83 Family Fued

(Earlier that day)

Inside the Hyuga compound, deep within their clan's underground gathering spot, two sides faced each other.

One side was headed by the aged Hyuga elder, the unofficial clan head, and father to the current head, Taiyo Hyuga. The other was headed by the current head, Hiashi with Hinata standing next to, but slightly behind him. Were someone in the know to see these groups, they'd notice that the clansmen behind Taiyo were mainly of the main house, while those behind Hiashi were from the Branch. While it wasn't completely exclusive, the divide was mainly along those lines.

Despite what should've been a size disparity between the two though, the two sides were comparatively equal in size. Due to the large-scale massacre by Mami a few months back, the branch took a massive hit to their numbers. Yet due to the seals holding their lives hostage, they had to hold back, grieving in silence at the atrocity committed by their leaders.

Now, it was different.

"Father." Hiashi paused and shook his head. "No, Taiyo Hyuga. You will be held accountable for your crimes. The Hokage has already been briefed and the prosecution process has finally been completed. Your house arrest has come to an end. If you truly care about the clan, you will turn yourself in quietly."

Taiyo's face was unfazed by his son's statement.

Raising an eyebrow, he said, "So… it's true. To think you'd rely on outside aid to free yourself of your bonds. Pathetic." He spit, his distain visible to the whole crowd, eliciting angry grumblings from the branch family.

"Is that not what you've done Taiyo? I didn't recognize those seals at first, but when Kushina looked over them and described them to me, your treachery became clear."

Amused at his son's dramatic accusation, Taiyo chuckled,

"Oh? Do tell."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed, growing suspicious of his father's casual response.

Still, he pressed on,

"Taiyo, why would you have dealings with Orochimaru? Why would you sell him my brother's eyes?" He asked in stern fury.

"*Chuckle* It's not surprising that that family drew the parallels between his and my seals, but how did you know about your brother's eyes?"

"Hey!" "You rotten traitor!" "You call yourself a father!" Any restraint from the branch clan was now history. Were a non-Hyuga to see them, they'd be shocked beyond measure. To see so many normally stoic Hyuga clansmen losing their composure like this was a marvel.

Oddly enough, the main family members standing behind Taiyo were silent, unfazed by the revelations. That was the strangest part. He had expected this part to cause the greatest fracture in Taiyo's support base, but by the looks of it they were, at the very least, indifferent of his actions. Odd considering the main family's overwhelming hatred for outsiders using their beloved eyes.

Hiashi raised his hand, silencing the mob behind him. More than anyone here, he knew this man needed to die. That said, even more than that, he needed answers. He needed the full story.

"You must have forgotten. That man's operations are no longer as secret as they used to be. That said, you still haven't answered my question. Why did you do it?"

Shaking his head with cold amusement, Taiyo regarded his son like one would a child,

"Hiashi… the fact that you're asking me that question exemplifies just how unfit you are to hold the clan head position." His voice crescendoed. He spread his arms, as if presenting a grand plan. "There are no such things as eternal enemies, just the eternal pursuit of benefits we can secure for the clan. With Mami's presence needing secrecy, I needed a means of ensuring compliance and seizing control from those who would squander the myriad of opportunities she presented. I also had a son who knew too much and a set of eyes I planned on disposing of anyways. While I took no pleasure in the act, especially considering the hit to my pride it took to willingly give away a set of Byakugan to an outsider, the value of the next generation, my children, was too valuable to discard. Sometimes, we must discard our present principles for the good of our future."

Pausing, his eyes turned to disappointment.

"That's how clans are run. That's the mindset that brought this village into its current golden age. I will say this again, your clear disregard for the necessity of sacrifice and compromise exemplifies your lack of capacity. You are my greatest failure."

Hearing his father's biting words, Hiashi's hands balled into fists. Visibly, his veins crawled up his face, moving to activate his Byakugan without his input; he restrained it. Still, it took everything he had to keep himself from snapping.

Everything.

It was only the tenacity developed from years of silent subservience that allowed him to endure this… humiliation and the fury born from his father's depravity. He could feel the warm thrum of chakra escaping his clansmen as they too struggled to restrain their own emotions. Most clear of all was his daughter who, while visually cold and unfazed, had very poor control of her fury if her chakra was any indication. Unlike the others, the chakra leaking from her was clearly visible and saturated with her overwhelming desire to kill the man.

