked at his nephew at the door—"risen from the dead," holding a lethal blade, forehead bearing the cursed mark, and exuding a cold, murderous aura—and felt his scalp tingle and his heart race wildly.
Had... had they really seen a ghost?!
No, wait!
Ninjutsu that could bring back the dead... was not unheard of!
The elders were all old relics who had lived through the era of war and possessed broad knowledge.
A name that was classified as a forbidden technique, yet was renowned—or rather, notorious—instantly surfaced in their minds: Edo Tensei!
The evil forbidden technique developed by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama!
During the Sengoku period, that Second Hokage was a famous "grave-robbing expert." To combat the Uchiha, he had even gone as far as digging up Uchiha ancestral graves, summoning the Uchiha ancestors via Edo Tensei using Uchiha Clan members as sacrifices, and then attaching explosive tags to blow up the Uchiha main house—truly "wicked" deeds!
Of course, after Konoha was established, this matter was no longer allowed to be mentioned.
Could it be... could someone have taken Hyuga Hizashi's remains and... brought him back with Edo Tensei?
Just to come back for revenge?
To seek revenge against these elders who had forced him to die in his brother's place and then mistreated his son, Neji!
This thought, like the most terrifying nightmare, gripped the hearts of every elder present.
They looked at "Hizashi's" pure white eyes, which seemed to burn with netherworld ghost fire, looked at the dainichi gatsukiri in his hand, and then thought of the mysterious black-robed person's cold slaughter just now... all of it seemed to link together into a desperate conspiracy!
"Hi... Hizashi... no... that's not right, whoever you are..."
The Sixth Elder's voice shook uncontrollably as he shrieked with false bravado.
"This is the Hyuga Ancestral Hall! What... what do you want to do?!"
Hiashi slowly raised the dainichi gatsukiri, the blade's edge drawing a cold arc of light under the lamps.
He didn't answer the Grand Elder's question, but merely let his "dead" eyes slowly sweep across every terrified old face in the room.
"Se-Second Nephew... waah..."
The Fifth Elder, who was known for being harsh and stubborn, was the first to lose emotional control. Tears streamed down his old face as he began to cry out incoherently.
"Your death... your death, you can't blame us for that! We... we were also forced!"
As soon as he spoke, it was as if a floodgate had opened. The other elders also began to scramble to scream, desperately pushing the responsibility away, seeking only a slim chance of survival.
"Yes, yes, yes! It was all Hiashi! Hiashi forced us!"
The Third Elder pointed his fingers wildly at the empty air, as if Hiashi were standing right there.
"He... he wanted to look like the good guy in front of the clansmen, to be the clan head who loved his brother and endured humiliation for the sake of the greater good!
So he forced us old bones to play the bad guys in front of you!
Those words criticizing the Branch House, emphasizing the difference between Main and Branch, and forcing you to accept your 'fate'... he tacitly approved or even hinted for us to say them!"
"That's right!"
The Fourth Elder also chimed in shrilly, his face full of panic as he rushed to clear himself.
"It was he who wanted you to die for him! That Hidden Cloud Village matter... there was originally room for maneuver! The Third Hokage was going to lead us to charge again! It was Hiashi who privately weighed the pros and cons and felt that sacrificing a Branch House brother was more cost-effective than risking a conflict with the Hidden Cloud.
He was the one who decided your fate; we... we were just acting according to his wishes!"
They became more and more agitated as they spoke, as if they had found their only life-saving straw, desperately throwing all the filth onto the "absent" Hiashi.
"If you want revenge! Go find him! Find him and his daughters!"
The Sixth Elder seemed to have grasped the key point, and a vicious, urgent light burst from his cloudy eyes.
"His two daughters! Hinata and Hanabi! We originally wanted to bring them back today, but we were stopped by that damned Little Fox Demon!
Yes! Go find that Little Fox Demon!
Hiashi isn't in the village right now, go find the Little Fox Demon!
Kill those two girls! Let Hiashi also taste the feeling of losing his closest kin!"
"Every injustice has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor!"
The Grand Elder also screamed out the final line with all his might, his voice cracking from fear and supplication.
"Don't kill us! We were just following orders!
It's all Hiashi's fault! If you're looking for someone... go find him!
Find that Demon Fox and those two girls!"
They spoke all at once, using every bit of their ability to slander and shift blame, pinning all the guilt, conspiracies, and malicious thoughts onto Hiashi's head.
They even went so far as to point the finger at Naruto and the two children, hoping only that this "vengeful ghost" would shift his target and spare them—the "pitiful" and "coerced" old fogies.