"Hyuga Chōryū?"
Hyuga Aomatsu exchanged a tense glance with the Eighth Elder. The atmosphere seemed to freeze completely.
Yet after a few moments of silence, Aomatsu suddenly smiled, a trace of unfathomable meaning in his expression.
"He's probably thinking about you right now. But perhaps in the future, you and your son will meet again."
His voice was light, almost as if he were speaking of something trivial. As he spoke, Aomatsu's gaze casually swept over Neji, who was standing nearby, focused entirely on caring for his mother.
Neji's mother was weak in his arms, her face pale as paper. Worry and anger filled Neji's eyes, but at this moment, all his attention was on his mother, leaving no room to deal with the situation around him.
Aomatsu sneered inwardly. Those who dared to humiliate Neji's mother like this would not meet a good end.
But for now, Neji hadn't freed his hand to deal with them yet.
When Neji did, everyone from the main Hyuga family present today would regret it—especially the leading Eighth Elder.
At this moment, Chōryū was still being used as a test subject in the underground lab, and the Eighth Elder's likely fate would be to join his son.
"You know where Chōryū is!" The Eighth Elder's eyes were filled with suspicion and anger. He had clearly guessed part of the truth. He fixed Aomatsu with a threatening stare. "Tell me! Where is Chōryū?"
Chōryū must have been captured by Hyuga Neji and the Aomatsu before him, locked away somewhere.
The Eighth Elder's gnarled hand suddenly shot forward, aiming straight for Aomatsu's throat.
This was his usual method for disciplining members of the branch family—simple, brutal, and extremely effective.
But this time, before his hand could touch Aomatsu, a loud "BANG!" resounded.
Without hesitation, Aomatsu struck out with his palm. The force of his strike was sharp and powerful, sending the Eighth Elder flying.
The Elder's body arced through the air and crashed heavily onto the ground, sliding over ten meters before barely regaining his footing.
The horrifying impact made him spit blood, and his face turned pale in an instant.
"You… you actually dared to fight back?" The Eighth Elder struggled to stand, his expression twisted with rage.
He had never imagined that a branch family member would dare to strike him!
In the past, whenever he bullied members of the branch family, they hadn't even dared to think of resisting.
But today, Hyuga Aomatsu not only resisted, he had dealt him a major loss!
The Eighth Elder instinctively tried to activate the "Caged Bird" curse seal, his strongest method of controlling the branch family.
However, when he attempted to target Aomatsu, he realized that his curse seal had failed!
His face immediately turned ashen, and his voice trembled. "Your… curse seal also…"
"Fight back?" Hyuga Aomatsu sneered, his eyes full of mockery. "You want to kill me, why shouldn't I fight back?"
His voice was cold, laced with disdain.
Before, he hadn't dared to resist because of the constraints of the "Caged Bird" curse seal.
Now that his seal had been removed, he no longer feared the main family.
Like Neji, Aomatsu had long grown resentful of the main family.
He just didn't have Neji's strength yet, unable to completely overturn the main family's control.
Even if he had just managed to injure the Eighth Elder, it was only because the elder had been careless.
If he had Neji's power, not a single main family member would survive, and the Hyuga clan's rule would be completely overturned.
This was why Toshi had only reminded Neji to control himself when leaving, without mentioning Aomatsu.
Toshi knew that Aomatsu's strength was not yet enough to pose a real threat to the main family.
"This is outrageous! Our main family has the right to judge branch family members. You dare attack me, and that is a violation of clan rules!" The Eighth Elder's voice was full of anger and menace.
He stared at Aomatsu with a cold glare. "Guards! Seize this one! I will interrogate him properly!"
The moment the Eighth Elder gave the order, the atmosphere grew even more tense.
Unexpectedly, however, a deathly silence fell around them.
The branch family members all kept their heads down, as if they hadn't even heard the Eighth Elder's command.
The main family members standing beside the Eighth Elder, proud of their status, were unwilling to take action themselves.
For a moment, the situation froze in tense stalemate.
"Heh." Hyūga Aomatsu looked at the Eighth Elder's imposing demeanor and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
"Stop saying these lofty words. You just don't want me to leave, don't you? You're afraid I'll lead the branch family members out of Konoha, break their 'caged bird' seals, and make it impossible for you to control the branch family!"
Since the pretense was gone, Aomatsu no longer gave the main family any respect and revealed everything they secretly feared.
"Hmph, and what if I do know?" The Eighth Elder snorted coldly, his killing intent no longer concealed.
"Right now, you are the Hyūga Clan's unstable factor. You absolutely cannot leave here!"
After saying this, the Eighth Elder glanced at the main family disciples beside him, signaling them to act. Yet, those disciples remained motionless, clearly wary of Aomatsu's strength.
At that moment, Neji held his mother close, listening to her words.
Neji's mother, her soul shaken by the trauma, was already losing clarity of mind. She kept repeating, "Neji-chan~~ leave here, quickly leave~~"
It was her final wish. Even at the edge of life, she still wanted her child to leave safely.
"Mother, I will take you away." Neji's voice was firm and solemn. He held his mother tightly and stepped forward. Her injuries were severe, and he needed to find Ooyabashi quickly to treat her.
Neji's steps were steady and resolute, each one seeming to press down on the hearts of the main family members. His movement instantly drew everyone's attention, especially the main family disciples.
Compared to Aomatsu, their primary target was still Hyūga Neji!
No matter what, they could not allow Neji to leave with his mother.
Only by eliminating Neji completely could they warn the branch family members who harbored rebellious thoughts.
"Wait, did I let you leave?" The voice of the Eighth Elder rang out again, dripping with menace.
He stared at Neji, his tone full of scolding and threat.
Neji's steps faltered slightly. He turned to face the Eighth Elder, his gaze icy enough to freeze anything in its path. "You're going to stop me?"
His voice was low and powerful, every word laced with suppressed anger, weighing heavily on everyone's ears.
He had to tend to his mother's wounds now and had no time for these petty fools. Holding his mother, he continued walking outward.
His figure was upright and resolute, showing not an ounce of hesitation.
"Stop him for me~~"
****
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