Seven days have passed since the night of restoring order, and the Hyuga clan's operations have returned to normal and are running smoothly.
After repeated blows from Hyuga Kaze, most of the Hyuga branch family members have come to admire and submit to him.
Only a few fools remained, hopelessly addicted to the glory of the main family and the caged bird. There were only about 40 such ignorant people in total, many of whom were former members of the branch family's management who had used the main family's prestige to bully others.
Those who were still ignorant and superstitious about ancestral beliefs and the Caged Bird Seal were imprisoned in the dungeon, and their property was confiscated.
The houses of the other clan elders have been cleared out, and the income inside, such as finances and ninjutsu scrolls, has been stored in the Hyuga clan's warehouse, awaiting a new round of distribution.
The elders of the main clan who treated the branch family members like cattle and horses were warmly received by them in the dungeon, and they took turns trying out the effects of various torture instruments on them.
In their struggle for the chance to interrogate the clan elders, the impatient branch families almost set up a fighting arena to determine the order of the queue based on their battle rankings.
The temptation to use torture instruments on the elders of the main branch was too great for the branch family members, so much so that everyone went through rounds of torture and interrogation, asking the elders of the main branch if they would confess.
On the fifth day, when the fourth elder, Hyuga Sohei, cried and asked what he wanted to confess, everyone realized that they hadn't even started interrogating him about the specifics yet; they had only focused on the torture.
After this farcical incident, the branch family members could only exchange a few awkward laughs before turning back to torture the elder of the main family with even greater ferocity.
Of course, this time they did not forget to interrogate the elders, demanding that they confess their past sins and reveal the way to break the caged bird curse.
With the houses vacated by those die-hards and clan elders, the core members of the Wings of Light also had new places to live. Fortunately, they had storage scrolls, otherwise it would have taken them a long time just to move.
By this time, Konoha's F4 had already noticed something was amiss.
The barrier set up by Hyuga Kaze cannot continue to function; it has become ineffective.
The Anbu's video surveillance of the Hyuga clan was continuous, 24 hours a day, and eventually they discovered some discordant elements.
Moreover, in the past few days, when Hiruzen Sarutobi and his group convened meetings to discuss the village's development, not a single member of the Hyuga main family attended.
Previously, although Hiashi Hyuga was relatively low-key, he would still attend the Jonin meetings in the village and would occasionally show up in the village to make his presence known. However, he has not been seen for six or seven days now.
Having experienced a series of recent upheavals, the Konoha F4 were extremely sensitive and immediately gathered together for a meeting to discuss the matter after receiving the report.
Thump, thump, thump, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his fingers on the desk.
I used to have everything under my control, so why have I encountered so many problems in the past few years? Who is causing this trouble?
Suppressing his inner turmoil, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and asked, "What exactly happened to the Hyuga clan?"
Mitokado Homura said with a serious expression, "Judging from the surveillance footage, nothing major has changed. However, Hinata Hyuga and Neji Hyuga have both taken extended leave and are not going to the Ninja Academy."
Furthermore, the Anbu discovered that many members of the Hyuga branch family seem to be moving.
As Hiruzen Sarutobi listened, his brows furrowed even more. This was not a good sign. Was the usually low-key Hyuga clan also becoming unsettled?
“That’s not all,” Danzo Shimura added coldly, “The Hyuga clan ninjas haven’t even been taking on ordinary missions lately.”
Furthermore, according to the investigation by the Root, not a single member of the main branch has appeared in the village or near the entrance to the Hyuga clan's territory recently.
This is absolutely abnormal!
Danzo's words intensified Hiruzen Sarutobi's ominous feeling. Could it be that the Hyuga clan was provoked by the Uchiha clan's misfortune and felt that Konoha's forces were still on the border, thus giving rise to some inappropriate thoughts?
Unlike the Uchiha clan, which is internally divided and disorganized, the Hyuga clan has the Caged Bird Seal as a powerful tool, giving them absolute power of life and death over the branch families. Once the main family makes a decision, the branch families will simply obey.
Because of the Caged Bird Seal, the village had very little control over the Hyuga clan. Previously, they had focused their main efforts on the Uchiha clan and had not managed to recruit many Hyuga clan members who were loyal to the village.
In this situation, if the Hyuga clan were to launch a rebellion, the resulting destruction could still be controlled, but the impact of a large clan being wiped out one after another would be far too terrible.
No, we can't let things get worse!
Thinking of this, Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a surge of anger. Why wouldn't you all obediently follow my orders!
"We can't delay any longer. Let's go directly to their door and see what the Hyuga clan is up to."
I refuse to believe that the fate of the Uchiha clan won't serve as a wake-up call!
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu frowned at the radical words and looked at Shimura Danzo to dissuade him, but then they noticed that Danzo himself was also looking at Sarutobi Hiruzen with a surprised expression.
The two then realized that it seemed to be Hiruzen who had spoken just now, so they turned their attention to Hiruzen Sarutobi and examined him closely.
Did you switch places with Danzo today?
Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally understood the doubts of his old companions, but after the last time the light screen broadcast some slanderous information, he had become more open-minded about some things.
In addition, after some changes and actions during the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the strength of the Anbu increased significantly, and Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a different kind of thrill from his previous actions, a thrill of challenging forbidden rules.
While it would be safer to try to influence more members of the Hyuga clan, gather intelligence on the Hyuga clan, and even learn how to deal with the Uchiha clan, the current situation no longer allows for that.
Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn't without his share of crises, and he understood the priorities of things.
"Hiruzen, you've finally acted decisively once again!"
Amid Mitokado Homura and the others' doubtful gazes, Shimura Danzo directly agreed with Hiruzen's approach.
"Let's take our men and go there together. With the Anbu and Root members backing us up, let's see what those Byakugan members of the Hyuga clan can do, and what they dare to do!"
Compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi, Danzo was far more unscrupulous.
The number of people in Root is more than double what it used to be. Now that the Uchiha clan is no longer a hindrance, Danzo feels incredibly brave. If the small Hyuga clan dares to show its face, he'll teach them a lesson.
"Is this approach too drastic? After all, the Hyuga clan already has a problem with Hyuga Hizashi, and going directly to their door might provoke them."
Tsuyoshi Koharu slowly expressed her doubts. In her opinion, the village could not afford any more changes at the moment, and a prudent approach was necessary.
"We can't delay any longer. It's more effective to nip their inappropriate thoughts in the bud at the very beginning than to deal with them after things have escalated!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi straightened his back, exuding the aura of a ninja hero. "The Root and Anbu will send several elite teams to the Hyuga clan's territory with us."
The other members are ready to go. I want to see what the Japanese team is up to this time!
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