Chapter 273 Succession to Clan Head, A Man Arrives from the Moon
It must be said that spending so much time with the Uchiha clan, Neji had picked up some of their flaws. For example, when emotionally agitated, he habitually expressed his feelings with maniacal laughter.
This was quite incompatible with the Hyuga clan, who always prided themselves on being noble ninjas and held themselves to aristocratic standards. Therefore, upon seeing Neji's maniacal laughter, the elders present frowned.
"You say the Caged Bird Seal is the foundation of the clan?" Neji, having finished laughing, stared directly at the elder who had spoken earlier. "Then I want to ask, is it you who don't even do the most basic tasks, only relying on the Caged Bird Seal to enslave the branch family, who are the foundation of the clan, or is it the branch family, enslaved by the Caged Bird Seal for life, who are the foundation of the clan?"
After Neji finished speaking, the elders' faces turned a deep shade of liver. While everyone did some things this way, saying it directly took on a different meaning.
"Hyuga Neji! Watch your attitude! You're not the clan leader yet! And even if you became the clan leader, you have no right to speak to us like that!" an elder rebuked Neji angrily.
"I have no right?" Neji sneered. "I am a Konoha Jonin, the Fifth Hokage's personal disciple, and the captain of the fourth squad of the Jonin team. And you? You don't even have the rank of Chunin. In principle, a ninja of your level has no right to speak to me directly."
"Hyuga Neji! Don't think that just because you have the Hokage backing you, you can ignore the clan rules!" the Hyuga elder said angrily, then looked at Hyuga Hiashi.
"Hyuga Hiashi, the young clan leader you chose is so disregarding clan rules, aren't you going to do anything about it?"
"Ah, I still need to go to the Hokage to get the border defense map and study how to arrange the border military equipment. Neji, I'll leave this to you." Upon hearing this, Hyuga Hiashi stood up and patted Neji's shoulder, decisively silencing his urges. He was joking; if the guards found out about those disrespectful words the elders had just uttered about the Hokage, they'd be in for a serious talking-to at the Nakagawa Grand Hotel. These elders were usually pampered by their respective branch families; they probably thought everyone in the village would do the same.
After Hyuga Hiashi left, Neji also got up and sat directly in the seat that Hyuga Hiashi had previously occupied, the seat representing the clan head. He then reached for his portable sealing scroll at his waist, pulled out his Eight Trigrams Staff, forcefully planted it in the ground, and looked at the elders.
"In a few days, I will release all the Caged Birds from your branch families. From now on, there will be no distinction between the main family and branch families in the Hyuga clan. Your status in the clan will be determined entirely by talent and strength. However, elders, don't worry. Considering your years of service in the clan, even if you haven't made any great contributions, you have still put in some effort. The clan will support you for life with the same treatment you received as the main family members," Neji said.
"Hyuga Neji, you are not the clan leader yet!" the Hyuga elder roared. Then, he looked at the others around him, "Gentlemen, I propose that we, in the name of the elders, strip Hyuga Neji of his position as the young clan leader. We cannot stand by and watch the Hyuga ancestral precepts be severed in the hands of this madman! Otherwise, how will we face our ancestors when we reach the Pure Land!"
"It seems that the elders don't want to maintain their dignity?" Neji clapped his hands expressionlessly.
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The gates of the Hyuga shrine were suddenly flung open, and a group of men wielding kunai rushed in, taking control of all the elders within.
The elders, upon closer inspection, realized the newcomers were members of the branch family of Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Neji, and were instantly enraged. "Hyuga Neji! Are you planning a coup within the clan? And you, as branch family members, how dare you defy your superiors and point weapons at the main family?"
"Elders seem to have misunderstood something. What I'm doing only qualifies as a coup if it fails; if it succeeds, it's a revolution." Neji slowly rose, drew his Eight Trigrams Staff, twirled it, and pointed it directly at the Hyuga Grand Elder's face.
"You think you can control us with these branch family members?" The Grand Elder gritted his teeth, raising his hand to form the hand seals for activating the Caged Bird Seal.
However, the branch family members around them remained completely unmoved.
"This…you released them all from their Caged Bird Seal?" The Hyuga Grand Elder looked up in disbelief at Neji, who was pointing his staff at him.
