Chapter 8 — Make It a Done Deal
"I can do it."
Hyūga Ritsu answered without hesitation.
He looked directly at Takuma and laid out the facts. "All seven bloodlines of the Main House add up to only seventeen people. Nine of them are jōnin, but the clan head — Hyūga Hiashi — and Elders Hishō and Daichi, plus that useless Hyūga Taisho, are all at the eastern front camp. In reality, the Main House left only five jōnin behind in the village — two of them are over seventy and no longer combat-capable. That means only three Main-House jōnin remain who can actually fight."
Ritsu paced slowly, letting his words sink in. He then explained the Hyūga Main-vs-Branch structure for the others' benefit.
"The system was founded generations ago. The clan's ancestor had seven sons — the seeds of the seven Main-line branches. In each generation within a branch, there are a small number of Main-line seats: typically one, sometimes two or three. In rare cases of many generations living together, a branch can have four or five Main-line members. Everybody else is Branch family."
He pointed to a concrete example: Hiashi's line. Hiashi is the eldest son of his branch, so he holds the Main-line position; his father was Main-line, and a future firstborn would be too. Because Hiashi's elders are dead and he has no children, his branch currently contains only him as a Main-line member. Most branches, however, maintain two to three Main seats across living generations.
Takuma pressed a practical objection. "You didn't count the Branch members who still fervently support the Main House. Even if the head and two elders are away, there are still more than ten jōnin left who will defend the Main House."
Ritsu's reply cut through the worry. "Takuma — didn't you forget one thing? I no longer carry the Caged Bird seal. Do you think I couldn't wield the seal's authority the way the Main House does?"
Takuma froze. Even knowing Ritsu had removed the seal, the old assumptions ran deep; it hadn't registered that Ritsu might now turn the mechanism against them. If Ritsu could manipulate the Caged Bird mark like a Main-line, then the Branch jōnin who'd fiercely guard the Main House would be far less of a problem.
"If you can control the seals as the Main House does," Takuma said slowly, "then the Branch jōnin aren't the main obstacle. We only need to decide how to take down those three real combatants — the remaining Main-house jōnin."
Ritsu nodded. The plan was no longer fantasy — it could be made into a concrete, winnable fact.
Takuma fell silent for a beat, then admitted Ritsu's plan had real merit — but he raised another problem. "Have you thought about how we'll explain it to the village? If we strike at the Main House and destroy the Main-and-Branch system, will Konoha just stand by and let that happen?"
In Konoha, clans largely governed themselves. So long as a family's business didn't spill into village administration or threaten outsiders, the village elders tended to leave it alone. Still, the Hyūga were different. Unlike the headstrong Uchiha, the Hyūga were tightly bound to the village. The Byakugan's reconnaissance power gave Konoha a battlefield edge — it was a strategic asset the village could not afford to lose. For that reason, the higher ups wouldn't permit the clan to erupt into civil war, at least not while the war raged.
Ritsu's reply was calm and simple: "As long as we move fast and make it a fait accompli."
The idea sank in. If the Main House were dead and the Hyūga could remain stable without their direct rule, what could the village do? Force the Branch families to submit to a broken system nobody wanted? The leadership cared more about preserving order than about which faction within a clan was morally right. If Ritsu could create an irreversible fact — Main House gone, Branches intact and functional — then the village would have little choice but to accept it.
Takuma and the others weren't naive. Arima and Akiha were hotheaded, but Takuma, at seventeen, had a steadier head. He understood the ugly truth: Konoha's leadership would prioritize stability over justice.
Akiha, impatient and fiery, stamped her foot. "Stop talking and tell me when we're going to kill those Main House bastards!"
"Wait until we're ready," Ritsu said, standing. He didn't retie his forehead protector — he slipped it into his pocket and left his brow bare. "Takuma, Arima, Akiha — prepare yourselves. Take whatever tools you need from Arima for now. We'll replenish his supplies later."
"I'll go fetch them!" Arima darted inside and returned after two minutes carrying a pile of well-maintained gear. Takuma and Akiha had only brought minimal equipment — the privacy of the clan compound had lulled them into complacency — so they quickly filled their pouches with shuriken, wire, and explosive tags.
"Big brother, aren't you taking anything?" Arima asked, concerned.
"No." Ritsu waved him off with a grin that was almost arrogant. "Call it cocky if you like, but with what I've got now, those Main House jōnin aren't a problem."
Since stealing the Shikotsumyaku with the Chimera Technique, his chakra reserves had multiplied tenfold. The Byakugan's range and acuity had improved across the board, and now he wielded a bloodline power that directly counters taijutsu specialists. Back when he was still just a Branch prodigy, people already called him a genius. With Level-3 Body Regeneration and his recent gains, handling three ordinary Main House jōnin was well within his capability.
"What I do worry about," he added, "is intervention from the village. Konoha's top fighters are not beneath contempt. The Main House's enforcers are the real wildcard."
"Are you all ready?" Ritsu asked, scanning their faces.
"Yes!" Akiha shouted, fists clenched.
"I want to smash their nasty faces right now." Arima's eyes glittered.
"Standing by," Takuma said, though a small, tense smile betrayed his excitement.
They were nervous, eager, afraid — a volatile mix. But beneath it all sat Ritsu's iron resolve. The plan was risky. The plan was violent. The plan would make a new reality.
If they succeeded, the Hyūga would no longer be defined by cages on their brows and chains on their will. They would be free — and the world above them would have to accept that new fact.