Chapter 271: Succeeding as Clan Head, A Man from the Moon Arrives
It had to be said that after spending a long time with the Uchiha, Neji had more or less picked up a bad habit, for example, when his emotions were rather agitated, he was accustomed to using wild laughter to express them.
And this was very inconsistent with the Hyuga, who had always prided themselves on being the nobility among ninja and demanded of themselves the standards of nobility in all things. Therefore, after seeing Neji's wild laughter, all the elders present frowned.
"You say the Caged Bird Seal is the foundation of the family?" After laughing his fill, Neji looked directly at the elder who had just spoken. "Then I'd like to ask, is it you, who don't even do the most basic missions and only rely on the Caged Bird Seal to enslave the branch family, who are the foundation of the family, or is it the branch family, who are enslaved by the Caged Bird Seal for their entire lives, who are the foundation of the family?"
After Neji finished speaking, the faces of the elders present instantly turned the color of pig's liver. Although everyone did some things, once they were said so bluntly, it was of a completely different nature.
"Hyuga Neji! Watch your attitude! You are not the clan head yet! And even if you become the clan head, you are not qualified to speak to us like this!" an elder angrily rebuked Neji.
"I'm not qualified?" Neji sneered. "I am a Jonin of Konoha, the direct disciple of the Fifth Hokage, and the captain of the fourth battalion of the Jonin squad. And you? You don't even have the rank of a Chunin. Logically speaking, a ninja of your level has no right to speak to me directly."
"Hyuga Neji! Don't think that you can ignore the family's rules just because you have the Hokage backing you!" the Hyuga elder said, flustered and exasperated. Subsequently, he looked at Hiashi Hyuga.
"Hiashi Hyuga, the young clan leader you have chosen so blatantly disregards the family's rules. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
"Ah, I still have to go to Lord Hokage's place to get the border defense map and study carefully how to arrange the border's military preparations. Neji, I'll leave this to you," upon hearing this, Hiashi Hyuga stood up, patted Neji's shoulder, and decisively bailed. Are you kidding me? Just those few disrespectful words these elders had said about the Hokage, if the Guard Unit found out, would be enough for them to receive the "Three Purities Education" at the Naka River Grand Hotel. These elders were usually praised by their respective branch families in the clan. They probably thought everyone in the village would praise them like that.
After Hiashi Hyuga left, Neji also stood up and directly sat in the seat previously occupied by Hiashi Hyuga, which represented the position of the head of the family. Then, he wiped his hand on the portable sealing scroll at his waist, took out his Eight Trigrams Staff, and stabbed it forcefully into the ground. Then he looked at the several elders.
"In a few days, I will remove the Caged Bird Seal from all the branch family members under your command. In the future, there will be no distinction between the main and branch families in the Hyuga. The status in the clan will be determined entirely by talent and strength. However, you elders need not worry. Considering that you elders have put in some hard work in the family over the years, even if there is no great merit, the family will support you for the rest of your lives with the previous main family treatment," Neji said.
"Hyuga Neji, you are not the clan head yet!" the Great Elder of the Hyuga said angrily. Subsequently, he looked at the others around him. "Everyone, I propose that we, in the name of the elders, strip Hyuga Neji of his position as young clan leader. We cannot watch as the ancestral teachings of the Hyuga are cut off by this madman! Otherwise, when we arrive in the Pure Land, how can we face our ancestors!"
"It seems you elders don't want to do this the easy way?" Neji patted his hands with a blank expression.
The gate of the Hyuga shrine was opened at this moment. A group of people holding kunai swarmed in and brought all the elders in the shrine under control.
The several elders took a closer look and found that the newcomers were all branch family members of Hiashi Hyuga's and Hyuga Neji's line. They were instantly enraged. "Hyuga Neji! Are you trying to stage a coup within the clan? And you, as members of the branch family, how dare you commit insubordination and point your weapons at the main family?"
"You elders seem to have gotten one thing wrong. What I am doing can only be called a coup if it fails. If it succeeds, it's a revolution," Neji slowly stood up, pulled out the Eight Trigrams Staff beside him, twirled it, and then pointed it directly at the face of the Hyuga Great Elder.
"Do you think you can control us with just these branch family members?" the Great Elder gritted his teeth and raised his hand to form the incantation to activate the Caged Bird Seal.
However, the branch family members around them were completely unmoved.
"This... you've removed all of their Caged Bird Seals?" the Hyuga Great Elder raised his head in disbelief and looked at Neji, who was pointing a staff at him.
