A Warrior's Path

After a bit of sparring, Ryu left Hinata to practice on her own. He was about to leave when Hinata"s voice interrupted " Ryu san, I have something to ask you? "

Ryu looked back at her, feigning confusion " oh, What is it? "

Hinata struggled to get her thoughts straight " I.. I... have a favour to ask you. "

Ryu " Go on."

Hinata " My clan heard that Ryu san can purify any Bloodline, so.. so.. they told me to ask you whether you could purity a few of the talented younger generation."

Ryu"s expression hardened as he said " That"s not a small favour you are asking. If your clan knows this ability of mine then they surely know the aftereffects of me using it.

Now why would I give up a few years of my lifespan for your clan? "

Hinata"s face showed sadness. She knew Ryu would reject her request but then she heard Ryu speak " Well.... since you are gonna be his wife in the future, I will do it, only this time. "

Hinata"s face grew red after hearing that but she was happy. If Ryu agreed to do this then what she had in mind is also possible but she hesitated.

Ryu said " Speak up. There must be something else."

Hinata had a resolute expression as she bowed and asked " Ryu san, please perform purification on a couple of branch members as well. The main family doesn"t need to know about this.

Whatever you request, I will do it.

So please, purify a few branch members!! "

She didn"t rise up and continued to bow. Ryu"s lips curled up slightly as he looked at her then from the corner of his eyes, he looked towards the forest.

Inside the forest a few people were hiding among the shadows listening to their conversation. Among them, the old man who spoke up for Hinata could be seen.

All of them were worried for Hinata, so they came to see if Ryu would agree or not, if he didn"t they all agreed to explain Hinata"s situation and plead for his help but..... never have they in their wildest dreams imagine Hinata to ask Ryu such a thing for them.

The old man leaned against a tree, tears ran across his cheek " Lady Hinata....

Not just him, the rest who were listening felt warmth as they heard Hinata.

Ryu " Guess that should be enough. I will give them a couple of days to spread it in their circle."

" Fine Hinata, I will do this for you but wait for a few days, alright."

Hinata was very happy when heard that. She literally glowed as she left. Ryu chuckled as he saw this.

" Now, Hiashi san should have finished his end. "

Ryu vanished, he teleported to room inside the Hyuuga mansion. Hiashi was waiting for him, he gave Ryu a scroll.

Hiashi " What you asked for is in there."

Ryu nodded " Then... see you in a few days."

Saying this, he disappeared. Hiashi let out a breath, he just gave Ryu a kill list for his own clan. That wasn"t an easy choice but for the clans future and for his daughters he had to do it.

*********

Few days later, Hyuuga Mansion.

A maid was doing her daily ch.o.r.es, her first job was to prepare bath for an Elder. She got to the Elders room and knocked but n.o.body answered. She continued to knock, still no reply came. Sensing something was wrong, she called the guards.

A Ninja wearing leaf standard attire with Hyuuga clan symbol quickly arrived. He pushed open the door.

The elder was lying on his bed, he seemed asleep but the guard felt something wrong. He went near the bed to check on his heartbeat. The moment he touched the body his face changed.

He yelled " Guards!!! Report to the clan leader, An Elder is dead!! "

But before he could give out the next command. The same words repeated from different locations within the mansion.

Hyuuga clan was rattled, in a single night more than thirteen elders and many clansman were found dead. They were scared, someone snuck inside, killed everyone without any form of disturbance and left. And no one was able to sense who it was, this left them frightened.

Fortunately Hiashi was a great leader, he quickly took control of the situation. He calmed his clan, then arranged the funeral of these dead people. Many people came to give their condolences, Sarutobi also came.

A few days went by, the fire from these deaths slowly died down. Hiashi called upon the rest of the family members, this time every important members from both the main and branch family were present. Neji, Hinata, Hanabi..... everyone was there.

Hiashi " It"s unfortunate for the elders to have such a sudden death but that"s not why I called all of you here. I have an important announcement to make."

Everyone listened intently, Hiashi was looking serious but at the same time relaxed. They hadn"t seen this side of Hiashi for years, so they were curious.

Hiashi scanned everyone across the room as he said " From this day forwards, Main and Branch family will merge.

There will not be any curse seals placed on branch members. Also the existing ones will be removed immediately. "

BOOOOM

Each of his words were like thunder in their ears. The branch members sat dazed. They were the most shocked ones, for years they suffered humiliation but now they were freed.

Hiashi didn"t mind there reactions, his face showed remorse as he turned to Neji and bowed " Neji, my weakness lead to the death of your father... my brother. I know words could never be enough but...

Forgive Me. "

Neji was numbed, he didn"t know how to react. He would be lying if he said he didn"t hate Hiashi but now.... he wasn"t sure what to think.

The older members however vaguely felt something wrong. The death of elders as well as Hiashi"s sudden announcement.... they all seemed planned out. If that was the case then....

Thinking upto here many who wanted to argue felt cold all over.

A branch member couldn"t help but ask " But leader, the caged bird seal can only be placed not removed."

Hiashi rea.s.sured " Don"t worry, I have asked for some help. You can come in now."

Hiashi looked towards the door and spoke. The door slid open, a boy with deep red hair with handsome features walked in.

Hiashi " This is Ryu Uzumaki. I believe none of you need any introduction about him. He is a master in seals and have already found the solution to the caged bird seal. Ryu, please. "

Ryu took over " Well..... the caged bird seal was developed in the first place so that your Byakugan won"t be stolen. But your ancestors added a bit more to it making it kind of like a slave seal. I have already found a method to remove the seal.

Also I have developed a seal to change your Bloodline slightly to make sure that only a Hyuuga or someone approved by a Hyuuga can use the Byakugan.

Simply put if your Byakugan is forcefully taken it will be useless."

Branch members were overwhelmed, they looked at their clan leader. All these years of humiliation.... they hated main family but now.....

All these people had complex emotions except Hinata. She was happy to hear what her father said, all of this seemed like a dream to her. Hiashi was always cold to his family but now.... her father apologized to Neji nii san and found a way to remove the seal.

Suddenly someone from main family spoke " Leader, if we remove the seal then won"t the branch revolt? They have had the status of a servant for years, now that status is being removed they will act against us.

Please reconsider, this may affect our clan"s future. "

Branch members were infuriated. They were about to speak when Hiashi spoke " If they do then that is my fate and I will accept that."

Hinata stuttered as she spoke, usually she would be too afraid to speak in meetings like this " They... they won"t. Elder and others are kind. "

The old elder and others trembled when Hinata spoke. They had the idea to go against the main family if the curse seal was lifted but when they heard Hinata speak, they faltered.

Ryu helped, he looked coldly towards main family " Hey you, if you keep speaking I will kill you myself. As for the branch members....."

Ryu turned his focus towards Hinata then towards branch members as he said " If your actions hurt people who really care for you then ask yourself this, are you any better? "