He needed to do something now. His clan's respect for him would only go so far. Eventually, their fury would boil over.

Hiashi took a deep breath, steadying himself for his next words.

"Regardless of your… opinions…" His gaze hardened. "I am the Hyuga Clan's head. You are nothing. As such, your transgressions against my person, my niece, and the clan as a whole have now been cleared for your immediate arrest."

Taiyo was unmoved.

His only reaction was to turn to those behind him, glancing at an older woman that was closer to him. She was one of his more trusted confidants, having recently moved up the hierarchy after losing his wife.

She was 5 feet, 5 inches tall, had dark brown hair, white pupil-less eyes, a perpetually stern face, and wore a tan knee-length kimono.

"Carry on my legacy. I may be gone, but my teachings live on in the main family. Don't let Hiashi tear out our heart." He sternly commanded.

Silently, she returned a dutiful nod, accepting the task.

Hiashi's angered eyes once again narrowed in suspicion. Those reactions weren't normal. Not to mention his father's immediate aids, none of his faction reacted. Rather, at most, they were looking at him as one would look at a clan-less genin trying to beat a jonin.

Still, he had work to do and continuing this meeting would be pointless. Regardless of their stance, there was nothing the main branch could do. Their means of control were gone, and he would make sure to remove any legal power they had in short order.

"Escort him outside the compound. The ANBU are already waiting." He commanded, prompting two clansmen behind him to move forward and apprehend Taiyo.

Taiyo, without resisting, got on his knees with hands raised, showing his surrender.

What made Hiashi nervous though was the unfaltering power he felt from the man's eyes. Even if the traitor was surrendering, Hiashi had a distinct feeling that it wasn't over. Not by a long shot.

(Later, shortly before the Uchiha Rebellion)

It was evening. The sky was dyed with a hue of yellows, oranges, and reds, setting a beautiful scene over Konoha.

In the Hyuga Clan, families gathered in a large formal dining room. They sat at small dinner tables, talking amongst themselves, and eating their meals as servants moved from table to table, making sure everyone was served. Unlike earlier, the clan wasn't divided between two sections, but were instead mixed. Well, the groups sitting at specific tables were still exclusive, but the tables themselves were mixed. It wasn't by choice of course; the tables had small sheets of paper denoting which branch sat there, but it was a start to encourage integration.

Resulting from the arrest of his father, Hiashi called for a clan dinner to address the clan in a formal setting and give a visual representation of his commitment to change the clan's culture.

Hinata's gaze swiveled around the room, taking in the site of everyone talking amongst themselves. Even if it was forced, there were no longer two separate groups. Instead, there were two factions within the same clan with the same privileges. No longer did one group hide shackles behind their headbands. Instead, everyone displayed their foreheads freely, proudly.

It was marvelous. Just seeing it, even in its forced state, brought tears to her eyes. After all, just a year ago, she believed this sight to be impossible, a dream that would always remain as such, never to become reality.

Still, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. While the former Branch family members talked happily amongst themselves, content with the changing tide of the clan. The Main family members were a lot more subdued. She couldn't make out a lot of their conversations, but she could hear grumbles amongst them, complaints of Hiashi's audacity. Rarely were their words absent of the baleful venom spawned from their malignant pride and hedonism.

Truly, their clan had a long way to go.

Suddenly, she felt a tugging on her shirt, alerting her to her youngest sibling's need.

"Big Sister." Hanabi pensively called.

Gently smiling, Hinata replied, "Yes Hanabi?"

"Do you really think father's plan is going to work? The main family doesn't look very happy." She asked uncertainly.

Hinata leaned back, interlocking her fingers on her lap as she contemplated her answer, wanting to make sure to word it in the nicest way possible. While her sister deserved the truth, proper delivery was important.

After a few seconds of pondering, she finished putting together an explanation she was satisfied with.

Turning to her sister, she gently replied, "It'll be slow. They just lost a lot of their power. Their entire self-image was built on their inborn superiority over the branch. With these changes, their value system will need to be rebuilt from the ground up."

Her eyes, shifted to a Branch table, specifically focusing on the joyful conversation between a family recently freed of the caged bird seal. Looking at them, her gentle smile turned to a frown.

