Watching Neji fly into a rage again, Naruto cut him off.
"No, Neji. What comes next is the truth I want you to understand!" Naruto's words brought Neji back to his senses.
The truth was actually different from what he had thought. Could his father have willingly chosen to die? How was that possible? Who would willingly sacrifice themselves to protect others? Especially when his father had been from the Branch Family—by all rights, he should have hated the Main Family!
"What you don't know is that although Hyuga Hiashi was from the Main Family and Hizashi Hyuga was from the Branch Family, the two brothers grew up together. They were biological brothers, naturally very close. When the Hyuga Clan elders proposed this idea, Hyuga Hiashi strongly opposed it."
"But Hizashi had his own thoughts. He told the elders that he would consider it."
"After the elders left, Hyuga Hiashi felt that just because he had been born a few minutes earlier than Hizashi, he became part of the Main Family, while his younger brother had been forced into the Branch Family and branded with the Caged Bird curse mark. For all these years, he had always felt indebted to Hizashi."
"And during that time, you were also branded with the Caged Bird mark. He felt that you could not lose your father as well. He even asked Hizashi to take good care of Hinata after his death."
"But Hizashi firmly rejected his idea in the end. He said to Hyuga Hiashi, 'Brother, I was born into the Branch Family and branded with the Caged Bird curse mark. All these years, I never had a choice. I was never free. But this one time, I want to be free and follow my own will!'"
"If I were to die for