The atmosphere in the hall turned strangely delicate.
In the branch family members' eyes, a light they had never carried before began to flicker—something taking root, sprouting, pushing up through the soil of their hearts.
Meanwhile, the main house members exchanged helpless looks. Faced with this sudden turn, they didn't know what to do.
"Hinata-sama is right!"
Only now—after the "marksman" had opened the fight and the "support" had landed the key crowd control—did Hyuga Neji finally snap out of it and join the push.
Hyuga Hizashi reached out as if to stop his son, but Neji shook him off and strode to the center of the hall. The main house heiress, Tsunade-sama's student, and the Hyuga clan's most celebrated prodigy had all acted—together.
"The branch family has always fulfilled our duty!" Neji stared at the main house, anger blazing in his eyes. "And you—aside from Clan Head Hiashi and Hinata-sama—have any of you main house members ever fulfilled your duty? The answer is—no!"
"You forgot long ago what you're supposed to do. If there's trouble, it's 'Clan Head.' If there isn't, it's 'branch family.' When danger arrives, you don't think about protecting the clan—you think about protecting yourselves!"
At last Hizashi stood and moved to his son's side. His expression was complicated as he looked at Hiashi—at his brother.
"Aren't we all Hyuga?" He paused, sweeping his gaze across the entire hall. "When danger comes, the main house still waits for the branch to charge in. So tell me—are main house lives inherently worth more than branch lives?"
Neji drew a deep breath. As the "jungler," the most important thing in a team fight was to build a numbers advantage at the critical moment.
"For the sake of the Hyuga clan, I ask the Clan Head to order every main house member to carve the Caged Bird seal, so the Byakugan won't fall into the enemy's hands!"
That thunderous demand was like throwing cold water into boiling oil—an instant detonation.
The dead silence lasted only a heartbeat.
"Yes! Make the main house carve the Caged Bird too!" A branch voice tore through the hush like a fuse being lit.
"You say the branch is negligent—are you main house not negligent?!"
"We've carried this burden generation after generation—why does the main house get to stand aside?!"
"Yes! Make the main house carve the Caged Bird too!"
The shouts spread like wildfire.
One—two—ten—more and more branch members surged to their feet!
Those figures who had bowed their heads for years, silent and enduring, now straightened their backs. Long-suppressed fury and grievance burst like a collapsed dam, turning into a deafening tide that slammed again and again against the hall's ceiling.
"Make the main house carve the Caged Bird!"
"For the Hyuga clan!"
"Protecting the Byakugan is everyone's duty!"
"The main house must bear responsibility too!"
The roar rose higher and higher, until it felt like the very air was vibrating with force.
On the main house side, faces drained of color—white as paper. They sat rigid, eyes filled with disbelief and panic. A scene they had never imagined was now smashing into reality.
A few main house members tried to speak up, but the moment they opened their mouths, they were swallowed by the roar. The rest simply fell into fear, fumbling and helpless, like lambs driven to a cliff edge.
Years of privilege and comfort had dulled their edges and erased their will to fight.
They were used to safety bought by the branch. Used to looking down, to issuing orders. And only now, with the silent foundation standing up, did they realize how fragile their arrogance truly was—like a paper tiger, punctured by a single finger.
Whether it was the threat hanging in the sky, or the tide boiling right in front of them, both ripped away the mask of "superiority." These lofty main house members were, at the end of the day, ordinary people ruled by fear.
Every gaze—confused, pleading, helpless—shot toward the main seat where Hyuga Hiashi stood. Like drowning men clutching the last piece of driftwood, they looked to him as the only helmsman left.
Hiashi stood there, the combined weight of those stares pressing onto his shoulders. Yet his eyes cut through the crowd and met Hizashi's across the hall.
Hizashi looked back deeply—then lifted a hand and gently patted Neji's shoulder.
Just like that day—whether it was Hizashi's killing intent slipping out by accident, or Hiashi's ruthless use of the Caged Bird seal—both had happened for the same reason:
They were fathers.
Hiashi understood: if the Hyuga clan was ever going to change, this once-in-a-thousand-years chance would not come again.
His mouth parted. At the last instant before he spoke, his gaze locked onto Hinata.
If every main house member carved the Caged Bird seal, then Hinata—
No.
A silent, thunderous cry exploded inside his soul.
Hiashi could accept carving it onto himself. He could accept other main house members carving it. But Hinata was the one exception.
Not only because she was his daughter—more importantly, because her Byakugan was so pure and flawless, unlike anything he had ever seen. She was the Hyuga clan's future.
He could not—absolutely could not—allow that seal on her forehead.
And yet, if he made an exception for Hinata now—if he treated her as "special"—that too would be a fatal mistake. It would only deepen suspicion and plant a worse seed of internal division.