"Elder, I've already said this is a revolution, so naturally it must start with me," Neji said.
"Why? Why are you still obeying his orders even though the Caged Bird Seal is gone?" At this moment, a Hyuga elder turned to a Hyuga branch family member who was holding a kunai to his neck and asked.
Hearing this, Neji somewhat lost interest and put away his weapon. Ever since Uchiha Touka told him to prepare to take over the Hyuga clan, Neji had immediately released the Caged Bird Seal from the branch family members of his lineage, and he had made many preparations to ensure a smooth power grab.
Moreover, he was somewhat excited, after all, he had studied with Uchiha Touka for so long, and now he finally had the opportunity to put his knowledge into practice.
But what he hadn't expected was that the main family elders he had previously valued so much were all such fools.
At this moment, Neji couldn't help but sigh. Some members of the Hyuga clan had the Caged Bird Seal visible, but weren't these people just caged birds on another level, only without that unsightly seal?
"Take them away," Neji waved his hand dismissively, turning away from these fools spoiled by years of pampered life.
"Where are you taking us?" the Hyuga elder, his neck held by a kunai, shouted at Neji.
"Where else? To the security force, of course. I forgot to tell you, they're all members of the security force now. Your actions of activating the Caged Bird Seal have violated village law. You'll just have to wait to be judged." Neji finished speaking and left the clan shrine without looking back.
After leaving the shrine, Neji turned and walked towards the center of the Hyuga clan's territory.
Not long after, Sasuke appeared behind him, chuckling as he asked, "How was it?"
"To be honest, it was pretty boring," Neji shrugged. "If our teacher's opponents were a bunch of insects, then these guys in our clan are just parasites."
"Let's not talk about that. Anyway, you've become the head of the Hyuga clan, so I still have to congratulate you," Sasuke said with a smile. He then took out a scroll from his person and handed it to Neji. "This contains the power generation methods and trajectories of some basic Uchiha shurikenjutsu that don't require the Sharingan. Take it and have Tenten try to replicate it using scientific ninja tools. Consider this our Uchiha clan's succession gift to you, the new head of the Hyuga clan."
"This gift is really valuable. Did our teacher know about this?" Neji remarked. If Sasuke's gift were converted into something from the Hyuga clan's standards, it would be their most basic Bagua Zen technique, something that could be considered a cornerstone of their respective clans.
"My teacher has already put me in charge of clan affairs, and I doubt he'll object. In the future, the importance of shuriken throwing will only decrease," Sasuke shrugged. "But you, now that you're the clan head, what changes do you plan to make to the Hyuga clan?"
"Anyway, let's deal with the Caged Bird Seal first. With that thing around, the Hyuga will never catch up to you Uchiha," Neji said.
"Heh, you Hyuga wanting to catch up to us Uchiha? That's a bit too far-fetched," Sasuke laughed.
"How will we know if we don't try?" Neji laughed too. "Want to make a bet?"
"Heh, sure," Sasuke said. "Let's bet on which of our clans will be the number one ocular jutsu clan in Konoha ten years from now, how about it?"
"Sure." Neji said with a smile. Compared to dealing with a bunch of parasites who weren't even worthy of being called insects, competing with his junior brother was much more interesting.
"Come sit at my house? I got some tea from Master, want to try some?" Neji raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of tea?" Sasuke asked, intrigued.
"His most treasured jar." Neji said with a smile.
"You managed to find it even though he hid it so well?" Sasuke asked, somewhat surprised, but upon seeing Neji's eyes, he immediately understood and nodded. "In this respect, your Byakugan is really impressive."
The two brothers walked towards the Hyuga clan leader's residence with smiles.
"Neji-nii!" As soon as Neji and Sasuke arrived home, a small figure rushed towards them.
"Hanabi, slow down, we have guests." Neji said helplessly after catching Hanabi who was rushing towards him.
"Sasuke-nii!" Hanabi, who was nestled in Neji's arms, looked up and waved to Sasuke with a bright smile.
"Hello, Hanabi." Sasuke smiled and nodded.
Hanabi glanced around at the two of them, and seeing that the blond-haired guy wasn't there, she nodded with satisfaction.
