Hyuga Kagetsu stepped into the hall and gave a quick bow to Tsukasa and the elder. "Clan head, Elder, everything's under control. The branch family members who caused trouble have been dealt with."
"Good." The elder nodded, forcing a small smile.
He could tell Kagetsu wasn't in a great spot.
Being a branch family member supporting the main house was fine during peaceful times, but with things heating up lately, people were starting to label Kagetsu as a bootlicker.
The elder knew he had to treat him well, at least on the surface.
Once Kagetsu left the hall, Tsukasa frowned and asked, "Elder, what are we supposed to do now?"
The letter from the Sand Village's Anbu had completely messed up their plans.
The elder didn't reply right away.
Hiashi stood there, clenching and unclenching his fists. After a long pause, he hesitated before saying, "Maybe… we should give up the control over the Caged Bird Seal?"
"Absolutely not!" The elder snapped before Hiashi could even finish his sentence. He shot a sharp glare at him, eyes cold.
His expression darkened as he spoke, "That seal is what keeps the main family safe."
" It's the cornerstone of our control. You think if we let them off the leash, they'll thank us? No, next thing you know, they'll be storming this very hall, and we'll be the ones on our knees."
"But…" Hiashi looked torn, the doubt written all over his face.
"Enough." The elder cut him off. "Don't bring this up again. Let them shout and scream if they want to split the family. As long as the seal exists, I want to see just how far they think they can go."
With that, he turned around and left the hall without sparing them another look.
Tsukasa glanced at his son, who stood there staring at the floor, clearly troubled. He let out a tired sigh.
"The elder's got a point. If we get rid of the seal, we lose the only leverage we've got. The branch family might be smaller in status, but they overwhelm us in numbers"
Hiashi looked up, confused and conflicted. "But… does the line between the main and branch family really have to be this strict? Aren't we all Hyuga?"
Tsukasa went quiet for a moment, then said softly, "It's the way things have always been. It's the role we were born into."
Hiashi wanted to argue, but the words just wouldn't come out.
"Stay inside for the next few days," Tsukasa added, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "The main house guards will be keeping an eye on you day and night. Don't take any risks."
Then, without waiting for a reply, Tsukasa turned and left the hall. He had too many things on his plate right now to linger.
After a long while, Hiashi finally stood up and left the hall.
Just as he stepped outside, someone brushed past him. He turned instinctively and saw Hizashi, the spitting image of himself.
"Hizashi? What are you doing here?"
"I came to see Father," Hizashi replied, his tone cold and distant. Not even a flicker of warmth in his voice.
Hiashi felt a pang in his chest. 'Caged Bird Seal… damn it all. It's that cursed seal's fault....!'
The little brother who used to follow him around, laugh with him, get into trouble together, wasn't there anymore.
What stood before him now was a stranger wearing Hizashi's face.
"I really thought you'd be different," Hiashi said softly, letting out a sigh.
At the doorway, Hizashi paused. "So what am I to you then? Your brother… or your prisoner?"
Hiashi just stood there, staring at the sky. 'They should be free. Free like birds in the wind… But what can I even do? What the hell am I supposed to do!?'
His knees hit the ground. He slammed his fists against the stone floor, his body trembling.
Then, suddenly, he froze.
'Lord Haruki…!' The thought struck like lightning.
Without hesitation, Hiashi shot up and vanished using the Body Flicker technique.
Moments later, he was dashing across rooftops, rushing straight toward the research institute.
When he arrived, he walked up to the guard outside and asked urgently, "Is Lord Haruki here?"
"Please come with me," the guard said without blinking, like this kind of request wasn't unusual. He led Hiashi into the hall.
"Hiashi. Been a while," Haruki said, looking up from his desk and putting down his pen. He'd been working on his new novel lately.
Even though he had memories from another life, he was only human.
So he'd spent time piecing together the storylines from the anime and outsourced the actual writing to someone else.
"Lord Haruki, I need your help!" Hiashi dropped to his knees without hesitation.
