"Ha ha! Hahahaha!"
He let out a series of nonsensical, frantic laughs, scrambling on all fours away from the still-warm corpse, rushing madly toward the direction of the iron door ingrained in his memory!
His hands fumbled against the cold, rough wall, searching for the outline of the door, searching for that sliver of a gap that represented a path to survival!
Just as his fingers finally touched the cold iron door, and his wild joy reached its peak.
Click, click, click... Bang!
A sharp, familiar sound of metal scraping and clanging suddenly came from behind him!
Yōtō Hyūga's movements froze instantly, the frantic joy solidifying on his face. A question popped into his mind.
What was that sound?
The next moment.
Whoosh! Crack!!
A screeching whistle split the air. A whip, imbued with power and hatred, lashed out, fiercely striking Yōtō Hyūga's undefended back!
"Aaaah!!!"
The searing pain of flesh being torn open—as if a red-hot branding iron had struck his back—instantly swept through his entire body. Yōtō Hyūga let out a scream of extreme agony.
His legs turned to jelly, and he collapsed heavily to the ground with a loud thud, convulsing in pain.
Clang... clang...
The sound of something dragging on the ground, accompanied by footsteps, slowly approached him.
"No! No!" Yōtō Hyūga shrieked in terror. "You swore on the Hyūga name! You said you wouldn't hurt me! You said you would let me leave!!"
"That's right."
The reply was a cold voice tinged with vicious laughter.
The voice was incredibly familiar, but it was definitely notIroha Hyūga!
"Iroha did indeed swear that oath, but..." the voice paused slightly, then hatred and malice poured out. "I never said I would let you go!"
That voice, that voice is...
"Komon Hyūga?!"
All the blood in Yōtō Hyūga's body seemed to freeze at that moment. His mind went blank.
Why? Why is it Komon Hyūga?
Wasn't that guy tortured until he had only one breath left?!
Just as he lost his composure from the sudden terror.
Whoosh! Crack!!
The sound of the whip slicing the air screamed out again!
The leather whip, which had belonged to Aruto Hyūga but was now clutched in Komon Hyūga's hand, struck Yōtō Hyūga's body again, brutally!
This time, the lashing did not stop!
Crack! Crack! Crack!!
Komon Hyūga's arm moved frantically, pouring all his pent-up anger, pain, humiliation, and hatred into the whip!
The whip marks blurred into a streak, accompanied by ear-piercing shrieks, raining down upon Yōtō Hyūga like a storm!
"Aah! Aaaah!!"
Yōtō Hyūga let out a series of incoherent, agonizing screams. He had nowhere to hide, only able to curl up on the ground, violently twitching and convulsing.
Each lash brought a new wave of burning, stinging pain.
Soon, he lost the strength to scream, only able to produce weak whines and moans from the depths of his throat, like a dying animal.
Crack!
With an especially loud snap, the battered leather whip finally gave out, breaking in the middle, one piece falling into the pool of blood.
The whipping finally stopped. Yōtō Hyūga was a thoroughly ruined pile of bloody pulp, slumped on the ground, only his body twitching slightly in unconscious spasms.
He had barely an inch of intact skin on his body, covered in crisscrossing, torn-open whip marks. Blood continually seeped from the wounds, completely dyeing him a bloody crimson.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Komon Hyūga gasped for breath, his chest heavily heaving. He casually tossed the remaining half of the whip aside, his voice hoarse. "Truly, trash."
It was unclear if he was cursing the useless whip or the bloody mess on the floor before him.
"Wh-why..."
Yōtō Hyūga's breathing was faint, his voice a whisper, yet still filled with hatred and resentment. "Why, why won't you, let me go..."
"My eyes, you've already gouged them out..."
"My father, you've already killed him..."
"Why, still..."
Listening to Yōtō Hyūga, even at this moment, show no remorse and still blame everyone else for his faults, a flash of disgust crossed Komon Hyūga's bloodshot eyes.
He slowly raised his hand, grasping the iron chain bound to his wrist.
"Your eyes, I didn't gouge them out," Komon Hyūga's tone was icy. "Your father, I didn't kill him either."
"But..."
Komon Hyūga's gaze locked onto Yōtō Hyūga's face. All the hatred and killing intent condensed to its peak at this moment!
"Your life, I will take with my own hands!"
