The vile shamelessness of the Hyūga Great Elder stunned everyone present—just as it shocked Uchiha Ashikaga and Uchiha Izumi, who were watching the live broadcast from afar.
"How could someone stoop so low? He's threatening lives—and even dragging their families into this! How can there be such a despicable and shameless person in this world?"
Uchiha Izumi's sense of morality was shaken to its core. Ashikaga's face was also full of outrage.
"Even during the Shinobi World Wars, enemy nations' ninja only decided life and death on the battlefield—they never went after each other's families. That Hyūga elder… he's truly inhuman. For the sake of his own interests, he's become worse than an animal."
"Ah—Rokuro once said that while the Hyūga Main House may be weak in actual combat, they're experts at underhanded tactics. I didn't believe him at the time… but now I see it with my own eyes!"
The two onlookers were stunned—so one could only imagine how much worse it was for Hyūga Hizashi and the others on the scene.
"Elder, do you have no shred of decency left? To think that the Hyūga Clan has a man like you—it's an utter disgrace!"
Hizashi struck out with a Gentle Fist Palm of Air, but two Branch House lackeys threw themselves in front of the blow. Though blood sprayed from their mouths, they dared not back away—because the Great Elder had already begun forming seals to activate the Caged Bird Seal.
He wasn't alone. Several other Main House elders did the same, clearly abandoning even the pretense of humanity.
A chorus of inhuman screams tore through the air as the Branch House enforcers, driven by pain and despair, charged like beasts toward Hizashi's side.
Some Branch House shinobi hesitated—they pitied these men, especially those who had once been decent folk despite being forced to serve the Main House.
But with arrows already notched and the battle unavoidable, Hizashi led his people forward to meet them head-on.
"Taiki!" someone shouted.
Hyūga Taiki cursed under his breath and prepared to rush in, but Rokuro caught his arm.
"Uncle Taiki, don't go. Stay here and help me."
"Rokuro, you need to get out of here! This won't end peacefully. Either the Main House dies, or we do!"
Rokuro merely smiled, pulling out a scroll from his ninja pouch.
"It's not that grim. You really think I came just to watch?"
As he unrolled the scroll, Taiki's eyes flickered with sudden realization.
"Rokuro… is that?"
"It's a sealing formula that disrupts the Caged Bird Seal. Once activated, it'll temporarily lock down the curse marks so they can't be triggered by any external jutsu—even those controlled by the Main House."
Taiki's face lit up with hope. Without hesitation, he called over another Hyūga jōnin, and the two of them sat inside the sealing circle drawn by Rokuro, channeling their chakra under his guidance.
Though Rokuro's chakra reserves hadn't yet reached jōnin level, they'd long since surpassed the average chūnin. He was more than capable of completing the seal.
As the three of them poured chakra into the scroll, the markings expanded and glowed—until a blue beam of light shot upward, exploding midair into a massive half-spherical dome that enveloped the entire Hyūga compound.
The first to react were, of course, the Main House elders attempting to activate the Caged Bird Seal.
They froze in horror. Their connection to the curse marks was gone—no matter how frantically they formed seals, the technique simply wouldn't respond.
Then came the Branch House shinobi. They felt a sudden cool sensation at their foreheads, as if someone had poured cold water over them. They didn't yet understand what it meant, but instinctively, they stopped fighting.
Hizashi quickly turned toward Rokuro and the others, understanding immediately. He ordered the Branch House elites to protect the trio while he confirmed the situation.
When it was explained that the technique nullified the Main House's control, joy and relief erupted across the Branch House ranks—even among some of the coerced lackeys.
The Main House, on the other hand, turned deathly pale.
Especially the Great Elder.
"Uchiha Rokuro! Are you trying to start a war between the Uchiha and the Hyūga?"
Rokuro chuckled.
"After today, the Hyūga Clan will have new leadership. Your words mean nothing to me."
Then he turned to Hizashi.
"Captain Hizashi—when the time comes, hesitation only breeds chaos. Do what must be done."
Hizashi gave a small nod and began walking toward the Main House, his loyal followers right behind him.
The lackeys—seeing the Main House's desperate but futile attempts to activate the seals—started retreating one after another.
Only Hyūga Tetsuzan and a few die-hard loyalists remained. They'd committed too many crimes to ever be forgiven; surrender wasn't an option.
Ironically, though the Main House had initially outnumbered the rebels, they now found themselves on the weaker side.
And given their inferior combat ability, it was clear that once the fighting began, the Main House wouldn't last five minutes.
Hyūga Hiashi looked at his younger brother approaching and felt a wave of sorrow and fear.
Memories flashed—two boys fishing in the river, climbing trees, laughing together. Those days had been so brief. The moment the Caged Bird Seal was branded on Hizashi's forehead, everything had changed.
"Hizashi… it's my fault. If I'd stood up sooner, maybe we could've avoided this."
Hizashi stopped before him, his expression calm but resolute.
"Brother, even as the Hyūga Clan Head, you were powerless to change anything. From the moment we were born, we stood on opposite sides. Different stations, different fates—it's not about choice, it's about the system itself. This outcome was inevitable."
Both brothers raised their hands, forming the opening stance of Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, ready for one final clash between siblings.
Around them, Branch House shinobi surrounded the Main House remnants—a slaughter was about to begin.
But just as the rebellion was on the brink of success, a sudden volley of kunai whistled through the air from behind, aimed directly at Rokuro's trio—clearly meant to break the seal and end the technique suppressing the Caged Bird Seal.
Several Branch House ninja blocked the attack, but the ambush was too sudden—many were wounded, though none fatally.
"What the hell—who's there?!" Hyūga Taiki roared, still maintaining the chakra flow.
Dark silhouettes appeared atop the Hyūga compound's walls, each masked and cloaked. The leader leaned on a cane, his presence radiating a chilling malice.
It was none other than the Hidden Leaf's most insidious schemer—Shimura Danzō.
"All traitorous Branch House members are enemies of Konoha!" Danzō's cold voice rang out. "Not one of you leaves here alive!"
END OF CHAPTER
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