The Hyuga Clan territory.
"Clan leader, all our people on the battlefield have been killed." The sensory ninja delivered the grim news.
"Uzumaki Ren refused our surrender?" The Hyuga were shocked.
"No, the message hasn't reached him yet. He released another forbidden technique." The sensory ninja's words left everyone silent.
"How could someone like that exist in the Uzumaki Clan?" An elder of the Hyuga clan muttered angrily. Senju had Hashirama, Uchiha had Madara, Uzumaki had Ren, but the Hyuga had nothing.
"Report, that Uzumaki ninja is heading toward our territory, and he's moving very fast." The sensory ninja quickly delivered the next piece of bad news without lingering on the battlefield tragedy.
"What? Is he planning to wipe us out?" The Hyuga clan leader was shocked.
"Evacuate the powerless civilians. The rest, go meet him." The elder sighed. This was no time to pass blame; the very survival of the Hyuga clan was at stake.
Time ticked by.
As Ren entered the range of their Byakugan reconnaissance, everyone swallowed nervously. They knew the Uzumaki had a lot of chakra, but they had never seen this much—he could almost be called a Tailless Beast.
Soon, Ren appeared before them. The Hyuga clan leader solemnly declared, "The Hyuga clan surrenders to the Uzumaki clan."
Ren looked at these elders, the clan leader, the council—high-ranking leaders were all the same across ninja clans in this era. He snorted, "Why should I accept your surrender?"
Thinking of the other's battlefield record and the massive chakra, the Hyuga restrained themselves from reacting.
Seeing the elders remain silent, the clan leader spoke again, "The Hyuga clan can offer compensation for the war."
Ren didn't mention an amount, seemingly waiting for them to propose it. He didn't rush to answer, instead watching as more and more Hyuga appeared, nearly half the branch families present.
"I assume you all understand the cause of this war. You say Hyuga members died in Uzumaki territory, which started the conflict." Ren said loudly.
"Hmph, isn't that true?" A branch family member who didn't know the full story snorted, though no one dared argue against Ren's power.
The rest of the branch families seethed with hatred toward Ren. With this war begun, the animosity between the clans would not be easily resolved.
"Consolidating the main family's position seems to be undoubtedly a success." Ren ignored them.
"What do you mean?" the branch family members asked, confused.
The clan leader, the elders, and the main family realized what Ren was about to say, but they couldn't stop him. They feared that soon the Hyuga clan would be split into two families, two ninja clans.
"I mean it literally. I removed the caged bird seal. Some of the branch family came looking for me. I let two of them go. At the time, some branch members must have heard the rumors and came looking for me, right?" Ren turned to face the branch family.
The branch family suddenly understood. Those who had come to fight Ren were stunned, while resentment toward the main family grew. After all, it was mostly the branch members who went to the battlefield.
But for now, they dared not speak their anger, since their lives were in the hands of the main family.
"Nonsense! The Hyuga clan's caged bird seal was meant to protect the clan from being targeted. This is a technique passed down from our ancestors. Has everyone forgotten that other ninja clans wanted the Byakugan?" The great elder of the Hyuga clan quickly protested.
"If it was just to protect the Bykugan, there are other techniques. Why add control functions?" Ren asked, looking at the Hyuga elders.
At first, the caged bird seal was indeed meant to protect the Byakugan. Because of this technique, few dared to target the Hyuga clan, and it worked. But over time, the technique slowly twisted in purpose.
"That's right! Protecting the Byakugan never needed control functions. If enemies wanted the eyes, they could destroy them when captured," the branch members began shouting.
"Yes!" one person led the charge, and the rest of the branch family joined in, condemning the main family.
"Silence." The clan leader instinctively tried to use the Caged Bird Seal, but Ren was faster. He stomped the leader to the ground, blood spilling from his mouth.
Seeing this, the other main family members who were about to use the technique stopped, unwilling to be next.
The branch family had expected pain, but instead, Ren stopped it. Their respect and admiration for him grew instantly. From that moment, the division between the Hyuga main family and branch family was complete.
"Uzumaki clan plans to establish a nation, the Land of Whirlpools. You are all welcome to join. To start, I'll release you from the Caged Bird Seal." Ren looked at the members of the branch family.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu." Ren formed the hand signs, and in an instant, the Hyuga territory was under his control.
"Found a nation." The main family immediately realized what Ren intended. He was breaking the original ninja clan structure to create a ninja country, and without a doubt, the Hyuga clan would be his sacrifice.
It seemed his study of the Caged Bird Seal had long been part of his plan.
The branch family did not resist—or perhaps they lacked the courage to. Ren was far too strong. His massive chakra alone was enough to intimidate anyone.
Because releasing the Caged Bird Seal required contact, Ren had no choice but to do this.
As the technique was undone, the branch family's vision returned. They finally saw their Byakugan as it originally was and began cheering for Ren.
The main family remained silent. Without the Caged Bird Seal, they might not be able to handle these branch family members who were constantly on the battlefield.
"Also, this is my improved Caged Bird Seal. It will only protect your eyes from being stolen. It won't limit your Byakugan, nor control you. I'll also give you the method to undo it. You don't have to use it—it's entirely your choice."
Ren's words made the branch family members quietly gather behind him. Their actions reflected their decision.
The Hyuga clan leader nearly fainted at the sight. The Hyuga clan was almost destroyed by this man. This was unacceptable to him.
"Good luck to all of you. I hope you won't die at the hands of other ninja clans." Ren said this, then led the Hyuga branch family toward the Uzumaki territory.
He had already confirmed the location for the new nation: the prosperous land of the Land of Fire, along with the original Uzumaki ruins from the story.
After Ren left, the elders of the Hyūga clan sat on the ground, completely broken, their spirits crushed.
In an instant, they seemed to have aged many years.
The Hyūga clan was utterly destroyed.
Although the main family still trained to grow stronger, without a core force, the Hyūga clan was completely removed from the list of the Five Great Shinobi Clans.
In the future, only the Byakugan of the Uzumaki nation would remain.
Near the battlefield.
"Uzumaki Ren… or can he be called Otsutsuki Ren?"
A dark figure investigated as Ren arrived here.
The two recent fire jutsus; even Hamura wouldn't be much stronger.
It wasn't about reincarnation—reincarnations of Ashura and Indra could be detected through chakra.
But Ren was simply powerful, undeniably powerful.
The reincarnation of Indra likely wasn't his match.
He needed to adjust his plan, to set it into motion after the opponent's death.
He had waited a thousand years already; he could wait longer.
Then, the figure vanished underground.
Meanwhile, Ren returned to the Uzumaki territory with the branch members of the Hyūga clan.
At first, meeting the Hyūga branch family felt like enemies facing each other, glaring with hatred.
But because of Ren's prestige, no one dared to act.
The hatred between them would not disappear so quickly.
So Ren didn't say much.
He only explained to his clan that he intended to build a country encompassing multiple ninja clans.
**********
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