69novels Chapter 54 Accountability
Chapter 54 Accountability
Hyuga Kanan was already fed up with the Hyuga clan. He didn't care about their condescending looks and tone, but he hated it when they disturbed his training. His training time was already very limited, and having to listen to the main branch's constant nagging and arrangements wasted his time.
He glanced indifferently at the Third Elder of the Zong family, then looked around at everyone else before asking directly:
"I suppose the esteemed members of the main family are in such a hurry to summon me here not to discuss my upbringing, are they? Or is it that the Hyuga clan is so idle that they have nothing better to do than discuss manners with me?"
"Konoha is still at war. If you elders really have nothing to do, you can apply to go to the battlefield and make a greater contribution to Konoha! I think the Konoha front-line troops will be very happy to welcome the arrival of the powerful Hyuga main family and provide support for Konoha to win the war more easily. At that time, you will be important heroes of Konoha, and the Hyuga clan will definitely receive a good reward for your merits."
Originally, Hyuga Kagami, the clan head, had given up the opportunity to train his heir, Hyuga Hiashi, when he saw how naive he appeared, intending to teach him properly later and prepare to address the elders' challenge. However, Hyuga Kanan, the youngest son, spoke first, directly retorting with a question that struck at the elders' most sensitive point.
If these Hyuga clan elders dared to go to the battlefield, they wouldn't have time to vie for power with their clan leader here. They're just a bunch of old men who've lost their will to fight and only want to gain power and live a life of luxury. If they hadn't been born into the family and inherited the position of elder, they probably would have died in the First Shinobi World War by now. How could they possibly be here displaying the authority of the main family to the branch family members?
It's important to know that Hyuga Kakei, the head of the Hyuga clan, participated in the First Shinobi World War. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to concentrate the power of the Hyuga clan in his own hands, preventing the elders of the main branch from directly demanding a reduction in power. Instead, they dared to use these underhanded tactics to undermine the head's authority within the Hyuga clan.
The meeting room fell silent. The elders who had been whispering about how to punish Hyuga Kanan stopped talking, their faces showing embarrassment and helplessness. After all, they truly didn't have the courage to go to the battlefield, a place where people could really die.
As the oppressive atmosphere continued to build in the meeting room, the eldest elder, sitting next to the clan leader, broke the silence. After all, they hadn't achieved their goal yet, and they couldn't let a mere brat ruin all their plans with just a few words.
"This is not a question of whether or not we old folks should go to the battlefield. Of course, if Konoha needs us old and frail folks to go to the battlefield, we will do our duty without hesitation."
"Now we're addressing your disrespect towards us, the main branch members of the Hyuga clan, who have dedicated our lives to this cause!"
The elder's righteous words instantly brought the embarrassed Hyuga clan elders back to their senses. They continued to add to the elder's words and joined him in criticizing Hyuga Kanan's behavior, as if the embarrassment they had just experienced had not happened to them. They gradually became more self-righteous.
When Hyuga Kaname saw the Grand Elder speak, he knew things wouldn't end so easily. This Grand Elder had been a member of the Hyuga clan since the Warring States period. Although he had never experienced actual combat, he had seen far too much and was extremely experienced in power struggles. Having lived through the eras of three Hyuga clan leaders, it wasn't enough to make him submit and give up through such means; at least, Hyuga Kaname's current status wasn't high enough.
Hyuga Kanan looked at the nearly 90-year-old man and was speechless. He was about to enter his coffin and was still showing off his status. He should use this time to rest and recuperate so that he could live a few more years.
Hyuga Kanan grew increasingly irritated. Were these people just too idle, always looking for trouble? He certainly didn't have time to discuss matters of hierarchy with these old men.
He directly interrupted those who were still making accusations.
"I don't have time to listen to your discussions about the hierarchy of the Hyuga clan right now. If you think I'm disrespectful to you, then consider it disrespectful of me. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."
After saying that, he turned around and prepared to leave. He had no interest in continuing the conversation with them. He'd rather spend more time cultivating than arguing with them. He was already under a lot of pressure ahead.
"Wait a minute! What kind of attitude is this! It seems you haven't experienced the pain of the Caged Bird Seal, daring to treat us like this!"
Seeing Hyuga Kanan preparing to leave, the Third Elder looked at Hyuga Kagaku, the clan leader, clearly wanting the clan leader to personally activate the Caged Bird Seal on his son, otherwise they could do it for him.
But how could Hyuga Kagami, the powerful clan head, possibly obey the elders and activate the Caged Bird Seal to torment his youngest son over such a trivial matter? He directly addressed Hyuga Kagami:
“Jianan, you mustn’t be rude! On behalf of my son, I apologize to all the elders.”
