"What do you want?"
Neji's mother looked at the clan members bursting in with overwhelming force. Although a sense of foreboding gnawed at her, she straightened her back and asked.
The Hyuga clan.
In her heart, she hated them with every fiber of her being.
It was these clan members who had taken her husband's life, forcing him to commit suicide. Now, they were driving her son into exile, and yet again, they had come to cause her trouble.
Heh. These Hyuga clan people were truly laughable.
Behind them, some members of the branch families had also noticed the clan's aggressive advance.
Curiosity got the better of them, and they gathered to see what all the commotion was about.
"Tell me, where is Neji?" Eighth Elder glared at Neji's mother, his eyes bloodshot with fury, almost spitting fire.
"I've already told you, I don't know where Neji is!" Neji's mother shook her head.
Bang~~
The moment her words left her mouth, Eighth Elder lunged forward, kicking her violently. She crashed onto the ground with a heavy thud.
He stomped on her head, eyes blazing with rage. "You are his mother. How could that brat Hyuga Neji not contact you? Speak! And I want to know what he did to Choryū!"
"Pft~" Neji's mother, already weak, coughed up blood from the impact. Still, she turned her face to the side and looked at Eighth Elder.
"I don't know what you're talking about. What does your son have to do with Neji? And I already told you, I don't know Neji's whereabouts!"
She had never sought to contact Neji. Her greatest fortune as a mother was that he had escaped this quagmire. Finally… he could break free from the Hyuga clan's chains.
Heh. Seeing these people so furious only made her happier.
It meant they hadn't found Neji. Her son was safe. And now, even if she died, she could die in peace knowing he was free.
Bang, bang, bang~~
"My son, Choryū, has been tracking Hyuga Neji and has yet to return. Are you telling me this has nothing to do with Neji?" Eighth Elder pressed down on her, speaking each word slowly, with venom in his tone.
As he spoke, he seemed even more unsatisfied. He kicked Neji's mother once again, sending her flying!
Heh heh heh.
Neji's mother suddenly laughed. She gritted her teeth and rose, her weak body trembling slightly.
She looked at the Eighth Elder and spoke slowly, word by word: "You want to track Neji down… do you intend to hunt him to death? Now that your son is missing, are you trying to blame this on Neji as well?"
"You people of the high and mighty main family treat us branch family members like ants. When have you ever truly contributed to the Hyuga Clan?"
"Usually, it is us, the branch family, who risk our lives for the main family. But what do we get in return? Your disdain and humiliation!"
"Tell me, what exactly did Neji do wrong? He hasn't done anything, yet you punished him with the Caged Bird mark. He was only protecting himself. And for that, you want to kill him?"
"Why?"
"Is it simply because we are branch family members that we are to be enslaved by you?"
"Don't forget, the contributions of the branch family far surpass those of the main family!"
With Neji gone, his mother began to speak freely, addressing the injustice they had endured over the years.
The main family… how ridiculous. The branch family…
The main family had always treated the branch family like slaves.
As soon as she said this, the room fell silent, as if it had sunk into a moment of stillness.
Especially those branch family members watching from outside—they were quiet, thinking about Neji's mother's words, a trace of sorrow appearing in their expressions.
Indeed,
The reality matched exactly what Neji's mother said. Whenever there was a mission, it was the branch family who risked their lives to complete it.
But the credit and rewards always went to the main family.
The Hyuga main family had always treated the branch family like slaves.
It was just that these grievances had always been suppressed, never spoken aloud.
Now that someone had voiced them, it resonated deeply with everyone present.
The main family and the Hyuga branch family had always been at odds.
However, because the Hyuga main family controlled the Caged Birds and, by extension, the lives of the branch family, they had no choice but to submit.
"Heh. You're right," Eighth Elder said, listening to Neji's mother's accusations. He chuckled.
"The Hyuga branch family has always been servants of the main family. Whatever we ask of you, you must obey!"
He continued, "As for Hyuga Neji daring to harm someone from the main family… that is already a grave crime. Letting him die is the most reasonable decision!"
As one of the Hyuga elders, Eighth Elder was used to being above everyone else. So when Neji's mother confronted him, he spoke his mind without hesitation.
He said it without feeling even a hint of wrongness.
"Eighth Elder, watch your words," another elder beside him frowned and warned.
This elder was the Great Elder of the Hyuga clan. He had come to check on the situation after hearing that Eighth Elder's son had gone missing.
Even when facing Hyuga Hiashi, he still had enough authority to pressure the clan leader.
At this moment, Eighth Elder speaking like this in front of so many branch family members was indeed excessive.
Not because what he said was wrong, but because saying it publicly like this diminished the dignity of the main family.
It would break the fragile hearts of the branch family members and leave them disheartened.
"Great Elder, did I say anything wrong?" Eighth Elder asked, perhaps because his son was missing or for some other reason.
His words were unusually blunt. He glanced at the branch family members standing behind him.
"Did I say it's wrong to call you all the main family's slaves? If you disagree, speak up!"
After he spoke, his eyes swept over the branch family members behind him. They all lowered their heads obediently.
Just as Eighth Elder had said, they had already accepted their fate. Bound by the restrictions of the Caged Birds, they were forever the slaves he described, forever forced to obey the main family's orders.
How tragic.
But this was fate. Those born into a branch family had no choice but to accept it.
"Do you see? They all think I am in the right!" The Eighth Elder finally turned to Neji's mother, a reckless smile curling at the corner of his lips. "Do you still want to resist? Tell me where Neji is."
"Pfft. Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you!" Neji's mother glared at the Eighth Elder and the other main family elders.
"I am glad Neji left the Hyuga Clan. He is finally free. If you control the Hyuga Clan, it will never prosper!"
"You—" The Eighth Elder, along with the Great Elder and several other elders, trembled with anger at her words. How dare she curse the Hyuga Clan like this?
Such a person could not be left alive!
"Grandfather… what are you saying to her? Someone like her must be punished!"
Hyuga Sōsuke was pushed forward in his wheelchair. Despite his young age, the cold cruelty in his eyes had not faded.
"Only pain can make her submit!"
"Leave the rest to me!"
Hyuga Sōsuke hated Neji and his mother to the extreme. As he spoke, his palms began forming hand seals.
****
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