"Quick, someone come! Someone attacked a member of the main branch!"
The Hyuga clan grounds erupted with noise, stirring up quite a commotion—
And the tension was only rising.
Many young Hyuga clan members started heading toward the source of the disturbance. Outside, the sounds of chaos and occasional cries could be heard.
"Who? Who crippled my grandson's limbs? Damn it!"
"Investigate—"
"Hurry and find out! If I find out who did this, they won't die a peaceful death!"
"Damn it!"
"Go find a medical ninja, quickly!"
Shouts full of anger echoed, spreading throughout the entire Hyuga clan territory.
In a quiet courtyard—
Hyuga Neji was eating with his mother. Though he heard the ruckus outside, he kept his head down, continuing to eat as if oblivious. But his mother's hand tightened slightly.
She looked at Neji.
It seemed that Neji was unmoved. Tentatively, she asked,
"Neji, what's happening outside? Do you want to go take a look?"
"No need. Even if something's happened, our branch can't help them," Neji replied softly, his voice calm and steady.
"Oh," his mother nodded and continued eating.
But at this moment, her feelings were extremely complicated.
This...?
Although Neji remained very calm, the calmer he was, the more worried his mother became.
Could this really have something to do with Neji? Did he hurt someone from the Hyuga main family?
But the event had already happened.
Neji's mother had made up her mind—if this really was Neji's doing, then as his mother, she must help him.
The room was unusually silent at this moment.
Outside, the chaos within the Hyuga clan continued. The place where Neji had just fought Hyuga Sosuke was now crowded with people.
Among them,
An elderly man was holding Hyuga Sosuke, his eyes bloodshot with anger.
Everyone could feel the fury radiating from the old man. Behind him stood a middle-aged man and woman, their faces filled with anxiety and rage—they must be Hyuga Sosuke's parents.
"Make way! The clan leader has arrived!"
Just as people whispered about who dared to attack a member of the Hyuga main family, commotion broke out again in the crowd.
Many glanced over, quickly stepping aside to clear the path.
Hyuga Hiashi strode forward, with a timid Hinata following closely behind.
Hinata had just come home and learned about the attack on a Hyuga clan member. She had come with her father.
However, when she saw it was Hyuga Sosuke, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes.
He had paid the price for his arrogance, but… who would dare attack a member of the Hyuga main family?
"Clan leader, you're here! You must avenge Sosuke!" The old man holding Hyuga Sosuke said in a gruff voice upon seeing Hyuga Hiashi.
Anger and killing intent were hard to hide in his voice.
"Eighth Elder, don't worry. I will give you an explanation for this matter!" Hyuga Hiashi looked at the elder, trying to reassure him.
As the clan leader, he owed an explanation to everyone about what had happened.
"Clan Leader, someone here has regained consciousness!" At that moment, someone noticed a person who had lost a leg thanks to Neji waking up.
Swish—
In an instant,
Everyone's eyes turned toward that person.
Hyuga Hiashi and the Eighth Elder, along with a few others, gathered around, glaring fiercely at him as if they wanted to devour him.
"Huh? What's going on?" The man was shocked. Seeing so many people surrounding him, especially the clan leader Hiashi and the Eighth Elder, his eyes betrayed his growing confusion.
For a moment, he felt dizzy and lost.
"Tell us! What happened before you lost consciousness? Who attacked you?" The Eighth Elder's fierce temper flared as he stared at this branch family member who still refused to speak. He yelled angrily.
A branch family member failing to protect his own grandson was already a sin. If they hadn't yet found the culprit, he intended to punish this man severely—make him suffer the same pain as his grandson.
Damn it.
Attacked and knocked out?
The man seemed dazed, his mind still foggy. He repeated the words he had just said.
Then, gradually,
He came fully awake, and felt the sharp pain in his leg.
They had followed Hyuga Sosuke to intercept Hyuga Neji.
Sosuke used the Caged Bird Seal to control Neji, and then they went to teach Neji a lesson.
But for some unknown reason, Neji suddenly went berserk. Despite the intense pain caused by the Caged Bird Seal, he fought back against them.
After losing the use of his leg, he had fallen into a painful unconscious state.
"Tell me, who did this?" The Eight Elder saw the flash of realization in his eyes and knew Neji's memory must have returned. He immediately began questioning him.
If they could find out now, perhaps the attackers hadn't escaped yet.
"It was… Hyuga Neji!" The branch family member quickly answered. "Hyuga Neji—he's the one who hurt me!"
His words were firm and unwavering.
"Hyuga Neji?" The others were furious, but also confused. That shouldn't be possible.
Neji might have hurt him, but how could he have injured Hyuga Sosuke, a member of the main family?
Sosuke possessed the method to activate the Caged Bird Seal. If Neji showed any sign of attacking him, Sosuke could activate the seal and make Neji's life a living hell.
The elder's gaze grew serious as he looked at the branch family man, suspecting he was lying.
"I'm not lying," the branch family man insisted. "It's true. We never expected Neji could still fight back, even while enduring the Caged Bird Seal's pain. But after I broke my leg, I lost consciousness. I don't know how Sosuke got injured."
"Useless!" The Eight Elder kicked him down. A branch family member who couldn't protect his grandson was nothing but trash.
"Wake the others up!"
At the elder's command, the others forced the unconscious men awake.
They questioned them one by one.
Their answers were consistent with the first: all had been knocked out by Hyuga Neji, but none had seen Neji injure Hyuga Sosuke.
After hearing all the testimonies, the Eight Elder of the Hyuga clan said, "Clan leader, the situation is clear. I hope you bring Hyuga Neji here. He must pay for injuring my grandson!"
His words were sharp and relentless.
"Eighth Elder, please don't be so quick to judge... Let me ask again."
Hyūga Hiashi took a deep breath and looked at the group, speaking deliberately, "Why did you attack Neji?"
The group hesitated for a moment. Finally, one of them spoke under Hiashi's intense gaze:
"It was because Hyūga Sōsuke and Uchiha Genya had a conflict. They wanted revenge and targeted those close to Uchiha Genya."
The man glanced at Hiashi every now and then as he spoke.
But Hiashi's expression grew increasingly serious, his voice edged with anger:
"So... you attacked Neji and even used the Caged Bird technique!"
"Yes," the man answered meekly.
"Hmph. You deserve to be injured. How could Neji not have killed you?" Hiashi snorted coldly.
"Clan Leader, are you trying to protect Hyūga Neji? He's a traitor who dared to harm the main family's disciples. He deserves death!"
The Eighth Elder looked at Hiashi accusingly.
In their eyes, Neji, a branch family member, attacking the main family was the greatest betrayal.
Other main family members stared at Hiashi, waiting for his explanation.
"That's enough. No one saw that it was Neji who attacked Sōsuke!"
Hiashi scanned the main family members, his tone growing fierce.
"Since when did branch family members become punching bags for the main family? If Hyūga Sōsuke committed such a serious crime, I'd punish him myself if he weren't injured!"
"I'm telling you, branch family members are also Hyūga clan members."
"Hiashi, you..."
The Eighth Elder started to scold and argue, but was interrupted.
"The medical ninja is here. Step aside."
At that, the Eighth Elder snapped back to reality and quickly ordered a path to be cleared.
Right now, his grandson's life was more important. Once his grandson recovered, he vowed to make Hyūga Neji, that arrogant branch family member, pay for his insolence.
****
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