She continues, "On the other hand, while the branch looks happy now, they were just freed of their bonds. While that may be the case though, their resentment hasn't disappeared. Their hatred for the main family who oppressed them for generations won't just disappear overnight."

Turning back to her sister, Hinata flinched when she noticed her sister's now-disheartened expression.

Bringing a weak, unconvincing smile to her face, she tried cheering her up.

"H-hey, cheer up. Just because it won't be easy, doesn't mean it can't be done. It'll just take time is all. I-I m-mean look at Neji; we're finally sitting at the same table as a family."

In her haste to cheer Hanabi up, her normal decorum faltered. Catching herself, Hinata internally cursed herself for stuttering, having thought she'd gotten over such a bad habit.

Hanabi glanced at her bowl-cut-styled cousin and had to hold in her giggles.

Although he'd taken off the green jumpsuit, his hair shockingly hadn't returned to normal and had become too solid to cut, so he was stuck with it. Since he returned from his mission, the two of them had noticed a massive change in him. His terrible hair cut was one thing, but even stranger was the change in his attitude. Although he still carried the constant scowl he was known for. When someone insulted him, he'd give them a thumbs up and thank them for the compliment, a massive departure from his previous habit of silently taking it and stewing on his hatred. While the change wasn't unwelcome, it was certainly… unsettling.

Turning back to her sister, she smilingly replied, "You're right. Thanks, Hinata." Earning her a relieved sigh from her sister.

"Of course, Hanabi."

Suddenly, Hinata noticed movement in her peripheral. Their father had stood up. "Oh, it looks like father's about to start."

With that, the two of them turned their attention to him, along with everyone else in the room.

Quickly, the noise previously filling the room died down to a whisper, letting Hiashi know he had everyone's attention.

"Thank you all for coming everyone." Hiashi stated, his gaze on a slow swivel to address the audience. "Tonight, we celebrate the end of a dark age for our clan. Under the previous generation, we bound our family members as slaves, crushing their free will under the guise of safeguarding our clan's bloodline. Not only wasn't it the right answer…" He paused, taking a deep breath. "It was our greatest sin. We fostered a culture that turned the blessing we received from our ancestors into the greatest of curses. Sealing our brothers. Sealing our children. They are all sins that has stained our-"

Suddenly, Hiashi's speech was interrupted as seals spread along the walls, covering the entirety of the room.

"What!?" "What's going on!?" "Who dares!?" Members of the branch cried out in fear and outrage as everyone in the room was effectively trapped.

Quickly, they began running through the hand signs to activate their dojutsu. While the more proficient members didn't need them to activate it, most of the Hyuga present, especially in the branch family, hadn't reached that point. Rather, they spent all their time mastering the gentle fist, since Byakugan activation speed wasn't normally tested.

Unfortunately, distracted as they were, they failed to notice the snakes in the grass.

In quick motion, over half of the adult main family members lunged at their branch brethren, launching fatal strikes at their organs. Having not bothered to activate their Byakugan to perform the act, their attacks were mostly successful. Only if they weren't in range did the main family members activate their dojutsu.

(With Hinata)

Quickly regaining her bearing, Hinata glanced toward her father, seeking his input. When their eyes met, his hardened and shifted toward the crowd. No words were needed. The events before them were clear. As such, their course of action was as well.

Without wasting another second, Hiashi lunged forward, striking one rebelling Hyuga straight in the heart. The man had been running in their direction, so he was first. In quick succession, Hiashi progressed through the crowd, trying to save as many branch members as he could, while killing any who moved in his daughters' direction.

Seeing her father's resolve, Hinata's eyes closed, her fists tightening in frustration.

'This… This is madness! Family killing family!? Why!?' She mentally screamed, outraged that it would come to this. She expected the previous main family to take a tough stance in clan politics, but she hadn't expected this! When Taiyo surrendered, she had thought that was it.

'Why would they go so far!?'

Suddenly, her female cousin's face came to mind, reminding her of her previous failure, a time when her lack of action caused her family to suffer.

'Never again!' Her eyes shot open, 'Byakugan!', activating her dojutsu without needing hand signs.

Quickly, her eyes locked onto the attacking members, tracking their movements and pinpointing their vitals. She hardened her heart, dreading what she needed to do next.

"Hanabi." She called out, not taking her focus off the people she would slay. On the contrary, she continued to gather additional targets.

