When Iroha Hyuga understood the meaning behind Neji Hyuga's words, his body began to shake violently, as if he could not control it. Fear ran through his limbs, and his breathing turned uneven. His eyes widened as the weight of the idea crushed down on him.
"No. No. This will not work."
He shook his head wildly. "I do not have the authority or influence of Ryoma. I cannot make everyone in the Branch Family Members suppress their fear of Ryoma and stand behind me to resist the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family."
"And besides, Fugaku Uchiha has clearly made up his mind. He is ready to gamble with our lives."
"If he dies, even more people from the Branch Family Members will die. Then the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family will also kill even more of us."
The relationship between the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family and the Branch Family Members had reached a state much like the one described in Three Body Problem. It was like the standoff between the Trisolaran and the people of Land of Earth, where both sides existed under the Dark Forest Law. Each side doubted and feared the other.
Before, Ryoma had been more ruthless. He successfully intimidated the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family and forced the Branch Family Members into a dominant position. Now, Ryoma was gone.
Iroha Hyuga had taken on the role of deterrence, but he was not ruthless enough. He worried too much, and he was not strong enough to overturn the table alone. Because he lacked that resolve and strength, the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family dared to act.
He had thought he was prepared. He believed he had resolved himself to perish together with the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family. But when the choice truly stood before him, countless worries flooded his mind.
He could tear his face from the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family. He could follow Ryoma's method. Yet if Fugaku Uchiha were killed, would the other members of the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family retaliate like mad?
Could the Branch Family Members bear such a cost? How many would truly be willing to bear it? If the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family struck back, could they really stand together and face life and death as one?
The risks were too great, the unknowns too many. Even if everyone agreed to gamble their lives, how many would die? Would the Ryoma Clan collapse from within?
And after killing them, then what? Defect together? Without the protection of Konoha, the Ryoma Clan with their Pure Byakugan would become prey in the eyes of every other power.
All the deaths caused by his decision, all the terrible consequences, would they all be placed on his shoulders?
"No, it will not work." Iroha Hyuga kept shaking his head. "I cannot gamble with everyone's lives. I cannot."
"Iroha Hyuga!"
Before he could finish, Neji Hyuga let out a sudden roar. He grabbed Iroha Hyuga by the collar and hauled him up from the floor by force. Their faces were close, and their eyes locked.
Two pairs of Pure Byakugan stared at each other at point-blank range. The veins at Neji Hyuga's temples bulged violently, and madness burned in his clear eyes. His grip did not loosen for even a moment.
"Do you want to live on your knees like a dog, just like before?"
He spoke each word slowly, striking Iroha Hyuga's face with his voice. "Ryoma prepared everything and handed everything to us."
"He has only been gone for a few days, and you are already letting the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family destroy it all?"
"If you let the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family force the Branch Family Members to kneel, then when Ryoma comes back, no one will stand behind him. Even if he dies, no one will avenge him."
"And as the backbone of the Branch Family Members, he will be broken by a Otsutsuki Clan Main Family that no longer has any restraint."
"When that happens, it will still be your fault."
Each word struck Iroha Hyuga's chest like a hammer. His lips trembled, and his breath caught. The weight of those words pressed him down.
Neji Hyuga suddenly released him.
Iroha Hyuga fell heavily back to the ground. His body shook uncontrollably, driven by fear. He could not even push himself up.
Neji Hyuga looked down at him from above. The hatred and madness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a cold stillness.
Why did the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family not dare touch the Branch Family Members when Ryoma was around? Why did they dare act once Iroha Hyuga took responsibility? Why did the Uchiha Clan Undead with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan not need protection from a Caged Bird Seal?
He thought of Ryoma. He also thought of the Uchiha Clan Undead.
At last, Neji Hyuga understood the truth that had long confused him. The situation of the Ryoma Clan and the current plight of the Branch Family Members all came from one thing. Weakness.
"I understand now," Neji Hyuga said hoarsely. "Ryoma should never have entrusted the Branch Family Members to you, or to anyone else."
"Because in the entire Branch Family Members, only he could intimidate the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family like that."
"The fear of the whole Ryoma Clan gave birth to the Caged Bird Seal. The fear of the entire Branch Family Members led to the violence of the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family."
"If the Ryoma Clan were as hard toward outsiders as the Uchiha Clan Undead, if you and the other Branch Family Members were as mad and unyielding as Ryoma…"
He paused, then lowered his voice. "No. Not like Ryoma. Like Itachi Uchiha."
"If we of the Branch Family Members were as extreme as Itachi Uchiha, how would the Otsutsuki Clan Main Family dare to do what they did to us?"
Iroha Hyuga lowered his head and shook it unconsciously. "No. That kind of assumption does not exist."
The Ryoma Clan valued ritual and rules, and those things were a form of restraint. They did not have the nature of the Uchiha Clan Undead, where the more extreme one became, the stronger one grew. From childhood, they were taught ideas of master and servant.
How could the Ryoma Clan ever produce someone like Itachi Uchiha?
"Before, no. But now, yes."
Neji Hyuga lowered his eyes and spoke calmly. "If you do not dare to do it, then let me do it."
"Not too many people need to die."
His voice dropped, and his words reached Iroha Hyuga's ear like a whisper. "Just sacrifice me, and sacrifice a very small number of people."
"All the others, all the Branch Family Members, can live. They can gain freedom and completely remove the future danger."
Sacrifice a few people?
Iroha Hyuga raised his head sharply. His pupils shook, and he blurted out, "What are you planning to do?"
Neji Hyuga slowly turned around and looked at the tightly closed ward door. The twisted hatred on his face condensed into a killing intent so cold it carried no emotion.
"I will continue what I wanted to do before, but did not finish."
His voice was cold and clear, echoing in the silent room.
"I will kill everyone who holds the Caged Bird curse mark."
At that moment, Neji Hyuga's mind became frighteningly clear. Every problem and every difficulty seemed to have only one answer. Continue what he had started and never finished.