Inside the Hinata Main Family's council hall, after the official from the Daimyos Mansion left, the oppressive pressure that had been weighing down on them had not yet dissipated, and the suppressed rage instantly erupted.
"This is going too far!" Hyuga Yūki slammed his hand on the low table, making the teacups hum. "What is he? Just a lackey of the Feudal Lord! How dare he dictate our Hyuga Clan's traditions!"
"That 'ugly green pattern'... How dare he say that!" Another elder was so angry his beard was trembling. "This is a desecration of the Hyuga Clan's glory! It's a betrayal of the First Ancestor!"
Curses rose and fell, the elders were all filled with righteous indignation, as if they were about to rush to the Daimyos Mansion to demand an explanation. But they all knew in their hearts that this was nothing more than impotent fury.
Everyone's gaze ultimately converged on Hyuga Hiashi, who was silently seated at the head of the table.
"Hiashi, what do you think? This matter cannot be left at that!"
"That's right! We must petition the Feudal Lord. It's that brat Uzumaki Naruto who's behind this, trying to use the Feudal Lord's hand to divide our Hyuga Clan!"
Hyuga Hiashi raised his eyelids, scanning the agitated clan elders, his face devoid of expression.
He picked up his teacup, blew away the foam, and spoke in a low voice that nevertheless reached everyone's ears clearly.
"I think these are actually the Feudal Lord's ideas, and Naruto merely added fuel to the fire. So, since it's the Feudal Lord's will, it will be difficult for us to defy it, won't it?"
One sentence brought the clamor in the entire council hall to an abrupt halt.
Hyuga Yūki, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, suddenly stood up, pointing at Hiashi's nose, his finger trembling with anger: "What do you mean? Hiashi! Are you really going to meekly obey and remove the curse mark from that boy Neji? Have you forgotten your identity as the Clan Head!"
"That's right, Hiashi! You're too weak!"
"We cannot just surrender like this! Even if we have to remove it, we must find a way! We can implant a more covert seal while removing the Caged Bird, making him think he is free, but his life and death are still in our hands!" an elder suggested sinisterly.
This idea immediately garnered a lot of agreement.
"Right! Let's do that!"
Hyuga Hiashi looked at them, at these clansmen whose faces were contorted in order to uphold the so-called "rules," and merely shook his head, saying nothing.
A complex light, incomprehensible to the others, flashed in his eyes. It contained weariness, sorrow, and a hint of... resolve.
These people were still living in the past. They simply didn't understand that times had changed.
That night, the moon was as cool as water.
Hyuga Hiashi paced alone in the backyard of his mansion, the arguments from the day still echoing in his ears.
He looked up at the old tree in the courtyard. Beneath the tree, two small figures seemed to be chasing and playing.
Those were young Hinata and Hanabi.
According to clan tradition, one of them would inevitably be branded with the Caged Bird in the future, becoming a branch family member to protect the other.
No matter which one it was, this thought was like a knife, carving into his heart as a father.
Before, he attributed this pain to fate, to the clan's legacy. He forced himself to accept it because there was no other choice.
But now, Naruto's appearance was like a giant stone thrown into this stagnant water.
He used the most crude and unreasonable method to tell everyone—rules can be broken.
Hyuga Hiashi's hands were tightly clenched beneath his sleeves.
He could no longer wait.
The next morning, before dawn.
Naruto was at "Root's" Training Ground Three, looking at the various data flickering on the light screen.
Zero's figure appeared silently: "Political Commissar, Hyuga Hiashi requests an audience."
Naruto didn't turn around: "Let him in."
A moment later, Hyuga Hiashi walked in. He had changed out of his elaborate Clan Head attire and was wearing simple training clothes, appearing less imposing and more haggard.
"What exactly are your plans for Neji?" Hiashi asked directly, his gaze fixed on Naruto's back.
Naruto turned around and looked at him calmly: "To train him into an excellent warrior. A warrior with free will and powerful strength, not a tool that is bound."
This sentence precisely struck Hyuga Hiashi's heart.
He was silent for a long time, and then his tense shoulders slumped, his voice carrying a deep sense of powerlessness.
"I am a failed elder."
He wasn't looking at Naruto, as if he were talking to himself.
"I have two daughters, Hinata and Hanabi. According to the rules, one of them will inevitably be branded with the curse mark. I cannot accept it; no matter who it is, I cannot accept it. But I am also the Hyuga Clan Head, and I must uphold this tradition that I also hate."