It could be said that this little girl was the most hostile person to the blond-haired guy in the house; every time he came over, her older sister ignored her.
After Neji invited Sasuke into the house, Hinata opened the living room door and said with a smile, "Sasuke-kun, you've come."
The group sat down on the tatami mat in the living room, and Hinata started boiling water on the stove, waiting for it to boil.
After the water boiled, Neji poured tea leaves into the kettle, then poured in boiling water. The aroma of tea filled the living room, and Neji and Sasuke simultaneously enjoyed washing their noses.
"Sensei drinks really well," Sasuke remarked.
"Yes, speaking of tea ceremony, Sensei is truly the best in the ninja world!" Neji echoed.
"Where did you get this tea...?" Hinata noticed something was amiss and quickly asked.
"Your brother took it from the Hokage's collection," Sasuke shrugged and said with a smile.
"This… won't cause any problems?" Hinata asked hurriedly.
"What problems could there be?" Neji waved his hand. "Even if he finds out, we'll only get a beating at most, but the chance to taste the snow mountain rock tea from the Land of Snow is rare."
"Uh…" The obedient Hinata still felt that what the two brothers did seemed a bit inappropriate, so she got up and asked, "Sasuke-kun, are you having dinner here?"
"Then I'll trouble you." Sasuke didn't stand on ceremony.
"Then I'll go cook." Hinata nodded, got up, and went to the kitchen.
At this moment, night gradually fell, and moonlight shone on the courtyard of the Hyuga clan head's residence.
In the next instant, the moonlight seemed to be distorted and gathered by some invisible force, solidifying into a blurry human figure above the white sand in the center of the courtyard. The speed at which the figure shifted from ethereal to solid was faster than the eye could perceive; one moment it was a fleeting shadow, the next a figure, like a ghost fallen from the moon, silently stepped onto the cold sand.
Long, silvery hair flowed with moonlight, and deep within the pure white pupils lay only a cold indifference, like looking down on ants, and a hint of greedy ambition.
The newcomer wore an immaculate white robe, his gaze like two icy blades, instantly piercing the shadows of the corridor and fixing precisely on Hinata.
She was carrying the food that had been brought to her, her face as pale as paper, her pure white eyes filled with terror.
"Pure White Eyes… return with me to the Moon Sanctuary." The newcomer's voice was calm and even, yet carried a will that could freeze the soul.
"Daring to run wild in the Hyuga clan, you have quite the audacity!"
A sharp shout exploded like thunder! Neji Hyuga burst forth from the shadows of the corridor, his black Eight Trigrams Staff tearing through the air with a sharp wail.
He didn't charge at Toneri's true form, but instead lunged at the ground beside Hinata—where several paving stones had mysteriously risen and deformed on their own, instantly transforming into three rough yet incredibly swift rock golems. Their joints shimmered with a ghostly blue chakra light, and their massive rock claws, carrying a heavy, oppressive force, viciously grabbed at Hinata!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Neji's movements were ghostly, the Eight Trigrams Staff transforming in his hands into an impenetrable barrier of dark light. The staff struck the rock golems' wrists, elbows, and knees with pinpoint accuracy, each impact producing a heavy thud, sparks flying at the point of contact.
Gentle Fist chakra penetrated the hard rock, attempting to disrupt the chakra nodes that held the golems together.
Neji's staff flashed, protecting Hinata and firmly blocking the stone claws outside the circle. His movements were fierce and swift, yet possessed the precise penetrating power unique to Gentle Fist, each strike attempting to disrupt the energy flow within the puppets. Rock fragments fell in a flurry, and the three puppets' movements visibly slowed, their joints emitting a strained grinding sound.
Almost simultaneously with Neji intercepting the puppets, another figure entered the battlefield with even greater speed. Sasuke's figure was like a purple lightning bolt tearing through the night, leaping over the corridor railing and pouncing towards Toneri, who was hovering in the center of the courtyard! His right hand was already enveloped in blindingly bright blue lightning, and the sharp, piercing cry of a thousand birds tore through the silence of the moonlit night, coalescing into an indestructible lightning spear—the Thousand Birds Sharp Spear!
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(End of Chapter)