Chapter 25: Favored by Fate?
The night air carried the chill of winter.
Huff huff~
Neji's head hung low, arms wrapped around his knees, his long black hair obscuring his face.
Despite his father's constant counseling, he still didn't understand, didn't understand the meaning behind the [Caged Bird]'s existence.
Was it to protect the Byakugan?
Then why didn't the Uchiha clan have a [Caged Bird]?
"The Uchiha are a pack of mad dogs. If a Sharingan is stolen, they will mobilize the entire clan's power to kill the thief."
His father once said the Uchiha clan lacked etiquette, their personalities violent and unruly.
But...
The underground black market had once issued bounties for the Sharingan.
Upon hearing this, the previous Uchiha clan head brutally killed all the thieves and crippled the head of the black market.
Although he later received condemnations from the Konoha leadership and the black market, those were merely ineffectual displays of impotent rage.
And since then, bounties for the Sharingan never appeared in the underground black market again.
The Uchiha could use a tough attitude and powerful strength to deter all covetous gazes.
So why couldn't the Hyūga, also a powerful Konoha clan, do the same?
If a Byakugan was stolen, then mobilize the entire clan's power to retrieve it and kill the thief.
If the clan's power wasn't enough, then mobilize the entire village's power.
Isn't the very purpose of Konoha's existence to protect its residents from harm?
Perhaps protecting the Byakugan was one reason for the Caged Bird.
But those branch family ninja killed by the Caged Bird curse seal – should they die so silently, killed by their own people without any dignity?
What wrong did they do?
Why didn't the village intervene?
Neji didn't believe the Third Hokage and the other Konoha higher-ups were unaware of this.
But those people who harmed their own comrades...
...they still sat on the backs of the branch family, accepting everything with peace of mind, euphemistically calling it: "Fate."
Various chaotic thoughts constantly surfaced in Neji's mind.
In a daze, the masked man's meaningful words echoed in his ears again.
"Neji, the value of life cannot be measured by quantity."
He had personally seen how that masked man used just a few lines of a song to instantly trap his father in a genjutsu.
And the words the masked man spoke before he fainted had also caused him some confusion and bewilderment.
But now he knew...
His father wanted to die in place of Hyūga Hiashi, his uncle and the main family head.
Using his own life in exchange for Konoha's peace, and also...
...a moment of freedom.
"Father, is your sacrifice truly worth it?"
Freedom... since when did it need to be exchanged for?
And since when did sacrificing one's life become necessary for acknowledgment?
"Is the value of one life truly less than that of hundreds or thousands?"
Recalling the villagers' strange gazes and malicious words,
The negative emotions within Neji, the desire to shatter everything, grew increasingly intense.
He hated the main family members who were like parasites, and he despised this weak village.
"If Konoha needs to sacrifice individual lives to gain forgiveness from other villages, then what meaning is there for such a weak and easily bullied village to exist?"
...
And in a place he couldn't see, in the shadows beneath a courtyard tree.
"Neji..."
Hyūga Hizashi's expression was incredibly complex.
His worst fears had come to pass.
And it seemed even worse than he had imagined.
If this continued, Neji would inevitably walk down that rebellious path.
"But, the lives of the caged birds have always been held in the hands of the main family members."
The outcome of resistance is either bloody defeat or complete destruction.
Just as Hizashi was about to step out...
"Even though you survived, you don't seem very happy now."
A familiar voice suddenly appeared beside him, making Hizashi freeze, the fine hairs on his body standing on end.
He turned to look.
Although missing an arm, it was indeed that masked man.
"Why have you appeared here again?!"
Is Konoha a sieve? Anyone who wants can just walk in?
And this is the Hyūga compound...
"Didn't I say?"
Menma's tone held amusement: "We would meet again soon."
"Meet again?"
Hizashi's brow furrowed tightly: "Who exactly are you, and what is your purpose in repeatedly contacting me?"
As he spoke, veins bulged around his eyes.
Hizashi had already decided.
No matter what this guy wanted to say, he had to stop him at all costs.
Someone who could silently enter Konoha and the Hyūga compound posed too great a potential threat.
But Menma completely ignored his vigilance, stating calmly: "Didn't I tell you? I want to release the birds in the cage."
As his voice fell, he formed a seal with his one hand, and a ripple emanated from his body.
"Ah!!"
The next second, it felt like a hand had forcefully plunged into his head and stirred it around twice.
Intense pain made Hizashi cry out involuntarily, clutching his head as he fell to the ground.
The sudden cry attracted Neji's attention.
He lifted his small, tear-streaked face and looked towards Menma and his father.
"Father! You..."
Thump!
Before he could say more, Menma flickered, instantly appearing behind him and knocking him out with a palm strike.
"At this hour, little children should be sleeping."
Menma smiled and stepped aside, letting the boy fall to the ground.
Hatred is indeed a motivator for progress.
But being blinded by hatred is not a good thing.
Let the brat sleep it off and calm down.
Just then, Hizashi, having only suffered a brief, intense pain, came back to his senses.
"How is that possible!!"
Hizashi's expression was pained, his features twisted, but filled more with terror and shock: "You... you can actually use the [Caged Bird] Cursed Seal?!'"
Main family?!
No!!
An outsider who can use the Caged Bird!!
This means an outsider holds the lives of the branch family!!
What kind of joke is this?!
The method to use the Caged Bird is known only to the successive Great Elders and Clan Heads, never even recorded on scrolls. It's absolutely impossible for it to have been leaked.
"Whether you want my Byakugan or want to use this to threaten me for information, I won't let you succeed!"
Saying this, Hyūga Hizashi was about to gather chakra and surge it towards the Caged Bird seal in his brain.
The Caged Bird Cursed Seal has a self-protection mechanism.
If the person branded with the seal attempts to forcefully break its restrictions, it will trigger immediately, destroying the Byakugan and the brain.
"Foolish. Before the user of the cursed seal, even death is a luxury for you caged birds."
Sensing the rampaging chakra within Hizashi, Menma formed another seal with his single hand, instantly making Hizashi cry out again.
The chakra he had gathered became disordered and dispersed.
"Pathetic creature. Did you really think you survived because you were favored by fate?"
Menma looked down at Hizashi beneath him and sneered: "Someone who constantly talks about the curse of fate would also believe that fate would cast a concerned glance your way?"
Survived...
Hizashi's pupils trembled. He bit down hard, saying incredulously: "You!! You're the one who appeared on the Valley of the Moon battlefield?!'"
(End of Chapter)