Hiashi was trapped. Sweat beaded across his forehead. His mind spun at full speed, searching for a solution that could satisfy both sides.
But no matter how he thought, he found none.
He jerked his head up and looked to Hizashi again—only this time, he was the one asking for help.
Bang!
The hall's heavy doors were shoved open, and the roaring tide seemed to be slapped with a pause.
"So damn noisy! Can someone tell me what you're all making a racket about?"
Everyone whirled around in shock.
Tsunade strode in, her gaze sharp. One sweep of her eyes, and the room fell quiet.
"Kiyonari," she said. "You tell me."
And under the stare of countless eyes, Hyuga Kiyonari began calmly, clearly, and without bias, laying out the full sequence of events.
When the facts are solid, there's no need to dress them up.
After Kiyonari finished, Tsunade fell silent for a moment—then—
"Heh."
"Main house, branch house—what a joke! We're at the edge of life and death and you're still clinging to this rotten old rulebook?!"
"Do you understand how dire the situation is right now? If the Ōtsutsuki on the moon collect enough Byakugan to forge a weapon and break the seal, then forget your Hyuga clan—Konoha, even the entire ninja world, will be on the brink!"
As Tsunade's eyes passed over them, the main house members all dropped their heads, unable to meet her gaze.
"This stopped being your Hyuga clan's private family business the moment it threatened the whole world! This is a war that decides whether the ninja world lives or dies! Konoha will not pay the price for your main house's selfishness!"
Her words hit like a hammer, slamming into their chests until they could barely breathe.
Hiashi tried to step in. He moved forward and said, "Tsunade-sama, I understand what you mean, but—"
"I'm not finished." Tsunade didn't give him room to speak.
"After discussion, the village leadership has decided: we will use the Byakugan as bait to capture an Ōtsutsuki and extract information. If you're willing to carve the Caged Bird, then do it. If you're unwilling—good. You can be the bait."
"Don't forget: besides being Hyuga main house, you are also shinobi of Konoha!"
Kiyonari grabbed Hinata's hand and happily stepped behind Tsunade. Caster enters to clean up the fight.
The words "be the bait" turned every main house member's heart to ash.
Translate it plainly: Go die for us.
Last night's attacker slipped past every defense, killed Elder Sōsuke, and stole Byakugan—power like that was far beyond them. If they were used as bait, that wasn't a plan. It was a funeral.
"Tsunade-sama… th-this is too much…" A main house member trembled but still forced himself to protest.
"You're negotiating with me?" Tsunade sneered. "Since when do shinobi negotiate terms with their superiors during missions?"
"I—I…"
"The branch family can fight freely once they have the Caged Bird seal, while the main house hides in the rear and watches them earn glory. Now you finally have a chance: sacrifice the small self for the greater good. You should feel honored."
"But—"
One look from Tsunade strangled the excuse in its cradle. Panic spread across the main house seats. Pale faces, frantic glances—like prisoners waiting for the blade.
The moment Tsunade turned as if to leave, those main house members—already terrified out of their minds—stopped caring about dignity or privilege.
"I'll carve the Caged Bird seal!" One main house member stumbled to his feet, screaming with a touch of hysteria.
"Me too!"
"I will as well!"
Like a dam breaking, more and more main house members scrambled up, shouting over one another, afraid that one second of delay would land them in the "bait" category.
"Everything for the Hyuga clan! To keep the Byakugan from falling into enemy hands, I'm willing to bear the Caged Bird!"
"Yes! We're all thinking of the greater good!" another echoed, voice shaking.
"For the Hyuga's future!"
"For Konoha's future!"
They threw out grand slogans, trying to drape righteous cloth over naked fear. But their pallor, their tremors, their darting eyes—
Every branch member in that hall etched the ugliness of those faces into memory.
Those who had always stood high above, issuing orders with a flick of the wrist, now looked like startled rabbits. The contrast was both satisfying and tragic.
Satisfying—because the main house had finally tasted the Caged Bird.
Tragic—because these cowardly, selfish, hypocritical people were the Hyuga main house—the ones who were supposed to lead the clan forward.
Hinata watched it all and quietly let out a breath.
It wasn't the best outcome she wanted—but at least… it was better than before.
But Tsunade's brow only tightened further. "Clan Head Hiashi—if every main house member carves the Caged Bird seal, then who executes the bait plan?"
That single line threw the main house into an even greater frenzy—some were already carving seals onto each other on the spot.
Hiashi stared at the chaos and sighed. "Then it will be me— and my daughter."
The team fight ended. Tsunade took MVP.
Kiyonari was thinking exactly that when he suddenly felt something heavy in his palm. He quickly tucked his hand into his sleeve and hid the little slug that had slipped out.
As the support, you leave once the job's done—vanish without a trace, and keep your achievements quietly hidden.