As the words left his mouth, Komon Hyūga didn't hesitate, swinging the iron chain and letting it fly!
The heavy chain instantly snapped straight, carrying terrifying force and killing intent, ripping through the air with a shriek, and fiercely striking Yōtō Hyūga's head!
Bang!!
With a chilling crash, Yōtō Hyūga's head instantly exploded into a spray of blood, red and white fluids splattering everywhere.
All the screams, pleas, and resentment came to an abrupt end.
That single strike of the heavy iron chain nearly exhausted Komon Hyūga's last reserves of strength.
A strong sense of dizziness hit him. His vision blurred, he stumbled, and his body involuntarily collapsed backward.
But the anticipated pain of hitting the cold ground didn't come.
A firm arm reached out from behind him just in time, steadily supporting his shoulder, catching his nearly limp body.
"How do you feel?"
Iroha Hyūga asked with a frown, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Hoo! Cough, cough!" Komon Hyūga gasped heavily, his chest heaving like bellows.
But then, the corners of his face, covered in blood and sweat, slowly curled into a smile mixed with pain and exhilaration. His voice was hoarse but excited:
"Great! It felt amazing!"
Hearing this, Iroha Hyūga's eye twitched with a mix of exasperation and helplessness. "I asked you about your body! Can you still manage?"
The nearly frantic smile slowly faded from Komon Hyūga's face.
He shook his head, not directly answering about his injuries, but instead asked worriedly, "Brother Iroha, the person who came with you, was that Neji?"
"We killed Aruto Hyūga and Yōtō Hyūga. The Hyūga Clan and Konoha won't tolerate us. Do we really have no choice but to defect?"
His voice carried a mix of reluctance and confusion.
After the thrill of revenge, the cold reality quickly set in.
"Defect? For what?" Iroha Hyūga exhaled a lungful of stale air. "Do you think it was just Neji and me who acted tonight?"
Saying this, he helped Komon Hyūga turn and face the heavy iron door.
He raised his other hand, and with a quiet click, effortlessly pulled the interior bolt, and the heavy iron door slowly creaked open.
"Are they dealt with?"
A cold voice, devoid of emotion, drifted from outside the door, and a figure stepped out from the deep shadows.
Seeing the newcomer's face, Komon Hyūga's eyes widened sharply, a look of shock and disbelief surfacing on his face. He blurted out, "Tetsu? How... how could it be you?!"
Tetsu Hyūga still carried a lingering scent of blood, his eyes cold and steady.
"Why couldn't it be me?" Tetsu Hyūga glanced at him, countering calmly.
"Because..." Komon Hyūga was momentarily speechless.
He looked at the face that resembled Aruto Hyūga somewhat but was now filled with cold indifference. He couldn't force out the rest of his thought.
"Because I'm Aruto Hyūga's second son? Because I'm Yōtō Hyūga's younger brother?"
Tetsu Hyūga finished the thought for him, his gaze lowering to the two gruesome corpses on the floor.
There was not a single ripple of emotion in his eyes, only icy coldness.
"They never treated me as family, and I have never once stepped foot in that house."
Tetsu Hyūga's voice was low and calm. "Only the Branch Family, gathered and united by Lord Kawa, is my home."
Komon Hyūga was stunned, feeling a massive sense of shock.
"Wait." He suddenly seemed to recall something and asked urgently, "If the people who came were you, then Neji..."
"Did you think our action tonight was just to rescue you from here?" Iroha Hyūga interrupted him.
He raised his head slightly, as if looking outside, and took a deep breath. "Now that I think about it, the movement outside should have already begun."
"What?" Komon Hyūga's throat bobbed. A terrifying and mad thought surfaced in his mind. "You mean..."
"Just like I said to Aruto Hyūga earlier," Iroha Hyūga said gravely. "Why should we leave here like stray dogs?"
"This place..."
"Is our Hyūga Clan!"
The night deepened, the forest grew silent, and the wind turned colder.
In a spacious reception room at Hiashi Hyūga's estate, an atmosphere of suffocating tension prevailed.
The only light source was a candle placed in the center of the room. The flickering flame cast distorted, swaying shadows of the four figures sitting cross-legged onto the surrounding walls.
Aside from Hiashi Hyūga, the other three seated were the influential elders from the other three main bloodlines of the Hyūga Main Family.