Hanabi, who was currently shivering in place, looked over at her sister. While she was excellent in her spars, this was a rebellion, a coup d'état. It was far beyond anything she'd even begun to emotionally prepare for.

"Y-es b-big sister?" Hanabi stutteringly asked.

"Stand behind me. I'll protect you." Hinata sternly stated, prompting Hanabi to quickly move behind her.

'Defensive Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palm Burst! '

Taking a step back, Hinata's hands burst forward, releasing short needle-like chakra blades in a cone.

Each blade flew with pin-point precision; each blade took out a single organ. Rather than aiming for chakra points, she aimed for the lungs, heart, brain, penis, major arteries, or anything else that would incapacitate someone. Each person got two and her shots never missed.

A few main family members noticed the incoming projectiles, performing eight trigrams rotations to counter them, but it was only a few. Despite the Byakugan's strong omni-directional sight, most clansmen simply didn't train to search for senbon-sized needles while in the middle of close combat. Of course, if they weren't, they would likely have seen it. Unfortunately, they were and that was enough to focus their vision.

One, two, four, eight, sixteen hits. In short succession eight Hyuga were clutching new wounds or dead and the number was only rising. That ones that didn't die immediately, were hit by a Hyuga near them, ending them there.

Hiashi, despite being in the heat of battle, was shocked at his daughter's achievement. He hadn't ever seen her practice a technique like that. A ranged version of their gentle fist was something they'd been trying to create for years. To think his daughter of all people would achieve such a thing behind everyone' back!

He wasn't mad or even confused why she would keep it a secret. After all, part of the seal chaining him down compelled him to reveal any new jutsu he was aware of to his father. Obviously, if circumstances hadn't worked out in her favor, his daughter was clearly prepared for drastic action, not that he disagreed.

And whatever training she had been doing had clearly paid off. After all, her strikes were faster than his and she hadn't even taken a full step since this coup began!

Suddenly, a strong stream of condensed air flew through the sky, slamming against Hinata, and launching her and her sister against the wall.

"Girls!" Hiashi shouted with concern.

Turning his focus back to the one who did it, he noticed a thin elder, his father's cousin of the same generation. The man's expression was stern, holding his hands behind his hunched back. He was 5 foot, 5 inches tall and wore an olive Haori over a white kimono. He should be Toma Hyuga if he remembered correctly.

"Children should learn to stay out of adult business." Toma firmly stated.

"And elders should learn when to leave clan business to the next generation." Hiashi firmly rebuked.

Toma shook his head.

"Only when the future is bright can we step back." His eyes narrowed. "But when it's bleak…" Suddenly, triangular-shaped markings spread across Toma's body from the base of his spine. Once spread, they connected to each other and sank beneath the skin.

With this, his body expanded with thick muscle, growing a foot in height in addition to what he gained from straightening out his posture. His elderly features regressed decades, returning his form back to that of someone in their mid-thirties. His once grey hair once again took on a shining onyx, while his skin, rather than returning to its former bronze, turned to a light gray. Strangely, two long horns sprouted from his temples, growing six inches. Finally, his transformation was complete, an oni-like man stood proud before the clan head. Despite the complexities of the transformation though, it only took a few seconds to complete.

"We will step in and assume control. That is the way of eld. We will reclaim OUR legacy from you disobedient descendants. We will NOT let you pervert the fruits of OUR sacrifice!"

"What… have you… done." Hiashi disbelievingly asked, horrified that the man would go this far.

"What I should have done all those years ago." The elder imperiously stated. Then, as if recalling something funny, a grin rose to his face. "Oh, and just so you know, we're all trapped here. Regardless of who wins, you can be assured that every Hyuga outside this room not in line with Taiyo's beliefs… will die."

Hiashi's eyes widened in horror.

Gritting his teeth, he shouted, "Are you insane!? You would go that far!?"

Toma looked impassively.

"This is what you lack. The will to destroy, to burn it all down, and rebuild it… anew…" His steady voice trailed off.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed, resolved to eliminate the threat before him and find a way out.

"You are the ones who cling to the past. You are the ones would refuse to move forward." Hiashi replied, taking a gentle fist stance. "That said, regardless of ideology, eliminating you here must come first."

A smug grin came to Toma's face as he too took his stance.

"Enough talk. Let our palms speak on our behalf."