Chapter 70 070: I Don't Mind Killing You All!
"It must be Soma returning."
The Hyuga elder sitting in the first seat on the right set down his teacup, his tone carrying a sense of absolute certainty.
"By now, there should be a result."
The other elders reacted variously: some nodded in agreement, some stroked their beards dismissively, and others didn't even look up, keeping their eyes fixed on the tea in front of them.
None of them believed anything could go wrong.
They had been the Main House for far too long—so long that they had forgotten the meaning of reverence, so long that they believed the Byakugan could truly see through everything, including danger.
They had also believed for far too long that the Branch House's Caged Bird curse was a given, and that the authority of the Main House was absolute.
Therefore, regarding how to handle Uchiha Taiga's unique Byakugan, their stance was unanimous: it absolutely could not be left in the hands of an outsider. It had to be brought under their control!
Hyuga Hiashi did not respond.
His brow furrowed deeper and deeper as the sense of unease grew heavier in his chest.
He stood up slowly. A few elders beside him glanced over, expressions puzzled.
Hiashi offered no explanation. He stared at the main doors of the assembly hall, his pale pupils contracting slightly.
The clan had rules against using the Byakugan without good reason.
He hadn't activated his dojutsu, but the oppressive sensation bearing down on him sent a slight chill down his spine.
The footsteps stopped at the door.
Then, the doors were kicked open.
Crash!
Under the immense force, the two sliding wooden doors were derailed instantly, flying outward to smash against the walls and shatter into pieces.
Wood splinters flew and dust billowed, looking like a fragmented mist under the hall's lights.
A figure walked in from outside.
His pace was neither fast nor slow, perfectly matching the rhythm of the footsteps from moments ago.
He stepped through the cloud of dust and splinters. There was blood on his clothes and no emotion on his face, but those eyes... those pale, translucent eyes, clear as glass, shone blindingly bright under the hall's lights.
Uchiha Taiga!
The assembly hall instantly erupted into chaos.
"Who are you?! Such insolence!"
An elder sitting closest to the door shot to his feet, pointing at Taiga and shouting furiously.
His face was flushed red, his beard trembling along with his finger.
It wasn't out of fear, but pure rage.
The assembly hall of the Hyuga Main House had its doors kicked in by an outsider—this was unprecedented.
Someone recognized him.
"Uchiha Taiga!"
Another elder stood up, his voice even louder. "Insolent brat! Do you have any idea where you are?"
"Do you think you can just barge into the Hyuga Main House's assembly hall?"
"Guards! Where are the guards?!"
Several elders spoke at almost the same time, their voices overlapping.
There was no fear on their faces, only anger and disbelief. The majesty of the Hyuga Main House had been offended, and to them, nothing was a graver sin.
But there was someone who remained silent.
Hyuga Hiashi stood at the head seat, motionless and quiet.
His gaze was locked tightly onto Uchiha Taiga—or more accurately, onto his eyes.
White sclerae, irises like translucent diamonds, so pure they lacked even a single flaw.
Those eyes were unlike anyone else's in the room. They were brighter, clearer, and deeper. They resembled a bottomless spring, or a meticulously polished gemstone—profound and radiant.
Paired with Taiga's handsome features, those eyes gave off an ethereal feeling. He looked like a figure stepped out of a painting, too striking to be a living mortal.
But Hiashi didn't feel beauty; he felt pressure.
It was the resonance between one Byakugan and another.
When facing those eyes, his own eyes experienced an instinctive sense of suppression.
He had felt this sensation once when he was very young, from his grandfather, Hyuga Tennin. But the feeling Taiga gave him seemed far stronger, purer, and utterly irresistible.
This person's Byakugan was stronger than anyone's in the Hyuga Main House!
Hiashi's throat tightened slightly.
Taiga stood at the entrance of the assembly hall, glancing around. The smile on his face never wavered.
It was a subtle smile, yet it carried an unsettling undertone. It wasn't mockery, but rather a condescending calmness, like someone watching a colony of ants.
"Oi, you're all here."
