Chapter 212: Brother, The Hyuga Family System Should End Here
Darkness, thick as ink, shrouded the ruined Hyuga mansion. The air was heavy with the scent of blood and dust.
The long-suppressed anger of the Branch Family burned in the courtyard.
On Hinata's chest, a Soul Gem quietly emerged, emitting a faint but resilient light.
The contract was sealed.
Almost in the same instant, before the ruins of the meeting hall in the center of the mansion—the symbol of the Main Family's power—the air suddenly distorted. Two figures solidified out of thin air: Hiashi Hyuga and Hizashi Hyuga, who should have been resting in eternal sleep.
Upon appearing, both were bewildered.
Hiashi instinctively looked around. The familiar courtyard had not yet fully recovered. His memory was still stuck in that terrible night. The insect swarm had flooded Konoha like a tide; he had fought desperately to protect his clansmen, ultimately being torn apart by countless venomous bugs.
But now… "This is the Hyuga mansion?"
Hiashi's voice was dry, carrying the confusion of resurrection. "Wasn't I already…"
Hizashi looked around with equal shock. A second ago, he was in that eternal darkness, having chosen to die to protect his brother. And now…
Alive?
The two looked at each other, seeing the same confusion and disbelief in each other's eyes.
However, the scene before them quickly shook them from the shock of resurrection.
Those Branch Family members, whom Hiashi once thought were as docile as sheep, now wore expressions of vengeful fanaticism and twisted pleasure. They were surrounding several disheveled Main Family members in the center, beating them.
"Stop!"
Hiashi's voice boomed, the authority of the former clan head erupting unconsciously. "What are you doing?!!"
His roar instantly ignited the pent-up resentment of the Branch Family. After a brief moment of shock and disbelief at seeing the resurrected, a more turbulent wave of anger followed.
"Hiashi Hyuga, you still have the face to say that!"
A Branch Family member with a hideous scar on his face roared, spittle flying almost onto Hiashi's face. "The era of the 'Caged Bird' is over! The blood debt your Main Family owes us will be settled one by one today!"
"'Caged Bird'… is over?"
Hiashi's pupils contracted sharply. How is that possible? That is a system the Hyuga family has maintained unchanged for decades! How could it just end?!
"Lord Hiashi, look at the scars on our foreheads! The swarm wasn't targeting us, yet your Main Family dragged us down with you! Look at our dead relatives! Whose fault is this?!"
The wave of angry voices threatened to swallow Hiashi. When had he ever been treated like this? Anger shot straight to his head, veins bulging around his Byakugan. Just as he was about to explode, Hizashi grabbed him firmly.
"Brother, calm down!"
Although Hizashi was equally shocked and confused by the scene, if the Caged Bird was gone, the behavior of these clansmen made sense. Moreover, if Hiashi reacted aggressively, it would only backfire. His years as a Branch Family member allowed him to better understand the root of this anger.
However, he still wanted to understand what exactly had happened. After all, he didn't believe the Main Family would be merciful enough to lift the Caged Bird voluntarily.
He stood in front of Hiashi, trying to separate the two sides with his body, and rasped:
"Everyone, please calm down! What happened? Why has it come to this?"
"Lord Hizashi, move aside! This is a grudge between the Branch and Main Families!"
"That's right, you already died for the Main Family once! Why protect the Main Family that sent you to your death?!"
But Hizashi knew that back then, Hiashi didn't want him to die. Hizashi wanted to choose freely for once. To choose to die for his family, for his brother, for the peace of Konoha. Not to die for some distinction between Main and Branch Families.
Amidst the chaos, a cold and firm voice rang out:
"The era of the Caged Bird has indeed ended."
Neji Hyuga pushed through the crowd and walked out slowly. When he saw the figure that should have slept forever, he froze on the spot.
Father… really resurrected?
Neji's hands trembled slightly, complex emotions flashing in his eyes. He looked at Lady Hinata hiding behind a tree, and her Soul Gem.
He understood. She, the always timid and anxious Lady Hinata, had made the wish that even he had given up on.
In an instant, countless emotions intertwined. A curve appeared on Neji's lips, indescribably relieved yet complicated.
"Father…"
"You… came back?"
Hizashi looked at his son, now grown into a young man, tears welling in his eyes.
"Neji… is that you, Neji?!"
"You've grown up…"
"Neji—" Hiashi looked at his nephew, his heart skipping a beat. "What did you say just now? The Caged Bird ended? That's impossible!"
Neji gave his father a deep look, then turned to Hiashi.
"Nothing is impossible. I made a wish and lifted the Caged Bird curse from all Branch Family members. The Main Family's enslavement… is over!"
Hearing this, Hizashi also wanted to investigate what exactly had happened. "Neji, what happened? After I died, what became of the family?"
Under Hizashi's efforts to mediate and Neji's cold confrontation, the situation was temporarily brought under control.
Neji didn't hold back. He explained how Konoha remained a stagnant pool after Hizashi's death, rules unshakable. Until the Konoha Crush plan began. The huge losses of the Hyuga Main Family, the sacrifice of the Third Hokage, how he signed a contract with a creature named Kyubey and wished to lift the "Caged Bird," and how the Branch Family launched their revenge after gaining freedom…
"Wait," Hizashi interrupted Neji's narrative. "You said you signed a contract with some creature? What is that? What is the price?"
"A creature calling itself Kyubey," Neji said calmly. "The price? I'm not entirely sure. But what price could be more severe than letting the Branch Family continue to be enslaved for centuries?! At worst, it's just death…"
Unease rose in Hizashi's heart, but before he could ask further, Neji continued:
"And Hinata probably signed a contract with Kyubey to resurrect you two."
"What?!" Hiashi exclaimed.
Just then, Hinata ran over stumbling, her face covered in tear stains. Seeing her father and uncle standing alive before her, she was overwhelmed with sorrow and joy, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Father… Uncle Hizashi… thank goodness… you're back…"
Hiashi looked at his daughter and asked, "Hinata, you…"
"The family can't go on like this… no one else should die…"
Hizashi looked at everything before him with mixed feelings. After his death, the family had turned out like this. But without Neji's choice, the Branch Family might have been enslaved by the Main Family forever…
"Brother…"
Hizashi looked at Hiashi's pale face and spoke.
"You should know what to do…"
"The Hyuga family's system should end here."