The next morning, Hyuga Neji heard that the Hyuga branch family's emergency meeting the night before had ended in chaos—none of the branch factions managed to agree on who should take over the main house.
Seven or eight different groups argued until they were red in the face.
During the mess, some branch members—disillusioned and confused—followed Neji's example and just walked out. Not every branch ninja cared about seizing power.
That morning, Neji didn't walk Hinata to the Ninja Academy like he usually did. He no longer needed to act as her "bodyguard." Walking to school alone, he quickly noticed some of the students were giving him weird looks.
He instantly understood. News about the Hyuga incident had spread—and probably all of Konoha already knew.
Sure enough, the whispers started:
"I heard he's the one who brought Uchiha Chizumi to the Hyuga clan. Then Chizumi arrested all the main house elders and threw them in prison."
Neji frowned. That wasn't totally true—there were still a few innocent main house members left.
"His name's Hyuga Neji, right? That prodigy from second year? He's crazy strong, almost on par with the sixth-years who are about to graduate."
"We should steer clear of him. If he brought Chizumi to the Hyuga, who's to say he won't lead him to us next?"
"Isn't there a first-year student named Hinata? She's supposed to be the Hyuga heiress. Think she got arrested too?"
"Wanna ask Neji?"
"What, are you crazy? He betrayed his clan—he might stab us in the back too."
Some Konoha kids were born petty—they had a talent for isolating people with nothing but rumors.
Neji's expression didn't change. He'd already prepared himself for this. If pursuing 'Absolute Justice' meant becoming a target, so be it.
After all, in his eyes, Uchiha Chizumi had endured far worse. The way the village once treated him made Neji's current situation look tame. If Chizumi could endure that, why couldn't he?
Without even realizing it, Neji had started modeling himself after Chizumi.
"Hey! Hyuga Neji!!"
A familiar voice called out. Neji turned and saw Naruto with half a rice ball in his mouth, calling out through full cheeks: "Wait up, slow down!"
Sasuke followed behind, clearly embarrassed. "Idiot, swallow before you talk."
Then Neji noticed a blond girl trailing behind them.
"Neji, let me introduce someone," Naruto said, gulping down the rest of his rice ball and stepping aside to reveal Yamanaka Ino.
"Yamanaka Ino!"
Naruto grinned. "She's actually been into 'Absolute Justice' longer than me and Sasuke!"
Neji noted: seaweed stuck between his teeth.
Turning to Ino, Neji asked, "You're from the Yamanaka clan?"
"Yep."
Ino gave a small nod and glanced around casually before saying, "You don't need to care what these academy kids say. Their sense of right and wrong is warped by the messed-up ninja world. If they don't change, they'll fall into darkness eventually. And they'll pay for it."
For a moment, Neji thought this girl seemed a lot more mature than Naruto or Sasuke.
"I get it," he replied simply.
…
Elsewhere, in a Konoha inn…
A plain-looking man dressed like a traveling merchant walked calmly past Shizune. His body was tense, muscles tight, which made her look at him with suspicion.
But she didn't sense anything strange and figured it'd be rude to keep staring. Hugging Tonton, she walked away.
The man entered his room and closed the door behind him.
"Phew… ran into Tsunade's student."
As he exhaled, a tiny white snake slithered from his sleeve.
He quickly bowed his head and whispered, "My deepest apologies, Orochimaru-sama. I almost got your clone spotted."
"Heh heh, it's fine," the white snake spoke with Orochimaru's unmistakable, raspy voice. "We weren't discovered, were we?"
Then it continued,
"The Hyuga main house has basically been wiped out by Uchiha Chizumi… Heh heh, which makes this the perfect time to collect Byakugan. The few main house members without the Caged Bird Seal don't have any branch guards left."
The man blinked. "You're not asking me to break into Konoha Prison to steal their eyes, are you?"
The snake gave him a cold look.
"Why bother with the prison? There are a few eyes just sitting out there—unguarded."
"Like Hiashi's daughters—Hinata and Hanabi."
Orochimaru wasn't only interested in the Sharingan. He wanted the Byakugan just as much.
He suspected these two ancient dojutsu might be more connected than anyone realized—both were bloodline powers passed down for over a thousand years. There might be secrets hidden inside them, secrets that could unlock immortality. Orochimaru was willing to study anything to reach that goal.
He'd never had a real chance before. Main house members never went on missions, and the branch family was brainwashed to protect them at all costs.
But now?
Now Orochimaru finally saw an opening.
"You've got a new mission," the snake said coldly. "Get Hinata and Hanabi's Byakugan. Alive or dead. The eyes are all that matter."
