Chapter 150: Ninety Years of Trials and Tribulations
A raging inferno lit up the night sky, thick smoke curling like dragons as the ornate buildings went up in flames.
Severed limbs, blood, agonized screams, and angry shouts.
It was a night painted crimson.
"Ryusuke! Get inside!" a one-armed man clad in armor pushed a boy into a hidden room.
"Don't come out until reinforcements arrive!"
"Father…" The boy shouted desperately, "Let me fight with you! I'm not afraid to die!"
"Don't be foolish, my son."
The one-armed man turned back, his left eye bleeding profusely, the Byakugan gouged out by the enemy. Despite his gruesome appearance, the long-lost leader of the Hyuga clan smiled at his child.
"It is a father's shame to let his son die alongside him."
With a thud, the hidden room's door closed tightly.
Ryusuke pounded the walls madly.
His fists bled, bones fractured, but the boy's resolve was as unyielding as iron, unaffected by the pain.
It was unclear how much time had passed before the hidden room's door suddenly opened.
Reinforcements had still not arrived. The clan's main forces had been lured away. The once lavish Hyuga estate had become a ruin, with only scattered enemies collecting their spoils.
Lying in the distance was his father, long dead, his eyes gouged out.
"Ahhhhh—"
Ryusuke bit down on a kunai, like a wild beast that had lost its mind.
No one noticed the faint glint in the boy's eyes.
---
Fifteen years later.
"Ryusuke-sama." A humble branch family man said respectfully.
"We're almost at the battlefield."
"Hmm." Ryusuke Hyuga chewed on a new blade of grass, savoring its sweetness.
"Hey, Yuuichi, don't be so formal. We grew up together. All this 'sama' nonsense is too distant."
"Ryusuke-sama." Roku bent down meticulously.
"The main and branch families are different."
"Damn you…" Ryusuke started to curse but stopped halfway.
'Forget it. No point bullying an honest man. Yuuichi is too rigid. It's just us here; why be so formal? Ah, he is getting married soon. I hope his kids aren't as stiff as him…'
While Ryusuke was lost in thought, the dense forest below suddenly erupted in a cacophony of battle cries.
"They're here!" Ryusuke's veins bulged, his chakra surging.
"Those two kids... they're the monsters the clan spoke of?"
"Yes, Ryusuke-sama." Yuuichi nodded.
"One is a Senju, the other an Uchiha. Both ten years old."
Ryusuke's eyes flashed with killing intent.
"They are indeed powerful. For the Hyuga's sake, I may need to…"
"Ryusuke-sama, those two are the eldest sons of their respective clan leaders, Killing them will provoke the Senju and Uchiha's wrath. Besides, the day after tomorrow is when you become clan leader. Please reconsider "
"...Hmph." Ryusuke suppressed his urge to act.
"Didn't expect you to have such foresight."
"You flatter me, Ryusuke-sama." Yuuichi remained humble.
"These foresight were taught by my uncle, the one you just cursed."
"Hahaha, Yuuichi, I knew you had a devious side… hahaha…"
---
Thirty-one years later (Year 1 of Konoha)
"So? This is our village!"
A man wearing ceremonial robes laughed heartily, his long hair flowing down to his waist, eyes shining with a light that outshone the sun.
The leaders of the major clans stood behind him. Even the most battle-hardened warriors couldn't help but feel a softening in their hearts.
—This is Konoha, a place where their descendants can grow up in peace.
Ryusuke stared blankly at the Hokage building. Years of slaughter had left his body on the brink of collapse, often wracked with pain at night. But now, none of that mattered.
Since the night his father died, a desire for peace had taken root deep within his heart, and it was finally realized.
"Ryusuke." A voice called from behind him.
Without turning, he knew who it was.
"...Madara, what is it?"
"Come spar with me tonight. If it's you, you might entertain me for a while."
"Oh? I thought only Hashirama mattered to you."
"He's being too busy being the Hokage now,, and… you're half as good as him."
