Deep within the Hyuga Clan's compound, an atmosphere completely different from the usual peace and quiet now permeated the air.
An hour ago, Hiashi, having hurried back with Hanabi under the escort of several Hyuga Clan's Ninja, didn't even have time to change out of his kimono, which was stained with a bit of dust. He immediately, gently pushed his six-year-old, still bewildered and at a loss, daughter Hanabi into the arms of his wife, who had come to greet them.
"Take Hanabi to the inner chambers. No one is allowed to approach without my permission." Hiashi's voice was low and urgent. His usually stern face was now covered with a layer of frost.
He looked at his wife's worried eyes, and the unease reflected in Hanabi's pure white pupils, and sighed inwardly.
"The compound needs the highest level of alert."
Lady Hyuga nodded without asking further, just holding Hanabi tightly in her arms, soothing her in a low voice.
She knew that something that could make her husband so urgent, to the point of not having time to explain, was by no means ordinary, and was likely related to the explosions and sounds of chaos faintly coming from outside.
She gave Hiashi a deep look, then turned and, escorted by two Hyuga Kunoichi, quickly retreated deeper into the inner residence.
Hiashi watched his wife and daughter leave, then turned and, to several trusted clan members already waiting under the corridor in the courtyard, gave a deep command: "Hoheto!"
"Here!" A young, around twenty-five-year-old Hyuga Jonin with a handsome face and a Konoha's forehead protector tied on his forehead immediately knelt on one knee.
He was a Jonin from the branch family, and after Hinata succeeded as clan leader, he became one of her capable assistants in clan affairs, having gained core trust due to his abilities and loyalty.
"You will immediately select two Jonin, five Special Jonin, and then gather twelve Chunin to be responsible for guarding the compound!" Hiashi's speech was extremely fast, yet his logic was exceptionally clear.
"Activate all alert barriers in the compound and open the alternate defense ninja tool warehouse. Without my written order, no one may enter or leave! Your mission is only one: protect all clan members inside the compound, especially the safety of the women and children!"
"Yes! Hiashi-sama!" Hyuga Hoheto nodded heavily, a look of determination in his eyes.
This meant that even if Konoha's higher-ups or Anbu came, without clear instructions, they would also need to be treated with caution.
Hoheto said no more, quickly rising and calling out the names of several Ninja who had been ready for some time. The group, in teams of three, silently dispersed and began executing defense tasks.
After doing all this, Hiashi took a deep breath, as if trying to suppress all the chaotic thoughts in his chest.
He strode towards his living quarters. A moment later, when he came out again, he had already changed into a standard Konoha's Jonin's green flak jacket, with the Konoha's forehead protector properly tied on his forehead.
That outfit, representing a Konoha's Ninja, worn on his tall figure and stern face, naturally exuded an imposing, calm aura.
He walked out of the residence's gate and arrived at the front courtyard, the open training ground usually used for clan members to practice Gentle Fist.
At this moment, dozens of figures already stood solemnly in the training ground.
Five Jonin, led by Hyuga Iroha, stood at the front, each with sharp eyes and calm auras.
Behind them were over a dozen Special Jonin standing at attention, and behind them, over sixty Chunin with equally grave expressions but no fear in their eyes.
All had already changed into combat flak jackets, wearing forehead protectors, with the unified Hyuga Clan's emblem on their backs, waiting quietly.
This was the foundation and private military force of the Hyuga Clan, one of Konoha's oldest and most prestigious clans.
Although six years ago, on that [Night of Defection], Hizashi had taken some branch family elites to join the Land of Stars, weakening the clan's strength.
But after six years of recovery and reform, especially under the leadership of the new clan leader, Hinata, or rather Big Sis Hinata, a series of radical yet effective reforms had been implemented.
Abolishing the main family/branch family system, abolishing the Caged Bird System, integrating clan resources, and opening up the closely guarded main family's Gentle Fist secret techniques to all clan members.
The Hyuga Clan's cohesiveness and overall strength had, to some extent, been consolidated and enhanced.
The force before their eyes was all the elite the Hyuga Clan could immediately mobilize.
Over sixty Chunin, nearly twenty Special Jonin and Jonin. Although not as good as the once glorious Uchiha Clan, it was still a combat power capable of destroying a country.
Looking across the Ninja World, aside from the five great nations, no other Ninja Village could produce such combat power.
Hiashi's gaze slowly swept over every familiar face. He could see nervousness in the eyes of some younger clan members, and maturity and steadiness in the eyes of the seasoned Jonin.
And amidst this solemnity, he still keenly captured a trace of worry lurking deep in everyone's eyes.
Just then, at the front of the formation, a more senior Jonin, as if hesitating, still couldn't help but lower his voice and ask: "Hiashi-sama... the Lady... the clan leader... how are things on her end?"
At these words, although no one clamored, almost all the Hyuga Clan's members' Byakugan instantly turned towards Hiashi. In those pure pupils, undisguised worry and concern were clearly reflected.
What they worried about was, naturally, the current clan leader who had given them and their children a future of freedom, but who was now trapped in the arena, with no news… Hyuga Hinata.
A flicker of complex emotion stirred in Hiashi's heart.
There was emotion, there was gratification, and there was also a hint of indescribable, faint disappointment.
What he felt was emotion that in just six short years, his own prestige as the clan leader for over a decade, who had always been conscientious, had been completely replaced within the clan by his own twelve-year-old eldest daughter.
