Chapter 10 — "Of Course I Erased That Ugly Thing!"
Hyūga Shunsuke froze.
He, who had spent his entire life commanding Branch members as though they were mere tools or livestock, had never once imagined this — a Branch clansman daring to stand before him and declare, to his face, rebellion.
Instinctively, his fingers formed a seal.
His body reacted faster than thought, muscle memory guiding the motion — the Caged Bird Seal.
Generations of Main-house training had forged that reflex: when a Branch defies, the seal reminds them of their place. If mere pain failed to humble them, death would ensure obedience.
But nothing happened.
Ritsu stood unmoved — calm, smiling faintly, as if nothing in the world had changed.
Only then did Shunsuke's mind catch up with his body. His eyes darted to Ritsu's uncovered forehead — pale and flawless. No mark. No seal. No trace.
The elder's face twisted, his composure collapsing into raw terror. He looked as if he'd heard a ghost story come alive right behind him.
His voice trembled, cracked by disbelief.
"Hyūga Ritsu… your… your Caged Bird Seal—where is it?!"
Ritsu's reply came soft, almost cheerful:
"Something that ugly? Naturally, I erased it."
"How… how dare you say that!" Shunsuke roared, all grace gone, his voice jagged with panic. "Impossible! The Caged Bird Seal was the life's work of our Third Clan Head — a masterpiece refined over a thousand years! No one has ever broken it! What kind of vile sorcery did you use?!"
His fury echoed through the courtyard.
And yet, it wasn't only the elder who faltered.
The gathered Branch guards — those accustomed to bowing and obeying — were wide-eyed with shock. They could hardly breathe as realization settled in.
It was true.
Ritsu had done the impossible. The seal that bound their foreheads, that defined their birth and death, was gone from his. The boy who had long been hailed as the Branch's greatest prodigy now stood free — and unafraid.
And worse, he was speaking aloud the forbidden dream in every Branch heart.
Rebellion.
Freedom.
Ritsu's words cut through them like a blade through silk, stirring thoughts they had never dared to think. Their hearts raced; their discipline frayed.
What if the seal were gone? What if we could live without it?
They struggled to control their expressions, to hide the spark in their eyes — yet they couldn't help glancing at one another. When gazes met, panic flickered: Did you think it too? Did you feel it?
The air thickened with an emotion long forbidden — hope.
And then Ritsu's voice rose again, steady and sharp, pulling all attention back to him.
"The so-called 'life's masterpiece,'" he said with a mocking smile, "was nothing more than a tool for subjugation. The Third Clan Head's 'genius' amounted to enslaving his own kin. Tell me, what kind of pitiful fool spends his life figuring out how to shackle his family? With ancestors like that, no wonder our clan's been cursed for generations!"
Ritsu's voice carried like a blade cutting through the silence — merciless, sharp, and unrestrained.
He tore into the so-called "Third Clan Head," the man who had created the Caged Bird Seal, with the venom of truth.
"Arrogant! Unforgivably arrogant!" Hyūga Shunsuke's face flushed scarlet, fury and humiliation twisting his features.
"Hyūga Ritsu, you dare insult our ancestors?! Your crime cannot be forgiven! Everyone — seize this ungrateful wretch who dares blaspheme our bloodline!"
"Yes, Elder!"
Behind him, eight Branch guards barked their obedience.
Two of them were jōnin, the rest chūnin — loyal, obedient, conditioned to follow orders without thought.
They surged forward, forming a semicircle around Ritsu.
But before any could strike—
"Fall."
Ritsu's right hand flicked through a single seal.
A moment later, all eight collapsed at once. Their bodies convulsed, twisting like boiled shrimp. They clutched their heads, screaming in agony as the Caged Bird Seal burned through their nerves.
The courtyard filled with the sound of their wailing.
Hyūga Shunsuke froze.
So did everyone watching from outside the gate.
"Y-you…" The elder's hand trembled violently as he pointed at Ritsu, his voice strangled between disbelief and terror. He couldn't even form the words.
It was obvious what had happened.
Ritsu, freed of his own seal, now possessed full command of his Byakugan's heritage — including the ability to activate the seals of others, just as the Main House could.
It was the natural consequence of wholeness restored.
The realization shattered Shunsuke's mind.
The thought — that a Branch member could control the Caged Bird Seal — had never existed in their worldview. His logic broke apart like glass; his mind simply refused to adapt.
"Hyūga Shunsuke," Ritsu said, his tone calm and deliberate, "if you want to punish me in the name of justice, then come — do it yourself."
He smiled.
But to Shunsuke, that smile was monstrous — the grin of a dragon baring its fangs before it devoured him.
He staggered back a step before realizing what he'd done. Shame flared, but fear drowned it quickly.
This boy — no, this man — was the Branch's prodigy, the genius who could fight seasoned jōnin and win.
And Shunsuke? He was a relic, a politician who'd only stepped onto the battlefield long enough to collect corpses before retreating behind the safety of the Main House walls.
He had enough self-awareness to know one thing:
He couldn't win.
Without hesitation, he turned and fled — his speed surprising even himself as he vaulted over the wall like a startled hare.
He needed backup. Numbers. If the Main House elders fought together, surely they could crush this insolent child.
Or so he told himself.
"Ritsu, aren't you going to chase him?" asked Takuma, nervous energy bubbling in his voice.
Ritsu shook his head. "No rush."
He stepped forward, unhurried. "The Main House — even banded together — is no threat to me. Let them scramble for help. I want the Branch members to see what their so-called masters are really worth."
He smiled faintly.
To him, this wasn't just execution — it was revelation.
He wanted every Branch member to watch, to witness the weakness and corruption of the Main House, to have their illusions shatter before their eyes.
After all, before he eradicated the Main House, he would first strip them of their divine facade.
Outside, Arima kept watch, Byakugan scanning the perimeter. If there was even the faintest sign of ANBU or any Leaf interference, Ritsu would eliminate the Main House before they could blink.
The seven Main House estates were clustered close together.
True to Ritsu's expectations, Shunsuke didn't run far — he sprinted straight toward his kin.
Within ten minutes, all five remaining Main House jōnin had gathered: two of them elderly relics in their seventies, their once-keen chakra dimmed by age.
They assembled at the broad avenue outside the estate, surrounded by several dozen Branch members who had followed to see the commotion.
Soon, the spectacle swelled — a ring of spectators, inner circles filled with jōnin, middle with chūnin, and the outermost packed with genin and civilian Hyūga alike.
The tension thickened. The crowd hummed with whispers, fear, and barely concealed anticipation.
It was no longer just confrontation —
it was a reckoning.
And for many watching, it was also something they never thought they'd see in their lifetimes:
A Branch member standing tall before the Main House…
and the Main House trembling.