All were dressed in formal Main Family attire, but all were simultaneously frowning, staring at Hiashi Hyūga, who sat with his eyes closed, seemingly in deep meditation like an old monk.
Time passed in silence, only the faint crackling of the burning candle was clearly audible.
"Hiashi."
Finally, an elder with a slightly more impatient temperament couldn't help but speak, breaking the suffocating silence. "Why exactly did you summon us here? What is the pressing matter?"
"Why the secrecy, dismissing all the attendants?"
Hiashi Hyūga slowly opened his eyes. His gaze did not immediately turn to the speaker but first glanced at the clock on the wall, which showed a quite late hour.
"Never mind," he said flatly. "Aruto hasn't come, so we won't wait for him."
"The reason I asked you all to come is still about the previous proposal." Hiashi Hyūga's gaze slowly swept over the three elders, his eyes profound, getting straight to the point.
"The disposal of the Branch Family?"
Another gaunt-faced elder spoke, his tone knowing yet slightly impatient. "Didn't we already agree?"
"We would use the incident of Komon Hyūga murdering a Main Family member and stealing the Byakugan to publicly execute him, thereby intimidating all Branch Family members and suppressing their recent arrogant behavior."
"No, it's not enough." Hiashi Hyūga shook his head, his finger lightly tapping his knee. "Merely killing one Komon Hyūga is insufficient to instill fear in all Branch Family members."
"You want to kill more?" The third elder, who had been silent until now, frowned, his voice low. "Hiashi, the commotion would be too great. The Third Hokage won't allow it."
"You should know very well that what he cares about most is the village's stability. He will never stand by and watch us start a large-scale purge within the village."
"Also," the gaunt-faced elder added, "don't forget the precedent of the Uchiha Clan. You don't want to create a 'Hollow' in our clan, do you?"
"I already have a solution for that." Hiashi Hyūga's tone became even more somber. "Please allow me to introduce you to a new friend of the Hyūga Clan."
As the words fell, a slow, distinct sound came from the shadows in the back of the room—clear, hollow, as if resonating with the air and the skull bone of a person.
Tap... Tap... Tap...
The bodies of the three elders instantly tensed. They turned their heads sharply in unison, their gazes keenly fixed on the source of the sound.
A figure slowly stepped out from the deep shadows.
The newcomer wore a large cloak, half his face and one arm tightly wrapped in bandages, exuding a cold and obscure aura.
His steps were slow, but each one seemed to be timed to the rhythm of their heartbeats, bringing a heavy sense of oppression.
As they clearly saw the person's face, the three elders' pupils contracted.
"Danzō?!" The gaunt-faced elder almost shouted the name, his voice filled with incredulous shock.
"It is indeed Lord Danzō."
Hiashi Hyūga nodded calmly, as if introducing an ordinary guest. "Lord Danzō and I have reached a consensus."
"In order to maintain stability within Konoha and prevent the Branch Family's unrest from undermining the village's peace, he and his Root are willing to assist us in cleaning up the current affliction within the Hyūga Clan."
"Furthermore, Root has already gathered more intelligence on the 'Hollows,' so we no longer have to worry about the threat of those Branch Family members after their deaths."
At these words, the air in the room seemed to instantly drop several degrees.
The most cautious elder narrowed his eyes, his gaze darting between Danzō Shimura and Hiashi Hyūga, his voice low. "What is the condition?"
He absolutely did not believe Danzō Shimura would be so kind as to wipe their asses for them.
"Once Hiruzen Sarutobi steps down," Hiashi Hyūga slowly replied. "Support Lord Danzō in ascending to the position of Hokage."
The words instantly stirred up a massive storm in the hearts of the three Main Family elders.
Their expressions became extremely solemn. They exchanged glances, and the room once again fell into a far more complicated silence.
The candle flame flickered, casting shifting light and shadow over their faces, yet no one spoke first.
Supporting Danzō Shimura's ascent...
This was no small matter.
It meant standing in opposition to the Hokage faction led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, completely binding the entire Hyūga Clan to Danzō's unknown and dangerous carriage.
Worry, hesitation, and unease permeated their minds. The flickering flame of the candle stretched the shadows on the wall longer and more grotesque.
However, just as this heavy silence was about to reach its peak.
"Aaaah!!"
A bloodcurdling female scream suddenly pierced the air from outside the estate!
