Dragging Hyūga Hiashi through the gates of the clan compound like a dead dog, Neji drew immediate ire from the elders of the Main House. Though they didn't dare raise their voices in front of Sasuke, they had no such reservations when it came to pointing fingers at Neji.
"Hyūga Neji, how dare you assault the clan head!"
In their eyes, clan rules and hierarchy were sacred—utterly inviolable.
Neji gave Hiashi a few sharp kicks to rouse him. Groggy and disoriented, Hiashi struggled to make sense of the situation, but as the head of the Hyūga clan, he knew one thing for certain: no matter the reason, no matter how pitiful Neji's background may be—he had to die.
Only Neji's death could maintain the clan's order. His blood would serve as a warning to the restless among the Branch House, snuffing out any rebellious thoughts.
Otherwise, there would only be more uprisings in the future.
To kill one Neji was to prevent the downfall of many. Even if Neji was his nephew, Hiashi had no choice but to act in the name of duty.
He was heartbroken. Such was the sorrow of those in power—pawns of circumstance. He would mourn Neji after his death, just as he had mourned Hizashi. But for now, there was no other option.
Hiashi stood up, calmly wiped the dirt and shoe prints from his face, and stared coldly at Neji with the aloof detachment of a deity judging a mere insect.
Neji returned the look with equal indifference. Truthfully, the feud between them wasn't beyond reconciliation—but this wasn't just about personal grudges anymore. One sought to destroy the old order; the other to preserve it. Their positions were fundamentally incompatible. There could be no coexistence.
"Guards! Execute the traitor Hyūga Neji immediately!" Hiashi ordered. In doing so, he forcibly suppressed the terror he had just experienced outside the compound—or perhaps he had no choice but to forget it. As clan head, he couldn't acknowledge such humiliation, nor could he allow anyone to speak of Neji breaking free from the Caged Bird.
Hiashi wanted to crush Neji with overwhelming force. The Branch House jōnin, already brutalized by Sasuke earlier, struggled to their feet upon hearing the order and assumed combat stances, wincing through the pain.
They moved in silence, eyes glazed, like loyal hounds too beaten to resist.
Neji didn't bother with a speech. The fact that he had enlisted Sasuke's help to surround the Hyūga compound—and personally taken part in the Fall of Konoha—said everything about his resolve.
He wasn't here to talk. He was here to kill. No amount of righteous words could sway him now.
Suddenly, Neji underwent another disturbing transformation. His hair turned the color of pitch-black obsidian, swallowing all surrounding light. His skin was pale as snow—devoid of life. A pair of horns sprouted from his head, and his lips turned a vivid red, emanating a demonic aura.
Thump. Thump.
The sound echoed twice. Two Branch House jōnin dropped dead, their chests punched clean through. Neji hadn't held back—not even for his own kin.
Anyone who dared to raise a hand against him... deserved to die.
Hiashi stood frozen. Everyone—Main and Branch alike—was stunned. They hadn't even seen him move.
Hiashi's expression turned slack with shock. He'd known Neji was powerful. But this powerful?
Still, he clung to hope.
Neji looked up at Hiashi without a flicker of emotion. In the next instant, an overwhelming pressure surged outward, so dense it felt physical. Hiashi could hardly breathe.
Hinata and Hanabi had just regained consciousness—only to immediately faint again under the crushing spiritual force. Hiashi shielded them both, refusing to retreat a single step.
It had only been a minute or two since they entered the compound, but Hiashi's entire mindset had shifted. He'd initially assumed sheer numbers would overwhelm Neji—that was the only reason he'd acted so high and mighty earlier.
Now?
Was it too late to play the emotional card?
"Hyūga Neji! I advise you to surrender immediately!" shouted one of the Main House elders. As his voice rang out, a young Branch House boy suddenly dropped to the ground, clutching his head and screaming in agony.
The Caged Bird had been activated. The victim—one of Neji's younger cousins—didn't suffer long. He soon stopped breathing.
Neji watched in silence, neither sad nor angry.
"Hyūga Neji," the elder said with cruel precision, "if you continue to resist, I guarantee many more Branch House members will die because of you. That was just a small warning. Back down while you still can."
Just like that, the Main House had slaughtered one of their own—using his death as a demonstration, a warning to Neji about their resolve.
Better to die with honor than live as a slave.
A slave should never dare to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with their masters.
For a moment, the courtyard fell silent—then chaos erupted. Branch House members begged and shouted, but the ones in power remained unmoved. The elder casually executed a few more who dared raise their voices, and slowly, the eyes of the crowd turned toward Neji.
They couldn't defy the Main House. But they could pressure Neji—through kinship, through morality, through any means they could grasp...
The elder stared at Neji with smug satisfaction, thinking the outcome already decided.
Neji tilted his head, as if looking at an idiot.
"You're threatening someone who wants to destroy you with the lives of people he's already willing to lose? Did you leave your brain in your mother's womb when you were born?"
The elder's expression froze. He hadn't expected Neji to say that. What about Hyūga etiquette? Clearly rattled, he snapped,
"Hmph! We'll see how long you keep up this arrogance! I swear—if you so much as lay a hand on the Main House, I'll slaughter every last member of the Branch House!"
"Hyūga Neji, do you really have the guts to gamble the lives of your entire family?"
Neji gave his answer with action.
Bang!
Hyūga Hiashi's head exploded.
A moment ago, Hiashi had stayed silent, letting the elder confront Neji while keeping himself at arm's length. If things went well, great. If not, he'd just offer up the elder as a scapegoat.
What he didn't expect was for Neji to kill him outright—no warning, no hesitation. One moment of quiet, and his uncle was sent to the Pure Land, gently and painlessly.
Only now that he was dead did Neji finally call him "Uncle."
Bits of brain and skull splattered in a spray of red and white, landing across the elder's face. His smug grin vanished. His expression twisted into panic.
"H-How dare you... how dare you kill the clan head!"
Hatred poured from his eyes. In a frenzy, he activated the Caged Bird. The first to die were those closest to Neji by blood. Screaming in agony, they collapsed into lifeless heaps.
"I told you! All these Branch House deaths are your fault! This is the price of your rebellion! Spend the rest of your life in guilt and regret!" the elder shrieked, watching more and more Branch House members fall.
He turned to Neji, expecting to see grief on his face.
Strangely, Neji looked almost... relieved.
Then he seized the elder—and skinned him alive.
The man collapsed in a twitching, bloody heap, eyes locked on Neji until his dying breath... still hoping to see pain, remorse, anything.
But he never did.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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