Meanwhile at the Hyuga District, at a small room that had been formed under the house of Saori Hyuga, a meeting was taking place, tens of the highest members of the Branch Hyuga family were gathered.
"Are you sure that he will be able to remove the seal that binds us?" A member asked as he looked towards Saori who was seated on the other side of the room, clearly at the highest seat in the room.
The woman had changed much with the years, her presence having grown heavier, her chakra leagues beyond what it had once been, and when she opened her white creamy eyes, it felt like they were seeing straight into the man's soul.
Her lips quirked up slightly into a warm caring smile, though it didn't look like the smile one would give a person or a human for that matter, it more resembled the smile that one would give their favourite puppy or dog.
"Yes, He is already researching it, though for the process to quicken, he needs a participant to take with him so he can have the seal at disposal to be able to constantly research it. That is why the current meeting has been gathered. Would one of you be willing to help with the great cause of our revolution? For the greater good of the Hyuga clan?" Saori said sweetly, her voice like honey that was poisoned and yet no one seemed to notice.
There were three things that any of the shinobi here would have noticed in any other case but in this room.
First, it was the fact that seals could be seen all over the room, and yet no one paid them any mind.
Second, It was the smell of the incense being burned, a clear poison that would affect the mind and make it more malleable.
And third, it was the cold hard almost insane glint in Saori's eyes, her eyes were the eyes of a fanatic, of a zealot of some god and yet none of them were noticing at all.
They were all under the effect of the control seals whilst here.
"I'll do it." A voice from the back said, It was a woman with long black hair pulled in a pony tail, bangs fell over her forehead covering it and the cursed mark inscribed upon it.
"Ah, Ayame, yes, you shall do just fine, I'm glad that you are willing to even leave the village for our cause, it brings me to tears. You will be taken care of by my husband and will be able to return as soon as the testings are done, hopefully with the complete seal to break our curse." Saori said, her voice sweet as she slowly lifted herself up from her position and walked to the young woman, caressing her face gently with one hand.
"Yes madam. I shall do my best. How should I come into contact with him?" Ayame Hyuga asked as she looked up at Saori, her eyes shining with admiring fervor.
"What you must do is simple, first, place this paper sheet on top of your forehead and cover it with your bandana. After which, you should take a mission in the land of tea. There, he will come and meet you." Saori replied as she moved her hand and pulled something out from her yukata sleeves.
It was a simple white small paper, rectangular in shape, there were no inscriptions on it, nothing at all atleast to the naked eye.
However if one were to activate the byakugan and look closer into the paper sheet, they would notice that it was actually blank or flat, a seal was engraved upon the paper, and the main symbol on it was 'Puppet'.
"Yes Madam, When do i get going?" Ayame asked, her voice clear, her determination and ambition for the greater good of her clan shining through clearly.
"Tomorrow morning, take the mission and get started as quickly as you can. We can't keep him waiting for long. We need to get this binding curse gone from our lives as quickly as we can, it has been far too long since we have been able to breathe in the clear air of freedom haven't we, my dear brethren?" Saori said, addressing the words to both Ayame and the rest of the room.
Grunts of approval were heard all around, coming from the Hyuga who had a rather large wooden stick stuck up their bottoms, it was a high applause.
Meanwhile on the other side of the same compound, another meeting was taking place, here however only two people were participating.
The head of the main Hyuga family and the head of the Branch Family.
Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga. Brother in blood, twins. A mere minute difference in age, yet the effect of those sixty seconds had changed their lives forever. One made to lead and the other made to serve.
"Brother… Neji is a prodigy of the Hyuga clan, putting the seal on him would shorten his potential, please… can you not reconsider it." Hizashi said as he was seated in a cross legged position before his brother.
"This is tradition, I cannot make an exception for your child, I am the leader, I have to be fair to everyone. The seal is a must, it is for the protection of our clan." Hiashi replied, his voice stern, clearly leaving no room for any further talks or negotiations about this matter.
His words sent a wave a pure unadulterated rage through Hizashi though the mans expression didnt change even slightly on the outside even as he was burning hotter and hotter on the inside with rage, hatred and revulsion at the fact that his own child would soon be turned into what was a glorified slave.
"He will be made to serve as Hinata's bodyguard. That is already a high enough privilege." Hiashi continued, the words in his mind were a way to placate his brother however they had the opposite effect.
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