The sound was filled with extreme terror, shattering the stillness of the night and fiercely stabbing into the eardrums of everyone in the room!
The three Main Family elders almost instinctively shot up from their cushions, their solemnity and hesitation instantly replaced by shock and alarm!
"What's going on?!"
"What happened?"
However, in stark contrast to their panic was Hiashi Hyūga, who remained as steady as a mountain, not even lifting an eyelid.
"Don't panic," he said calmly. "Root has simply begun to move against the Branch Family."
"Root is moving?"
The three elders were stunned for a moment, and then the shock on their faces gradually turned into a complex sense of relief.
Although they were unhappy that Hiashi Hyūga had acted so unilaterally, not even giving them advance notice before allowing "Root" to operate directly within the clan compound, since the matter was done...
They exchanged glances, their eyes conveying resignation and silent approval, and finally slowly sat back down.
However, their bodies remained tense, far from the genuine relaxation Hiashi Hyūga displayed.
They didn't see the moment they slightly lowered their guard.
Danzō Shimura, whose only visible eye was narrowed, let a cold, mocking smile flicker in the slit of his eye.
Danzō Shimura, who had been silent as a statue in the shadows, suddenly spoke.
"Speaking of which," he said slowly, "I also have a friend I'd like to introduce to you all."
At these words, all four people present, including Hiashi Hyūga who thought he was in control of the situation, were stunned. They instinctively looked up, casting questioning glances toward Danzō in the distance.
Introducing a friend?
At a time like this?
Right after they had just concluded such a secretive and dangerous agreement?
However, before the questions in their minds could fully form.
Danzō Shimura raised his hand and gently clapped twice.
Clap, clap.
The crisp sound of clapping was exceptionally jarring in the silent room.
The next moment, a figure stepped out from the shadows behind Danzō.
He wore Root-style attire and an animal mask, but his build gave the four Main Family elders a strange sense of familiarity.
The person raised his hand and slowly removed the mask from his face.
The serene, familiar face was exposed to the flickering candlelight.
Hyūga, Hizashi?
No...
NO!!
The four saw the ugly Caged Bird Seal branded on the forehead of 'Hizashi Hyūga.'
In an instant, their minds went blank.
What?
What is that?
The Caged Bird Seal?!
But just as they lost control of their minds.
The figures of Danzō Shimura and 'Hizashi Hyūga' vanished simultaneously, moving with extreme speed!
'Hizashi Hyūga' appeared at the side of Hiashi Hyūga and the gaunt-faced elder, his hands becoming two blurred streaks, slamming into the connection point between their shoulder blades and arms!
Crack! Crack!!
Two crisp, scalp-crawling sounds of bone fracturing rang out almost at the same time!
The two hadn't even managed to react. They only felt a sharp pain in their shoulders. Their arms, as if the bones had been removed, dropped limply, all their joints destroyed.
And almost simultaneously, two extremely faint sounds, like a mere breeze, cut through the air!
Swish! Swish!
Danzō Shimura appeared like a ghost behind the other two elders. He lightly flicked the blood-stained kunai in his hand, and an arc of blood sprayed onto the ground.
The other two elders only felt a chill on their shoulders, followed by a minor stinging pain.
The fabric of their robes at their shoulders had a smooth, silent cut and slowly slid open.
Beneath the robes, a thin red line appeared on their skin.
Pfffsssh!!
Blood surged out from the circular red line!
As the blood splashed down, both of their arms detached along that red line from the shoulders and fell onto the tatami-matted floor.
The sound of the arms hitting the floor was dull and distinct, carrying a bizarre rhythm.
Immediately following were the wails and screams that erupted almost simultaneously from all four elders!
"Aah!! My arms!"
"Danzō! How dare you!!"
Pain and terror instantly consumed the four pampered Main Family elders.
They collapsed on the floor, convulsing in agony. Blood gushed from their severed arms, staining the expensive tatami beneath them a shocking crimson.
"What a waste of four men."
Danzō Shimura looked down at the four, sneering coldly. "Even if I cooperate, I wouldn't stoop to work with useless trash like you, who hold no value to Konoha."
The Hokage position?
No. He wanted more than just the Hokage position.
He wanted to turn the souls of these Main Family elders into 'Hollows'!
And he wanted to use the Caged Bird Seal to control the Branch Family and Hyūga Kawa!
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