The spy stiffened. "Yes, Orochimaru-sama!"
…
Meanwhile…
Thwack!
The massive executioner's blade sliced off a bandit's head. Biwa Juzo stabbed it into the ground and let out a tired sigh, turning toward Uchiha Chizumi's wood clone.
"You know we're only an hour away from the border to the Land of Rain, right? Why waste time taking out some random mountain bandits?"
The clone pulled its blade from the bandit leader's chest and flicked off the blood.
"Absolute Justice doesn't ignore evil it's capable of destroying."
Then it turned toward Juzo again.
"Go free the hostages inside their hideout."
Juzo stared. Really? He was one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. An elite Mist jōnin. A new member of Akatsuki.
And now he was being ordered around by a clone?
He stood still, glaring… but the wood clone didn't even look at him, already walking toward the hideout. Juzo sighed—fine, it wasn't an order, more like a suggestion.
Should've just said that.
He coughed lightly, picked up his sword, and followed.
Inside the cave, the smell of blood hit like a wall. Rows of makeshift wooden cages filled the hideout. Men and women, all completely naked, were packed inside—dozens of them. At least two or three were already dead. Their corpses had been left to rot, filling the space with a disgusting stench.
If Juzo hadn't grown up in the blood-soaked Mist Village, he might've thrown up right there.
"Most bandits in the Land of Fire rob, steal, and traffic humans," the wood clone said quietly. "Actually, most bandits in the shinobi world do the same. And no one stops them—too few ninjas, too much land. And most of them work with the local nobles. The samurai the nobles hire? They'll never lift a finger."
The clone turned to Juzo.
"You let me visit the Land of Water. That means you hated the Blood Mist regime and all the moral rot it spread. So tell me—if this were happening in your homeland, would you ignore it just because it's inconvenient?"
Juzo was silent for a long moment.
"I think I get why people in Konoha either love you or hate your guts," he muttered. "People you help and who've got nothing to hide? They worship you. The ones with dirty hands? They wish you'd choke on a cup of water."
…
Later that morning…
Hinata was late to class—for the first time ever, she had walked to the Ninja Academy alone. She used to follow behind Neji like a little shadow.
Standing nervously at the classroom door, hands clasped, she said nothing.
Iruka looked up from the podium and let out a quiet sigh.
"Come on in."
He didn't scold her. He already knew what had happened to the Hyuga clan. But who could he really blame? The main house adults brought this on themselves—and their children were the ones suffering now.
As Hinata quietly took her seat, Ino suddenly stood up and raised her hand.
"Iruka-sensei, can I sit next to Hinata?"
Sakura, sitting nearby, leaned over and whispered, "Ino, what are you doing? Now's not a good time to be associated with the Hyuga."
Ino shook her head and didn't reply. Iruka thought for a second, then nodded.
Ino moved her desk beside Hinata's. Instead of paying attention to the lesson, she gently poked Hinata.
Hinata flinched.
"Are you scared?" Ino whispered, just loud enough for Hinata to hear.
"...Yeah."
Hinata was fidgeting nervously, fingers locking and unlocking in her lap. But maybe Ino's gentle tone helped, because Hinata started speaking softly:
"Father's been put in prison… and a bunch of other family members too. Now it's just me and my little sister. I couldn't sleep at all last night. I'm scared they'll arrest me too. I don't even know what Father did wrong…"
"Some branch members said he treated them really badly. Then he got taken away."
Her voice trembled, barely above a whisper. Ino had to lean in to hear.
It was obvious—Hinata was shy. Very shy.
After a pause, Ino asked, "Have you ever done anything wrong? Hurt anyone from the branch family?"
"No!" Hinata shook her head hard.
"Then you don't need to be afraid," Ino said. "Absolute Justice only goes after bad people. If you didn't hurt anyone, why would you be targeted?"
Hinata paused. "So… Father was arrested because… he hurt someone?"
"You really don't know?" Ino gave her a skeptical look.
This girl was living in the middle of a political storm, and she didn't even know what her father did?
"Didn't anyone explain it to you?"
"No one wants to talk to me," Hinata said quietly. "Even Neji just said some weird things last night and then left."
Ino paused, remembering the conversation she had with her father that morning about the Hyuga clan's dark secrets.
"You know what the Caged Bird Seal is, right?" she asked. "Your father and the main house elders used it to control the branch family. It gave them full power over their lives."
"Basically, they used the Caged Bird Seal to turn the branch family into slaves. Do you think that was okay?"
Hinata froze.
