Life Coach

"You... you can actually talk!"

Hyuga Hanabi Hyuga, who had been talking to herself, stiffly lowered her head and met the eyes of the black snake that gleamed with spirituality.

The black snake tilted its head and flicked its tongue, its youthful voice clearly audible.

"Is it strange that snakes can talk in the Shinobi World?"

"Not only snakes, I've also seen dogs, Toad, and slugs talk!"

Hanabi Hyuga looked on in surprise, turning the small snake up and down in her hand. "Are you the ninja beast that Father mentioned?"

"Even so!"

The little snake broke free from Hanabi's grasp, crawled up the girl's body to her shoulder, and stared into the shrine with its vertical pupils.

Is it over?

Upon Hanabi Hyuga looked into the room, and the first thing she saw was her father's ashen face.

The Main Family's insistence on severely punishing Neji, along with the Branch Family's strong resistance, was ultimately suppressed by Hyuga Hiashi.

Hyuga Hiashi sighed inwardly. Although he was indeed extremely dissatisfied with the current system, his position as the head of the Main Family prevented him from making any changes.

He glanced at his nephew, who was as cold as ice, and recalled his younger brother who had sacrificed himself for the Hyuga Clan. "Hizashi, this child is really as stubborn as you!"

It seems I need to find an opportunity to give Neji the letter my younger brother left behind.

"Why did our ancestors invent such an evil Cursed Seal as the Caged Bird Seal?" Hanabi Hyuga murmured to herself.

The black snake flicked its tongue. "Kid, haven't you heard? It's said that Caged Bird Seal are kept to protect the Byakugan bloodline of their people! Whether from enemies or their own kind, in a way, it's a good thing!"

"Clan members?" Hanabi Hyuga was utterly confused; this was the first time she had ever heard such a thing. "Why do you say that the Caged Bird Seal also protects itself from its clan members?"

The black snake slowly revealed a shocking secret to the innocent little girl, "Perhaps the Byakugan Clan has an innate tradition of killing each other, whether underground or in the sky!"

Thinking back to the fact that the true main branch of the Hyuga Clan the moon— the Ōtsutsuki— has been reduced to only an old man and a blind man, the Byakugan's ability to evolve by plundering and accumulating Byakugan numbers is probably the underlying reason for the Hyuga's tradition of mutual slaughter!

He even speculated that the Hyuga's ancestors understood the Tenseigan and developed the Caged Bird Seal Technique to prevent their descendants from experiencing the same situation as on the moon!

Hanabi Hyuga didn't understand a word the black snake on her shoulder was saying. She couldn't imagine that a Cursed Seal that could torment her clansmen at will was a good thing.

"Think about it, if I wanted to hit you with those Byakugan of yours, what would you do?"

The black snake's golden vertical pupils met the little girl's pure, glass-like eyes; they were the most beautiful eyes it had ever seen.

Hanabi touched her eyes. Her father had told her long ago about how others in the Shinobi World coveted the Byakugan, but having always been well protected, she couldn't imagine such a scenario happening.

"The Byakugan is different from the Sharingan. While its awakening rate is extremely high, its boost to a ninja's combat power is far less significant than that of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan."

"However, in large-scale battles, the Byakugan plays a far more significant role than the Sharingan, making the Hyuga clan members easy targets."

"In this sense, the Caged Bird Seal did indeed protect the Hyuga clan."

The black snake coiled around the little girl's shoulder, while continuously talking incessantly.

Is it because they are weak?

Hanabi Hyuga astutely pointed out the true meaning behind Black Snake's words.

"The Hyuga Clan, which relies too much on Gentle Fist and Byakugan, has indeed severely limited its potential. Kid, have you ever heard of any Shinobi World from the Konoha clan, the number one clan in the Hyuga Clan?"

Black Serpent's words contradicted her father's usual teachings, but Hanabi Hyuga found them quite reasonable.

"Then there's no way to untangle the Caged Bird Seal, right?"

Hanabi Hyuga frowned, and the little girl seemed to fall into a state of frustration.

"Of course not, there are many ways, and even many of your clansmen know about them, including your father."

These words left the little girl speechless. "How is that possible? If that's the case, why doesn't Father go and solve it?"

"Because they can't!"

The black snake leaped off the little girl's shoulder and raised its head to look at her.

"The best solution would be for a powerful ninja like the First Hokage to emerge within the Hyuga clan. Such a ninja could suppress the covetousness of outsiders and all the discontent among the clan members. But these people... heh heh!"

Normally, the black snake's contempt for Hyuga would have enraged the little girl, but now she was speechless. The First Hokage was a god-like figure in the hearts of every Konoha resident.

The black snake ignored the little girl and continued, "There are simpler methods too!"

Hanabi Hyuga's eyes immediately lit up as she looked at the black snake with great anticipation.

"That means everyone in the Hyuga will have the Caged Bird Seal carved on their heads. Once everyone becomes Branch Family, all the conflicts within your clan will be resolved!"

Hanabi Hyuga never expected things to be resolved this way, yet her brows furrowed even deeper.

In fact, this solution is the most difficult path. After all, how could the Main Family, which holds the power of life and death over the Branch Family, voluntarily give up becoming second-class in their eyes? Even Hashirama Senju would find it difficult to subdue these people's minds.

A moment later, the little girl seemed to have made up her mind. She bowed to the black snake to thank it, and then the next moment she made a Gentle Fist gesture towards the black snake.

"You seem to know Hyuga very well! Even better than your father! But I'm sorry..."

Hanabi Hyuga closer inspection, she realized how strange it was that this talking black snake had inexplicably appeared here; it was just that the little girl hadn't realized it harbored any ill will towards her.

But now, Hanabi Hyuga is preparing to take this friend to see her father to find a way to resolve the issue between the Main Family and the Branch Family.

Just then, Hanabi Hyuga heard some unsteady footsteps. She looked up out of the corner of her eye and was surprised to see her older sister Hinata Hyuga, running towards her with a panicked expression.

"Big Sister!"

Hanabi Hyuga instantly forgot about the black snake, staring blankly at her sister who was running away in a disheveled state.

Hinata Hyuga smiled gently the moment she saw Hanabi, then took a deep breath, her face showing an unprecedented determination.

"Father, what happened today wasn't Neji's fault!"

As the girl's voice rang out, everyone's eyes turned to the little girl at the door.

"This is a real older sister, so strong and gentle!"

Listening to Hanabi's murmured words, the little black snake actually revealed a human-like smile.

"Kid, being a sister-complex is no good!"