Chapter 198 |
Abolishing the caged bird?
There will no longer be main clan families and branch clans?
Hearing Hyuga Hiashi's words, the Hyuga clan members in the audience were not as ecstatic as they imagined, but fell into silence, with everyone's face either shocked or confused.
Because they couldn't believe what they heard, it felt like they had heard a fantasy.
As a branch family, these people were told from birth that their destiny was to protect the Hyuga main clan throughout their lives and could never betray them.
Otherwise, there is only a dead end.
Under the oppression of the caged bird, the Hyuga tribe had long been accustomed to this "slave" status, but now they were suddenly told that they were free.
"Patriarch, are you telling the truth? You're not joking…"
Jonin Hyuga Tokuma stood up and asked on behalf of all the clan members with a look of surprise on his face.
Then, under everyone’s gaze.
Hiashi pulled off the bandage on Neji's head, revealing the latter's smooth forehead.
The Caged Bird curse seal originally engraved there has been erased.
Seeing this scene.
"Neji's curse seal disappeared…"
"The patriarch did not lie to us, he is serious, he really wants to lift our Caged Bird Curse Seal!"
The Hyuga clan members came to their senses and started talking excitedly.
The caged bird not only limited the Byakugan's ability, but also allowed the Hyuga main clan to control the lives of the branch families, so that the branch families had to obey the main clan's words.
This extremely evil curse seal is the source of conflicts within the Hyuga clan.
As a vested interest, the patriarch of the clan, Hyuga Hiashi, would actually show such great courage and take the initiative to abolish the caged bird system that had lasted for thousands of years.
"The patriarch is wise!"
"Long live the patriarch!"
For a time, the square was filled with the cheers of the Hyuga clan members, and every member of the branch family was full of admiration and gratitude for the Hyuga clan from the bottom of their hearts.
Hearing these cheers, Hiashi looked complicated.
He made a hand-down gesture to signal the tribesmen to quiet down.
Then, with a serious look on his face, Hiashi slowly said to everyone in the branch:
"I think you may have always thought that the existence of the caged bird is to enslave the clan and consolidate the power of the clan.
But in fact, its greater role is to protect the Hyuga clan and prevent outsiders from coveting the Hyuga clan.
Therefore, I hope you can think clearly, and then rely on the principle of voluntariness to choose to abolish or retain the Caged Bird Curse Seal. "
These words made everyone in the audience stunned.
Is the caged bird there to protect them?
Lies!
Who wants to be protected like this?
Everyone thought that Hiashi wanted to go back on his word, so they rushed to express their opinions and asked the clan to lift the curse seal on them.
Seeing the reaction of the tribesmen, Hiashi sighed and said silently in his heart:
Remember, this is your choice.
From now on, you will no longer be protected by the caged bird. I hope you will not regret it.
After some voting.
In the end, only a small number of clan members, either to show their loyalty to the clan or because they were too old to care, chose to continue to coexist with the caged bird.
The remaining members of the branch family all chose to do the same as Hyuga Neji, to lift the curse seal and no longer be slaves of the clan.
People lined up in a long queue.
As the head of the clan, Hyuga Hiashi personally releases the caged bird for each clan member, allowing them to regain the freedom they dream of.
"Great, this damn curse seal has finally disappeared."
"Mom, my caged bird seal is gone. My classmates in the ninja school will never laugh at me again."
"Sure enough, without the suppression of the curse seal, my Byakugan no longer have blind spots. This feels so good."
"…"
The tribesmen who successfully freed the caged bird were overflowing with joy and kept talking excitedly.
It’s finally over.
After lifting the curse seal for the last tribesman, Hiashi wiped the sweat from his forehead and breathed a sigh of relief.
Lifting the curse seals for hundreds of people in a row almost exhausted his chakra and made him feel deeply exhausted.
But, there is one more thing.
Looking at the cheering tribesmen in front of him, Hyuga Hiashi's expression gradually became cold and ruthless, and he suddenly raised his voice and said to everyone:
"According to the peace treaty signed between Konoha and the four major ninja villages, Konoha must hand over a hundred pairs of Byakugan as war compensation.
In other words, one hundred members of the Hyuga clan must sacrifice their eyes for the peace of the village.
Now, it’s time to decide on the candidate. "
As soon as these words came out.
The smiles on everyone's faces froze, and the square fell into silence again.
Hiashi's words were like a bolt from the blue, hitting everyone on the head.
Immediately, it caused an uproar.
"Is there such a thing?!"
