Nine-Tails Incident!

The power contained within those words left Chuntian Hyuga somewhat dazed. He seemed to vaguely sense something—a force, a flame burning in his chest—yet he could not understand it for the moment.

In a trance, he did not even know how he had left Hizashi Hyuga's room, nor how he had returned home.

"Father!"

His eldest son approached him with a tense expression.

Chuntian Hyuga stiffened his face. He did not want to show his unease and confusion in front of his child.

"What is it?"

"Go see my little brother. He hasn't said a word all day."

His eldest son spoke softly.

Chuntian Hyuga nodded silently, his gaze lingering on the Caged Bird curse mark on his forehead. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, he merely patted his head. "I understand."

However, when he silently arrived outside his second son's room, he found that no matter what, he could not bring himself to take that step inside.

He knew what had happened.

After hesitating for a long time, he gently knocked on the door.

"Can Dad come in?"

There was no response from inside.

He pushed the door open. In the dim room, his three-year-old son sat silently at the bedside, hugging his knees. His eyes were red, and tears slowly slid down along the tracks they had left.

Chuntian Hyuga stepped forward, came to his side, and gently reached out to pull him into his arms.

"What's wrong? Your brother said you haven't spoken all day."

The sense of security his father brought made the child burst into tears. He clutched tightly at his father's collar, sobbing hoarsely. "They... they bullied me. They... they won't play with me anymore."

"It clearly... it clearly wasn't like this before."

"We were all friends before."

"Why? Why are they all bullying me now?!"

Listening to his younger son's aggrieved cries, Chuntian Hyuga fell silent. Then, a question suddenly arose in his heart.

Yes.

Before this, hadn't those children been able to play happily together?

Was it only because of the Caged Bird curse mark?

Was it really just because of that one curse mark?

He stared blankly, then vaguely realized that this was not merely a matter of the curse mark.

Then what was it?

He pondered for a long time.

Having grown up in the Hyuga Clan and long since become accustomed to the Main House and Branch House system, he did not understand—the most fundamental reason behind all this was actually only one thing: class.

When the Caged Bird placed one group's lives and deaths in another group's hands, it invisibly divided them into two classes. Invisible oppression became everywhere.

Although, to some extent, the Hyuga Clan had never torn away that veil of decency. Publicly, they preached so-called protection and friendship, and had never openly treated the Branch House as slaves.

But that was all.

Pretty slogans could not change reality.

"From now on... it won't happen anymore." Chuntian Hyuga comforted him softly, though he sounded lost.

His younger son raised his head, sniffling. "Really, Dad?"

"Mm... Just wait a few more years, and it won't."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"I..."

I don't know.

Chuntian Hyuga was silent for a moment. In the end, he gave a different answer. "Starting tomorrow, Dad will teach you how to become a ninja."

"Really?! Didn't Dad say children didn't need to start learning ninja stuff so early?"

Faced with his son's delighted question, Chuntian Hyuga merely gazed at him tenderly. "The Dad from before thought that keeping you beneath my wings was the most responsible choice."

"But now, Dad thinks... birds have to fly into the sky eventually."

"Dad! Can ninja fly?"

"Mm, they can."

"Then I'll definitely study hard... Dad, why are you crying?"

At the same time, similar changes were happening to others as well.

For instance, after Wada Hyuga returned home, he shook his head and refused the cup of wine his wife had poured for him, saying that he would not drink again from this day onward.

His wife asked curiously why, but he said that fine wine should be saved for a better future.

And there were many more.

In less than an hour, five birds of the Branch House had received the keys to break free from their cages. For the first time, they stretched their heads beyond their prison and breathed in a trace of freedom.

Like tiny sparks, they illuminated the Hyuga Clan, which was now shrouded in night.

But Yuzuru Hyuga had not forgotten that his plans for the day were not yet complete.

"Young Master Yuzuru?"

The voice from outside the room carried a hint of confusion.

Yuzuru Hyuga opened the door. Miss Riko stood there somewhat nervously, her hands folded before her. She asked respectfully and curiously, "You called for me so late. Is there something you need?"

"Of course."

Yuzuru Hyuga smiled and invited her inside.

Half an hour later, Hyuga Riko left the room with a dazed expression.

Yes, his sixth target for removing the Caged Bird was not even a ninja.

It was Hyuga Riko, who had served as a maid in the Branch House since childhood. Both Hizashi Hyuga and Yuzuru Hyuga were familiar with this ordinary girl. Her background was clean, and she was trustworthy.

As someone without talent for ninjutsu, she had never imagined that one day Yuzuru Hyuga would solemnly entrust her with such a weighty responsibility.

She was to monitor the Branch House ninja who had been granted the Flying Bird Seal, while also observing whether there were suitable people to bring into the plan and reporting in secret.

That was why Yuzuru Hyuga had separated her from the other five. He had not told the others about Riko's existence. In fact, aside from Hizashi Hyuga and himself, he had no intention of letting anyone know that Hyuga Riko was also part of the Flying Bird Plan.

This secret would remain hidden for a long time. Perhaps it would only come to light after they succeeded.

"Once we take this step, there will be no turning back."

Hizashi Hyuga, still in the room, looked somewhat weary. He sighed softly, his gaze toward Yuzuru Hyuga complicated.

Yet Yuzuru Hyuga merely smiled faintly. "A bird that has grown wings cannot suppress its desire to soar."

He opened the door and stepped outside. Then he turned back to Hizashi Hyuga and nodded slightly. "Good night, Father."

Hizashi Hyuga gave a quiet acknowledgment, rubbing his temples as he watched him leave.

After a long while, Hizashi Hyuga stared out the window at the sky and let out a faint sigh.

