Chapter 193: Hinata Hyūga
Hinata Hyūga returned to the Hyūga clan compound in a state of nervous apprehension that evening.
Entering the compound, she didn't dare to speak or even raise her head.
She could clearly feel the strange looks from many of the Branch House members, which heightened her anxiety to the extreme. She wanted nothing more than to bury her head in the ground.
"The Young Mistress of the Main House, huh..."
A Hyūga Branch House member who passed Hinata sneered. He turned to glance at Hinata's quickening pace, his voice filled with contempt: "The moment the Main House fell from its pedestal, no one was willing to call her 'Young Mistress Hinata' anymore!"
Not far away, another Branch House ninja stared at Hinata's retreating back and said, "We in the Branch House all have the Caged Bird seal on our heads. Only she has a clean forehead with nothing on it."
"Why don't we..."
A meaningful glint flashed in his eyes: "Find an opportunity to carve the Caged Bird seal on her forehead! And her sister, too. They both need to be marked! The kind of seal that was modified by the Main House, the one that makes you feel an endless, unbearable pain that feels like your head is splitting open the moment it's activated."
It seemed he was recalling his own painful experiences of being tortured by the Caged Bird seal by the Main House.
The Branch House ninja looked like he was ready to pounce.
"They're not the only two Main House members who weren't locked up in Konoha's prison. We should put the Caged Bird on the others too, to show the fairness between the Main and Branch Houses," another person chimed in.
"Speaking of which, if we choose a successor to the Main House, will their two children still need one of them to have the Caged Bird seal? Or will both of them?"
The waves of whispers behind her were mostly directed at Hinata Hyūga.
It frightened Hinata so much that her palms were soaked with cold sweat.
She finally understood why that terrifying man had demanded that she take Hanabi and the other members of the Main House who weren't in prison out of the clan.
If she stayed in the Hyūga clan, she would face an unknown and terrifying fate.
But Hinata, who had been jogging along quickly, suddenly froze.
"The things they were whispering about... are they things they've experienced themselves? Does that mean Neji-nii-san and Hizashi-ojisan also went through this kind of pain? Is that why Neji-nii-san had such strong feelings about my father and was so resentful toward the Hyūga Main House members..."
This question came out in a whisper from Hinata Hyūga.
She stopped in silence, biting her pale lips.
Seven-year-old Hinata was finally belatedly realizing something that outsiders had grasped immediately. As one of the "insiders," she was the last one to wake up to the truth.
Just then.
Hinata Hyūga bumped into a tired and sullen-looking Main House youth. He was the only remaining Special Jōnin from the Hyūga Main House. When he saw Hinata, he immediately perked up, forcing a smile to hide his exhaustion.
"Young Mistress Hinata, I was just about to prepare some food for Young Mistress Hanabi. She's only two, and I've just learned that some foods adults can eat, she can't..."
"Kenzō-ojisan, let's leave the Hyūga compound!" Hinata Hyūga mustered her courage and looked up at Kenzō Hyūga.
O-ojisan...
I'm only twenty years old...
Kenzō Hyūga was silent for half a second before asking, a little confused, "Why do we have to leave the Hyūga compound?"
"It's... it's..."
Hinata said meekly: "It's what that man, Ikeizumi Uchiha, told me. He said—'bring your sister and the others with you, and find him at Ichiraku Ramen at eight tonight.'"
Ikeizumi Uchiha!!!
Kenzō Hyūga's heart skipped a beat, and his mouth suddenly felt dry. He couldn't form any words of refusal, as most of the Main House elders had been put in Konoha's prison by this man!
In Kenzō Hyūga's eyes, this man was the most terrifying person in Konoha!
Defying his "order" would likely have severe consequences.
After taking a deep breath.
Kenzō Hyūga, who was already sweating from being frightened by the name, forced a smile and said, "If that man said so, then he must have a reason. Besides, he believes in [Absolute Justice], so he shouldn't intend to harm anyone. In that case, there shouldn't be a problem if we do as he says."
