Kapitel 107: Chapter 107
As the flurry of punches from Tsunade's Sage Art finally ceased, the colossal wooden statue dissolved into wisps of chakra, leaving behind a scene of devastation. The ground was torn asunder, and the air was thick with dust and debris. Tsunade's breaths came heavy as she descended from her nature beast, her sage mode fading away, replaced by the weariness of battle.
Currently, Tsunade sat in the meeting room alongside the rest of the elders. It had been a few hours since the battle outside the village came to an end, her expression grave as she called for this emergency gathering to determine the fate of the remaining Hyuga clan members. Kazuki, however, had taken it upon himself to personally extract information from Kenshi. After initial probing, he discovered that Kenshi had uncovered a method to evolve the Byakugan into a higher form of Dojutsu using a forbidden art recorded in their clan's ancient records.
Tsunade had granted Kazuki exclusive permission to investigate the Hyuga's hidden secrets, despite some reluctance from other clans. However, no one dared to challenge Tsunade's decision, especially given the Hyuga's betrayal of the village. Tsunade's temper had yet to completely subside, adding an extra layer of tension to the proceedings.
"Tsunade, is there no way that you can spare the Hyuga main family members? I am sure you can find some sort of way to keep them in check; even a forbidden seal can be considered. I'm sure your student could come up with a solution," Hiruzen, completely garbed in his battle gear, commented nervously, exchanging glances with the previous Hyuga clan head.
"Sensei, are you asking me to let the main family who supported the Daimyo walk free after all this?" Tsunade eyed Hiruzen dangerously, then turned her gaze towards the only Hyuga present in the room: the previous clan head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi's father. Currently, Hiashi was not in the right mental state to help save the fate of the remaining Hyuga.
"Elder Hyuga, you should be grateful that I have allowed you to attend this meeting in the first place, even after what the Hyuga did. But you want to influence my decision using my sensei? Do you think I wouldn't know?" Tsunade glared at the Elder Hyuga, though he stood by her side. As a Hyuga member, he sought a way to keep the Hyuga main family members alive.
The Hyuga elder bowed his head, unwilling to meet Tsunade's gaze, and Hiruzen was his last lifeline. But Tsunade had already stopped him before the previous Hokage could support the cause.
"My decision is made. Once a clan joins the village, they are like family. One should not betray their family, especially a Shinobi. As a Hokage, I should behead every one of them like the traitors they are with my own hands. But, like I said, they are like family. So, I will give them one last chance to seek glory in death. I will permit every last Hyuga who colluded with the Daimyo faction to perform Harakiri, and this includes the ones from the branch family that followed the main branch, with no exceptions," Tsunade declared her verdict regarding the Hyuga who had betrayed the village.
"Tsunade, this... don't you think the punishment is too harsh? Your decision will cripple the Hyuga completely. That's like more than 90 percent of the main family and close to half of the branch family. And the branch family might not have followed along with their own will. Do you want to condemn them too?" Hiruzen tried to intervene, concerned that Tsunade's proposal would ruin the once-mighty clan and also there were chances that some innocent Hyuga might carry forward this resentment.
"Sensei, willingly or not, they betrayed the village, and for that, they will pay with their lives, no exceptions. I am sure the remaining Hyuga will understand my decision, this is their chance to build their clan from ground up and as long as the remaining Hyuga are willing to put their trust in me I will protect them until my last breath as a Hokage ought to do. And every remaining Hyuga member will submit themselves so their minds can be read, ensuring no rats escape. The Hyuga branch members will no longer be sealed by the Hyuga main family's juinjutsu. I will add that to the Kinjutsu list of our village," Tsunade declared her decision firmly, unwilling to compromise. She had no problem giving the remaining Hyuga extra help to grow in the future, but she was not going to let even one person escape who was related to the recent coup.
The Hyuga Elder, standing nervously by the side, couldn't help but interject, "Hokage-sama, you do know that the Hyuga's Byakugan is unlike other Dojutsu. It can be transferred over to another person without much backlash, and if you remove the cursed seal, then the remaining Hyuga might be targeted. Now, with only a dozen main family members remaining, our Hyuga cannot afford more sacrifices. The cursed mark is in place to protect the Byakugan from falling into others' hands."
The Hyuga elder knew there was no option to save the Hyuga who betrayed the village, but he wanted to see if he could keep to their tradition or, more like, if the Hyuga Elder still wanted to retain control over the remaining branch family members.
"Elder Hyuga, do you think I am unaware of what exactly the curse mark does? If you wanted to safeguard the Byakugan, why did you add a feature where you could control the fate of the branch family according to your whims? I know why, because originally, this particular juinjutsu was created with the intention of protecting the Byakugan. But then the main family, over the course of centuries, subtly altered the seal to add a feature to make the branch family completely subservient to you. Isn't that right?" Tsunade questioned; Kazuki just needed a few hours to completely dismantle the secrets of the Hyuga cursed seal. He could detect so many features added to the original seal and refined over the course of centuries. The original curse mark was simple: if someone forcibly tries to extract the Byakugan before or after death, then the curse mark completely disintegrates the eyes rendering it completely useless.
"You Hyuga were willing to enslave your own kin just so your main family could feel superior and control the branch family. Your ancestors sure would feel proud about how low the Hyuga have fallen," Tsunade condemned the Hyuga elder with sarcasm. She understood family politics, but this was beyond inhuman. They discreetly molded the branch family as if they were born to serve the main family over the course of generations by subtly making changes to the original Kinjutsu, which was meant as a form of protection for the clan members.
