Chapter 10: That Ugly Thing Was Naturally Erased!
Hyuga Shunsuke froze. Long accustomed to commanding Branch Family members like ordering dogs, he'd never imagined he'd one day encounter someone who'd speak such wild words about rebellion to his face.
He instinctively formed a one-handed seal.
His body moved to activate the Caged Bird Seal.
This was experience passed down through generations of Main Family. When dealing with disobedient Branch Family members, the Caged Bird Seal would make them recognize their proper place. For the truly stubborn, the seal could directly send them to the pure land.
However, Ritsu showed no awareness, no reaction whatsoever.
At this moment, Shunsuke finally escaped his state of cognitive dissonance. Looking at Ritsu's unmarked, pale forehead—uncovered by any headband—he suddenly realized the most terrifying possibility. His expression became like someone who'd heard a horror story and couldn't sleep at night, now truly encountering a ghost.
With a trembling voice, he roared the question: "Hyuga Ritsu, your—your Caged Bird Seal?!"
"That ugly thing was naturally erased!"
Ritsu answered with a smile.
"How is that possible?"
Shunsuke shrieked ungracefully, his expression twisted like a man-eating demon. "The Caged Bird Seal was the Third Clan Head's life's masterwork! For a thousand years, no one has ever broken it! Hyuga Ritsu, what—what evil technique did you use?"
Not only did this Main Family elder lose his composure—the Branch Family members gathered at the gate also showed shocked expressions.
Sure enough, what they'd seen was real.
This Ritsu brat had somehow truly erased the Caged Bird Seal, and even ran before a Main Family elder to speak such wild words about "rebelling" and "shattering the slavery-like Main Family-Branch Family system." Hearing it made their hearts feel like twenty-five mice had moved in—clawing at them from every direction.
Wild thoughts suddenly grew rampantly in their minds. Previously unsprouted notions now emerged uncontrollably. They couldn't help fantasizing about what the future would look like without the Caged Bird Seal.
They struggled to control their expressions while unable to resist peeking at others' faces, resulting in awkward eye contact.
Fortunately, at this moment, Ritsu's voice rang out again, attracting everyone's attention. No longer concerned with the minor awkwardness, they all instinctively listened intently.
"A life's masterwork specifically used to control and manipulate one's own clan members—I'd say the Third Clan Head's character was truly pitifully narrow-minded. That our Hyuga clan had such a useless, cowardly clan head who only thought about how to suppress his own people is our fucking bad luck for eight generations!"
Ritsu showed no mercy in attacking the Third Clan Head who created the Caged Bird Seal.
"Outrageous! Outrageous!"
Shunsuke's anger consumed him, his face flushing red. He shouted furiously, "Hyuga Ritsu, you dare insult our ancestors! Your crime is unforgivable! All of you, attack together! Capture this beast Hyuga Ritsu who disrespects his ancestors and harms his clansmen!"
"Yes, Elder."
Behind him, eight Branch Family members responded in unison.
Among them, two were jonin while the remaining six were chunin.
Now, having received orders, these eight Branch Family members loyal to the Main Family fixed their eyes on Ritsu, about to attack.
However—
"Down!"
Ritsu's right hand formed a seal.
The next instant, all eight Branch Family members "cooperated" with Ritsu's voice and collapsed. Like cooked shrimp, they curled their bodies, clutching their heads tightly with both hands. The Caged Bird Seal made them writhe on the ground in agony, their mouths releasing tragic wails.
Hyuga Shunsuke was dumbstruck.
The Branch Family members outside the gate were also frozen like wooden chickens.
"You—you..."
Shunsuke extended a continuously trembling finger toward Ritsu, but words reached his lips with nothing to say. Ritsu had erased the Caged Bird Seal, was no longer suppressed, and his Byakugan bloodline had fully recovered. Naturally, he could control the Caged Bird Seal just like Main Family members.
This was a matter of course.
Nothing surprising about it.
If anyone was to blame, it was for never conceiving that a Branch Family member might erase the Caged Bird Seal. Disbelief still filled his head. His thinking hadn't adapted to this change even now, causing his response methods to repeatedly fail.
"Hyuga Shunsuke, if you want to execute me properly, you'll have to do it yourself!"
Ritsu smiled faintly.
But this smile, in Shunsuke's eyes, was no different from an evil dragon baring its fangs.
He instinctively retreated one step, then realized such an action seemed somewhat weak. But... this Ritsu brat was the Branch Family's greatest prodigy. Even those veteran Branch Family jonin who'd crawled through piles of corpses weren't Ritsu's match, let alone himself.
Shunsuke still possessed some self-awareness.
Though he'd been on battlefields, he'd merely gone through the motions superficially. After taking some easy kills with overwhelming advantage, he'd retreated to the rear. Those who truly needed to fight desperately were always Branch Family members.
Therefore, he couldn't attack—at least not rashly attack alone.
Without hesitation, Shunsuke turned and ran. Like a startled rabbit or falling falcon, he leaped over the wall.
Facing Ritsu alone, he had no chance of victory. But if he found help and fought with numbers, resolving Ritsu should be possible. Clearly, he did possess self-awareness—but obviously not much.
"Ritsu, aren't we chasing?"
Seeing Ritsu remain motionless, Takuma couldn't help asking anxiously.
"No rush."
Ritsu's expression remained calm as he unhurriedly stepped forward. "Even if all these Main Family members tied themselves together, they're no match for me. Let them struggle a bit more—it's the perfect opportunity to let all the Branch Family see clearly what kind of trash the Main Family members have become."
Physically eliminating the Main Family was the final result.
Before that, he also needed to make full use of them, allowing as many Branch Family members as possible to witness the Main Family's incompetence and worthlessness, thereby shattering some Branch Family members' unrealistic fantasies about the Main Family.
Of course, to prevent things from getting out of hand, Ritsu had specifically arranged for Arima to watch outside. As soon as there were signs of village intervention, he'd dispose of these Main Family wastes at the first opportunity.
The seven Main Family bloodline residences were all clustered together.
Shunsuke didn't disappoint Ritsu either. He rushed through doors and out of gates with flying speed.
In less than ten minutes, all five Main Family jonin in the compound—including himself—had assembled. He hadn't even spared the two seventy-year-old men. Surrounded by dozens of Branch Family members, they confronted Ritsu's pursuing group on the wide street outside the residences.
Additionally, Branch Family members throughout the compound had also caught wind and arrived, surrounding the two confronting groups in circles. Jonin stood at the front, chunin in the middle, while genin and non-shinobi clan members stood in the outer ring.
The scene was as lively as watching a grand theatrical performance!
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