"Hizashi, how can you say that?"
"Without us elders, would the Hyūga Clan have prospered as it has?"
"I know you resent us because of your brother, Hiashi, but everything we do is for the clan!"
"These are the rules of the main family — none of us can defy them!"
"…"
The elders' protests rang hollow in the hall.
They thought they understood Hyūga Hiashi.
To them, he was strong — yes — but restrained. A man bound by the suffocating weight of Hyūga tradition.
In their eyes, he was the kind of leader who bowed to clan law even when it crushed his own blood.
After all, hadn't he allowed his twin, Hizashi, to bear the curse of the Caged Bird?
That memory alone made them certain. No matter how angry he sounded, Hiashi would never truly act against them.
They were wrong.
---
"Enough," Hiashi said coldly. His voice didn't rise, but it sliced through the hall like a kunai.
"Shut up."
The elders froze.
"I'll give you two choices," Hiashi continued, his tone deep and sharp. "Either you call a clan meeting and remove me as head, or you will stay silent. Do not test me."
He stepped forward, his chakra flaring — not wildly, but with controlled menace.
"I am not a branch family member. If you insist on being shameless, don't blame me for being cruel."
His pale eyes gleamed with killing intent. "I, Hyūga Hiashi, will not hesitate to kill."
The room chilled.
For the first time in years, the elders truly saw the man behind the polite mask — not the diplomatic head of the Hyūga, but the shinobi who had survived countless wars and earned his title through power, not inheritance.
---
Hiashi's chest heaved. His fury wasn't only for the night's massacre; it was for the rot he'd watched spread inside his clan for years.
Nine Byakugan stolen.
Sixteen of their own dead.
And yet these so-called elders could only think about executing the patrol guards — their own branch family — to save face.
He clenched his fists. Idiots.
Did they really believe the clan would survive by eating itself alive?
If they killed every elite branch member on patrol, who would protect the main house? Who would defend the clan if the Uchiha, the Inuzuka, or even Kumogakure made a move?
The Hyūga were the proud inheritors of the Byakugan — but pride had turned them blind.
Hiashi's disgust deepened.
These men had inherited power, not earned it. They sat behind clan law, calling it tradition, while others bled for their comfort.
He looked at them and saw weakness masquerading as leadership.
"Pathetic," he muttered.
The silence that followed was absolute. The elders could feel his intent — cold, lethal, unmistakable.
They knew the truth: the Caged Bird seal didn't work on the main family.
If Hiashi decided to kill them, none could resist.
He turned away from their terrified faces. "Since you've chosen silence, keep it that way. Don't disturb me while I think."
The elders exchanged helpless looks but dared not speak again.
---
A few minutes later, footsteps echoed at the entrance.
Hizashi entered, the cursed seal faintly visible beneath his forehead protector. He bowed respectfully.
"Clan Leader, the Hokage is here."
Hiashi's brows knit. He hadn't expected Hiruzen Sarutobi to arrive so quickly.
Still, he nodded. "Understood." Then, his expression softened briefly. "And Hizashi — you don't need to be so formal with me."
Hizashi bowed lower, his voice steady but distant.
"Master Patriarch, etiquette cannot be abandoned."
Hiashi sighed inwardly. No matter how much he loved his brother, the Caged Bird stood between them like an invisible wall.
---
Moments later, the sliding doors opened.
Sarutobi Hiruzen entered, followed by a few masked ANBU and Hyūga attendants. His face was calm — too calm — but his eyes carried irritation.
Hiashi straightened. "Hokage-sama."
"Yes, I've heard about it," Hiruzen said, his tone clipped. "Tell me exactly what losses the Hyūga have suffered."
Behind the Hokage's courteous mask, Hiashi sensed exhaustion.
Hiruzen's patience had been stretched thin these days.
The Uchiha had grown restless, the Sharingan awakening more frequently than ever — and whispers of rebellion hung in the air. One even possessed the Mangekyō.
The Third Hokage despised the old bloodlines and their constant crises.
He had spent decades dismantling the Senju, balancing the clans, keeping peace by weakening power.
Now, just as he prepared to deal with the Uchiha, the Hyūga were in flames.
---
Hiashi inhaled deeply. "It's bad, Hokage-sama."
"Nine members of the main family and seven of the branch family have been killed. And nine pairs of Byakugan... are missing."
Even Hiruzen's calm cracked for a moment. His pipe remained unlit in his fingers.
"In the entire history of the Hyūga Clan," Hiashi continued grimly, "such a loss has never occurred."
---
That single statement hung heavy between them — the kind of silence that precedes storms.
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "Then we have a crisis not only of security... but of balance."
Hiashi met his gaze evenly. "I'm aware."
Neither said what they both knew:
If the Byakugan had fallen into the wrong hands — foreign or domestic — it could shift power across the entire shinobi world.
And if this disaster was the work of someone inside Konoha…
Then the village was already cracking from within.