Hakuki stood with the Hyūga representatives amidst a tense crowd, watching as two men from the branch family dragged a girl by her hair in the center of the square. Their expressions were arrogant.
"What are you doing?!"
At that moment, a man named Qiufeng pushed through the crowd. His face was a mix of wariness and smoldering resentment.
"Oh?"
"You want to save her?"
The two branch members sneered at Qiufeng's intervention. A malicious glint flickered in their eyes, their gazes falling greedily upon his Byakugan.
From her interactions the previous day, Hakuki had a good sense of Qiufeng's character. He'd allowed their strange-looking group into his home under such circumstances. That alone spoke volumes about his kindness.
So, letting this girl be taken right in front of him? Impossible. He wasn't the type to stand by.
"Don't go too far!"
"Before, you said you only needed ten pairs of Byakugan!"
"Now, how many innocent people have you already taken?"
Qiufeng's mind flashed with images of countless clan members snatched from the streets. His anger boiled hotter.
"You little…!"
One of the branch men laughed, the sound thick with threat.
Qiufeng's words struck a chord with the onlookers. Their blank, white eyes were a silent, damning accusation against the branch family's actions.
"Well, one pair would have been enough," one of the branch men said, eyeing the crowd. "But since you said that… let's make it two."
His words were a clear, unspoken warning. The fearful resolve that had begun to stir in the main family members withered once more.
"Grab him!"
After tying up the girl, the two men lunged for Qiufeng.
Life on the moon for the Ōtsutsuki clan had been too peaceful for too long. Their combat skills had atrophied. Unlike the branch family, obsessed with destruction and constantly honing their strength, the peace-loving main family had become ordinary people in this calm existence—powerless.
Qiufeng struggled, but only for a few moments before he was firmly restrained.
"That's all you've got? And you dare step forward?"
The men couldn't resist the taunt.
"Let Uncle Qiufeng go!"
"You bullies! You cowards!"
Hakuki heard the familiar voice. She sighed, pressing a hand to her forehead.
A blur of yellow shot out from the crowd.
"Take this!"
Naruto leaped high, his small but furious fist aiming straight for a branch member's face.
"Naruto!"
Hinata, standing beside her father Hiashi, gasped in worry for him. Those two branch members looked truly formidable.
Naruto was fast. And unexpected.
One of the men didn't react in time.
The fist grazed his cheek.
The man froze.
His entire body trembled with rage.
"Damn it!"
"A brat… a little brat touched me!"
A savage light burned in the branch member's eyes. The humiliation of being struck by a child made him want to tear the boy apart.
"Die!"
His fist, now wreathed in chakra, shot towards Naruto's chest. A direct hit would shatter the boy's ribcage.
"Hokage-sama!"
Hinata tugged anxiously on Hakuki's sleeve.
Hiashi: "…"
My daughter is a bit too invested.
Hakuki didn't move.
"Ritsue-nee!"
In the face of danger, Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and yelled at the top of his lungs.
Hakuki: "…"
He's got a system for this now.
"Calling for anyone won't save you!"
The branch man's expression was vicious.
Then, a sharp, excruciating pain shot through his wrist.
His face contorted.
Standing before him was a woman with long, pale blonde hair. Her eyes were ice-cold, staring at him as if he were already a corpse.
A second later, his face went rigid. Blood vessels burst across his eyes. His throat filled with the metallic taste of blood and a scream he couldn't voice.
Hanzo held his wrist. A dark, miasmic gas seeped from her fingers, slowly corroding the man's arm.
In an instant, the flesh melted away, leaving only gleaming white bone.
"Nani?!"
The other branch member's pupils dilated. He stumbled back a step, staring at Hanzo in utter horror.
"She… she's the Hokage's… house…"
Hizashi couldn't bring himself to finish the word 'maid'.
"You have some nerve! We won't let this go!"
Clutching the stump of his arm, the man snarled through the pain. Even now, he dared to threaten them. His confidence in the branch family's power ran deep.
The two branch members exchanged a look. In the next heartbeat, they were fleeing, moving with desperate speed.
