Chapter 29 — The Legacy of the Main House
The next morning, the news of the Hyūga Main House's near-total annihilation spread through the village like wildfire.
As one of Konoha's only two remaining great clans, the Hyūga were nothing like the Uchiha—who were famously disliked by both civilians and fellow shinobi.
The Hyūga, on the contrary, had extensive ties throughout the village.
Because on missions, everyone loved having a Hyūga teammate.
Byakugan dramatically increased survival rates and mission success rates.
So despite the clan's insular, compound-style living, their reputation within Konoha was excellent.
Thus, by the time dawn arrived, the shocking news had already traveled through every possible channel.
And as expected—
It caused an uproar.
Not only among the various clans, but even among many civilian-born shinobi.
Everyone was asking questions, looking for answers.
Around nine in the morning, staff from the Hokage's office fanned out across the village and posted an official announcement on every public notice board:
> The matter of the Hyūga Main House's destruction is fully under control.
The Hyūga clan remains one of Konoha's unshakable pillars.
The Third Hokage's reputation remained as solid as ever.
The statement immediately calmed most of the panic.
Shortly afterward, messengers from all the major clans began heading toward the Hyūga compound.
With the Main House gone, it was time to establish friendly relations with the new power structure.
Everyone wanted to stay on good terms with the Hyūga—
everyone except the Uchiha, who had never been good at having friends.
---
Messengers from every clan came to pay respects to the newly appointed clan head.
But Hyūga Ritsu, the new clan leader, did not appear.
Instead, the one entertaining the visitors was Hyūga Hizashi—the new elder who looked almost identical to the former clan head, Hyūga Hiashi.
Many envoys were disappointed but none dared complain.
After all—
even outsiders could sense it:
Now that the oppressive Main/Side Branch system was collapsing, the Hyūga were like a giant who had finally broken free from its chains.
A clan like that would only grow stronger.
As for what Ritsu himself was doing?
The answer was simple:
Under the assistance of the former clan head Hyūga Hiashi,
he was busy organizing the true "inheritance" left behind by the Main House.
Not their wealth or mansions—
But something far more valuable:
The Hyūga clan's secret techniques and ancestral scrolls.
---
Tametsu Shrine — Treasure Hall
Ritsu stood before three large wooden chests stacked atop the tatami mats.
"Are these all the Main House's inherited scrolls?
Nothing missing?"
He asked calmly.
Hiashi nodded.
"Everything the clan has preserved over generations is here.
All the classic texts, all the scrolls—
even the personal notes left behind by the seven ancestral Main House bloodlines."
Hyūga Hiashi stared at the neatly arranged scrolls inside the wooden chests with an expression full of reluctant resignation.
In the end—
he bowed his head to fate.
Out of all the adult members of the Main House, he alone remained alive.
The children were unharmed, yes—but could one realistically expect a bunch of still-growing children to one day revive the glory of the Main House?
Impossible.
Even if Hyūga Ritsu failed to remove the cursed seal from the foreheads of the clan, as long as the next generation grew up without the Caged Bird Seal, the resurgence of the Main House was nothing more than a fantasy.
And so, under the persuasion of his younger brother Hyūga Hizashi, Hiashi reluctantly cooperated with Ritsu—gathering every secret technique the Main House possessed and bringing them to the Treasure Hall of Tametsu Shrine.
---
"Let me see."
Ritsu casually picked up a scroll.
A glance told him it contained a technique named Gentle Fist: Mountain-Breaker Palm—an advanced derivative of the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, boasting destructive power far beyond its predecessor.
A single strike could pulverize boulders dozens of meters away.
He skimmed through it, came away satisfied, and set it aside.
Then he reached into another chest and pulled out an old notebook.
The yellowed pages and neat handwriting indicated that it was a copy of something even older.
In other words—
its contents were truly ancient.
"Well, well… this ancestor of yours really dared to dream.
He actually tried to imitate the Uchiha and create a Hyūga version of Susanoo."
Ritsu lifted an eyebrow and turned to Hiashi.
"You've read this one, haven't you?"
Hiashi nodded stiffly.
"Yes. It was written by an ancestor of my bloodline over three hundred years ago.
The original was already damaged—what we have now is a copy made about seventy years ago."
"And what did you think after reading it?"
"…It's unrealistic. Far too fanciful."
"Fanciful?"
Ritsu let out a light chuckle.
He flipped through the thin notebook again.
"Sure, much of it is speculation and theory… but you've never thought of trying to follow in that ancestor's footsteps?"
Hiashi froze, unable to answer.
Ritsu sneered.
"That's exactly why the Main House is useless.
Your ancestor dared to attempt creating a Hyūga 'Susanoo.'
He failed, yes—
but he had ambition.
Something I don't see in any of you."
"No wonder that despite having more members and more jōnin than the Uchiha, we have always been suppressed by them.
Because the Main House… is full of trash."
Ritsu didn't soften a single word.
Hiashi's face darkened, but he couldn't refute it.
Not after watching Ritsu slaughter Hyūga Hishō and the others so effortlessly.
Every argument withered in his throat.
Reality spoke for itself.
The Main House's elite had been wiped out by a single teenager.
How could he argue with that?
Hiashi fell silent.
Ritsu, seeing no point in continuing the conversation, shifted his attention to the young woman standing nearby—his cousin, Hyūga Akiha—whose eyes were glued to the mountains of scrolls with barely concealed excitement.
"Akiha, sort these into categories.
From now on, they'll be stored in the Treasure Hall.
Label everything properly so they're easy to borrow and reference."
In the past, everything here had been kept locked inside the Main House, sealed away from the Side Branch entirely.
Side Branch members weren't even allowed a glance, much less to study them.
But those outdated rules were gone.
After discussion with the elders, Ritsu had decided:
From this day forward, every member of the Hyūga could study the clan's ancestral techniques.
"Also—notify all jōnin, chūnin, and genin.
They will come in groups to learn the full Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."
Ritsu commanded.
The Side Branch had always been restricted to the weakened Thirty-Two Palms.
That era was over.
Not everyone could, like Ritsu, break through the limits on their own.
Most shinobi spent their entire lives following the footsteps of their predecessors; only a rare few could innovate beyond them.
But giving everyone access to the same foundation—
that was how a clan grew strong again.
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