What he felt was gratification that the one replacing him was his daughter, the girl who, six years ago, when the clan was most turbulent, teetering on the edge of a crisis of trust and division after Hizashi's defection, had stepped forward in that darkest hour like a comet splitting the night sky.
He still clearly remembered that afternoon that changed the Hyuga Clan.
At the clan assembly to decide the new clan leader, facing the anxious branch family's members and the scheming main family's members, his usually shy and introverted eldest daughter Hinata's demeanor suddenly became completely different.
She strode to the head position, those Byakugan, usually downcast, now sharp as knives, sweeping over the entire assembly, and then, in a clear, firm, unquestionable voice, announced three things before everyone:
First, effective immediately, abolish the Hyuga Clan's centuries-old main family/branch family system...
Second, the Caged Bird Curse Marks on all existing clan members would, after technological conditions matured, be studied by her personally for a safe removal method. Until then, the 'activation right' of the Curse Mark would be vested in the clan leader, not to be used except for crimes of betraying the clan...
Third, from today onward, all Hyuga Clan's members not yet marked with the Caged Bird, and all future newborns of the Hyuga Clan, will never be marked with the Caged Bird again. The Hyuga Clan has no main or branch!
The assembly erupted in an uproar. Main family's members vehemently opposed, believing this was destroying the tradition, shaking the clan's foundation.
However, Big Sis Hinata merely coldly posed a few questions: Had the Caged Bird, in protecting the Hyuga for centuries, ever prevented branch member Hizashi's defection?
Had the main/branch system, in ensuring bloodline purity, ever produced a strongman like Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama for the Hyuga?
Was the Hyuga's Caged Bird a shackle protecting the clan, or a prison binding the Hyuga from soaring?
She also pointed out that Hizashi's forces, who had defected to the Land of Stars, had already broken free of the Caged Bird. If Konoha's Hyuga remained stagnant, future talent would inevitably drain away, and the clan's decline could be expected.
Rather than sinking together with decayed rules, it was better to break the shackles and embrace new possibilities.
And what ultimately left the main family's members unable to refute was the longing fire in the eyes of the hundreds of Hyuga branch family members kneeling below, their white pupils!
Those white eyes made all the main family's members afraid. Afraid of another Hyuga Hizashi appearing, and also afraid of a 'Hyuga Itachi' appearing.
From then on, Konoha's Hyuga Clan opened a brand new chapter.
Six years have passed. The new generation of children no longer bear the fear of the Caged Bird. The atmosphere within the clan was also renewed. Although there were still some conservatives composed of former main family's members grumbling, the overall cohesion, especially younger generation's admiration and loyalty to clan leader Hinata, had reached unprecedented heights.
Now, with Konoha in great chaos, the clan members' first concern was not Konoha, but the safety of that young clan leader. This sentiment left Hiashi, the former clan leader and father of the current clan leader, with mixed feelings.
But more than anything, he felt pride.
He suppressed the churning thoughts in his mind, took a deep breath, stood up straight, and his white eyes suddenly glared at the questioning Jonin, then swept over the entire assembly. His voice was loud and steady: "At the arena, Third Hokage-sama is present, elite Anbu guards are there, and many of Konoha's Jonin are on site! As the Hyuga Clan's leader, Hinata's strength and wisdom far surpass yours. Her safety needs no excessive worry!"
"What we need to do now is fulfill our duties as Konoha's Ninjas: protect the village and repel the invaders! This, is the best support for the clan leader!"
Hiashi's words were like a soothing medicine.
He was the former clan leader, Hinata's biological father. His words represented the clan leader to some extent.
The tense expressions on the clan members' faces eased slightly. Some Hyuga Jonin remembered their sparring sessions with the new clan leader.
Although the gentle personality's strength was only above average, the other, short-tempered personality had beaten many of their Jonin to the ground.
Thinking of this, although the worry in everyone's eyes had not completely dissipated, the panic and bewilderment had disappeared, replaced by determination and a desire not to disappoint.
"Everyone, check your equipment. Target: the battlefield at Konoha's main gate. Move out!" Hiashi said no more. With a wave of his hand, he was the first to leap onto the roof of the residence.
"Yes!" Dozens of Hyuga Ninja shouted in unison. The sound was not loud, but it coalesced a sharpness.
The next moment, figures in green flak jackets leaped up, following closely behind Hiashi, flying like swallows over the continuous rooftops of the Hyuga Clan's compound, racing towards the village center, the direction of Konoha's main gate.
They moved silently, yet extremely swiftly, demonstrating high training discipline.
Hiashi led the way, his Byakugan already activated, taking in everything within a 360-degree, two-kilometer radius… Chakra Flow, building structures, personnel movements… all within his 'field of vision'.
He could 'see' the smoke rising from many places in the village, the panicked, fleeing Chakra of civilians, and the scattered battles between Konoha's Ninja and Otogakure's Ninja.
His gaze involuntarily turned further away, towards the direction of the Hokage Rock.
In that direction, he vaguely 'saw' several streams of Chakra, so vast they made his heart palpitate, violently colliding and erupting, their scale far exceeding anything he had seen in his life, even the Nine-Tails Attack twelve years ago seemed to fall short.
'Hinata... you must be safe...' Hiashi's heart was heavy.