Hyuga Hiashi's tone was cold.
He was done.
Completely done with these idiotic elders of the main house.
They wanted to strip him of the clan head's seat?
Fine. Whatever.
He couldn't be bothered to argue. If they wanted it so badly, he would step down and hand it over himself.
In fact, he was curious.
Under the leadership of these useless fools, just how rotten could the Hyuga clan become?
Afraid? Not at all.
The clan was already rotten. How much worse could it get? Wiped out entirely? Impossible.
These so-called elders were stupid, yes—but sly in their own small way. They'd never dare destroy the clan completely.
After all, without the Hyuga name, who would they strut around in front of? Who would they lord their "superiority" over?
Heh.
Hiashi had seen through them long ago.
Cowardly and submissive to outsiders, but tyrants at home.
If they really became clan heads, would they dare bark at the Hokage faction or the Uchiha? Dream on.
They didn't have the guts.
That was why Hiashi wasn't worried. He'd walk if he wanted.
And before he left, he called Hizashi to his side.
Because he knew exactly how these elders would act: all the humiliation they'd suffered at the hands of the Hokage faction, Uchiha, and even himself would inevitably be vented on the branch family.
The rest of the branch family he couldn't protect. The cursed seal was an iron cage passed down through generations of rules—even the clan head couldn't defy it.
But Hizashi was different. Hizashi was his own brother.
If Hiashi chose to protect him, no one could interfere.
And indeed, when Hizashi rose to leave with him, not one elder dared to stop them.
But when Hiashi himself moved to walk away—suddenly, they scrambled to block him.
Their faces were stiff, embarrassed. Yet they forced themselves to speak:
"Now, now, Hiashi… don't be angry. We can talk this through."
"That's right, don't be so hasty."
"We were only saying things in the heat of the moment. You could have refuted us, you know."
"Everything can be discussed. You just need to control your temper as a clan head."
"Yes, yes, how can the head of the Hyuga be so quick to anger?"
…
The elders were panicking.
All their earlier bluster had been nothing but hot air. In truth, they only wanted Hiashi to quietly shoulder the blame.
The seat of the clan head was far too heavy for them.
As Hiashi had guessed, they might be fools, but they weren't entirely without self-awareness.
And so, the moment Hiashi actually tried to throw the position away, they panicked.
The clan was already in decline, held together only by Hiashi's patchwork leadership. Without him, who knew what wreckage they would become?
Their comfortable lives, their ability to order the branch family around—it all relied on the Hyuga name.
So no, they couldn't let him walk away.
Even if they felt bitter, they had to coax him back.
Hiashi's mouth twitched.
Looking at this pack of useless elders, he didn't even know where to start mocking them.
Weak, petty, yet always eager to play their little games—what a joke.
But as clan head, he couldn't simply abandon them.
He sighed, long and weary, before speaking coldly:
"What now, regret it already?"
"Not so eager to remove me as clan head anymore?"
"Suddenly the seat doesn't look so fun?"
"You can't handle it, can you? Caught off guard, are you?"
"A bunch of trash."
"Look at what the Hyuga have become. Fallen, pathetic."
"Instead of uniting, instead of rebuilding, you waste your time playing games. Does that amuse you?"
"If you kill this clan, who will you have left to boss around?"
"In short, one thing only!"
"If you want me to stay clean, then stop wasting my time with this garbage."
"I'm not asking you to contribute miracles—just don't sabotage me every day, is that too much?"
"Otherwise, we're done. Split, clean and simple!"
"Anyone who wants this seat can take it. I won't serve you another day."
"Now answer me—any objections?"
His voice was sharp as a blade, the atmosphere freezing cold.
Yes—he had flipped the table.
And truthfully, he'd been forced to. The Hyuga had reached the point where change was no longer optional.
Look at the Uchiha, another great clan. Under Uchiha Kai, they already dominated half of Konoha, even daring to arm-wrestle the Hokage faction.
And the Hyuga?
A disgrace. Nothing but tears left to shed.
To change that, he had to deal with these parasites first.
At minimum, stop them from sabotaging him.
Silence fell.
The great hall was so quiet a pin could drop.
The elders were useless as clan heads, but they had no desire to lose their current privileges.
So they tried to argue, scrambling to keep ground.
"This… isn't that going too far?"
"Yes, Clan Head, we also work for the good of the clan!"
"True, you've done well, but you can't erase our efforts."
"The clan is what it is today thanks to us, too!"
"The clan cannot survive without our leadership!"
"As elders, we have a right to fight for the clan!"
…
Their excuses rang out, pathetic and transparent.
Hiashi exhaled slowly, his heart heavy with contempt.
Working for the clan? Fighting for the clan?
Did they even believe that themselves?
If they could just stop dragging the clan backward, he'd thank the heavens.
But now—now he was done.
If he wanted to save the Hyuga, he had to be ruthless.
He had already flipped the table—no reason to back down now.
His eyes hardened, his voice cutting through their protests like a blade:
"Enough! Shut your mouths!"
"Don't you dare try to bargain with me."
"Stop pretending that without you, the clan will crumble. Each of you knows exactly what you're worth—I won't spell it out."
"I'm done with you. You're a cancer. If the Hyuga is to change, you must be cut out."
"You wanted me gone, didn't you? Then why should I waste another word on you?"
"Agree or refuse, I don't care!"
"Agree, and get out of my sight. Go enjoy your little lives."
"Refuse? Fine by me!"
"I'll shrug this burden off and rest easy. Whether the Hyuga rises or falls has nothing to do with me. I'll live just fine either way."
"Decide for yourselves."
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