Chapter 118
The Day of Shame for the Hyuga Clan
Chapter 118 The Day of Shame for the Hyuga Clan
As Shura departed, the mist that had permeated the Hyuga clan's territory gradually dissipated, leaving behind a scene of utter devastation.
The damage caused by Akimichi Choza's fierce battle with the enemy's summoned beasts was mainly concentrated around the council hall of the main family compound, but fortunately the damage was not too serious.
"Immediately notify the medical department to treat the wounded." After confirming that the enemy had left, Hiruzen Sarutobi released the summoning of the Monkey King and gave the order to the ANBU ninja.
"Yes!" Several ANBU ninjas vanished in an instant.
While Hiruzen Sarutobi was directing the Konoha ninjas to clean up the battlefield, Hiashi Hyuga also came to the side of several elders of the Hyuga clan.
These elders were all people who had watched Hiashi grow up. Although they often gave Hiashi a hard time, they were still blood relatives.
Seeing the four clan elders lying on the ground groaning in pain, Hyuga Hiashi, as the clan leader, was filled with guilt and self-blame.
"Are you all alright?" Hiashi Hyuga then turned to his wife and daughter.
Under the protection of the branch family guards and the elders of the main family, they were safe and sound.
Even young Hinata Hyuga had something in her mouth, her Byakugan eyes taking in the surroundings with great interest, and she even showed disdain for the elders of the main clan.
"We're alright, thanks to Hizashi and the elders' protection." Hiashi's wife held Hinata, looking worriedly at Hizashi, who was still unconscious in the corner.
As Hiruzen Sarutobi's orders were relayed, more and more Konoha ninja arrived at the Hyuga clan's territory.
Although Hiashi Hyuga considered this incident to be the greatest disgrace the Hyuga clan had ever suffered in hundreds of years, with so many clan members injured, and the four main family elders and the branch family head Hizashi Hyuga all seriously injured, it was no longer possible to conceal it.
However, Hiruzen Sarutobi was considerate of the Hyuga clan's reputation and only summoned ninjas of special jonin rank or higher to keep the information to a minimum.
Soon, the ninjas from Konoha's medical department arrived at the scene and sent Hyuga Hizashi, the main family elders, and other injured Hyuga clan members to Konoha Hospital for treatment.
"Hokage-sama!" Nara Shikaku found Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was discussing the attack with Hiashi Hyuga.
He reported to him: "The medical department has admitted all the wounded. The good news is that there have been no casualties, but there are 37 wounded, including 30 members of the Hyuga clan, among whom four elders are the most seriously injured."
Upon hearing the reported figures, Hiashi Hyuga's face darkened, and his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
Hiruzen Sarutobi comforted him, "At least there were no casualties, which is a blessing in disguise."
Compared to the devastating casualties caused by the Nine-Tails' rampage a few years ago, Shura's two appearances in the village were both on Hyuga clan territory, and neither resulted in any deaths. The number of injured was also kept within a certain range, which brought some relief to the ruling Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Otherwise, Danzo will likely find another excuse to attack.
"But the Hyuga clan has lost four pairs of Byakugan..." Hyuga Hiashi gritted his teeth, his face terribly gloomy.
These stolen Byakugan are all pure Byakugan from the main family, unlike those from the branch family which are restricted by the Caged Bird Seal. They will not be automatically destroyed after leaving their original bodies.
Recalling the most tragic moment of the Third Shinobi World War, Ao of Kirigakure stole a Byakugan from the heir of a main clan elder, which became the humiliation of the Hyuga clan for nearly a hundred years!
The elders of the Hyuga main family originally wanted to offer a 30 million bounty on Ao of Kirigakure through the underground black market where the gold was exchanged, in order to destroy the Byakugan. However, Hiashi Hyuga believed that such a bounty would put a price tag on the Byakugan and send a bad message to outside ninjas, so he stopped the elders' suggestion.
But now, four elders of the Hyuga clan have had their Byakugan stolen so easily by the enemy in the heavily guarded heartland of the Hyuga clan!
What a humiliation this is!
Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced at the dilapidated council hall and recalled the 'gift from Hamura' that Shura had mentioned in the announcement and also in the battle just now.
Surprisingly, when Hiashi Hyuga arrived to provide support, the Byakugan couldn't see Shura.
"It seems that the enemy has a deep connection with your Hyuga clan, and they also have an ability to block the Byakugan. Does your clan have any ninja clans that can be considered your arch-enemies?" Hiruzen Sarutobi's suspicion was not without reason.
For example, the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan were sworn enemies throughout the Warring States period.
Hiashi Hyuga recalled the strange scene from earlier and said in a deep voice, "I've already asked my clansmen. When the enemy used a technique similar to Hidden Mist, hundreds or even thousands of phantoms appeared. These phantoms have complete chakra channels in the Byakugan's field of vision, thus severely interfering with the Byakugan."
"But when we actually hit these phantoms, we found that they were just ordinary phantoms, and they didn't even have the attack capabilities of shadow clones."
"Finally, there's the method by which Shura concealed himself when he appeared in the council hall..."
At this point, Hiashi Hyuga sighed and shook his head: "I'm sorry, I've never heard of it either..."
"Clan leader—" Before Hiashi Hyuga could finish speaking, an elderly clan elder with bandages around his eyes, supported by his family, found Hiashi Hyuga.
“I once heard my grandfather mention the Hyuga clan’s archenemy, the Red-Eyed Clan.”
Hiashi Hyuga and Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately focused their attention on the elder.
"That was a very, very long time ago." He slowly recounted, "Our Hyuga clan's former enemy, the Red-Eyed Clan, has long since vanished into history. If you count the time, it's probably been more than two hundred years."
"More than two hundred years?!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was slightly surprised, his old eyes widening.
Countless ninja clans were wiped out during the Warring States period. Those that have survived to the present day either had wealthy ancestors or had a strong alliance like the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.
However, the bloodline limit of eye techniques is indeed quite rare.
Currently, the most famous dojutsu and bloodline limits in the ninja world are the Byakugan and the Sharingan.
"So what is the surname of this Red-Eyed Clan? Do they have any special abilities?" Although Hiruzen Sarutobi had the title of Ninjutsu Doctor, he knew very little about the history of the village more than a hundred years before its founding.
The Hyuga elder shook his head: "Perhaps we can find some information about the Red-Eyed Clan in the clan's historical records, but I have almost forgotten the little story my grandfather told me. I only vaguely remember that the Red-Eyed Clan was once the nemesis of our Byakugan."
"Byakugan... nemesis..." Hiashi Hyuga's pupils contracted slightly.
Despite being the clan chief, he had never learned about this history.
"It seems that this ninja clan has been extinct for over two hundred years, so it is no longer mentioned within the clan," the elder explained.
I'm a bit busy today, so only one update today. I'll make up for it tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)