Chapter 24 — I Want to See Ritsu
Evening had come. The sky had gone leaden and the downpour still hadn't let up. Lamps were lit early in every home; the smoke of cooking was drowned by the rain, but if you pressed your face to a window you could still smell supper. No matter how much the clan had just been overturned, people still had to eat.
Hyūga Ritsu and the six newly appointed elders remained at the Tametsu Shrine.
The big meeting had ended, only to be followed by smaller conferences. The immediate crisis was contained for now — the clan's morale had been steadied — but the danger was far from gone. Former clan head Hiashi and elders Daichi and Hishō were still wildcards. Until those ticking threats were neutralized, true stability would remain out of reach.
There were other urgent matters as well. Appointing Hiru—no, consulting Hiruko the sage—to research a broadly applicable method to break the Caged-Bird seal would affect the entire clan; this couldn't be left to Ritsu alone. And the matter of the Hyūga main family's stolen Byakugan could not be ignored.
"I'll handle the threats posed by Hiashi and the rest, and I'll try to recover the Byakugan from the Mist nin," Ritsu announced. "If they can be reasoned with, I'll negotiate. If they must be killed, then killed they'll be. I'm leaving for the front tomorrow."
"Clan Head, take me with you."
Hyūga Takashi, forty-four, spoke up. "You shouldn't carry every burden yourself. If we are elders, then we must act like elders — not be the same as the main family's useless lot."
"Yeah. I'm going too."
"Count me in."
The six new elders — including Hyūga Hizashi and the others — were all hardened veterans who'd crawled out of battlefields. They had no fear of going to war.
"You can come if you insist, but we can't all go; we must leave people behind to hold the clan—"
"Clan leader, something's up!"
Hyūga Arima, the guard on duty, burst in before Ritsu could finish. "Hokage Hiruzen, Danzo, the Yellow Flash, and Hiashi with Daichi, Hishō and Taisho — they've broken into the clan grounds and are heading this way toward the shrine!"
Ritsu's Byakugan sprang open immediately. He followed Arima's pointing line and saw them — a fast-moving column.
"Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo, Minato… and remnants of the main family." Ritsu narrowed his eyes. Hiashi and those who should have been at the eastern front were back in the village; there was no doubt this was Hiruzen's doing and Minato's execution. That could only mean one thing: they were not coming to reconcile. They were coming with ill intentions.
"Clan head, what shall we do?" asked Hyūga Karin, the twenty-six-year-old woman elder. Everyone present had been tempered by blood and death; they all felt danger approaching like an instinct.
Ritsu's face went calm, cold as steel. "Hiruzen brings the main family's remnants to our door — he's delivering them into our hands. Then there's no need for politeness. I've said it already: those remnants are to be dealt with by me. Your duty is to receive and entertain the Hokage and his party."
Hyūga Ritsu smiled faintly, his tone calm but his eyes sharp as blades.
Across from him, the six elders exchanged uneasy glances, each lost in thought.
"Right—Elder Hizashi," Ritsu said suddenly, turning to his uncle. "If Hiashi chooses to resist… I won't be able to hold back."
Those words hung heavy in the air.
Hizashi's expression hardened. He clenched his jaw and nodded solemnly.
"Clan Head, allow me to go and greet the Hokage and his party."
"Fine."
Ritsu inclined his head. "It's good that you two brothers have a chance to speak before blades are drawn. If you can persuade him to abandon the Main Family's stance, all the better for everyone."
With permission granted, Hizashi grabbed an umbrella and dashed out into the damp night.
"Arima," Ritsu ordered, his voice snapping like a whip, "gather all the jōnin and special jōnin. Have them assemble at the Tametsu Shrine, immediately!"
"Yes, Clan Head!" Arima answered, and disappeared into the rain.
---
By now, the storm was easing, though the night air still smelled of wet earth and tension.
Eight hundred meters from the shrine, on the slick stone avenue, Hizashi finally spotted a group of figures advancing swiftly through the mist and light rain.
"Hokage-sama!" he called, stepping forward and bowing deeply. "I was sent by our clan head to welcome you."
Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group halted. They all knew it was pointless to attempt any kind of ambush—the Byakugan would see through every shadow and illusion long before they could get close. The plan was never stealth; it was speed.
Once they reached Ritsu, they'd strike in a single, decisive moment. Until then, they could afford to play polite.
"Clan head?" sneered Daichi, unable to restrain himself. "Hizashi, which clan head's orders are you obeying? Don't tell me you've joined that arrogant brat Ritsu in his madness! Your brother—the rightful clan head—is standing right in front of you!"
"Repent now while there's still time," he barked, his voice rising. "Otherwise—"
"Enough!"
Minato's cold voice cracked through the air like thunder. His eyes, glinting gold in the dim light, cut toward Daichi with a chill that made even veteran shinobi flinch.
What was wrong with these Hyūga elders? They hadn't even reached Ritsu yet, and this fool was already on the verge of blurting out their entire mission.
Did they want Ritsu to be ready for them?
Hiruzen and Danzo's expressions darkened as well—faces like thunderclouds, every line of patience strained.
---
"Brother," Hizashi said suddenly, ignoring Daichi's outburst entirely, his gaze locked on Hiashi. "Can we speak for a moment?"
Hiashi frowned. "What is it, Hizashi?"
"Do you still remember your dream, back when Father was alive?"
"My… dream?"
Hiashi froze. The word struck him like a forgotten melody.
His thoughts drifted back to years past—back when their father still lived, still wore the clan head's robe. Back then, Hiashi had brimmed with ideals. He'd told his younger brother that one day he would change the Hyūga system, that no one born into the Branch Family would ever again live like beasts bound to the Main Family's leash.
But that fire had long since gone cold.
When his father died and leadership fell onto his shoulders, he'd buried that youthful resolve under duty and tradition.
He'd convinced himself there was no other way. The Main–Branch structure had sustained the Hyūga for a thousand years. He couldn't imagine a different world, a different order. So he followed in his father's footsteps, maintaining the same old chains, convincing himself it was "for the good of the clan."
For a long moment, rain whispered between them.
Then Hiashi's face settled into a mask of calm.
"Hizashi," he said quietly. "Lead the way. I want to see Hyūga Ritsu."