"Is that Hyuga Neji?"
The first thing Naruto Uzumaki noticed in the Eight Trigrams Formation was the man before him, like a demon, and his face couldn't hide his shock.
This person?
It really was Neji Hyuga, the quiet one who had always stayed by Genya's side, but how was he so strong now? He was suppressing so many people by himself.
Incredible!
While others were just shocked, the scheming side of Naruto, trained by Genya, felt admiration instead. His bright blue eyes were filled with longing.
If Neji could reach this level with his own strength, Naruto wanted the same.
"Is it this kid? I recognize the chakra being released so clearly!" At the same time, the Nine-Tails in Naruto's mind spoke slowly, with a hint of relief.
So it was Genya's kid.
He couldn't read Genya, and he hadn't expected that even the people around him were unpredictable.
Damn it.
"Nine-Tails, do you think you can defeat Neji?" Naruto suddenly asked, curiosity in his voice.
"I am the Nine-Tails. In the ninja world, my chakra is almost invincible!" the Nine-Tails boasted, then continued, "Few in this world could ever defeat me!"
"Tch~ Few could defeat you? Then why were you sealed inside me?" Naruto said, clearly skeptical, his tone dripping with disdain.
The Nine-Tails might be powerful, but he was all talk.
If he were really that strong, he wouldn't have been sealed!
Naruto's thinking was simple: the Nine-Tails was just bragging.
"You…" the Nine-Tails muttered, frustrated. He might exaggerate, but he was confident he could go fifty-fifty with this kid. Well… maybe forty-sixty. "Kid, when have I ever lied to you?"
"Really?" Naruto whispered, hearing the Nine-Tails sound a little uncertain.
But his gaze returned to Hyuga Neji, filled with seriousness… and even a bit of curiosity.
"Huh?"
The Nine-Tails sounded so uneasy that it was clear even he wasn't confident he could handle Neji.
"You really don't believe me, huh? I can easily take down this kid!"
"I believe you!"
"No, your tone sounds like you don't!"
"Where did you even hear that? I said I believe you, I do!"
And so, Naruto and the Nine-Tails started bickering in the mental world. Meanwhile, Naruto didn't notice Neji's movements at all.
"This… Hyuga Neji?"
Sasuke Uchiha, walking beside Naruto, stared at the scene before him, his expression unusually serious.
So strong!
Being this close to someone like Neji, who seemed like a demon god, filled him with fear.
One person… could challenge an entire clan!
Is this the terrifying power of a Kage-level ninja?
Thinking this, Sasuke's body began to tremble slightly. Watching the scene before him, his mind drifted to the night of his clan's massacre and Itachi Uchiha's strength:
"Itachi… what level of power have you reached?"
He wanted revenge for his parents, for his fallen clan members!
But as time passed, as he grew older, he felt increasingly powerless. Itachi was like an unscalable mountain before him.
And now, another strong person had appeared.
Neji Hyuga… had he always been following Uchiha Genya before?
Sasuke's eyes flickered with light. Was this person also connected to Genya Uchiha?
Ugh…
Compared to Sasuke and Naruto's shock, Sakura was seeing such a bloody scene for the first time. She couldn't hold it and immediately vomited.
The vomit was so intense it felt overwhelming.
"Neji Hyuga?"
Kakashi's eye twitched at the sight.
Times have changed…
The branch family's Neji Hyuga actually dared to attack the main family? Had they broken the Caged Bird Seal?
Questions swirled in his mind.
But Kakashi's thoughts were full of confusion. Could this have been Genya's doing as well? Had he broken Neji's Caged Bird Seal?
As Kakashi and his students stood in shock, Hyuga Nagafumi and Asuma Sarutobi, who had arrived first, finally reacted.
Hyuga Nagafumi roared angrily, his eyes flashing blood-red. "Neji, how dare you treat a member of the main family like this! You won't survive this!"
With his shout, Nagafumi charged toward the Eight Trigrams Formation.
"Stop! Neji is busy right now—you cannot interfere!"
At that moment, a member of the Hyuga branch family, carrying a barely conscious woman, blocked Nagafumi and the other main family members.
"Move aside!" Nagafumi bellowed, instinctively forming hand signs to unleash the Caged Bird Seal.
But—
He couldn't lock onto the Caged Bird Seal on Hyuga Aomatsu before him.
"W-where is your Caged Bird Seal? Why is it gone?"
Nagafumi's face twisted in shock and fear.
He didn't notice that Aomatsu's forehead now bore a lotus seal, the Caged Bird mark completely gone.
"The seal? Naturally, it's been erased!"
Aomatsu's voice was calm yet resolute. "From now on, the Hyuga branch family will no longer be controlled by the main family!"
Having witnessed Neji's slaughter of the main family, Aomatsu's own anger flared.
He had long realized that the Hyuga main family was nothing but a paper tiger—its power relied entirely on the Caged Bird Seal to suppress the branch family.
Without it… they were nothing.
Erasing the Caged Bird Seal?
Buzz—
The words struck like thunder in everyone's minds.
From this day forward, the structure of the Hyuga clan would change.
"If you won't act, then we will handle this!"
Asuma Sarutobi stepped forward, shocked that someone had broken the Hyuga Caged Bird Seal, but determined to intervene.
The Hyuga main family and the Sarutobi clan had always maintained good relations.
If Neji continued his rampage unchecked, the balance in Konoha could shift.
Moreover,
Neji seemed close to the Uchiha clan—a development Asuma could not allow.
"I told you, you cannot go!"
Aomatsu once again stood in his path, his tone firm and commanding.
"Step aside! Hyūga Neji dares to commit a crime in Konoha? That's unforgivable!" Asuma Sarutobi said coldly. "As Konoha shinobi, it's my duty to handle this matter!"
"Crime? Haha, a crime?" Hyūga Aomatsu laughed when he heard Sarutobi's words, his laughter wild and unrestrained.
"If that's the case, then why didn't you step in when they tormented Neji's mother? Now that the main branch of the Hyūga clan is being tormented, suddenly you come forward to stop it?"
"Pathetic…"
Aomatsu looked at Asuma Sarutobi with contempt in his eyes.
These people spoke well enough, but their actions depended on who was involved. Neji's mother had been brutally tortured to death by the main branch, and they didn't lift a finger.
Now that the Hyūga clan was in a weak position, they finally decided to intervene?
****
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