"Great Elder, as I said, this is a revolution. Naturally, I have to start with myself," Neji said.
"Why? Why do you still listen to his orders even without the Caged Bird Seal?" at this time, an elder of the Hyuga turned his head and asked a Hyuga branch family member who had a kunai at his neck.
Hearing what this person said, Neji also put away his weapon with some lack of interest. Ever since Uchiha Douhuan had told him to prepare to take over the Hyuga clan, Neji had immediately removed the Caged Bird Seals of these branch family members of his line. And in order to be able to seize power smoothly, he had also made many preparations.
Furthermore, he was more or less a bit excited in his heart. After all, having studied under Uchiha Douhuan for so long, he finally had a chance to put it into practice.
But what he hadn't expected was that the main family elders, whom he had previously attached great importance to, were all such fools.
At this time, Neji couldn't help but sigh with emotion. Some people in their Hyuga clan had visible Caged Bird Seal marks, but the people in front of him, weren't they also caged birds on another level? It was just that they didn't have that ugly seal mark on their heads.
"Take them away," Neji waved his hand with a lack of interest, turning his head, not wanting to look at these fools who had been spoiled by years of a comfortable life.
"Where are you taking us?" the Hyuga Great Elder, with a kunai at his neck, shouted at Neji.
"Where else can we go? To the Guard Unit, of course. I forgot to tell you, they are all members of the Guard Unit now. Your act of activating the Caged Bird Seal just now has already violated the village's laws. You can just wait to be tried," after Neji finished speaking, he left the family's shrine without looking back.
After leaving the shrine, Neji turned and walked towards the center of the Hyuga clan compound.
Before he had walked far, Sasuke appeared behind him and asked with a light laugh, "How does it feel?"
"To be honest, it was pretty boring," Neji said with a shrug. "If Teacher's opponents back then were a bunch of vermin, then these few in my clan are complete freeloaders."
"Let's not talk about this. In any case, you've become the head of the Hyuga clan. I still have to congratulate you," Sasuke said with a laugh. After speaking, Sasuke took out a scroll from his body and handed it to Neji. "This contains some of the basic Uchiha shuriken manipulation techniques and trajectories that don't require the Sharingan. Take it and have Tenten try to see if she can replicate it with scientific ninja tools. Consider this our Uchiha clan's succession gift for you, the new Hyuga clan head."
"This gift of yours is really valuable. Does Teacher know about this?" Neji said with emotion. Sasuke's gift was equivalent to their Hyuga's most basic Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. They were all things that could be considered the foundation of their respective families.
"Teacher has already let me manage the affairs in the clan now. And I estimate Teacher won't object to this matter. In the future, the importance of shuriken throwing techniques will only become lower and lower," Sasuke said with a shrug. "As for you, after becoming the clan head, how do you plan to change the Hyuga?"
"In any case, let's solve the Caged Bird Seal first. With that thing around, the Hyuga can never catch up to you Uchiha," Neji said.
"Heh heh, for you Hyuga to want to catch up to us Uchiha is a bit too fanciful," Sasuke laughed.
"How do you know if you don't try?" Neji also laughed. "Want to make a bet?"
"Heh heh, a bet it is," Sasuke said. "Let's bet on which of our two families will be the number one dōjutsu clan in Konoha in ten years. How about it?"
"Alright," Neji also said with a smile. Compared to dealing with a bunch of freeloaders who couldn't even be considered vermin, competing with his junior fellow disciple was much more interesting.
"Want to come to my place for a sit? I got some tea from Teacher's place. Come and have a taste?" Neji raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of tea?" Sasuke's interest was also piqued upon hearing this.
"Just that most precious pot of his," Neji said with a smile.
"He hides it so deeply, and you could still find it?" Sasuke said with some astonishment. But one look at Neji's eyes, and he immediately understood what the other meant, and couldn't help but nod. "In this aspect, your Byakugan is still more impressive."
The two brothers laughed and walked towards the Hyuga clan head's residence.
"Brother Neji!" As soon as Neji and Sasuke arrived home, a small figure pounced towards him.
"Hanabi, slow down. We have a guest," Neji said with some helplessness after catching the flying Hanabi.
"Brother Sasuke!" Hanabi, nestled in Neji's arms, raised her head and waved at Sasuke with a brilliant smile.
"Hello there, little Hanabi," Sasuke nodded with a smile.
Hanabi's little eyes glanced left and right beside the two, and after finding no sign of that yellow-haired kid, she nodded with satisfaction.
