Hizashi sat alone in the room, his eyes closed tightly, as if he was consciously preventing himself from seeing something.
Under the setting sun, the dusk spread infinitely, covering the entire room, making it more and more dark.
"Father, what are you thinking about? Did you encounter any problem?"
The seven-year-old Neji had just finished school. Logically speaking, he should continue to train for a period of time at this time. Then, after dinner, he would finish the homework he left for school and could go to bed to rest.
However, the smart Neji found something unusual.
As the family head of the branch family, Father was too dull at this time.
He didn't even turn on the lights in the room.
Neji walked in and sat respectfully opposite Hizashi.
During the entire process, he had been extremely well-behaved. Every subtle movement was just right, indicating that he had received an extremely strict etiquette education.
This was a etiquette that all the people of Hyuga's clan had to abide by. Even when facing their closest relatives, they absolutely could not be rude.
"Neji..."
Hizashi finally spoke, his voice somewhat hoarse.
He looked at his genius son.
Neji's talent far surpassed the outstanding youths of Hyuga's family like Hoheto and Tokuma. It could be said that Neji would be the leader of the branch family for many years in the future.
But...
Hizashi glanced at Neji's forehead.
The long and thick head curtain hung down, covering his forehead and even the swastika symbol.
The fate of the branch family, the caged bird... If not for this damn caged bird, Neji would be the number one genius of Hyuga. He would have the complete Byakugan and an uncontrollable super talent.
"Father, are you still worried about me? I have already come out. Since this is my fate, I will bet my life to protect Lord Hinata."
Neji looked respectful and had already accepted his fate.
From the moment he was planted in the cage, the young Neji had already begun to think about the illusory things like "fate" and began to accept his fate.
"But this is not what you should bear... Hinata are not qualified to let you protect her with your life,"
Hizashi said in a low voice, somewhat losing his composure.
His hands clenched into fists after a few strokes of the table.
Hinata... Who does Hinata think she is? It's fine if her talent is bad, but even if he is clansmen's eldest daughter, he might not be a super genius. This is understandable, but even in terms of willpower, Hinata is weak and can be bullied!
If this kind of trash wasn't born in clansmen due to good luck, and had a patriarch father who was taught by the most elite...
She was even worse than trash!!
Hizashi's face was cold. He had always had opinions of Hinata.
He once showed his killing intent to the incompetent Hinata in front of Hiashi.
How could such a waste not be branded with the bird mark in the cage? Just based on clansmen's background?
"The only thing big brother has done in these years is to have a second child. I only hope that Hanabi won't be like Hinata..." Hizashi said in a low voice.
"...? "
Neji became more and more confused. He completely did not understand why his father had become like this.
At this moment.
The entire Hyuga clan suddenly exploded. Countless noises sounded, followed by the sounds of fighting.
"What's wrong? Why are there sounds of fighting outside? Did the people from other villages invade?" Neji's expression changed and he subconsciously got up to prepare for battle.
Swish!
Hizashi suddenly appeared in front of Neji with a complicated expression. He reached out and pressed Neji on the shoulder, pushing his son back to his seat.
"Neji, don't worry about it. This has nothing to do with us..."
"Nothing? But the other clansmen are obviously fighting someone." Neji was even more confused.
Hizashi just shook his head.
The father and son looked at each other and fell silent.
After a while.
The light in the room became darker and darker.
Rustle rustle
There was the sound of a snake crawling.
"Humph, humph, Hizashi, did you specially prepare this environment for me? Do you know that we snakes prefer dark environments?"
A small white snake crawled in from nowhere.
It wriggled forward, raised its head high, and spat some words.
"Snake? White Snake?" Neji was stunned, and his little face tensed up.
White Snake?
Neji suddenly thought of Orochimaru. It was said that when one of the three Ninjas defected, he had displayed the Ninjutsu of transforming into White Phosphorus Snake.
Secondly, he thought of what many children in the school were secretly talking about. It was said that Lord Yuuji had a pet, a white snake, which was very cute.
"Lord Tagorihime, how is the matter?" Hizashi looked at the white snake and immediately became respectful.
Others did not know what was going on with this snake called Tagorihime.
However, Hizashi found some clues through searching through the ancient documents.
Ryuuchi Cave's ancient Sage. Her status is equivalent to Mount Myouboku's Fukasaku and Shima. An ancient life form that has lived for an unknown number of years has now become that person's pet...
Every time he thought of this, Hizashi felt a burst of fear.
A powerhouse of that level, even a pet that he casually played with, was strong to such an exaggerated extent.
At the very least, this pet was much stronger than him.
