Silence.
Absolute silence.
Without any warning, the meeting hall once again descended into a deathly stillness.
No one had expected this.
No one had expected that it was the Fifth Hokage himself who had removed Neji's Caged Bird Seal.
And no one had expected that Hinata and Hanabi had already awakened the legendary Tenseigan.
The Tenseigan.
A power spoken of only in ancient records.
And now the Hyūga Clan possessed two pairs of them.
For a brief moment, every elder felt as though the clan had entered a new era.
"Excellent! This is incredible!"
"Our Hyūga Clan finally possesses Tenseigan users!"
"Hahaha! Heaven truly favors the Hyūga Clan!"
"With Lady Hinata and Lady Hanabi, the future of the clan is limitless!"
"As expected of Lord Fifth Hokage! The strongest Hokage in history!"
Excited voices erupted throughout the meeting hall.
Whether they belonged to the main family or the branch family, every elder was overwhelmed by the news.
But then—
Hiashi calmly delivered the second piece of news.
"The Fifth Hokage also ordered the Hyūga Clan to abolish the distinction between the main family and branch family."
The hall froze.
Every elder's expression stiffened.
The branch-family elders were stunned.
The main-family elders were horrified.
Abolish the system?
The very foundation of the Hyūga Clan?
For a moment, nobody knew what to say.
Then, unlike the shocked silence of the main family, the branch-family elders gradually felt excitement bubbling within them.
After all—
the branch family had spent generations living as servants.
As tools.
As sacrifices.
If the system truly disappeared...
Then everything would change.
At the same time, they finally understood why Neji's seal had vanished.
The Fifth Hokage had already acted.
The outcome had already been decided.
"No!"
Suddenly, a furious roar echoed through the hall.
The main family Grand Elder slammed both hands onto the table and stood up.
His face twisted with rage.
"I refuse!"
"The internal affairs of the Hyūga Clan cannot be dictated by an outsider!"
"I do not accept this!"
"You will accept it."
Hiashi's voice turned cold.
"This is Lord Fifth Hokage's command."
"Anyone who disobeys will be punished according to clan law."
"Hiashi!"
The Grand Elder pointed at him with trembling fingers.
"You traitor!"
"You are betraying our ancestors!"
"The Fifth Hokage may be powerful, but the Hyūga Clan's affairs are not his concern!"
The instant those words left his mouth—
a cold voice echoed through the hall.
"Oh?"
"Then you can die."
Slash.
The room fell silent.
The Grand Elder's head separated from his body.
For a moment, nobody understood what had happened.
Then blood erupted from the severed neck.
The head rolled across the floor before coming to a stop.
The Grand Elder's eyes remained wide open.
Filled with disbelief.
Even in death, he seemed unable to understand what had happened.
He had not even seen the attack.
He had not been given the slightest chance to resist.
Everyone present immediately knew who had acted.
Only one person in the entire shinobi world could kill a Hyūga elder from hundreds of meters away without even appearing in person.
The Fifth Hokage.
Uchiha Ren.
Several seconds later, his indifferent voice echoed directly into every elder's mind.
"Does anyone else have objections?"
"If you do, speak now."
"I may consider your opinion."
Silence.
Three seconds.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Nobody spoke.
The smell of blood filled the room.
The Grand Elder's corpse still lay where it had fallen.
The remaining main-family elders lowered their heads.
None of them were fools.
The Grand Elder had just demonstrated the consequences of resistance.
Anyone who opposed the Fifth Hokage now would simply become the next corpse.
"Good."
Ren's voice sounded again.
"If nobody objects, then I'll assume everyone agrees."
The moment his words ended—
an invisible force descended upon the meeting hall.
The branch-family elders suddenly felt something strange happening to their foreheads.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
One after another, the Caged Bird Seals began dissolving.
Like snow beneath the sun.
Within moments, every branch-family elder found that the cursed mark on their forehead had completely vanished.
The seals were gone.
Gone forever.
"I... my seal..."
One elder touched his forehead with trembling fingers.
"It's really gone."
Another elder collapsed to his knees.
"I haven't felt this free in decades..."
"Hahaha!"
"The Fifth Hokage truly is a god!"
"The curse is gone!"
"It's finally gone!"
Tears appeared in many eyes.
Some laughed.
Some cried.
Others simply stared blankly into space.
The burden they had carried their entire lives had disappeared in an instant.
One after another, the branch-family elders dropped to their knees.
Their reverence for Uchiha Ren reached an unprecedented level.
For generations, the Caged Bird Seal had been their nightmare.
Now it had vanished with a single thought from the Fifth Hokage.
From this day onward—
they would live as true members of the Hyūga Clan.
Not servants.
Not slaves.
Not sacrifices.
Meanwhile, the main-family elders sat frozen in their seats.
Their faces were pale.
Completely devoid of color.
The death of the Grand Elder had shattered their final resistance.
At last, one of them let out a bitter sigh.
"It's over."
Another closed his eyes.
"The era of the main family and branch family has ended."
A third forced a bitter smile.
"We surrender."
"The Fifth Hokage has already made his decision."
The hall fell silent once more.
But this time—
everyone knew that the Hyūga Clan's history had changed forever.
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