Haruki raised an eyebrow. "And why do you think I'm the guy who can help you?"
"Because you gave me the Caged Bird scroll," Hiashi said, eyes locked onto him.
To be honest, Hiashi had been suspicious of Haruki for a while.
Haruki and Orochimaru just happened to be researching the Caged Bird Seal and a Wood Release user wiped out a bunch of their branch family members in the battlefield.
Then, not long after, public opinion suddenly starts shifting out of nowhere, and to top it off, that conveniently-timed letter from the Sand Village's Anbu.
Everything was a little too tidy.
It doesn't take a genius to see someone's pulling strings behind the scenes.
The whole thing's a bit too perfect, like it was all part of some well-planned show.
Haruki gave him a half-smile. "So you're not as clueless as I thought."
He leaned back in his chair and said, "Alright. No need to dance around it. I looked into the Caged Bird Seal because I wanted to recruit Hyuga for medical work."
Hiashi blinked. "Medical work?"
"Yeah," Haruki nodded. "The Byakugan is insanely useful in the medical field. During the war, I worked alongside plenty of branch family ninjas. But that seal of yours was a damn leash."
"Makes it impossible to properly train or trust them for anything delicate."
"…I see," Hiashi murmured.
Hearing Haruki lay it out so plainly, everything suddenly made sense.
"Hiashi, now that you've got the scroll, why come to me?" Haruki asked, raising an eyebrow, acting like he didn't understand. "I didn't lie to you. Everything in that scroll is the real deal."
"I'm not accusing you of lying, Lord Haruki" Hiashi said quickly, shaking his head.
He let out a tired sigh and explained how the elders shot down his proposal, shutting him down without hesitation.
Haruki didn't look surprised.
He walked over, crouched in front of Hiashi, and asked calmly, "Do you know why your elders reacted that way?"
Hiashi shook his head slowly, unsure.
Haruki smiled faintly and posed a question, "The Caged Bird Seal... it's been around for generations, right?"
"Originally, it was meant to stop the Byakugan from falling into the wrong hands. But over time, it turned into something else entirely. So tell me… who benefits the most from it now?"
"…The main family," Hiashi muttered, almost to himself.
"Exactly," Haruki said. "Do you think your elder has that much authority because he's as strong as the Hokage? Not even close. He's powerful because the Caged Bird Seal makes him untouchable."
"He's the one keeping the old system alive because it works for him."
"Your suggestion threatens everything. If you weren't from the main house, you'd probably be dead already."
Hiashi felt like his mind was spinning. Everything Haruki said… it made sense. It was as if someone had finally lifted the fog from his eyes.
"Lord Haruki… what should I do?"
His voice was uncertain, almost childlike. He was completely lost, unsure where to even begin. The weight of the entire clan sat heavy on his shoulders, and Haruki was the only one he could turn to.
Haruki looked away, his expression suddenly troubled. "It's not easy," he said with a shake of the head. "You can't convince him with just words."
"Not even you have a way?" Hiashi asked, feeling crushed.
"There's only one option." Haruki pulled out a kunai and pressed it into Hiashi's hand. His voice was calm, eerily calm. "Kill him."
Hiashi froze. His eyes widened, and the kunai slipped from his hand, clattering to the floor with a sharp clang.
"W-What did you say…?" he stammered. He looked shaken, unsure if he'd heard right.
"A bird trapped in a cage can never fly. If you want to soar... if you want real change... then you have to break the cage. Start a revolution." Haruki stood up, casually saying the most dangerous thing Hiashi had ever heard in his life.
Hiashi stared at him, utterly stunned. This wasn't the warm, kind-hearted medical ninja he'd known.
This man felt… different.
There was something darker, something colder behind his kind smile.
Haruki turned around, pulled a small medicine bottle from a drawer, and placed it on the table in front of Hiashi.
"This stuff can cause heart failure. Whether you use it or not… that's your call."
Then he walked away, leaving Hiashi sitting there alone, staring at the bottle.
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