Know when you're beaten. Staying meant certain death.
As long as we live, we can fight another day.
They just had to escape, to report to the clan head. Then, they'd make these intruders pay.
The dark gas began to coil around Hanzo's hand again. Hakuki spoke. "Let them go."
The main family members finally shifted their focus to Hakuki.
She walked up to Hanzo. "Let them leave."
Hanzo's hand dropped. The gas slithered back into her skin, disappearing without a trace.
"Hokage-sama, if they escape, they'll alert the entire branch family," Hiashi said, stepping forward.
"That's exactly what I want."
Hakuki smiled. "It's better if they all come at once. Saves us the trouble of hunting them down."
Hiashi paused, then smiled himself. Right. With the Hokage's power, what was there to fear?
Qiufeng frowned, staring hard at Hakuki and the others. "Who… who are you people?"
"You hurt the branch family. They won't rest until you're dead."
"You should… you should run. Now!"
His white eyes were filled with genuine concern.
"Run?"
"Is that the main family's solution to everything?"
Hakuki's gaze swept past Qiufeng, taking in the entire crowd.
"What do you know?"
"If war breaks out, who knows how many will die."
"This… this is the best choice we have."
Someone in the crowd spoke up in defense.
"Heh."
Orochimaru chuckled. "Sacrificing the few for the many. A classic 'best choice'."
Too bad an enemy's hunger is never sated by such sacrifices.
"Your 'best choice'?"
Hakuki's smile turned mocking. "Sacrifice one person today. Two tomorrow. Ten the day after that. A hundred in ten days. A thousand in twenty…"
"That's your 'best choice'."
She raised an eyebrow, her voice light, almost amused. "Clutching onto a shred of hope, praying your enemies will suddenly grow a conscience."
Her words hit a raw nerve.
Eyes reddened, the main family members lashed out. "You think we want this?!"
"You think anyone wants to hand over the power of life and death?!"
"We don't have the power to stop it!"
"Do you understand?!"
"We. Can't. Stop. It!"
Their voices grew hoarse. Their eyes grew redder. Tears of utter helplessness and despair welled up.
The atmosphere grew heavy, suffocating.
Then, Hakuki felt a small tug on her sleeve.
She looked down. The rescued girl looked up at her, forcing a smile. Tears traced clean lines down her dusty cheeks.
"Thank you. But… next time, don't bother."
A sob escaped her.
"You can save us once. You can't save us forever."
Her words echoed the unspoken truth in every main family heart.
Hakuki's hand came up, gently brushing the girl's cheek. Her lips curved into a soft smile.
"No. You're wrong."
"What if I told you I can solve this?"
The girl was momentarily stunned by her gentleness, but then shook her head, defeated. "No… no one can save us."
Hakuki helped the girl to her feet. Her gaze swept over the crowd again.
"Right now, you have two paths."
"First: you all die. Just at different times. Each of you carrying the terror of waiting for your turn."
"Second: you fight back—"
"We can't fight!" someone interrupted, voice thick with panic. "We're no match for them!"
Hakuki turned towards the speaker. "You aren't their match. But we are."
She paused. "No. Let me correct that."
A confident smile played on her lips. "They are no match for us."
The man's eyes widened. He had no reply.
"War goes against our ancestors' decree," an elderly man spoke, stepping forward. His hair and beard were white, his face a map of deep wrinkles that spoke of age and solemn authority.
All eyes turned to him with respect and deference. This elder held significant sway in the main family.
"I never said fighting back meant bloodshed."
"What needs to change is their will."
Hakuki looked at the elder, her expression unreadable.
The elder met her gaze gravely. "If our ancestors' final words couldn't change their hearts, how could you possibly possess such power?"
His eyes assessed Hakuki and her group, then he shook his head, resigned. With his experience, he could tell these outsiders were special. Powerful, even. But changing someone's will? That was pure fantasy.
"Won't know until you try."
"Isn't it better than cowering in fear until your pathetic end?"
Hakuki spread her hands, her patience—for now—still intact. If this dragged on, she might just skip the talking.