"What is it, little brat? Do you like me very much?" Tagorihime exclaimed, but she was not in a hurry to talk to Hizashi. Instead, she looked at Neji with interest.
"This... Sir? This junior does not dare to offend you." Neji hurriedly lowered his head, his heart beating wildly.
However, when he met this little snake's gaze, Neji felt like he was about to suffocate.
"Lord Tagorihime, Neji is just a little curious. Please forgive him!" Hizashi hurriedly pressed Neji's head to the ground, sweating profusely.
Tagorihime immediately lost interest. "You humans are really boring, but this little brat looks like he has a good taste. He is the descendant of that old woman after all..."
Her voice became softer and softer. In other words, if she ate people again, that man would definitely cook her first.
"Hoheto has already made his move. The progress is unexpectedly smooth. Your clan leader hasn't been on the battlefield for so many years. I'm afraid he hasn't killed anyone, right? It seems that I don't need to do anything in secret. Hizashi, you are safe now. No matter what happens afterwards, it will have nothing to do with you." Tagorihime said, a little bored.
"What about the branch family? This rebellion was initiated by Hoheto with some branch family members. I also provided information. After that, clansmen will definitely deal with the branch family."
"Since Hoheto has succeeded, do you think clansmen will dare to do anything to you?" Tagorihime sneered. She swayed her body and rose with the smoke.
This white snake had turned into a human form. Its hair was exquisite, and its kimono looked luxurious and noble.
She slowly walked up to Hizashi with a smile on her face, but it was so cold that it made people feel cold. "As long as Hoheto does not die, it is enough. The rest of the things have nothing to do with me, and even... it has nothing to do with you. Do you understand?"
Hizashi slowly closed his eyes.
Indeed, the future of Hyuga's clan would only be related to that person.
Even Hoheto, this impatient and ambitious fellow, had actually been used.
When did it start? Oh, probably a few years ago, when the two mysterious people who could summon meteorites appeared, that person had targeted Hoheto.
Hoheto talked to the two mysterious people behind clansmen's back and the branch family. He also knew of some information that made him take the risk to rebel against clansmen. Hizashi also had no way to know.
But that man must know.
Hizashi was silent.
Neji looked up at Tagorihime and was immediately stunned. He looked at the beautiful woman in front of him in a daze. He didn't know what was going on, but his little face suddenly became red.
Just this kind of pressure and nobleness was more dignified than the big people of their Hyuga clan. People looked at her unconsciously.
Neji's heart skipped a beat. It was the first time he had seen the human form of Tagorihime, and she had left a deep impression in his heart.
Tagorihime looked at the two people with a dull face, and turned back into a small snake and crawled away.
If not for the man's order, she was the dignified Ryuuchi Cave Sage - well, even without this layer of identity, she was still a Kage-level, but now she had to do this kind of chores.
"However, the Hyuga Clan is nothing. The whole family doesn't even have a guy who can make a move. I'm afraid that what he values is not Hinata himself at all..."
Tagorihime thought as she crawled.
She had lived for a few hundred years, so she still had the simplest logical ability. In addition, she had been following Yuuji for a few months and was also silently observing Yuuji.
So, if his target was not Hyuga himself... was Otsutsuki? The descendant of Hamura?
Tagorihime shuddered and did not dare to continue thinking.
Hyuga was still alright. After all, they had been mixed blood for a thousand years.
However, if the target was really Hamura's pure-blooded descendants, then there was a big problem. It was not someone she could participate in.
"Father, what is going on?"
After Tagorihime left, Neji came back to his senses and asked.
"Neji, what I have done is not for myself, but for you." Hizashi touched Neji's head.
Although Caged Bird Curse had bound the branch family, he had protected Byakugan to a large extent.
After all, the intimidation of their Hyuga family was not as strong as Uchiha's family.
If Sharingan was taken away by an outsider, Uchiha's clan would definitely go crazy and snatch him back.
However, Hyuga could not. The Byakugan who was taken away by Elder clansmen back then was taken back by Yuuji in the battle arena and finally transplanted to Iroha.
From the perspective of the clan, Caged Bird Curse, who had used it for several hundred years in the past, was definitely not wrong.
But now it was not possible.
Uchiha's clan, which had not been caught up in internal strife, appeared one after another. There were many Mangekyou ninjas in the eye organization and Akatsuki, which brought great pressure to Hyuga's clan.
Byakugan could still compete with Sharingan, but compared to Mangekyou Sharingan, it was not worth mentioning.