"A hundred pairs of Byakugan. Considering the number of people in the main family, I'm afraid they can't even make up one-tenth of them. Is that why they are targeting those of us who are members of the branch family?"
"I see, it makes sense. After a long time, the clan leader released the caged bird for us not out of kindness at all, but to ask us to hand over our eyes!"
Everyone in the branch family soon woke up and realized the purpose of the clan headed by Hyuga Hiashi.
In this regard, Hiashi looked calm and only said:
"I said before, the caged bird is to protect you, but you gave up on it yourself."
But his words obviously cannot convince the people who split the family.
In the past, there was a caged bird, and the branch families did not dare to show any dissatisfaction with the main family.
But things are different now.
The branch family is no longer restricted by the curse seal, and their number is hundreds of times that of the clan family. How can they still be afraid of each other?
The long-term oppression has long made everyone in the branch family unhappy. Today, taking this opportunity, it is time to launch a resistance and vent their anger to the main family.
So, a riot broke out.
"We will never surrender our eyes!"
"Pull out the main family's eyes and let them taste it first, how it feels to lose their Byakugan!"
Everyone in the branch families roared.
Faced with the furious claims, Hyuga Hiashi shook their heads, having expected this situation to happen.
So he called for rescue.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
Thousands of figures suddenly rushed into the Hyuga clan and surrounded everyone in the square.
They are elite ninja from Konoha Anbu and the four major ninja villages.
“Kill!"
The two sides fought hand to hand, and a war broke out.
Perhaps due to the disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves, or perhaps it was the Sarutobi clan's lessons learned from the past, the Hyuga branch quickly lost its fighting spirit and was suppressed as expected.
More than forty Hyuga clan members died in this riot.
Due to the release of the caged birds, their white eyes were not automatically destroyed, but were preserved intact.
"Take off those white eyes. As for the rest, draw lots to decide. The person who draws will gouge out his own eyes!"
Hiashi said coldly.
At this time.
Those tribesmen who had previously expressed their loyalty to the clan and chose to keep their caged bird seals couldn't help but secretly curse themselves.
It is better to be a slave of the clan than to be a blind man.
On the square.
Under the surveillance of Konoha Anbu and the four major ninja village troops.
Hundreds of members of the Hyuga branch family, no longer daring to make any resistance, lined up in a long line to perform the cruel lottery ceremony.
Those who didn't win were relieved and glad they had escaped.
The people who were drawn were all ashen-faced, slumped on the ground, or even fainted on the spot.
"Argh!"
Following a shrill scream, the Byakugan of more than fifty Hyuga clan members were dug out, and finally a hundred pairs were collected.
"Carry them back."
Hiashi looked at the tribesmen who had lost their eyes and said only three words.
Afterwards, he handed the collected Byakugan to the Anbu and said in a deep voice:
"For the sake of Konoha, the Hyuga clan is willing to make any sacrifices. This was the case before, and it is even more so now. I hope these hundred pairs of Byakugan can satisfy Lord Hokage and bring peace to Konoha."
The tone was full of humiliation.
"Lord Hokage asked me to tell you that he is grateful to the Hyuga clan for their contribution to Konoha."
The Anbu Captain Shadow said calmly, and then ordered his subordinates to take away Byakugan.
Soon.
Everyone dispersed, leaving only a few scattered figures in the square.
Hyuga Neji's eyes widened and he witnessed what had just happened. His whole body was in horror and he could not recover for a long time.
Until Hiashi came to him.
"Clan, clan leader."
Neji took a step back, with a look of fear on his face.
What Hyuga Hiashi did to the branch family just now sent shivers down the spine of the young Neji, who saw the ruthlessness of the patriarch.
Hiashi looked down at Neji in front of him, his eyes flashed, and he said:
"From today on, your talents are liberated and you will no longer be bound by the caged bird. In addition, as long as you want to learn the secret skills of the main family, I will teach you all.
Remember, in the future Hyuga clan, there will no longer be a distinction between main clan and branch families.
So work hard and let me see what your potential is and whether you are qualified to replace Hinata and become Hyuga's future head of the family. "
The reason why he said these words to Neji.
On the one hand, it’s because this kid is Hizashi’s son. Hashi has always felt guilty about Hizashi's death and wanted to make amends.
On the other hand, it was because Hinata was very underperforming.
Hyuga Hiashi know very well:
The future Hyuga clan must be handed over to someone better than him in order to continue to survive in this increasingly cruel ninja world.
If Hinata can't do it, then let Neji or someone else take over the position of clan leader.
