As for the main-family elders, their faces had gone deathly pale.
They understood very clearly that before the overwhelming authority of the Fifth Hokage, the division between the main family and branch family was finished.
Oppose it?
What a joke.
Hadn't the Grand Elder of the main family just been killed from afar?
If anyone still dared to object, their end would be even uglier.
More importantly, none of them wanted to die.
Not at a time like this.
Not by defying the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren.
"Looks like it's settled."
"Lord Fifth Hokage truly is the savior of our branch family."
"More than a savior. He has given us a second life."
The branch-family elders slowly recovered from their shock, then let out long breaths of relief.
They knew it was over.
Since Uchiha Ren had personally acted, the result was already decided.
Their Caged Bird Seals had been removed. Even Hiashi had no objection now.
On the other side, since resistance was impossible, the main-family elders quickly changed their tone.
"Lord Fifth Hokage, we have no objections."
"The main and branch family system should have been abolished long ago."
"We fully support Lord Fifth Hokage. That system was always an obstacle to the Hyūga Clan's growth."
Neji stared at them, completely speechless.
He had seen people change sides before.
But he had never seen anyone change sides this shamelessly.
Weren't they elders of the main family?
Could they not at least keep some dignity?
Of course, if those elders knew what Neji was thinking, they would probably spit blood from anger.
Easy for him to think that.
He had the Fifth Hokage backing him.
When Ren had already started killing people, what use was dignity?
Could pride keep them alive?
Could it save your life?
No.
Then what was the point of keeping it?
"Heh…"
Hiashi only gave a cold laugh.
These people only learned after being punished.
They had to see Ren kill the Grand Elder before finally understanding the seriousness of the situation.
Now, everyone was obedient.
Now, everyone knew how to listen.
"Good. Then let us discuss the details."
A few seconds later, Hiashi rose slowly and said in a deep voice,
"After the main and branch family system is abolished, all branch-family members will be merged into the clan as equals."
"From this day onward, the Hyūga Clan will no longer distinguish between main family and branch family."
"Good!"
"A wise decision."
"We completely agree."
The elders responded one after another, each more obedient than the last.
In this atmosphere, the Grand Elder's corpse looked like a cruel joke.
Nobody even dared glance at it.
Meanwhile—
in a courtyard of the Hyūga Clan.
The sound of fists meeting palms rang out again and again.
Hinata and Hanabi were using Gentle Fist, testing their new strength through a light spar.
"Wouldn't it have been better if they had behaved from the start?"
Not far away, Ren sat with one leg crossed over the other and took a sip of tea.
"Why force me to spill blood before they understand?"
Although he was accompanying Hinata and Hanabi, his top-tier Observation Haki had been monitoring the elders' meeting the entire time.
That was why, the moment the Grand Elder objected, Ren killed him without hesitation.
As expected, after the Grand Elder died, the main-family elders had no further opinions.
One by one, they lowered their heads and accepted the abolition of the old system.
Ren had already done what needed to be done.
The rest would depend on how the Hyūga Clan adapted.
That afternoon—
while most of Konoha was still focused on the approaching shinobi alliance, the Hyūga Clan suddenly released a public statement.
The news spread through Konoha with astonishing speed.
Then it shook the entire shinobi world.
The statement was simple:
Under the wise leadership of the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, the Hyūga Clan's princesses, Hyūga Hinata and Hyūga Hanabi, had awakened the Tenseigan and immortal bodies.
From this day forward, the Hyūga Clan would abolish the main and branch family system.
The Caged Bird Seal would also be abolished.
The moment the news appeared, Konoha erupted first.
When it spread beyond the village, the entire shinobi world was thrown into an uproar.
Nobody had expected this.
At such a critical time, when the Fourth Great Ninja War was about to erupt, Uchiha Ren had somehow found time to transform the Hyūga Clan.
He had awakened the Tenseigan and immortal bodies for Hinata and Hanabi.
Was this not completely beyond common sense?
Even more shocking was the abolition of the Hyūga Clan's main and branch family system.
For years, countless forces had coveted the Byakugan.
But because of the Caged Bird Seal, they could only look on helplessly.
Now, the seal was gone.
Did that mean people could once again covet the Byakugan?
Unfortunately—
the moment they thought of Uchiha Ren's strength, every greedy thought turned cold.
Forget it.
Once the shinobi alliance was defeated, Ren would unify the shinobi world.
At that point, who would dare target the Hyūga clan's kekkei genkai?
Wouldn't that be the same as courting death?
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