— — — — — — —
Kaito paused for a moment before continuing, "With Hyuga Hizashi's cooperation, I've spent over half a year recruiting more than half of the Hyuga branch family members."
"Not only have I placed the Flying Bird Seal on them, but I've even contracted them under an oath!"
"If it weren't for the seal hiding their true strength, the Hyuga main family would have noticed something was off long ago."
"Now, the time is right—we can finally act!"
"I will complete the final round of contracts with the remaining Hyuga branch family members, then support Hyuga Hizashi in confronting the elders of the main family."
"If they're smart enough to cooperate and willingly hand over their authority, they can be spared."
"But if they resist… then they have no reason to continue existing!"
Just like Uchiha Madara said—he had no use for a rebellious, factionalized Hyuga Clan.
"Oh?"
Senju Tobirama raised an eyebrow. "So you've been preparing for this all along? And to such an extent? Seems I've underestimated you!"
"Hyuga Hizashi, huh? If I remember correctly, he's the twin brother of the current Hyuga Clan leader, isn't he?"
"And now he's the leader of the branch family. Hmph! No wonder you were able to turn him so easily!"
"Honestly, anyone in his position would feel resentment. Just because he was born a few minutes later, he was marked with the Caged Bird Seal, forced into the branch family, and condemned to a lifetime of servitude under the main family. How could anyone accept such a fate?"
"This just further proves how flawed the Hyuga clan's system of division is! It's only natural for him to rebel."
"Hyuga Hizashi?"
At this moment, Orochimaru licked his lips and asked with curiosity, "But from what I remember, Hizashi and his brother Hiashi have a great relationship. He shouldn't harbor such deep resentment toward the main family and his elder brother, right?"
"Besides, he's the son of the former clan leader, the younger brother of the current clan leader, and the head of the branch family. Even if other main family members wanted to control him with the Caged Bird Seal, they wouldn't dare act recklessly, would they?"
"So why did he so easily choose to stand against his own brother and the main family?"
Something didn't add up.
Clearly, there were other factors at play.
Orochimaru turned to Kaito, his gaze filled with inquiry.
"That's true! I also remember the two brothers having a strong bond!" Tsunade added.
"It must be for his child," Uchiha Naori and Uzumaki Mito exchanged a glance before speaking up.
"His child?"
Everyone was momentarily stunned.
"Exactly!"
Kaito nodded firmly. "That's the reason! He's doing this for his future child!"
"Sure, right now, Hizashi is still young and doesn't have any children yet, but he has to think about the future!
"This is an issue he cannot avoid.
"If he doesn't take action now, his child will inevitably be marked with the Caged Bird Seal at a young age, forced into a life of misery and servitude. Of course, he has to plan ahead!"
"Fortunately, due to my terrifying war record from the Second Ninja War, he already admired me greatly. That admiration made it easier for me to sway him.
"I showed him the future—his own fate and the tragic destiny awaiting his son.
"If even that couldn't convince him to act, then there would be nothing more to say."
But clearly, Hyuga Hizashi wasn't indifferent to his son.
He kept his older brother from learning about his plans with Kaito to prevent his son from suffering the same fate.
Even though their bond was still intact and Hiashi felt guilty about the clan's divisions and the Caged Bird Seal system, Hizashi remained silent.
Because he couldn't afford to gamble.
He didn't dare to take that risk.
If he lost the gamble, his only options would be to kill his brother or launch a premature coup within the clan.
But Hizashi wasn't interested in killing his own brother or committing patricide.
"That's true!" Uzumaki Mito nodded. "No matter how close they are as brothers, Hizashi is simply doing what any parent would do for their child's future."
"As a parent, unless they're heartless, no one can stand by and watch their child be doomed to a miserable fate."
"Since you've already won over so many members of the branch family, that's actually a good thing."
"This way, the internal coup in the Hyuga clan won't involve too many innocent people, and the casualties will be minimized."
"That's great."
As for those stubborn old relics of the Hyuga main family—if they were foolish enough to resist, Uzumaki Mito believed they should be put down for good.
Orochimaru knew the meeting was over and prepared to leave, as he had many tasks to complete. "Kaito-kun, remember to keep the body of the dead Hyuga for our research," he instructed.
Tobirama, leaving with him, added, "Indeed, they can be useful."
With that, everyone began to leave, each busy with their own tasks.
— — —
That same day
Kaito summoned Hyuga Hizashi to the Hokage's office
"Hizashi, how's your progress?"
"I checked, and the last batch of Hyuga branch family members have reached the necessary level of trust in me. We can proceed with the contracts."
"After that, we can take action!"
Hizashi nodded. "Everything is prepared. I can arrange for them to come and complete the contract with you at any time, Hokage-sama."
"Once that's done, it will be time for me to confront my brother and the main family to completely resolve this conflict."
"To be honest, I'd prefer to start as soon as possible."
"The longer we delay, the more likely we are to expose our plans."
"After all, most of the branch family members have already been marked with the Flying Bird Seal and are no longer under the control of the main family. Even with your methods of concealment, it's not entirely foolproof."
Kaito paused "I also think so. By the way, you've probably heard about the research division's Bloodline Limit Serum, haven't you?"
"Yes, I've heard about it!" Hizashi said.
"I was honestly shocked. I never expected the research division to be capable of creating something so miraculous."
"If every contracted Konoha ninja in the future can gain various Bloodline Limits through this, then…"
"Maybe the entire concept of bloodline clans will eventually disappear?"
At this thought, Hizashi wondered—if the research division could develop a serum for the Byakugan, would the Hyuga clan never have to worry about others coveting their bloodline again?
For Hizashi, it didn't matter if his clan was the only one with the Byakugan; he simply wanted a peaceful future for his son and his clan.
But with the Flying Bird Seal in place, most of those concerns were already taken care of.
In fact, the seal not only protected the Byakugan but also helped purify their bloodline even further.
.
.
.