"Your appearance has shown me another possibility."
Naruto listened to his confession, unsurprised. Any human with normal emotions could not calmly accept such a system that harms their kin.
"The Caged Bird was wrong from the start," Naruto's voice was cold. "It maintains loyalty through fear and establishes hierarchy through pain. This in itself is an extremely inefficient and constantly self-consuming decaying model. It has caused you to lose too many clansmen who could have become strong, and it has caused the strength of the entire Hyuga Clan to continuously weaken in meaningless internal strife."
Hyuga Hiashi listened, a bitter smile on his face.
He knew that his visit today was less about questioning and more about seeking a sliver of psychological comfort.
He had no other choice.
"I have one condition," Hyuga Hiashi looked up, his eyes pleading. "I hope you can help me completely abolish the Caged Bird system in the future. Let the Hyuga Clan no longer have a distinction between Main Family and branch family."
He paused, then added: "And, treat Neji well."
Naruto looked at him, thinking for a moment.
He didn't think Hyuga Hiashi cared much about Neji; it was just that when the restraint of the Caged Bird came to his own family, he felt the pain.
"One Hyuga Neji is not enough."
"What?" Hyuga Hiashi didn't react.
"Whether it's the Bolter or the sniper rifle I gave Neji, combined with your Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, they are an excellent match." In Naruto's eyes, there was a light that Hyuga Hiashi couldn't understand, an excitement a general feels when seeing a source of troops.
"I hope to have a deep cooperation with the Hyuga Clan."
"Absorb more of your outstanding clansmen into 'Root.' I will give them the best equipment, the most rigorous training, and make them the top combat force of Konoha. Of course, the premise is that they must be free."
Hyuga Hiashi was so shocked by this proposal that he couldn't speak for a long time.
To tie the entire Hyuga Clan to Naruto's war chariot?
This... this was too crazy!
"This... this matter still needs long-term deliberation..." he stammered.
Naruto, however, just looked at him indifferently.
"You can see this as a gamble on your future. You can think about it more."
Naruto turned around, leaving him with his back.
"However... the outcome will not be any different because of your hesitation."
That night, in a secret room of the Hinata Main Family, unknown to others.
Neji sat cross-legged, his expression calm.
Hyuga Hiashi stood before him, his expression complex.
"Take off your forehead protector," Hiashi commanded.
Neji complied.
Hiashi bit his finger, quickly formed hand seals, and then pressed his blood-stained palm onto Neji's head.
Complex incantations spread from his palm, covering Neji's entire back.
"It will be very painful next. Endure it."
Hiashi began to channel Chakra, inversely deciphering the curse mark etched deep in Neji's soul.
"Ugh..."
Neji let out a muffled groan, the veins on his forehead bulging, his body trembling violently. It was a pain ten times more intense than when the curse mark activated, as if his entire soul was being forcibly torn and stripped away.
He gritted his teeth, not uttering a single scream.
Hyuga Hiashi watched his pained expression, a hint of unbearable sadness in his eyes, but his movements did not falter.
While maintaining the jutsu, he spoke in an extremely hoarse voice.
"Neji, I'm sorry."
"As the Clan Head, I failed to protect your father, and I failed to give you a fair childhood. I... I was derelict."
"I ask for your forgiveness."
Sweat trickled from Neji's temples, dripping onto the ground. He kept his eyes tightly shut, not answering.
After an unknown amount of time, the heartbreaking pain receded like a tide.
Neji felt a release on his forehead, as if an invisible shackles had been completely severed at that moment.
He slowly opened his eyes, and the entire world seemed to have changed.
He instinctively raised his hand and touched his forehead. The skin was still smooth, but beneath the skin, the feeling of being bound and suppressed had completely vanished.
He was free.
At this moment, he felt no anticipated ecstasy, but a mix of emotions.
The cage was finally broken.
Should he then be grateful to the person who put him in the cage in the first place?
"The curse mark has been removed," Hyuga Hiashi withdrew his hand, his voice tinged with weariness. He looked at Neji, his gaze solemn.
"Do not publicize this matter. Give the clan, and yourself, time to adapt."
Neji looked at the man before him, who was both his uncle and the Clan Head he loathed, at the genuine or feigned guilt in his eyes. He remained silent for a long time and finally, just nodded gently.
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