Hyuga Aokawa's fingers tapped the table unconsciously, his brow furrowed.
How exactly did the Main House accurately trigger the cursed seal inside the Branch House members' brains from a distance?
He recalled the original story where Hyuga Hiashi used the Caged Bird Seal as a means to punish Hyuga Hizashi.
The fact that the intensity of the activation could be controlled proved that the hand seals used and the cursed seal in the brain were connected in real-time.
He suddenly thought of his own method of detonating Chakra needles.
But there was a prerequisite: those were his own Chakra, which he could naturally sense.
However, once the "Caged Bird Seal" cursed seal was carved, it became an independent technique.
It was impossible for the Main House to divide a strand of Chakra to connect to every Branch House member's seal; that was too absurd, and the Chakra consumption would be a bottomless pit.
There had to be some more efficient and hidden "signal" mechanism.
Signal... A word flashed through Hyuga Aokawa's mind.
Genjutsu.
What was the essence of Genjutsu?
Using Yin Release Chakra to interfere with the target's Chakra flow, thereby affecting their five senses and spirit, or even directly acting on the brain's nerves.
As soon as this thought appeared, it was like the clouds parting to see the sun.
Could the activation of "Caged Bird Seal" be a very special type of "signal-based Genjutsu" targeting the brain's nerves?
The Main House would emit a unique Yin Release Chakra vibration through a specific "seal" or command.
Meanwhile, the cursed seal in the Branch House's brain would act like a precise receiver.
Once it received a "signal" of this specific frequency, the cursed seal would activate on its own.
The strength of the signal would determine the intensity of the seal's activation, thus controlling the severity of the punishment.
This hypothesis almost perfectly explained all his doubts.
Hyuga Aokawa's eyes lit up.
To break the Caged Bird Seal, he first had to understand the nature of this "signal."
Another half a month passed, and Hyuga Aokawa still had no clues.
The data Orochimaru provided only covered the Caged Bird Seal itself; there was no information at all regarding the activation of the cursed seal.
But that was normal; if the method to activate the Hyuga Clan's cursed seal could be obtained by outsiders, the clan wouldn't be far from extinction.
He rubbed his somewhat groggy head and prepared to go out for some fresh air.
At the same time, he thought about where he could get some high-level Genjutsu information, especially knowledge on how Yin Release Chakra acts on the spiritual level, to see if he could gain insights by analogy.
He stood up and lifted the curtain of the Barracks.
The scene outside made him pause for a moment.
The originally solemn and tense atmosphere of the camp seemed to have thinned out quite a bit.
Many Ninjas were gathered in small groups, especially the young ones who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy, their faces carrying an unusual liveliness and blush.
Men and women, more or less, all had flowers and gifts in their hands.
"Is it... Valentine's Day?" Hyuga Aokawa wondered, having only walked a few steps.
"Aokawa... Aokawa-kun!" A slightly nervous female voice came from the side.
Hyuga Aokawa turned and saw a pretty female Ninja with a red face, holding a large pile of things as she ran quickly toward him.
"It's Haruna!" Hyuga Aokawa responded with a smile.
Since the last time he had greeted her while walking home with Hyuga Ryosuke, he had hardly run into her outside.
"Aokawa-kun, Ha-Happy Valentine's Day!" Haruna said with her head down, her face blushing.
Before Hyuga Aokawa could respond.
Haruna seemed to have mustered a lifetime of courage, quickly shoving a beautifully wrapped bouquet of flowers and a heart-shaped gift box into his arms.
"Please... please accept this!"
After saying that, she turned and ran away without looking back, her retreating figure looking very flustered.
"Eh! Hey..." Hyuga Aokawa stood there, holding a bouquet of flowers and a chocolate gift box, looking completely bewildered.
He looked at the smiling gazes coming from around him, his mind failing to process the situation for a moment.
A moment later, he sighed and picked up the flowers to examine them; they were quite exquisitely wrapped.
The wrapping paper had the words "Yamanaka Flower Shop" written on it.
The Yamanaka Family's flower shop had even expanded its business to the Front Lines?
As expected of a Family that follows closely behind the Hokage; they really get the green light.
He shook his head, tossing aside the irrelevant thoughts in his mind.
Holding the items, he continued forward, intending to take them back to his Barracks first.
Along the way, he encountered more familiar faces.
These people had all been sent to the Front Lines because they had graduated.
When many young female Ninjas saw him, their eyes lit up in unison, and then they gathered together, whispering while stealing glances at him, their cheeks flushed.
He hadn't gone much further.
"Um... Aokawa-kun!"
Two more female Ninjas mustered their courage and blocked his path from both sides.
It was the same quick shoving of gifts, the same stuttering confessions, and the same rabbit-like flight.
Along the way, Hyuga Aokawa received more and more things.
At first, he would try to call out to them, but later he simply walked on numbly.
His mind was filled with solutions for breaking the Caged Bird Seal and where to get Genjutsu materials.
By the time he headed back, his arms were full of things.
From chocolates and handmade cookies to various unknown small accessories.
Holding three bouquets of flowers and a mountain of gifts, he shuffled numbly toward his Barracks.
"Aokawa..." A clear female voice came from the Barracks entrance.
Hyuga Aokawa turned numbly; it was Kurenai Yuhi, standing there prettily with one hand behind her back.
Today, she wasn't wearing the standard combat vest for Ninjas, but a sleeveless kimono paired with a shawl; it was clear she had dressed up specially.
The white kimono fit her perfectly, accentuating her figure and outlining very full curves, while the sleeveless design revealed her fair, tender arms.
A red shawl was draped casually over her arm, and a dark brown sash was tied around her waist.
Her beautiful, smooth black hair cascaded over her shoulders.
Those iconic red eyes were now like two of the clearest rubies, with a faint smile swirling within them.
Her face wasn't heavily made up, just a touch of light makeup, yet she was stunningly beautiful.
Seeing Hyuga Aokawa turn his head, her expression softened even more, her smile widened, and her eyes curved into crescents.
The curve of her pale pink lips seemed to hold the warm light of a Konoha afternoon.
Hyuga Aokawa's eyes suddenly lit up, and his numb gaze instantly regained its spirit.
His arms tightened slightly around the gifts, and the numbness from dealing with the enthusiasm instantly vanished.
"Kurenai, why are you here?" Hyuga Aokawa turned around, a smile appearing on his face as well.
"I..." Kurenai Yuhi was about to speak when her gaze fell on Hyuga Aokawa's arms.
Those three bright, differently wrapped bouquets of flowers.
And that mountain of various gift boxes that almost buried him.
The smile on her face froze instantly: "W-Why are there so many things?"
Then she immediately realized.
In her ruby-like eyes, the faint smile was like a candle flame blown by a cold wind, quickly dimming.
The small hand clutching a gift behind her back dropped limply.
A mist quickly gathered in her eyes.
She bit her lip hard, and her right hand, which was holding the gift, suddenly lifted, as if she wanted to smash it onto the ground.
The next moment, Hyuga Aokawa's smiling voice came: "These are for you! Do you like them?
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