Clearly, Hyuga Kaname's apology directly put an end to Hyuga Kanan's previous attitude, and he didn't give the main family elders a chance to refute it. He continued:
"I'm also curious to know what it is that the elders didn't discuss with me, but instead directly asked us to inform Jianan to come before we talk about it."
Hyuga Kanan had originally planned to ignore the elders of the main clan and leave directly, but after hearing what her father said, she knew that even if she left, the elders would still keep summoning her, which would further disturb her cultivation.
He stopped in his tracks, turned to look at the elders before him, and waited quietly without apologizing to hear what they had prepared.
Knowing that dwelling on the previous issue of hierarchy would be pointless, the First Elder gave the Third Elder a look, signaling him to abandon the previous issue. After all, the Clan Chief had personally apologized to Jianan on behalf of Ri, and now it was time to get to the main topic.
After seeing the First Elder's gaze, the Third Elder understood what the other meant and knew that it was time to skip the previous issues and directly confront Jianan.
The Third Elder stood up, nodded slightly to everyone present, then walked directly to Hyuga Kanan and questioned him, his right eye still wrapped in bandages:
"Hyuga Kanan, you should know that our Hyuga clan's status in Konoha is due to the Byakugan. We absolutely cannot lose or damage it, understand?"
"But why is your right eye covered? Unwrap the bandage now and let us see your right eye!"
The Third Elder immediately demanded loudly. This reason left no room for rebuttal among the main family members present. The Byakugan was the foundation of the Hyuga clan, and any loss or damage must be reported to the clan immediately so that all main family members would be aware of it.
But Hyuga Kanan didn't care about any of this. After returning, he stayed in his courtyard and didn't come out. This gave the elders an opportunity to challenge the clan leader, and they had a legitimate reason to do so, so that even the clan leader couldn't find any excuse to protect him.
Hyuga Kanan's Byakugan was damaged due to overuse, its internal structure was broken, and it became like a normal eye, requiring a long time to recover. However, the elders of the Hyuga clan's main family accidentally discovered with their Byakugan that Hyuga Kanan's right eye had no Byakugan fluctuations at all. They assumed that he had lost one Byakugan and replaced it with a new one. Since the branch family's Byakugan would be destroyed by the Caged Bird Seal if lost, even if it was destroyed by the Caged Bird Seal, they would still bear the responsibility for damaging the Byakugan.
Now there's a reason to demand punishment from the clan leader. If the clan leader protects the other side, then some power will have to be used in exchange. Actually, it's quite normal for the Hyuga clan's Byakugan to be damaged; after all, there are always unexpected events on the battlefield. As long as it's explained to the clan leader, it would only result in a minor punishment. However, Hyuga Kanan's status is different. He's the clan leader's youngest son, giving the elders an opportunity to divide power from the clan leader. Therefore, the impact of this matter needs to be amplified. After all, the clan leader only watched them operate when they sent Hyuga Kanan into the cannon fodder unit. But now, it concerns the very foundation of the Hyuga clan—the situation with the Byakugan. The clan leader can't easily get away with sacrificing Hyuga Kanan; he must provide an explanation.
Hyuga Kanan looked at these ridiculous elders of the main clan and felt somewhat helpless. As long as he didn't want to directly defect from Konoha, these main clans had the right to boss him around. But without the stable environment of Konoha, it was uncertain whether Hyuga Kanan could still devote himself wholeheartedly to his training.
Hyuga Kanan unwrapped the bandages, revealing the eye inside his right eye, and looked around.
Everyone turned their attention to Hyuga Kanan's right eye and found that it was still a Byakugan, but without the Byakugan's signature fluctuations. They were quite surprised, as they had no idea that the Byakugan could have such a problem. It was clearly a Byakugan, but it didn't give off the same feeling as a Byakugan at all; it was just like an ordinary eye.
After glancing at Hyuga Kanan's disdainful look, the Third Elder recovered from his surprise and immediately, shamelessly, addressed the surrounding elders:
"Your Byakugan has completely lost its function, which means you've lost the Hyuga clan's Byakugan. You still have to accept the punishment!"
The elders around also knew that this opportunity might not come again, and they all nodded in agreement.
Hyuga Kanan was truly furious. How much longer were these people going to waste his time? He immediately decided to stop tolerating this trouble.
"I don't know how long you're going to keep messing around, but please don't disturb my cultivation anymore. This is the last time. Next time, I won't give you any face."
Hyuga Kanan unleashed her divine power, transmitting a powerful aura that directly suppressed the clan elders, rendering them powerless to resist and causing them to collapse to the ground, without even giving them a chance to use the Caged Bird Seal.