Just as Sunagakure was gradually establishing its Byakugan Unit, and members of the branch family were beginning to settle there, the Hyūga estate in Konoha was shrouded in a heavy, oppressive silence.
At that moment, the council hall was filled with people.
Elders of the main family, representatives of the branch family, and the heads of the security forces.
Every face carried a grave expression.
The noon sunlight spilled in from outside, falling over tightly furrowed brows and clenched fists.
But it could not dispel the gloom that filled the room.
Hiashi sat in the main seat.
His back was straight as a pine, both hands resting on his knees.
His gaze swept across every grim face in the hall.
His voice was low and steady, but the instant he spoke, the entire council hall fell silent.
"How many clan members have gone missing now?"
An elder with graying hair slowly stood.
He held a list in his hands, his voice rough as though his throat were full of sand.
"Reporting to the Clan Head. From the disappearance of Neji and Hinata-sama until now, thirty-six members of the branch family have gone missing one after another."
"Twelve lost contact while carrying out missions outside the village. The remaining twenty-four left the village at night and vanished without a trace."
He paused. "All of them are from the branch family."
A suppressed commotion ran through the council hall.
Some people sucked in cold breaths. Some cursed under their breath. Some leaned close and whispered to one another…
Thirty-six people was no small number.
The branch family only had a few hundred members in total.
For thirty-six to disappear in such a short time…
And every single one had vanished either while outside on a mission or after leaving at night.
"What did Hokage-sama say?"
Hiashi's voice remained calm.
But anyone familiar with him could hear the undercurrent beneath that calm surface.
Another middle-aged shinobi stood and bowed to Hiashi.
"We have already reported it to Hokage-sama. Hokage-sama said people have been sent to investigate, but so far, there are no leads."
He paused. "Those missing clansmen… it's as if they vanished into thin air."
"No signs of battle, no blood, no traces left at the scene."
He raised his head. "Clan Head, there is something wrong with this. Very wrong."
"We must immediately forbid branch family members from taking outside missions and strictly investigate every branch family household."
"Someone among them must know the truth."
The council hall stirred again.
Some nodded in agreement. Some shook their heads in opposition. Others stayed silent, their eyes shifting as they calculated something in private.
Hiashi raised a hand.
The commotion gradually died down.
Everyone's attention returned to him.
"Branch family members are forbidden from taking outside missions."
His voice was quiet, but every word landed with force.
"Starting today, no member of the branch family may leave the village unless they have permission personally issued by me."
"At the same time, begin an internal review. Every branch family household is to be questioned."
The moment he finished speaking, an old, cold voice rang out.
"I have another proposal."
Everyone turned toward the voice.
The speaker was the oldest elder in the clan.
He was already past eighty, his hair completely white.
The wrinkles on his face were as deep as knife marks.
Leaning on his cane, he slowly rose to his feet.
A cold light flashed in his cloudy old eyes.
"As for those clansmen who left and have not returned…"
He paused. "Regardless of the reason, regardless of whether they are dead or alive, activate the curse immediately and destroy their Byakugan."
The council hall instantly exploded into chaos.
Destroy the Byakugan…
That was a punishment even crueler than the Caged Bird.
The Caged Bird merely restricted power.
It protected the Byakugan from being taken by outsiders.
Destroying the Byakugan meant those branch family members would completely lose its power.
They would become ordinary shinobi without a Kekkei Genkai.
For a branch family member, that was worse than death.
"This…"
Someone stood up, wanting to say something.
But in the end, he swallowed the words back down.
His face shifted between pale and ashen. After struggling for a long time, he still did not dare speak.
"This is for the clan."
The old elder's voice was cold as ice. "The Byakugan must never flow into outsiders' hands. That has been the iron law of this clan for hundreds of years."
"Those people left the village without authorization. Whether they were forced or went willingly, they have already violated clan law."
"If we do not punish them, more people will imitate them in the future."
Hiashi fell silent.
Of course he knew the old elder's words made sense.
The Byakugan was the clan's core secret.
It was the very foundation that allowed the clan to stand in the shinobi world.
If the Byakugan spread outside, if it fell into the hands of another village and its secrets were unraveled…
The clan would lose every advantage it had.
But destroying the Byakugan of thirty-six people…
Some of them might truly have been coerced. Some might already be dead. Some might even be struggling to survive at that very moment.
He opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"Clan Head…"
The old elder looked at him. "Indecision will harm the clan."
Hiashi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
When he opened them again, the hesitation in his Byakugan was gone.
"Activate the curse."
His voice was very soft.
Yet every word was like a blade, cutting away the last thread of hope for the missing clansmen.
"Destroy their Byakugan."
No one objected again.
The council hall went so quiet that even a falling needle could be heard.
The branch family representatives lowered their heads.
Their expressions could not be seen.
But their clenched fists and faintly trembling shoulders revealed exactly what they were feeling.
Thirty-six people.
Thirty-six pairs of Byakugan.
Just like that, the clan had sentenced them to death?
Outside the council hall, on the steps, a small figure huddled in the corner.
Hanabi hugged her knees, burying her face in her arms as her shoulders trembled softly.
She had not gone inside.
But she had heard it…
She had heard every single word.
Those people wanted to destroy the Byakugan of their own clansmen.
And her sister and Neji-niisan were still somewhere unknown.
"Onee-sama…"
Hanabi's voice was very soft, soft enough to sound like sleep talking.
"Neji-niisan… where are you?"
No one answered her.
Wind poured in from the corridor, lifting her long hair and stirring the hem of her white kimono.
She raised her head and looked up at the piece of sky overhead, cut into a square by the eaves.
Tears slid down her cheeks in silence.
Inside the council hall, Hiashi announced the end of the meeting.
Everyone left one after another.
Only he remained seated in the main seat.
He stared at the open door, his gaze hollow and exhausted.
He remembered Hinata as a child…
So tiny, so soft, always following behind him and calling out "Father" in that milky little voice.
He remembered Neji as a child…
Stubborn. Silent. Always looking at him with eyes full of unwillingness.
He remembered those missing clansmen.
The clansmen he had personally sentenced to "death."
"Hinata…"
He murmured, "Where are you? What are you doing? Do you know that your father is personally destroying the eyes of the clansmen who grew up alongside you?"
No one answered him.
Sunlight poured in through the window and fell over him.
It cast a lonely shadow across the floor.
(End of Chapter)
[Get +30 Extra Chapters On — P@tr3on "Zaelum"]
[Every 300 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter Drop]
[Thanks for Reading!]