Everything is for the family.
That day.
The news that the Hyuga clan handed over a hundred pairs of Byakugan spread throughout the Konoha Village, shocking all the Konoha ninjas and villagers.
Those Byakugan were collected by the four major ninja villages and transplanted quickly.
Byakugan has abilities such as far-sightedness, clairvoyance, and insight. It is very convenient whether it is used for reconnaissance, tracking, or combat.
Once upon a time, it was exclusive to the Hyuga clan of Konoha and caused huge trouble to the enemy on the battlefield.
But from this day on, it is no longer like this.
As a hundred pairs of Byakugan fell into the hands of major ninja villages, a large number of "Byakugan killers" like Ao were born in the ninja world in the blink of an eye.
For Konoha.
The encounter of the Hyuga clan is just the beginning.
After this incident, other families in Konoha were also required to hand over their family secrets, their raised psychic beasts, and everything of value.
Almost all the famous families in the village were looted by Danzo and the four major ninja villages, resulting in heavy losses.
People are in panic all day long.
And in the dead of night, countless Konoha ninjas and villagers were lying in bed, tossing and turning, and they couldn't help but start to reflect——
The village, why did it become like this?
More and more people are finally realizing it.
Konoha's current fate has been doomed from the day the Uchiha clan parted with the village and ran away.
It turns out, from beginning to end.
It's not that Uchiha can't live without Konoha, but that Konoha can't live without Uchiha.
……
The Fourth Ninja War.
Apart from Konoha, there is also the Amegakure that has also become a loser.
Shortly after the four major ninja villages occupied Konoha, news came one after another:
Sunagakure Village was invaded by Amegakure's troops, and Gaara, one of the jinchūriki, was kidnapped;
The Seven-Tailed Jinchuuriki of Takigakure was also taken away by people from the Akatsuki organization;
In addition, the four tailed Jinchūriki Roshi of Iwagakure Village who was wandering around was also attacked by Akatsuki.
With all this information put together, it is obvious what Akatsuki's purpose is.
Capture all tailed beasts.
Fortunately, Pain, the leader of Akatsuki, was killed by Onoki in a sneak attack on the battlefield that day. Otherwise, Akatsuki might have gathered all nine tailed beasts.
The top leaders of the Five Ninja Villages immediately held a meeting.
At the meeting, the Five Kage unanimously agreed that the existence of Amegakure and Akatsuki poses a huge threat to the peace of the shinobi world.
In order to eradicate this cancer in the ninja world.
The five major ninja villages quickly formed a new coalition, starting from Konoha and attacking Amegakure with great momentum.
Less than half a month.
The Kingdom of Rain fell completely, and all life within the territory was devastated.
The Allied Ninja Army marched straight in, successfully occupied the Amegakure, and destroyed Akatsuki's lair in one fell swoop.
Akatsuki's rule in Amegakure came to a sad end.
However.
The coalition forces searched the Amegakure and the entire Rain Country, but could not find the Jinchūriki snatched away by Akatsuki.
The remnants of Akatsuki's party escaped with the jinchūriki and became a hidden danger in the ninja world.
The border of the Kingdom of Rain.
Konan stood under a cave, looking at the sky in the distance with sadness.
She can never go back to that country where it always rains, that place where she has left her lifelong memories.
That day.
After she returned to Amegakure, she waited for a long time but Nagato failed to come back.
Konan had to recognize the cruel fact: Nagato was dead.
During this period.
The Amegakure ninja successfully completed the mission and brought back a jinchuriki from Sunagakure;
Biwa Juzo was killed by Sunagakure's Roshi and failed to bring back the Four Tails;
Although Kakuzu brought seven-tailed back, he quickly betrayed her after learning about Pain's death and launched an attack on Konan.
Kakuzu is a man who only believes in money.
When he first joined Akatsuki, he was also impressed by Pain's power. He felt that he had found a refuge and could make money without any worries.
Once Pain died, his loyalty to Akatsuki ceased to exist.
Konan had already expected this and was prepared.
She successfully escaped from Kakuzu.
Konan withdrew her gaze and glanced inside the cave. There were three little kid of about the same age lying on the ground, all of them falling into a deep sleep.
A boy with yellow hair and six beards on his cheeks.
A boy with red hair and dark circles has the word "love" carved on his forehead.
There is also a girl with dark skin and blue-green hair.
They are the nine-tailed jinchuriki Uzumaki Naruto, the one-tailed jinchuriki Gaara, and the seven-tailed jinchuriki Fuu.