Everyone froze in shock.
None of them had expected Aya to act like this.
Then, when their eyes finally made out the blazing pattern in the sky, their faces twisted with fear.
They weren't fools.
Even those useless main family elders knew what that signal meant.
The Uchiha.
"Hyuga Aya!"
"Do you know what you're doing?!"
"Are you trying to betray the clan?!"
"…"
They hurled accusations, voices filled with anger.
Yet beneath their bluster, deep within their eyes, fear and resentment hid like shadows.
Yes.
The Uchiha.
Once, the Hyuga might have dared to challenge them. But with Uchiha Kai's rise, they no longer had the courage.
They wouldn't admit it aloud, but in their hearts, they had already yielded.
Backed by the other great clans, the Uchiha had grown into a colossal power. Unless the village leadership itself risked everything to bring them down, no one in Konoha could stop them now.
Compared to that… the Hyuga, once considered a great clan, were nothing but small fry.
How could they not panic?
Of all those present, only Hizashi's face remained calm. After all, he already knew what was coming.
Hiashi's expression, however, darkened slightly.
But as clan head, his composure held. Though his heart stirred at the signal, he turned to Aya with steady eyes and a low, commanding voice.
"Hyuga Aya. What is your purpose here?"
Though cautious, he was no coward. He had faced much in his life. Uchiha or not, fear had no place in his heart. What he needed now was to understand Aya's intent.
Across from him, Aya met the Hyuga's stares without flinching.
Her gaze swept over them with disdain before settling on Hiashi.
A faint smile curved her lips.
"Not bad," she said. "Even if the Hyuga have rotted through, you, as clan head, at least still carry a shred of presence."
"But it's a pity."
"In my eyes, you're still nothing but a failure. If you weren't, how could you have allowed the Hyuga to decay like this?"
"You ask me why?" She sneered. "Isn't it obvious?"
"This clan is rotten. These main family elders? Disgusting trash. Watching them makes me want to vomit."
"An eighteen-year-old who just managed to scrape into chunin, and you dare to boast about him as though he were a prodigy?"
"It's laughable!"
"On the battlefield, that kind of trash wouldn't even count as cannon fodder. Even among civilians, he'd be a joke."
"Hyuga can fall, Hyuga can die, and it has nothing to do with me. I'm the only branch house. I've never had any love for this clan."
"But tell me—why must you drag me down with you?"
"I bowed my head, I hid myself away, I just wanted a quiet life. But no."
"You just had to force me, didn't you?"
"Force me to be Yū's maid, his servant?"
"What were you thinking?!"
"Are your brains made of mud?"
"Sometimes you show a little cunning, I'll grant you that. You knew of my ties to Uchiha Kai. Yet all you could think of was to exploit me, to press me, never once imagining I might resist."
"Yes. The main family, of course."
"But tell me—did you ever really dare to kill me? Before you forced me, did you even investigate properly?"
"I'm not just Kai's comrade. I am his woman."
"You decrepit fools! If you won't let me live in peace, then none of us will live in peace!"
Aya's voice rang out cold and sharp.
Yes. She had endured long enough. Once, she had no choice but to endure, to bury herself in silence.
But now? Things had changed. She had chosen to break free from the Hyuga — and there was no longer any need to hold back.
So she lashed out.
And afterward, she felt utterly refreshed.
It was true what people said: let resentment build inside you, and it festers. But once you spit it out—your chest feels light, your spirit clear.
Yes. It felt good.
The problem, of course, was that while Aya felt refreshed, the Hyuga elders were left seething.
The branch house side managed to keep calm outwardly, but inwardly they were cheering.
These were words they had longed to say for years. But they had no cards to play, no strength to rebel. With the main family binding them, none dared speak aloud.
Now that Aya had spoken for them, they couldn't show support openly, but in their hearts, they stood with her.
This rotten system of main and branch—it should have been abolished long ago.
Just look at the main house now. Nothing but a nest of useless weaklings.
An eighteen-year-old chunin, praised to the heavens? What a joke.
Among the branch houses, as long as one wasn't a complete fool, with the clan's resources it was normal to reach tokubetsu Jounin by eighteen.
Hizashi stayed silent, only casting Aya a complicated glance before lapsing into silence once more.
He had made his deal with her, but he could not leave the clan today. Not yet. He still had to help her rally more of the branch house to her side.
Hiashi's brows furrowed. His hands clenched into fists, his body trembling faintly.
How could he not know the Hyuga's problems?
Even his own brother bore the main family.
He too had wanted change.
But he couldn't.
The Byakugan was too important. Without the seal, the clan would be hunted relentlessly by the shinobi world.
So what choice was there?
He sighed, shoulders sagging, his face weary with defeat.
For the truth was undeniable: Aya had done no wrong.
She had only wished to live quietly. And the main family's arrogance, their flaunting of power, had forced her hand.
And now? She had turned against them. What did they expect?
Yet as clan head, though he saw the truth, he had no choice but to stand with the clan.
But how? That, he did not yet know.
Aya's position was complicated.
If she spoke the truth, then she was indeed Uchiha Kai's woman. And the Uchiha signal flare had already been fired. Kai would come.
If Kai demanded her, could he hand her over?
If he did, the Hyuga would lose face.
If he refused, the consequences would be far worse.
The Uchiha were lunatics to begin with. Now, with the Aburame, Inuzuka, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio allied to them, unless the village leadership itself intervened, the Hyuga could not withstand the storm.
But the Hyuga had always stood neutral, and Sarutobi Hiruzen had little love for them. Would the Hokage lift a hand to help?
Time was short. He had no answers.
As Hiashi struggled in silence, Yū could no longer hold back.
He was arrogant to the core.
Coddled and praised all his life by Yotai and the main family elders, he truly believed himself a peerless genius.
Aya? A mere servant, nothing more.
He had never placed her in his eyes.
And now, she had dared to insult him.
Uncle might endure, Aunt might endure—but he would not endure.
Without hesitation, he leapt to his feet, shouting:
"Hyuga Aya!"
"You lowly maid! You don't know your place!"
"As your master, I'll teach you a lesson!"
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