"Eight o'clock tonight, right?" Kenzō Hyūga's nervous expression was hard to hide. He mumbled to himself: "Even though we still have two hours, we can't make that man wait for us. It would make the Hyūga Main House seem too rude."
"So we must go there early and wait for him. That will show that the Hyūga Main House is sincere and has no dissatisfaction or resentment toward [Absolute Justice]."
"Right! That's how it should be!"
Kenzō Hyūga said hastily, "Young Mistress Hinata, please split up with me and inform the other Main House members. Let's try to gather at the main gate of the Hyūga compound in ten minutes."
"...Okay."
Hinata nodded.
"Orochimaru never considers human life as something precious; he only cherishes his own. My memory has been tampered with, and I can't recall many of his secrets. I can only vaguely remember that he has many jutsu to protect himself."
In a sweets shop in Konoha, Anko Mitarashi said with a serious expression as she ate dango: "In other words, it's very difficult to kill him. You'll never know how many backup plans he has."
"Was he really able to leave Konoha unharmed when he was surrounded by the Third Hokage, the ANBU, and others back then?"
Izumi asked with curiosity.
Anko nodded heavily, the originally sickeningly sweet dango in her mouth now tasting bland: "I didn't even know about it at the time. By the time I realized Orochimaru had defected, it was already too late."
"For a while afterward, I underwent strict interrogation from the ANBU. They realized that Orochimaru had indeed 'abandoned' me and ended the interrogation. But some people were still secretly watching my every move."
"I even suspect that when I was bathing... there might have been a female ANBU ninja watching me from a corner I couldn't detect."
Anko's expression was a little grim: "It was only in the last year or two that the Hokage-sama finally lifted the surveillance."
She let out a self-deprecating laugh: "Maybe it's because the ANBU are short-staffed. After all, Ikeizumi has killed a lot of ANBU ninja who've done evil and stood in the way of [Absolute Justice]."
Izumi pondered, then asked, "Are you a little unwilling to be abandoned by Orochimaru? Do you feel like Orochimaru didn't value you enough?"
Anko was silent for a moment.
She nodded, admitting frankly: "I used to think that way, and it lasted for a few years. I was always a little bit unwilling and resentful toward him. But ever since I chose to follow Ikeizumi's [Absolute Justice], I've come to understand a lot of things."
"There's no need to feel confused or unwilling because Orochimaru left me behind. Instead, I should be grateful he didn't take me with him. Otherwise, I would have fallen into a bottomless abyss from which I could never climb out."
Izumi's small face was serious: "Ikeizumi-senpai will not fail your faith in [Absolute Justice]!"
"Mhm." Anko smiled and said, "It's precisely because I trust Ikeizumi's [Absolute Justice] that I chose to follow him!"
"A villain like Orochimaru..."
Anko snapped the dango skewer in half, her eyes glinting with murderous intent.
"Must be eliminated!!!"
"...I think I just heard something crazy." In a very inconspicuous corner of the Konoha sweets shop, an ANBU ninja on vacation took a bite of his dessert without changing his expression.
He recognized Anko Mitarashi and Izumi Uchiha. The two of them were now widely known as Ikeizumi Uchiha's subordinates in Konoha.
Many people with a guilty conscience saw them and acted as if they had seen a god of pestilence in broad daylight.
Although they weren't as extreme in their killing as Ikeizumi Uchiha.
In this short amount of time, they had sent countless people to the Konoha prison. Even if someone spat on the street, if they were seen, they would be forced to clean up the spit and pay a hefty fine that would make their heart ache!
Suppressing his shock, the ANBU ninja paid without expression, then pretended to be a normal Konoha villager and walked out of the sweets shop.
He then disappeared in a flash, with no hesitation.
He was clearly going to inform the Third Hokage.
......................
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