His voice wasn't loud, but it rang out clearly over the noisy hall.
"Perfect. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down one by one."
One elder finally asked the most crucial question, though still failing to grasp the reality of the situation. His voice was laced with suppressed fury.
"Why are you alone? Where is Soma?"
Taiga tilted his head, as if thinking for a moment.
"Soma? You mean Hyuga Soma?"
He realized who they meant and nodded.
"You mean that old man with the Byakugan."
He raised a hand and untied the cloth sack hanging from his waist.
The sack was fashioned from a torn piece of Soma's outer robe. It was tied loosely and bulged heavily. Over the course of his journey, blood had completely soaked through the fabric.
He casually tossed the sack into the hall. It traced an arc through the air before landing on the floor with a series of dull thuds, rolling a few times before coming to a stop in the center of the room.
The mouth of the sack loosened, and a head rolled out.
Hyuga Soma.
His eyes were wide open, his face frozen in its final expression of terror, unwillingness, and disbelief.
However, his eye sockets were nothing but two bloody holes. The Byakugan were gone, and the blood had long since dried, leaving two dark red streaks down his face like dried tears. It was a horrifying sight.
The assembly hall suddenly fell dead silent. The elders of the Hyuga Main House looked as though an invisible hand was strangling them.
A moment later, someone gasped. Another instinctively stepped back. A teacup slipped from someone's grasp, shattering into pieces on the floor.
No one spoke. Every gaze was fixed on that head—the head of Hyuga Soma, the same old man who had been sitting in this very hall drinking tea and chatting just that morning.
Hiashi clenched his fists inside his sleeves.
A chill rose from the soles of his feet, traveling up his spine all the way to the crown of his head.
An inexplicable sense of horror washed over him. Just what exactly had this young man done?!
Yet, there were still some in the room who hadn't grasped the reality of the situation.
"You have a lot of nerve!"
An elder spoke up, his anger overriding his fear. He pointed at Taiga, his finger and voice both trembling, but he forced the words out anyway.
"How dare you do this? Are you trying to start a war between the Hyuga and the Uchiha?"
That sentence acted like a spark, instantly igniting the emotions of the others in the hall.
"Guards! Hurry, guards!"
Another elder shouted toward the door.
"Where are Soma's eyes?"
A third elder glared at Taiga, his voice shrill. "You actually dared to scheme for the Hyuga clan's Byakugan!"
"Do you know what you've done? This is a declaration of war against the Hyuga clan!"
"The Uchiha clan won't protect you! You're insane!"
The voices multiplied, growing increasingly chaotic.
Some called for guards, some hurled accusations, some shouted threats, and others began backing away, wanting to distance themselves from the severed head.
But not a single one of them stepped forward. Not one.
Taiga stood at the entrance, watching their reactions. His smile remained unchanged.
He listened to everything they had to say, waiting until they were finished before looking at Hiashi.
"Tell me, are all the old fools in your Hyuga clan this pathetic?"
He asked casually, as if he had all the time in the world.
"To be honest, the Hyuga really can't compare to the Uchiha in this regard."
Before he even finished speaking, the rapid sound of rushing wind echoed from outside.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Figures rushed in from all directions, landing on the corridor outside the assembly hall.
The ninjas of the Hyuga Branch House had arrived.
Some wore Konoha flak jackets, while others wore traditional Hyuga attire. They surrounded the assembly hall, blocking every exit.
Taiga didn't even spare them a glance.
Suddenly, his smile faded, and his calm expression turned ice-cold.
He stared at Hiashi, his pale eyes completely devoid of warmth.
"Your people conspired with Shimura Danzo to steal my eyes."
His voice wasn't loud, but every word struck the eardrums of everyone present.
"Now, I've killed Shimura Danzo, and this old fool is dead too."
He pointed at the head on the floor.
"But this matter is far from over."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over every Main House elder in the room before finally settling back on Hiashi.
"The Hyuga clan needs to give me a satisfactory answer regarding this. Otherwise, I don't mind killing you all!"