"Hahaha…"
"By the way, what happened to that branch family guard of yours? His Revolving Heaven was decent."
"He's dead." Ryusuke instinctively clenched his fists, muttering "damn you" but refraining from an outright confrontation.
Yuuichi had died three years ago.
Killed by… the Sharingan.
---
Sixty-one years later (Year 30 of Konoha)
"Hide—"
The coffin wrapped in green vines disappeared into the rain.
Ryusuke lowered his eyes, letting the raindrops slide down his face.
Madara had left the village and was killed at the Valley of the End.
Hashirama's health had declined rapidly upon his return and he passed away last night, given a grand funeral as the Hokage.
'In the end, you two young guys went before me…' Ryusuke thought, turning to meet the eyes of his clansmen.
In those white eyes, ambition and fervor burned.
The God of Shinobi was dead, and the man with the fearsome eyes was buried at the Valley of the End.
No shinobi stronger than Ryusuke existed anymore.
The title of Second Hokage, apart from Ryusuke, who else would have the guts to claim the position?
Rumor had it the First favored Tobirama Senju… Ha, what a joke. Being a shinobi is about who's stronger, isn't it?
The future of wielding power loomed in the minds of the Hyuga clan.
But no one expected that this legendary shinobi would leave the village the night Hashirama was buried.
Before departing, he left only one sentence for his clan.
"For an old relic of the Warring States like myself, the only suitable place is the grave."
---
Eighty-nine years and eleven months later (Year 58 of Konoha)
The now decrepit Ryusuke stared at the misty sphere before him, his eyes glimmering gold.
Faintly, he smelled the scent of the Shikkotsu Forest.
"Strange… is this related to the slugs?"
He moved his fingers, feeling the sudden surge of chakra and ocular power.
Even stranger.
"Hm, a little action before I die. Let's see that restless caged bird…"
---
Ninety years later (Present)
"I am no one's slave."
The clear voice of the branch family boy reached his ears, and Ryusuke lay frozen.
The ninety-year-old man sensed that the caged bird before him was a shinobi like no other, those pure white eyes destined to turn the color of a sage's one day, spreading fire across the world.
'Damn you, Yuuichi, you devious man…'
Ryusuke thought, as his body began to disintegrate.
From skin, to blood vessels, to bones, to every cell.
Chakra was not omnipotent.
Death was consuming Ryusuke's body.
The old man endured the pain, looking at the branch family boy, a faint smile on his lips.
"According to the rules of the Warring States, you have the right to dispose of my body. This old man's body will completely disintegrate, but these eyes still hold some sage essence. Do with them as you will."
"Understood." Ryusuke seemed to sigh.
"I promise, these eyes will see the Hyuga clan's final… conclusion."
"Alright, let me die knowing…" The old man hesitated, his body disintegrating faster, before finally speaking.
"Cough, cough, that girl from the Senju clan earlier, she's Hashirama's granddaughter, right? What's your relationship with her?"
"Sensei and student."
"Nonsense! You know what I mean. Have you two… made a lifelong commitment?"
"...Not yet."
"Not yet, huh… you don't seem like the type to speak carelessly. Does that mean it's a sure thing?"
"…"
"Well done!" The old man patted his thigh in excitement, his muscles and skin tearing open, but he seemed unaware, laughing loudly.
"Hashirama must be over the moon. Wood Release, huh? So what? His precious granddaughter is still taken by a Hyuga boy!"
"When I get to the pure land, I'll have a drink with him, hahaha…"
The old man's vision blurred, darkness rapidly engulfing everything.
In the final moments before his consciousness faded, images flashed in his mind.
His father's bloodied back, Yuuichi's honest face, Hashirama's hearty laugh, Madara's proud Sharingan… and finally, the bright, pure eyes of the branch family boy.
Ninety years of trials, ninety years of tribulations, starting his shinobi career with vengeance, leaving the world in triumphant laughter.
What a… remarkable life.
(End of Chapter)