"Compared with Caged Bird Curse who has broken off the branch family, I want my son to stay away from this curse. Compared to the future of the entire branch family, I hope that my son can have a pair of eyes that surpass Byakugan!"
The strength of Hizashi's hand became stronger and stronger, and it hurt Neji.
The times had changed.
Relying solely on the elite Jounin is simply unable to protect the family.
"Hoheto..." Hizashi muttered softly.
...
In the center of Hyuga's clan, in front of Hiashi's residence.
Hoheto spat out blood from his mouth. He even spat out some of his internal organs. No matter how he looked at it, he had already lost half of his life. Even if he did not die, he was afraid that his body would fall into a permanent illness in the future. It could be considered crippled.
In the surroundings, the gazes cast over were filled with endless shock.
The clansmen who were fighting each other also stopped their movements, putting some distance between them and their faces full of fear and confusion.
The rebels who had been knocked down by Hiashi and Caged Bird Curse were relieved of the pain. They looked up and looked at Hiashi and Hoheto with complicated expressions.
They had actually come to this step...
"Huhuhu, Lord Hiashi, you were careless. In the end, I succeeded! You know nothing about the true secrets of the family!"
Hoheto laughed and took a few steps back in ecstasy. He looked at the two blood-stained eyeballs in his hands.
Relying on the large amount of Hitomi's strength sealed in the scroll to greatly strengthen his flaws for some time, Byakugan took advantage of the moment when Hiashi supported Caged Bird Curse with one hand and attacked him with the other. Hoheto's death-deciding risk was achieved.
"My eyes were actually... What happened to your eyes?! No, what exactly happened to that scroll?! That thing should only exist to record ancient legends and records of Caged Bird Curse. It is a symbol passed down from generation to generation of the clan leader, but why..."
Hiashi lost the light. In shock and anger, he tried to protect his disappointing daughter and retreated.
He was also puzzled. What exactly was going on?
The Sealing Scroll of Hyuga's family should be the same as the stone tablet of Uchiha's family. It was a treasure passed down from generation to generation. It was a relic, a symbol, a carrier that recorded information. It should not have contained any powerful power.
Why did the 18-year-old Hoheto suddenly possess such a speed, as well as Hitomi's explosive power just now? It was as if he had seen through all of his movements before making a move. He was willing to sacrifice both sides to get his eyes...
"I heard that Orochimaru has a technique that can revive the dead. He can use tactics to control the dead without contact, and those dead can also cast spells themselves."
Hoheto held onto the two eyeballs, his face deathly pale as he quickly retreated. "The true value of the sealing scroll lies in the fact that I can activate the Caged Bird Curse within the scroll. All of the Caged Bird Curse that you have used has been learned from the scroll and used. The true source of the technique is sealed within this scroll."
Did these guys really think that Caged Bird Curse only existed to protect his family?
It was already impossible to determine who had developed Caged Bird Curse.
It was unknown whether the founder belonged to Hyuga or Otsutsuki's clan, whether it was goodwill or malice, or whether it was Akatsuki.
But Hoheto truly discovered that this technique had an even more terrifying usage, not just to control the branch family to explode the head of the branch family.
If the information that the blind mysterious person told him was true, and combined with his speculation, from Sharingan to Rinnegan, from Byakugan to Tenseigan...
As long as there was a pair of highly pure Byakugan, and a huge amount of Hitomi's strength to accumulate... it would definitely succeed!
"All of the branch families 'Byakugan has been sealed. All of his potential and Hitomi's strength, which has been slowly increasing no matter how hard he tries to cultivate, has been transferred into this seal scroll through Caged Bird Curse."
Hoheto felt that his life was slipping away, but it was worth it.
He looked at everyone, as if they were real family heads.
"Where did you know this information Even the past clansmen did not know about it. How did you know and control this scroll?" An elder clansmen rushed over and shouted harshly.
"I, of course, got it from my distant relative. According to that person, he has already lived for hundreds of years. As long as he wants to, he can actually live for a few more hundred years... He has paid attention to us distant relatives."
In just a few seconds, Hoheto was about to die, and his aura was also rapidly weakening.
In his chest, a large number of internal organs were slapped by Hiashi, and they were severely damaged.
However, with his last breath, Hoheto stretched out two fingers and dug out his eyes that were full of flaws at lightning speed. Then, he put Hiashi's eyes on them.
A steady stream of Hitomi's power poured out of the scroll and finally entered Hoheto's eyes.
On the other side, Yuuji, who was waiting for the results of the examination in the dark forest, slowly opened his eyes.
A small white snake climbed onto his body familiarly and drilled into his sleeve, hissing something.