Chapter 211: Hinata Hyuga, It Looks Like You Need Some Help?
Hyuga Clan Compound.
The air was frozen in the meeting hall of the Hyuga Main Family mansion.
A Main Family elder was furious, his withered finger pointing straight at the Branch Family youth kneeling below.
The young man, angered by his father's death protecting a Main Family member from the insect swarm, had shouted a few angry words. Now, he faced the punishment of the Caged Bird activation.
"Insolent fool! Today you shall learn your place!" the elder shouted sternly, his hands rapidly forming seals.
The expected scream from the youth did not come.
Cold sweat beaded on the elder's forehead. He formed the seals again, chakra surging, aiming straight for the green curse seal on the young man's forehead.
Still no reaction.
The Branch Family youth was initially dazed, then confusion flashed in his eyes. He subconsciously reached up to touch his forehead. The "Caged Bird" seal, which had once caused him excruciating pain, felt different to the touch.
"What's going on?" The elder's voice was puzzled. He looked at the other Main Family members, their faces equally filled with shock and doubt.
Outside the meeting hall, a Branch Family girl responsible for cleaning accidentally knocked over a water bucket, splashing the hem of a passing Branch Family elder's robe.
The elder habitually prepared to scold her but suddenly froze. He stared fixedly at the girl's forehead. It was completely clear; the usually distinct curse seal had vanished without a trace.
"Your—your Caged Bird—" the elder's voice was dry.
Confused, the girl looked at the elder's forehead. Similarly, the mark symbolizing slavery and pain was gone.
"Mine… is gone too?"
For a moment, gasps of astonishment rang out one after another inside and outside the Hyuga mansion. Branch Family members pointed at each other's foreheads, rubbing their eyes in disbelief, confirming again and again.
The curse that had entangled their entire lives had truly disappeared.
After a brief dead silence came a volcanic eruption of joy. Emotions suppressed for far too long found an outlet. Branch Family members hugged each other, tears falling. They shouted, jumped, and some even knelt, kissing the ground beneath their feet, feeling a freedom they had never known.
In the crowd, Neji Hyuga stood calmly. His Byakugan clearly captured the ecstatic joy of survival on every clansman's face. He knew this was the result of his deal with that white creature named Kyubey.
Joy swept through the entire Hyuga Branch Family like a tide.
However, as the initial ecstasy receded, a darker emotion began to spread through the crowd—resentment.
The pain inflicted upon them.
The relatives who died under the "Caged Bird."
The dignity stripped away.
Scene after scene surfaced in their minds.
"The Main Family! They enslaved us for decades! Our fathers, our grandfathers, all died under this damned Caged Bird! Now, we are free! Shouldn't this blood debt be settled?!"
"Settled!"
"Blood for blood!"
Once the flame of revenge was lit, it spread rapidly like a prairie fire.
Neji stood on high ground, looking down at the agitated clansmen below. He did not stop them. He also believed this was a price the Main Family had to pay.
The Branch Family's revenge on the Main Family unfolded in an almost barbaric manner.
The once high-and-mighty Main Family members, their numbers already drastically reduced by the insect swarm, were now lambs to the slaughter without the Caged Bird. Their mansions were overrun, their wealth looted. The Main Family elders, who used to activate the "Caged Bird" over trivial matters, were dragged out of their dark rooms by furious Branch members. Their bodies suffered the humiliation and beatings they had once inflicted on others.
Cries, curses, and pleas for mercy mixed together, echoing over the Hyuga mansion.
The scales of power tipped completely in an instant. The formerly oppressed, in their extreme release, quickly slid into the abyss of becoming oppressors.
But they could not be blamed.
Hinata and Hanabi Hyuga were stunned by this sudden upheaval. They hid in the corner of their room, trembling uncontrollably as they listened to the chaos outside.
"Big sister… I'm scared…" Hanabi clutched Hinata's sleeve tightly, her small face pale.
Hinata hugged her sister tightly, whispering comforts. But her own heart was also filled with fear and unease.
Soon, the enraged crowd rushed to their door. Several ferocious-looking Branch members kicked the door open, their gazes sweeping over the two sisters.
"The First and Second Ladies of the Main Family… You lived in luxury before, now it's time to taste the life of the Branch Family!"
Hinata summoned her courage and stood in front of Hanabi. "P—Please calm down! We… we haven't done anything to hurt you—"
Although they were indeed the kind souls of the Main Family, for these Branch members who had been oppressed for so long, transferring their anger was only natural. And the fact that Hinata and Hanabi had enjoyed Main Family privileges since birth gave them even more justification.
One of them reached out to grab Hanabi.
Just then, a figure arrived instantly, blocking Hinata and Hanabi. It was Neji Hyuga.
He didn't even turn back, his gaze sweeping over the Branch members. His powerful aura instantly suppressed the scene.
"These two cannot be touched."
Neji's voice wasn't loud, but it carried undeniable authority.
