It had been half an hour since the chaos broke out.
Hiashi Hyuga, who had rescued Hinata, returned to the village leading a group of Anbu ninja that arrived later.
Although along the way he hadn't found the four missing Branch ninja,
He carried many doubts in his heart,
But he wasn't overly worried either.
After all, through the Caged Bird Curse Seal's perception, he could confirm they were still alive.
As long as they were alive, there wasn't much of a problem.
Bound by the cursed seal, they wouldn't dare run off recklessly anyway...
However, just after returning to the Main House estate,
The gruesome scene at the ancestral shrine left Hiashi momentarily stunned.
When he saw his father's corpse—the former clan head Tokko Hyuga—and then noticed the nearly emptied family underground vault,
His mind went blank in sheer disbelief...
He had only been gone for a short while—how could the family's 'guancai ben'—their life-savings meant for old age and emergencies—be stolen?!
The secret incantation to unlock the vault's barrier was known only to himself and the old clan head!
How could it have been exposed?
Who exactly did this?!?!
Looking at his father's lifeless body, the empty eye sockets where his eyes used to be, and the now-empty family vault,
Hiashi burned with rage, his eyes red with fury.
He immediately bellowed in anger, preparing to summon all available Branch ninja to hunt down the killer and avenge his father!
Yet after roaring for some time,
Only nine loyal Branch ninja answered the call.
Among them were merely one Tokubetsu Jonin, two Chunin, and the rest were all Genin…
"Where are the rest?!"
Hiashi demanded furiously.
Several Branch ninja shook their heads, utterly clueless…
One reported: Earlier, many Branch ninja had quietly rushed outside the village, claiming to follow orders from the late clan leader to go assist you, Lord Hiashi…
Hearing this, Hiashi cooled his temper slightly.
At least this explanation made sense.
It was possible that his father, worried about him, had dispatched most of the remaining Branch members.
Leaving the Main House estate defenseless and allowing thieves to strike!
"Immediately inform the Provisional Hokage! Tell him the Hyūga Clan has been attacked—we request immediate support!"
"And recall all Branch ninja stationed outside the village at once!"
"Whoever dared strike against the Hyūga Clan…"
"They will pay a hundredfold!"
Hiashi declared furiously, filled with rage unlike anything before.
Of course, with what little reason remained, he quickly issued the correct commands.
Trying to rely on the village, consolidate forces, and take revenge slowly.
After all, he had already fallen victim to a "decoy tactic" once.
If he rushed out blindly again, who knew—he might return to find the entire Main House gone…
Naturally,
At this moment, he didn't yet realize:
Those Branch ninja dispatched from within the clan to support him;
And the majority of those guarding the outskirts of the village as scouts,
Had already secretly abandoned their posts, fleeing beyond the village walls.
Because Konoha's great barrier had collapsed, no one in the village noticed.
In the short term, a large number of Hyūga Branch ninja were deserting.
Only a few Konoha ninjas stationed in the village occasionally noticed several Hyūga fleeing toward outside the village, but they didn't suspect anything.
They simply thought those were Hyūga heading out on regular missions.
After all, according to common sense in Konoha—
Any clan might potentially have defectors.
But the Hyūga clan would never have any.
Other ninja who defect would be like: fish entering the ocean, a dragon escaping captivity—free to soar through the skies.
Yet for members of the Hyūga Branch House branded with the Caged Bird cursed seal, running away would mean: like throwing themselves into a fire—certain death…
Therefore, no one ever tried to stop those from the Hyūga Branch House.
Just like this, within less than an hour,
In a dense forest nearly a hundred miles north of the Hidden Leaf Village.
A familiar scene was repeating itself once again.
Over two hundred members of the Hyūga Branch gathered quietly here, waiting patiently.
At the center of these gathered Branch members stood a young Uchiha.
However, none of these Hyūga displayed even a hint of rejection toward him.
Instead, their eyes burned with intense and passionate gazes fixed upon the boy.
After all, he was their sole hope for achieving freedom and stepping into new lives!
They waited a few more minutes.
Then sounds of rustling came from afar.
Soon after, six figures darted out and arrived before the group.
"Hail Lord Shimoku!"
Shinkawa Hyuga led the five others in greeting immediately.
"Did you succeed?"
"We succeeded!"
Shinkawa responded excitedly.
He quickly handed over spatial scrolls taken from their bodies as well as more than ten bulging hemp sacks to Shimoku.
"All the cash savings from the Main House are right here!"
"And also, we've plucked out the eyes of Tokko Hyuga…"
"Please, Master Shimoku, lift our cursed seals and grant us true freedom at last!"
Shinkawa knelt before Shimoku, pleading sincerely.
For the sake of the entire Branch family and the future of their clansmen.
A single bow truly meant nothing at all.
Besides, how many times had they already kowtowed before the Main House throughout their lifetime? Who cared about such small dignity anymore?
Only by casting off these cursed seals and embracing true freedom could they reclaim the dignity stolen from them!
Likewise, the surrounding Branch members hurriedly handed over silver coins they had collected to Shimoku.
Kneeling down together, they pleaded loudly:
"Please, Master Shimoku, lift our cursed seals and grant us true freedom at last!"
Hearing that, Shimoku scratched his head, clearly uncomfortable.
This feeling of having people kneeling before him wasn't very comfortable.
While still alive and kicking, he definitely didn't want to shorten his lifespan!
"Alright, everyone, please stand up."
"What I promised, I will surely deliver."
"This is a fair trade, so there's no need to feel excessively demeaned."
"When the seals are lifted later, if you really wish to express gratitude, consider joining the Homuragakure more enthusiastically."
"Our village will open its arms and welcome every one of you without hesitation!"
Shimoku said cheerfully while greeting them.
Meanwhile, his hands had already started stroking the spatial scrolls and stacks of coin-filled bags in front of him.
Courtesies were just empty words anyway.
Only the real gold and silver before his eyes were tangible!
"Whoa! So many Scrolls, so many Hemp Sacks..."
"This Hyūga Clan's resources are simply too immense!"
"Not to mention the funds gathered by other members of the Hyūga Branch House themselves—this must be an astronomical sum!"
"It feels even more prosperous than Konoha's vault!"
"Well, makes sense, I guess. I mean, they've been one of the top ninja clans for a thousand years! After milking it for centuries, if they didn't have deep pockets, that'd be the real surprise!"
"Just think, in my previous life, the world-famous [Penguin Group] and [Aili Group] had only developed across one or two generations, yet already surpassed countless towns and villages in wealth by leaps and bounds..."
"Alright then. Let me see just how much money there is here!"
Shimoku exhaled slowly, mentally reeling.
Then, he swiftly swept his hand across all the Scrolls and Hemp Sacks.
He converted all the money into Value Points and began exchanging them for coins.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained Value Points.]
[Would you like to recharge your Value Points and exchange them for coins?]
[Recharge successful! Congratulations, you have obtained coins.]
[Current balance: coins]
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