Chapter 97: Too Late
Chapter 97: Too Late
Setsuna decided to postpone his visit to Hashirama for a while, as he and Haruko focused on helping the Hyuga branch members.
While they are staying in Konoha, Hyuga Kari and his friends discreetly approached the other Hyuga clan members, keeping their actions secret from the main family. They feared that if the head of the main family found out, those still under the birdcage seal would be killed.
Hyuga Hiro was truly unstable. Simply because he thought Hiroyuki was arrogant, he ordered an assassination. Now that there was a way to remove the birdcage seal, Kari didn't want the secret leaking before every Hyuga branch member was freed.
"Look at my forehead," Hyuga Kari said, showing his head to another clan member. His forehead was clean, with no trace of the birdcage mark.
"Is there really a way to remove the birdcage seal?" one clan member asked.
"Yes, but you have to agree to two conditions. If you do, Setsuna-sama and Haruko-sama will help you break free from the seal," Hyuga Kari explained.
Tears began to fall. Hyuga Naoto, one of the Hyuga who had been frequently bullied by Hyuga Hiroyuki, was overcome with emotion.
"I never thought there'd be a way out of this cage. Hahaha!" he laughed.
"Yes, we're fortunate that Haruko-sama married Setsuna and they fled to Uzushiogakure. There, they were lucky enough to study fuinjutsu and finally manage to decode the birdcage seal," Hyuga Kari said, smiling.
"But we need to proceed cautiously, one by one. If Hiro finds out that we're trying to help the other branch members, he could lose it and kill them all," Hyuga Kanao warned.
"Wait, would Hyuga Hiro really do that?" Naoto asked in shock.
"Yes," Kari replied gravely. "Setsuna-sama told us about the murder of Hiroyuki, Haruko-sama's brother. Apparently, Hiro didn't like him and decided to kill him in secret. But the truth leaked when Haruko-sama overheard him whispering with someone."
The other Hyuga members turned pale, and they hurried to meet Setsuna.
She is back....
About two hours later, a guard on patrol finally noticed that Haruko had returned to Konoha with her husband, Setsuna. He was very shocked and suddenly remember his past promise to Hiro, he failed to notice that Haruko wasn't even wearing her forehead protector.
The guard quickly rushed to the Hyuga residence to inform Hiro Hyuga that Haruko had returned to Konoha. This guard was one of the loyal followers favored by the main family, and he had also been involved in torturing the branch members.
At this time, the Hyuga clan functioned like a monarchy. Although there were only a few thousand members, they lived like royalty due to their absolute control over the branch members. It is not like Konoha in the future where main family restrained their action, because even clan leader need to follow the rules set by the Hokage.
"Haruko… Haruko…" Hiro muttered with red eyes, even the guard could see that Hiro eyes is someone with deep hatred. "This woman dared to escape my control, and today, I will make her feel true despair."
The room fell silent as everyone imagined the sound of Haruko's cries under Hiro's torture. Little did they know, nearly 90% of the Hyuga clan members had already been freed from the birdcage seal..
"Let's go meet them," Hiro ordered, taking several bodyguards with him to distract Uchiha Setsuna. His plan was to either blind or kill Haruko, certain that even if she died, the Hokage wouldn't expel them. If Setsuna tried to fight, the Hokage would step in to stop it.
This was Konoha, protected by the Hokage, not Uzushiogakure, which they could not even enter. As long as he could get within 30 meters of Haruko, he could activate the birdcage seal.
Reveal the truth...
Setsuna and Haruko were busy helping the Hyuga clan, so Uchiha Setsuna created 10 clones using a special ability granted by the system. Unlike the typical Shadow Clone Jutsu, these clones had the same amount of chakra and strength as the original body, allowing them to complete tasks that would normally take 20 hours in just 2 hours.
"Seal," said Setsuna as the final Hyuga member was freed from the birdcage seal. Only those living with the main family and the Hyuga guards were still under its control.
"They're coming," Setsuna remarked, glancing at Haruko.
"Byakugan!" Haruko activated her Byakugan to see who was approaching, and when she detected Hiro's chakra, her face twisted with anger. Setsuna had never seen her look like this before.
"They'll be here in 15 seconds. Are you ready, Haruko?" asked Setsuna.
"Yeah, I'm ready," Haruko replied with a smirk, resembling Madara's before facing his enemies.
"Haruko, the TRAITOR OF THE HYUGA!" Hiro shouted as he arrived.
He quickly formed a tiger seal, intending to activate the birdcage curse on Haruko. But to his shock, nothing happened. "Eh? Why isn't it working?"
"Hahahaha!" Haruko and the other branch members burst into laughter.
"Are you stupid, Hiro?" Haruko taunted. "I forgot just how dumb you are. You're only the patriarch because you were born first, not because of any talent or intelligence."
"Yeah, he's really that dumb," another Hyuga member chimed in. Before, they couldn't openly rebel against Hiro, but now that their birdcage seal had been broken, seeing him humiliated after all those years of suffering was deeply satisfying.
The anger in Hiro's expression deepened as the veins on his forehead bulged. "How dare you!"
"Hahaha, look at our foreheads, Hiro," Haruko said, pointing at hers.
It was as if he'd been doused with cold water. "What? How did you remove the seal?"
"Not just me—look around. All their seals have been removed too," Haruko smirked.
Hiro glanced around, his face growing pale as he realized the other Hyuga members were also free of the birdcage seal.
"Do you know why we went to Uzushiogakure?" Haruko continued. "The Uzumaki clan specializes in sealing techniques. We went there and learned how to break the birdcage seal."
"You traitor! How dare you put the Hyuga clan in danger?" Hiro shouted, trying to maintain control.
"Danger? No. They were forced by you to endure this curse, and now, we've broken free," Haruko retorted.
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