The Branch members looked at each other. They recognized Neji. But his attitude confused them.
"Neji… they are also Main Family…"
He knew Hinata was genuinely kind, and he didn't want to hurt her. So Neji stared coldly at them with his Byakugan.
"I said, she, Hinata Hyuga, cannot be touched. As for the others—"
"Do as you please…"
With that, he ignored the Branch members.
Hinata's eyes were filled with complex emotions—gratitude, but also confusion. She opened her mouth to say something, but it only turned into a low sigh.
The news of the Hyuga clan's internal strife quickly reached the ears of Konoha's high command.
Inside the Hokage's office, Minato Namikaze frowned as he listened to the Anbu's report. Tsunade and Jiraiya sat on either side, their expressions varying.
"The Hyuga clan… suddenly lifted the seal and it escalated to this extent." Tsunade rubbed her temples, her tone weary.
Jiraiya pondered, "Abolishing the Caged Bird is indeed a good thing for the Hyuga Branch Family. However, the subsequent chaos will be hard to handle."
Minato nodded. "It's understandable given the Branch Family's years of accumulated grievances. But this uncontrolled violence must be curbed. The Hyuga clan is an important part of Konoha; it cannot decline due to internal friction."
He looked out the window. Konoha was gradually recovering in post-war reconstruction. He absolutely would not allow any internal unrest to destroy the not-yet-fully-recovered village.
"Lord Hokage, do we need to intervene immediately?"
"Observe for now. Give them some time to vent; perhaps the Hyuga can find a solution internally. But if the situation deteriorates further, we must act."
He had a plan in mind but still hoped the Hyuga clan had the capacity to resolve this themselves.
Hinata was temporarily safe under Neji's protection, but witnessing the tragic state of other Main Family members tormented her. The elders who used to be somewhat gentle to her, the Main Family children she used to play with… now lived in fear and despair.
She tried to persuade Neji, hoping he would step forward to stop the Branch Family's atrocities.
"Neji-niisan… please make them stop… If this continues, the Hyuga clan will really be destroyed…"
Neji just looked at her coldly. "Destroyed? Lady Hinata, have you forgotten who destroyed the Hyuga clan first? It was the Main Family's greed and cruelty, the vicious Caged Bird curse! What they are enduring now is but a fraction of what they inflicted on us!"
His tone was filled with years of pent-up resentment.
"But—"
Neji sneered. "When they enjoyed the privileges of the Main Family and ignored the suffering of the Branch Family, they deserved this fate. Hinata, protecting you is already my greatest tolerance. This is a reckoning of fate. The Branch Family also needs to vent their long-held anger. Let's talk again when they've vented enough."
Hinata dropped her hands helplessly, tears blurring her vision. She knew she couldn't convince Neji. In Neji's heart, although the flames of revenge hadn't burned away all warmth, he wouldn't extend any mercy to Main Family members other than her.
Late at night, Hinata sat alone in the courtyard, staring blankly at the broken moon.
In her despair, a thought flashed through her mind.
The resurrection of the Fourth Hokage, the return of the Uchiha clan… those near-miraculous events gave her a glimmer of hope.
If everyone resurrected like the Uchiha clan… could this tragedy be stopped?
Once this thought emerged, it could no longer be suppressed. Hinata's heart pounded violently.
A small white figure appeared silently on the stone lantern beside her.
"What are you worrying about, Hinata Hyuga?"
"It looks like you need help?"
Kyubey tilted its head, its red eyes flickering with a strange light in the darkness.
Hinata was startled by the sudden voice. After some communication, she calmed down slightly.
"Kyubey—" Hinata hesitated, "Can you… can you help us?"
"Like, resurrect everyone who died in this disaster?"
Kind-hearted Hinata wanted to ask if all those who died due to the Konoha Crush plan could be resurrected.
Kyubey shook its head and said:
"Resurrecting everyone in a disaster requires a karmic weight that is quite massive for you. Perhaps this exceeds the scope of what 'one wish' can carry."
It hopped lightly onto the stone table in front of Hinata.
Hinata's heart sank. As expected, it won't work…
"Then what about resurrecting the Hyuga Main and Branch Family members who died in this incident?"
Kyubey shook its head again.
Hinata was a bit disappointed. Is my karma not enough to resurrect the Branch and Main families?
"Then…"
"Resurrect my father, Lord Hiashi Hyuga… And Neji-niisan's father, Lord Hizashi Hyuga… Can you grant this wish?"
Kyubey's red eyes narrowed slightly. A moment later, it replied in that cute, soft tone:
"Of course. Such a wish is achievable for you."
Hinata gazed at the white creature before her. Small and seemingly harmless, yet possessing miraculous power. Although she didn't know what price she had to pay for making a wish.
But at this moment.
To stop the internal persecution within the clan. To grasp that slim hope of peace, she seemed to have no other choice.
Her hand reached out uncontrollably toward Kyubey.