Chapter 11
Hiashi needed more courage to sacrifice himself, especially when Neji still needed him alive to lure more members of the Hyuga clan. With this crucial captive, even with the Caged Bird Seal, Neji's efficiency in hunting would significantly increase, and the risk of exposure would increase, making his plan to eradicate the clan seem distant and achievable.
Thus, even if Hiashi wanted to die, Neji wouldn't let him go. The hinge mechanism from the Torture Department was designed from the start to leave no room for prisoners to commit suicide. After sealing the chakra points, even a Kage-level strongman could only die with regret.
However, while Hiashi didn't care about his own life, he did care about others.
From the moment he handed over information about some elders not in Konoha in exchange for his daughter Hinata, he lost any capital to continue resisting in front of Neji.
Retreat a step, then retreat every step; in the days leading up to Neji's defection from Konoha, he squeezed Hiashi dry, blood and bone together, which was the fate the Hyuga clan leader had to face.
For instance, right now, everyone knows the eye exchange between him and his daughter Hinata was just a pretext Neji used to extort him. If it weren't this, it would be something else. But Hiashi couldn't argue; his backbone was broken. He could only let Neji take whatever he wanted, hoping he might show some mercy to his daughter, Hinata.
Hinata walked in with small steps, buried her face in Neji's arms, and then peeked through the gap at the disheveled man at the desk.
"Don't you recognize him?" Neji didn't react for a moment.
"My father was sitting there before, he told me many things, told me to endure the pain, I did… and then… my father disappeared!" Hinata didn't continue, but her meaning was clear.