Next Bonus Chapter, 200!
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The outside world had been thrown into chaos, yet the Hyūga compound remained so quiet that it seemed cut off from everything beyond its walls.
Warm incense drifted through a private chamber where the Hyūga clan head leaned back on a cushion, eyes half closed as he sipped clear rice wine from a porcelain cup. He looked completely at ease.
"The entire world is falling apart—yet everything is peaceful here in the Hyūga compound."
The Sage of Six Paths had started a ruthless purge throughout the shinobi world. Criminal groups were destroyed, and the major clans lived in constant fear they would be next.
Only the Hyūga had escaped unharmed. By following their old laws and staying out of the Tailed Beast hunt, they avoided any involvement in the crisis.
The clan head could barely believe their luck. If the Sage finished purging the other clans, the Hyūga might end up as the strongest clan in the shinobi world.
As he lifted the cup to his lips again, hurried footsteps echoed outside the chamber. The sudden noise broke the silence and warned him that something serious was happening.
"Hm?"
Hyūga Sennin frowned, his calm mood gone. He was about to scold whoever disturbed him when the wooden door burst open with a bang.
Several stooped, white-bearded elders hurried in.
They were the oldest and most respected members of the Hyūga Clan, men whose seniority gave them authority even the clan head could not ignore.
As soon as Sennin saw them, his irritation vanished. He put down his cup and quickly stepped forward with a respectful smile. "Grandfather Moku, Grandfather Mukai, and all our honored elders. What brings you here without warning? Please, sit. I'll pour you some wine."
In the Hyūga Clan, seniority was almost sacred. Even centuries later, Hyūga Hiashi would struggle to change the Caged Bird system because the elders resisted any change. The clan head led the family, but still had to respect those who shaped its traditions long before he was born.
"You could have sent someone to summon me," Sennin continued as he extended a hand to support the oldest men. "There was no need for you to come all this way yourselves."
The elders, usually calm and mild, showed no interest in sitting. Each wore a grave expression, their eyes full of urgency.
"SENNIN, PUT DOWN THE WINE!" Grandfather Moku snapped. "You're sitting here drinking while disaster is at our doorstep!"
"What?"
Sennin's hand stopped midair, the wine flask still in his grip. His smile faded as dread washed over him.
He straightened right away, dropping any sign of carelessness. "Elders, what happened? Is there trouble in the clan, or has the chaos outside finally reached us?"
His mind jumped to the worst possibility.
Maybe the Sage's purge was now aimed at the Hyūga...
"..." The elders traded looks, then reached into their robes and pulled out a scroll radiating with a faint golden glow. It looked like neither silk nor cloth, and a sacred presence seemed to radiate from it.
Their hands shook as they held it. With the seriousness of worshippers at a shrine, they unrolled the scroll in front of him.
"What is this?"
Sennin stepped closer, frowning. At first, he read the writing with curiosity. As soon as he understood it, his eyes widened in shock.
All color left his face. Confusion turned to shock, then to a mix of fear and awe that made him tremble.
Without hesitation, Sennin dropped to his knees.
"It's a Sacred Decree from the Sage of Six Paths!!"
He stared at the scroll, head bowed and voice trembling.
"THE SAGE HIMSELF IS COMING TO THE HYŪGA COMPOUND. HE INTENDS TO VISIT US IN PERSON!"
The news hit him like lightning. Sennin immediately pressed his forehead to the floor at once, and the elders knelt beside him with equal reverence.
..............
Soon after, the entire Hyūga Clan sprang into action.
They scrubbed every inch of the main courtyard. In the center of the raised platform stood a polished portrait of the Sage of Six Paths, surrounded by the clan's best offerings. Incense smoke drifted around the image, giving the courtyard the feel of a sacred ceremony.
Every member of the Hyūga Clan attended!
Men, women, children, and elders from both the Main and Branch Families wore their best robes and knelt in neat rows across the courtyard.
This ceremony was greater than any ancestral rite the Hyūga had ever held.
Clan Head Sennin knelt at the front with the senior elders, his back straight even though he was tense. Reverence, anticipation, and fear all showed on his face as they waited for the Sage of Six Paths.
The courtyard stayed silent. No one spoke above the soft sound of the wind.
Then the air above the platform hummed—
White mist appeared out of nowhere and spread across the stage, bright and pure, carrying a powerful but gentle pressure. It covered the platform as a presence beyond anything mortal filled the compound.
A figure emerged from the swirling mist and floated above the platform.
The newcomer was an old man with long silver hair that shone like moonlight over his spotless white robe. His sleeves moved in the breeze, and his upright posture showed an authority that needed no words.
Manji sat cross-legged in the air, needing no support. Nine black Truth-Seeking Balls spun behind him, and one hand held an ancient Six Paths staff.
His limitless Rinnegan eyes swept over the gathered clan.
The Tenseigan on his forehead gave off an aura so familiar that every Hyūga felt it in their blood. In that moment, no one doubted who stood before them.
This was the Sage of Six Paths.
This was the progenitor from whom their bloodline had descended.
Manji looked down at the thousands of kneeling Hyūga and thought about the state of the shinobi world.
The other great clans had already suffered huge losses. Most of the Senju and Uchiha elites were wiped out in a single attack, leaving both clans much weaker than before.
The Hyūga, on the other hand, had kept almost all their strength. Even the Senju and Uchiha together could not match them now.
If Manji set no limits, the Hyūga might soon realize they had enough power to take over the whole shinobi world. That kind of strength could spark ambition, and ambition would bring back the chaos he had just ended.
For now, however, they had followed the old laws and did not try to claim the Tailed Beasts. Their loyalty deserved recognition.
"You may dispense with the formalities," Manji said, his calm voice carrying across the courtyard. "The Hyūga Clan conducted itself well during this crisis, and I am pleased."
He surveyed the kneeling clan once more.
"You preserved your original principles, resisted the temptation to seize the Tailed Beasts, and continued to honor me even after so many others lost their faith."
A faint smile appeared on his face. "For that, I have only three words for the Hyūga Clan..."
"YOU. DID. WELL."
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