It could be said that in this family, this little girl was the most hostile towards the yellow-haired kid. You must know, every time that yellow-haired kid came to their house, her sister's eyes would no longer have her in them.
After Neji invited Sasuke into the house, Hinata also pulled open the door of the living room and said with a smile, "Sasuke-kun, you're here."
The few of them sat down by the tatami in the living room. Hinata put water on to boil on the stove, slowly waiting for the water to boil.
After the water boiled, Neji put tea leaves in the pot, then poured in the boiling water. The aroma of tea filled the living room. Neji and Sasuke both enjoyed the smell.
"Teacher really drinks well usually," Sasuke said with emotion.
"Yeah. Speaking of the tea ceremony, Teacher is indeed number one in the ninja world in this aspect!" Neji also chimed in.
"This tea of yours... where did it come from?" Hinata at this time discovered something was wrong and hurriedly asked.
"Your brother got it from Lord Hokage's collection," Sasuke shrugged and said with a smile.
"This... won't it cause any problems?" Hinata asked hurriedly.
"What problem could there be," Neji waved his hand. "Even if he finds out, at most we'll just get a beating. But the chance to taste this Snow Mountain Rock Tea from the Land of Snow is not something you get often."
"Uh..." Hinata, the good girl, still felt that what these two were doing was not very good. So she stood up and asked, "Will Sasuke-kun be staying here for dinner?"
"Then I'll have to trouble you," Sasuke didn't stand on ceremony.
"Then I'll go make dinner," after Hinata nodded, she stood up and excused herself, heading for the kitchen.
At this moment, night was gradually falling. The moonlight sprinkled on the courtyard of the Hyuga clan head's residence.
In the next instant, the moonlight seemed to be distorted and gathered by some invisible force. Above the white sand ground in the center of the courtyard, a blurry human silhouette condensed. The speed at which that silhouette turned from虚 (xū - illusory) to real was faster than what the eye could capture. One moment it was an ethereal light and shadow, the next, a figure had already silently set foot on the cold sand, like a ghost fallen from the moon palace.
Long silver-white hair flowed with moonlight. Deep within the pure white pupils was only the indifference of looking down on ants and a trace of greed for a sure-win.
The newcomer was dressed in a spotless plain white robe. His gaze, like two sharp blades tempered with cold ice, instantly pierced through the shadows of the corridor and accurately nailed onto Hinata.
She was just carrying the delivered food, her face as pale as paper, her pair of pure Byakugan filled with alarm.
"A pure Byakugan... follow me and return to the sacred domain of the moon," the newcomer's voice was calm and without ripples, yet it carried a will that could freeze the soul.
"To dare to come to the Hyuga clan and act wild, you've got some nerve!"
A stern shout exploded like a clap of thunder! Hyuga Neji's figure shot out from the shadows of the corridor, the jet-black Eight Trigrams Staff in his hand tearing through the air, letting out a sharp whine.
He did not charge at Toneri's main body, but straight at the ground beside Hinata—there, a few paving flagstones had strangely risen and deformed on their own, instantly transforming into three crude but extremely swift rock puppets. A faint blue chakra light flickered at their joints. The giant rock claws, carrying a heavy wind pressure, viciously grabbed at Hinata!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Neji's figure was as fast as a phantom. The Eight Trigrams Staff in his hand transformed into a watertight barrier of black light. The staff's shadow accurately struck the wrists, elbows, and knees of the rock puppets. Every collision emitted a heavy, dull thud. Sparks flew where the staff and stone met.
The Gentle Fist's chakra penetrated the hard rock and invaded the interior, attempting to destroy the chakra nodes that maintained the puppets' movements.
Neji's staff shadow protected the area around Hinata, keeping those stone claws firmly outside the circle. His movements were fierce and swift, yet carried the unique precise penetrating power of the Gentle Fist. Every strike attempted to dismantle the energy flow inside the puppets. Rock debris fell, and the movements of the three puppets clearly became sluggish, their joints emitting a harsh scraping sound.
Almost at the same time as Neji intercepted the puppets, another figure cut into the battlefield at an even faster speed. Sasuke's figure was like a purple lightning bolt tearing through the night sky. He leaped over the corridor's railing and pounced through the air at Toneri, who was hovering in the center of the courtyard! His right hand had long been enveloped in a blinding azure lightning. The piercing sound of a thousand birds chirping tore through the silence of the moonlit night, condensing into an indestructible lightning spear—Chidori Sharp Spear!
(End of chapter)
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