This was an unfair gamble. If he failed, he would lose everything. Not only himself—even all his loved ones would likely be unable to escape unscathed.

For now, the only thing he could do was give it everything he had at this gambling table, continually raising the stakes until he achieved final victory.

Over the following days, Yuzuru Hyuga kept a low profile, maintaining his routine between three points as he continued his final peaceful period of leveling up.

Hizashi Hyuga also behaved as usual, without revealing the slightest flaw.

Neither father nor son rushed to expand the number of people in the Branch House freed from the Caged Bird. They cautiously observed the first batch of recipients. Fortunately, everything was as they had expected. After seeing the hope of freedom, these Branch House ninja proved exceptionally reliable—one could even say they were impatient.

Yuzuru Hyuga, who did not care in the slightest about the Main House, recorded secret techniques such as Rotation, Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, and Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm for them to read.

Time passed quickly, inching toward October.

Though Yuzuru Hyuga knew full well that the Nine-Tails would appear, he did not leak a word, lest he cause trouble. He merely kept secret watch over Minato Namikaze—or, more accurately, Kushina Uzumaki.

October 10th.

Wada Hyuga, then serving as an ANBU squad captain, secretly sent word to the Hyuga residence.

Kushina Uzumaki was about to give birth.

That meant an event destined to change Konoha's current balance was about to occur.

The Nine-Tails Incident!

Just as a huge, terrifying fox let out a roar, its massive body crushing buildings beneath it, its violent aura and red chakra nearly lighting up half the sky, Yuzuru Hyuga had already left home early after being warned by an insider.

He headed straight for Izumi's home.

There were some things he did not want to change, and could not change. Even if he told Minato Namikaze that a lunatic with a Sharingan would show up today and use it to glare the Nine-Tails right out of his wife, Minato Namikaze would never believe him. And even if he did, Yuzuru Hyuga could not explain the source of his information without drawing trouble to himself.

He might even catch Obito Uchiha's attention.

So he could only wait and see, adapting to the situation.

Driven by the Sharingan, the enraged Nine-Tails had completely lost its reason. It rampaged through the village, destroying everything in its path, yet the Fourth Hokage was nowhere to be seen.

Where was the Hokage?!

That was the question lingering in many people's minds.

Yuzuru Hyuga merely glanced at the terrifying Nine-Tails before withdrawing his gaze.

He nimbly darted through streets and alleyways. The Nine-Tails' frenzied attacks were enormously powerful but lacked intelligence. After observing for a few moments, he could basically predict their direction and method. Such mindless attacks were indeed destructive, but they were still relatively safe for Yuzuru Hyuga.

He passed through the panicked crowd, where screams and cries filled the air. With a Body Flicker Technique, he finally reached his destination and began searching the crowd for Izumi and her parents.

"Izumi!"

His Byakugan allowed him to find his target with ease. Just as Izumi, her eyes red, stood so panicked that she could only cling to her mother and sob, he descended like a divine soldier before the family of three.

"Go to the Hyuga Clan's shelter. I've already instructed my family to receive refugees. Hurry and take shelter."

Seeing that Izumi and her family were unharmed, Yuzuru Hyuga let out a slight sigh of relief.

Mr. Kawai was a ninja after all. Though the sight before him left him flustered and uneasy, he had not completely lost his composure. "Yuzuru, take them to shelter. I—"

"You're only a Chunin. Secure your own safety first."

Yuzuru Hyuga cut him off coldly. "This is not a battlefield we can involve ourselves in. The Nine-Tails is not an opponent we can contend with right now."

"If you want to do something, go to the Hyuga Clan. We have ninja teams organizing rescue efforts as well. Go work with them."

Mr. Kawai was somewhat stunned by the concise, commanding tone. But then Kawai Hazuki reached out, grabbed his sleeve, and nodded firmly.

"I understand!"

He stopped dwelling on it and decisively changed his original plan.

Yuzuru Hyuga looked around. The panicked crowd had yet to be organized by anyone in time.

His expression darkened slightly. Was the Uchiha Clan's response really this slow?

"Itachi, it seems the birthday gift I gave you still changed nothing."

Yuzuru Hyuga sighed deeply. He stopped thinking about what had happened to the Uchiha Clan and instinctively began directing the crowd toward safe areas. Both the Hyuga Clan and Uchiha Clan compounds were remote and had solid defenses, so sheltering some of the people would not be a problem.

However, his Byakugan, with no blind spots, caught what was happening in the distance. The next moment, his expression changed slightly.

He saw the Third swinging a staff like a golden cudgel. With a furious shout, the long staff in his hand extended, smashing heavily into the Nine-Tails' head.

The Nine-Tails' wide-open mouth was forced aside, interrupting its original movement.

At the same time, a terrifying Tailed Beast Ball was knocked off course by that strike, veering away from the main urban district where the crowd was thickest and shooting toward the street where Yuzuru Hyuga stood.

Strictly speaking, this Tailed Beast Ball had not yet fully formed. Hiruzen Sarutobi had interrupted it while it was still charging, so it could be called a dud.

But Yuzuru Hyuga still pushed up his glasses, his expression grave.

Tch.

This was troublesome.

PS: I made the recommendations! The road ahead for this new book depends on all of us working together. The next round of recommendations is based on follow-up reads. Honestly, I'm scared to death. I don't know how far this book can go. As a newbie, please, don't stockpile it—keep reading!

There's really no helping it during the new-book period. I often write 3–4k words per chapter, and it's already reached eighty thousand words, so you know I'm really not the lazy type.

Once it goes premium, I'll write ten thousand words every day! I'll keep it up for at least a month. My goal is to become a little eagle of the anime fanfiction world.

Brothers, I'm counting on you all during this period!

Waaah!