She remembered seeing her uncle—Neji's father—screaming in agony once. She hadn't understood it then, but now…
"You're not blaming Chizumi-sama for anything. That means you're not a bad person," Ino said gently. "Go ask Neji. Ask him what the seal really is, and what your father did. He might not have talked to you before, but if he follows Absolute Justice, he'll answer you now."
"It's his duty."
Hinata whispered the phrase to herself:
"Absolute Justice…"
…
By lunchtime, Hinata was still feeling dazed. Watching the other kids pull out their neatly packed lunches, it finally hit her—she didn't have one.
She instinctively reached into her bag… nothing.
That's when she remembered: there was no one left at home to make her lunch.
Technically, there was a special jōnin from the main house who had been instructed by her father to look after her—but clearly, the guy had no clue how to take care of a kid.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a few crumpled bills—her allowance. Her stomach growled. She had no choice but to go out and buy something.
"Achoo—!"
She sneezed and shivered a little, then looked up. The trees lining the street had started to turn yellow.
"I guess it's fall already... Father was strict, but every year around this time, he'd remind me to wear an extra layer so I wouldn't catch a cold…"
She muttered to herself, her heart feeling a little heavy.
Without realizing it, her feet led her to a familiar spot—Ichiraku Ramen. The smell from inside made her stomach growl even louder.
Nervously, she pushed open the curtain and walked in.
"Um… hello…"
She was just about to speak to the owner, Teuchi, when she froze.
There was a tall figure seated inside, his clothes immediately recognizable—and sitting next to him was a fat orange cat that, from the back, looked suspiciously like a huge, fuzzy drumstick.
The money in her hand slipped to the ground.
Panic washed over her face.
The man slowly turned around. Their eyes met.
It was him.
The man who had thrown her father in prison—Uchiha Chizumi.
Hinata's body stiffened. She stumbled back a step, tears already forming in her wide eyes. Her whole body trembled with fear.
"Why is he here?"
Her brain screamed for her to run.
Chizumi's gaze dropped to the bills scattered on the floor.
He stepped forward.
Hinata nearly collapsed on the spot.
But all he did was bend down and silently pick up the money.
Then he handed it back to her.
Hinata took it with trembling fingers.
"Four large bowls of classic ramen," Chizumi told the shopkeeper.
Teuchi nodded, but Chizumi quickly changed his mind.
"Wait… make that nine."
Jujirō, the big orange cat, looked at Chizumi, then at the pale, frozen Hinata.
"Uh… Chizumi-sama? Isn't that a little much? You usually order two bowls for me, two for you. Even if you're buying one for the little Hyuga girl, that's five bowls, tops."
Chizumi didn't reply.
Jujirō coughed awkwardly, then turned toward Hinata and spoke with surprising sincerity:
"Hey, kid. You don't have to be this scared of Chizumi-sama. If he wanted to arrest you, he would've done it yesterday. You think he'd wait this long just to mess with you?"
…
Twenty minutes later…
Jujirō took back every word.
He sat there, mouth hanging open, watching Hinata—barely seven years old—demolish four bowls of ramen in a row… and keep going.
He glanced at her tiny frame, then back at the growing stack of empty bowls.
"You've gotta be kidding me…"
Chizumi, already done eating, didn't seem the least bit surprised.
"Better get a few more bowls."
Jujirō: "???"
Then, without slowing down, Hinata devoured five more bowls.
Nine bowls total.
Finally, she let out a small, trembling sigh and said softly:
"I'm full."
She stared down at her slightly rounded belly, her entire face dazed and confused. She didn't even know how she ended up here. Why had she accepted this terrifying man's invitation? Why had she eaten so much?
Maybe it was the pressure of his presence… maybe she was too scared to say no.
Maybe…
She hadn't had a proper meal in days.
She didn't just eat the noodles—she even drank all the broth.
Jujirō, after a long silence, couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Uh… was Hiashi starving you or something?"
He was dead serious.
He'd never seen someone so small eat so much. Either she was a starving ghost reincarnated… or she really hadn't eaten in days.
Honestly, Jujirō wouldn't be surprised if Hiashi had actually been neglecting her.
"Huh?" Hinata looked confused, not following.
That's when Chizumi finally spoke again:
"Hinata. From now on, you should leave the Hyuga compound."
Hinata blinked, stunned.
Chizumi's voice was calm, flat:
"There are too many people in the branch family. Someone's bound to come after you eventually. You're Hiashi's eldest daughter. The main house's heir. Don't underestimate how twisted people can be. If you don't want to end up dead one day for no reason… then don't stay there."
"I'll arrange a new place for you to live."
~~~
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