"I will not have such vile practices continue in my village, and you don't have to worry about the protection of the Byakugan. I have asked someone to devise a new Fuinjutsu that would serve the original purpose of safeguarding the Byakugan, and it's up to you, Hyuga, whether you want to use it or not." Tsunade offered an alternative. She knew that now, with the Hyuga weakened, there might be people out there who might covet the Byakugan. If the old elder was smart, then he would pounce on this chance because this new seal was created by Kazuki himself, and it gave no room for the main family to exploit the branch members.
"Sigh, Godaime, so when do we execute the punishment for the remaining criminals, and what are we to do about the other people that were caught causing chaos? The majority of the villagers are still confined to a certain area due to the new barrier," Koharu couldn't help but question. After the new barrier went up, everything within the village seemed to have frozen, and many still did not know about the identification tags.
"I have already assigned the ANBU to distribute the new access to everyone in the village after confirming their identities, including temporary tags for merchants and others," Tsunade continued. "We might be able to catch quite a few spies hidden amongst the civilians. From today, it's a mandate that every villager, Shinobi or not, should update their details in the village registry once every two years, and their identity tags will be reissued according to their status."
"As for the rest of those from various parties who tried to create chaos, I want to make an example out of them," Tsunade declared. "Once the new tags are distributed, we will carry out the punishment of all those captured within the central square of the village. I want the entire village to witness the punishment for those who tried chaos within my village."
"And Hokage-sama, what about the Daimyo? They will surely have gotten this news by now. I'm sure they will take precautions against us," Elder Kenji questioned. As someone from the Uchiha clan, his attachment to the village was deep, so he didn't want to leave a cancer like the Daimyo faction within the Fire Country.
Tsunade paused, her expression thoughtful. "Sensei, I want you to personally eliminate the Daimyo faction, every last one of them. I want the entire Daimyo faction eradicated root and stem, including all their Shinobi that they have nurtured. And to make sure that you don't come up with some weird ideas to spare a few who you think are innocent, I will be assigning Kakashi as your second in command. He will ensure that none are spared."
Hiruzen was shocked that his student would assign him such a mission, especially one where he would have to kill indiscriminately.
"Tsunade, I'm sure Kakashi will be able to handle..." Hiruzen started, trying to avoid such a heavy responsibility, but Tsunade quickly interjected by raising her hand, putting a stop to the old man.
"No excuses, Sensei. You have been second-guessing all my decisions since the day I became the Hokage. There is one thing you need to understand foremost: you are not a humanitarian; you are a Shinobi. A Shinobi's first instinct should be to cut down anyone who poses a threat to the village rather than seek dialogue. If you wanted to preach peace, then you should have become a monk. Consider this as your punishment for trying to go behind my back and trying to broker peace with the Hyuga Elder," Tsunade said, eyeing Hiruzen, whose face had turned ugly. She knew that if she let her sensei continue with this behavior, it might become a huge problem in the future. So she had decided to make the man do what he hated most so that he could realize the truth of who he truly was and how a Shinobi must truly act.
Deep within the Hyuga compound, amidst the wanton destruction wrought by Tsunade's Mokuton, the once serene family grounds had been turned into an overgrown forest. Only the inner area of the Hyuga clan was spared from the devastation to a certain degree. Due to the large number of captives, the Hyuga compound was being used as a makeshift prisoner area.
Inside the basement of the Hyuga compound, inhuman screams echoed through the halls. The agonizing cries had been piercing the air for almost two hours now, and no one dared venture near the said basement. Within the confines of the room, Konoha elite Jonin, who also happened to be the Leaf Village's head of the torture and interrogation department, presided over the scene.
The man overseeing the scene was none other than Ibiiki Morino, recently promoted to his new position. Ibiiki was a man of few words, always wearing a stern expression on his face. The scars that adorned his visage only added to his intimidating presence. However, the last two hours had been a revelation for him.
Initially puzzled by the Hokage's instructions to learn torture methods from a young ANBU, Ibiiki had obeyed without question, driven by his respect for the Hokage's authority. But as he entered the room, he quickly understood the purpose behind his assignment. Despite priding himself on being the village's foremost expert in torture techniques, Ibiiki realized how wrong he was. The methods demonstrated by the ANBU felt like an art form, far from the crude and gory practices he was accustomed to.
In a matter of minutes, the blind Hyuga captive began divulging secrets under the ANBU's skillful interrogation. Within the first ten minutes, Kenshi had spilled all he knew. Yet, the ANBU didn't stop there. Utilizing subordinates from his team, he imparted his innovative torture techniques to them, ensuring they too could wield this newfound proficiency.
Taking careful note of each method, Ibiiki resolved to integrate these techniques into his department, recognizing their potential to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in interrogation processes.
"Hey, Kenshi, did the pain knock you out again?" Kazuki's voice was devoid of sympathy as he administered slaps to the blind Hyuga, who endured excruciating torture. Yet, no one in the room showed an ounce of pity toward the captive. Instead, they eagerly awaited their turn to experience the novel techniques firsthand.
Kenshi had already lost consciousness more than a dozen times, but each time the little ANBU revived him, administering various medicines to keep him alive and alert. Additionally, Kenshi was given a concoction to heighten his sensitivity to pain a hundredfold. Normally, a shinobi's body would shut down in response to such extreme torment, but Kazuki had found a way to circumvent this barrier.
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