The first to step forward and stand beside Hakuki was Qiufeng.
He moved to her side, his expression resolute. "I'm sick of living like this! I'd rather die fighting the branch family than be dragged away like some animal!"
Qiufeng was young. Youth still held its fire.
His words ignited something in the other main family youths. One by one, they pushed past the restraining hands of their elders and joined him.
The few were swayed by the many. As the group behind Hakuki grew, the holdouts wavered. Better to join than be left behind, utterly alone.
"We should make a plan, wait for the right moment…" Qiufeng and the other youths began to strategize eagerly.
Hakuki patted his shoulder. "Where's the branch family's base?"
Qiufeng blinked, stunned, but pointed a finger down a wide street. "Th-that way. But… where are you going?"
He watched, bewildered, as Hakuki started walking in the direction he'd indicated.
"Can't you tell?"
"Going to find the branch family."
Hakuki glanced back at him.
Qiufeng's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "B-but… we… we haven't… discussed… a plan?"
Hakuki shook her head, looking at the poor kid with something like pity. "When there's this big a gap in strength, plans are just unnecessary clutter."
"Wha—?!"
Qiufeng could only gape as Hakuki continued walking, her pace steady.
"Come on, Qiufeng!"
"What are you waiting for?"
Strangely, the fired-up youths accepted this turn of events more easily than Qiufeng did. They swept him up in their midst, following Hakuki in a growing tide.
Those still reluctant, those who'd rather not fight, found themselves pulled along by the current, forced into the march with helpless, bitter smiles.
Compared to the main family's tense silence, the branch family's territory was a hub of noise. The sounds of combat training and raucous laughter filled the air.
A massive iron gate barred Hakuki's path. On the watchtower, a guard had already spotted them and rushed off to sound the alarm.
Frost bloomed across the gate's surface. CRACK! The metal shattered into a thousand glittering shards of ice that hung in the air for a moment before falling.
Qiufeng's jaw hit the ground. He was starting to understand. Hakuki's earlier confidence wasn't arrogance. It was simple fact.
"You've got some nerve!"
"The main family dares to come here?!"
The sound of the gate's destruction drew the branch members from the training grounds. They assembled in a loose mob opposite Hakuki's group, their faces wearing identical expressions of contempt. Their disdain for the main family was palpable.
It showed exactly how… accommodating… the main family had been.
No. That was too harsh.
Peace-loving. Yes. That was better.
Hakuki didn't think she was being sarcastic at all.
"Who's the woman?"
Seeing Hakuki at the front, the branch members were confused. They didn't recognize her from the city. And her eyes… what was wrong with them? No Byakugan?
They were puzzled. But it didn't lessen their scorn.
"Saves us the trouble of rounding you up one by one."
A branch member grinned. What was better than your prey delivering itself to your doorstep?
The main family members behind Hakuki paled. So it was true. The branch family never intended to let any of them go.
Their fear began to harden into anger. They braced themselves, ready for a bloody, last stand.
Dealing with this ragtag group of branch fighters was even simpler than handling the Hyūga back on Earth.
A wave of biting cold expanded outwards.
Before anyone could even blink, the scene changed.
Where dozens of aggressive branch fighters had stood, there were now human-shaped ice sculptures. Only their heads remained free, their bodies encased in thick, glittering ice. The extreme cold slowed their blood to a crawl.
Dizziness washed over them. Stars danced before their eyes.
Qiufeng mechanically picked his jaw up from the ground. Now he truly understood Hakuki's dismissiveness. This wasn't a fight. It was a demonstration. The gap was ludicrous.
"Y-you… coward!"
"Fighting dirty!"
As their heads cleared, indignation replaced confusion. Their shouts of protest turned the tense battlefield into something resembling a noisy market.
"Dirty?" Hakuki tilted her head, her smile sweet and utterly merciless. "I think it's just a case of… overwhelming skill disparity."
───── ⊹ ⊹ ─────
📖 Main story COMPLETED + Bonus Stories ongoing on Patre\on
🔍 Search:p a t r e o n.com/GoldenLong
───── ⊹ ⊹ ─────