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 grasp its meaning for the moment.

He wandered about in a trance, not even knowing how he had left Hizashi Hyuga's room or how he had returned home.

"Father!"

His eldest son approached him, looking somewhat nervous.

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

"What is it?"

"You should go see my little brother. He hasn't said a word all day."

His eldest son spoke quietly.

Chuntian Hyuga nodded silently, his gaze lingering on the Caged Bird curse mark on the boy's forehead. He hesitated as if wanting to say something, but in the end merely patted his head. "I understand."

Yet when he silently arrived outside his younger son's room, he found that he simply could not bring himself to step inside.

He knew what had happened.

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

"Can Daddy come in?"

There was no response from inside.

He pushed open the door. In the dim room, his three-year-old son sat silently at the edge of the bed, hugging his knees. His eyes were red, and tears slowly slid down the tracks already left on his cheeks.

Chuntian Hyuga walked over to his side, reached out gently, and pulled 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 and sobbed hoarsely. "They... they bullied me. They... they won't play with me anymore."

"B-But it wasn't like this before."

"Everyone used to be friends."

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

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

Yes.

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

Was it only because of the Caged Bird curse mark?

Was it really just because of that single curse mark?

He thought about it blankly, but 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 been accustomed to the Main House and Branch House system, he did not understand—the most fundamental cause of it all was, in fact, only one thing: class.

When the Caged Bird placed one group's lives and deaths in the hands of another, it invisibly divided them into two classes. And that invisible oppression became omnipresent.

Although, to some extent, the Hyuga Clan had never torn away that veil of hypocrisy, and publicly preached so-called protection and friendship, never outright treating those of the Branch House as slaves.

But that was all.

No matter how pleasant the slogans sounded, they could not change reality.

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

His younger son lifted his head, sniffling. "Really, Daddy?"

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

"How many years?"

"I..."

I don't know.

Chuntian Hyuga was silent for a moment. At last, he gave another answer. "Starting tomorrow, Daddy will teach you how to become a ninja."

"Really?! Didn't Daddy say children didn't need to start learning about becoming ninjas so early?"

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

"But now, Daddy thinks... birds must fly into the sky eventually, right?"

"Daddy! Can ninjas fly?"

"Mm, they can."

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

At the same time, similar changes were taking place in others as well.

For example, after Wada Hyuga returned home, he shook his head and refused the cup of wine his wife had poured for him, saying that from this day onward, he would no longer drink.

His wife asked curiously why, and he told her that fine wine should be saved for a better future.

And many more.

In a single short night, in less than an hour.

Within the Branch House, five birds had obtained the key to break free from their cages. For the first time, they stretched their heads beyond the prison bars and breathed in a trace of freedom.

Like scattered sparks, they illuminated the Hyuga Clan, now shrouded in darkness.

But Yuzuru Hyuga had not forgotten that his plan for the day was far from complete.

"Young Master Yuzuru?"

The voice outside the room carried a hint of confusion.

Yuzuru Hyuga opened the door. Miss Riko stood outside, looking somewhat uneasy, her hands clasped before her as 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 knew this ordinary girl well. Her background was clean, and she was trustworthy.

Having no talent for ninjutsu, she had never imagined that one day Yuzuru Hyuga would solemnly entrust her with such a weighty responsibility.

She was to watch the Branch House ninja who had been given the Flying Bird Seal, while also looking for suitable people to bring into the plan and reporting to him 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, apart from Hizashi Hyuga and himself, he had no intention of letting anyone else know that Hyuga Riko was also a member of the Flying Bird Plan.

This secret would be kept for a long time. Perhaps it would not come to light until after they succeeded.

"Once we've taken this step, there's no turning back."

Hizashi Hyuga, still in the room, looked somewhat exhausted. He let out a soft sigh, his gaze toward Yuzuru Hyuga complicated.

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

He opened the door and stepped out, then turned back to look at Hizashi Hyuga and gave a slight nod. "Good night, Father."

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

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

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

For now, all they could do was give it everything they had at the gambling table, continuing to raise the stakes until they claimed ultimate victory.

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

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

Neither father nor son rushed to expand the number of people freed from the Caged Bird within the Branch House. They cautiously observed the first group of recipients. Fortunately, everything unfolded just as they had hoped. Having glimpsed the hope of freedom, these Branch House ninja proved extremely reliable—one could even say they were impatient.

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

Time passed quickly, inching its way toward October.

Though Yuzuru Hyuga knew full well that the Nine-Tails would appear, he did not let the slightest word slip, lest he invite trouble. He merely kept a secret watch on Minato Namikaze—or, more precisely, Kushina Uzumaki.

October 10th.

Hyuga Wada, then a captain in ANBU, secretly delivered word to the Hyuga Residence.

Kushina Uzumaki was about to give birth.

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

The Nine-Tails Incident!

Just as a massive, terrifying demon fox let out a roar, its enormous body crushing buildings beneath it, its violent aura and crimson chakra nearly lighting up half the sky—

Yuzuru Hyuga had already left home early after receiving a warning from 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 some lunatic wearing a Sharingan would show up today and use the Sharingan to pull the Nine-Tails out of his wife, Minato Namikaze would never believe him. And even if he did, Yuzuru could not explain where the information had come from without drawing suspicion.

He might even catch Obito Uchiha's attention.

So he could only wait and watch, adapting to the situation as it unfolded.

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

Where had the Hokage gone!?

That question lingered in countless minds.

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

He nimbly weaved through the streets and alleys. The Nine-Tails' frenzied attacks were immensely powerful but lacked all intelligence. After observing for only a moment, he could generally predict their direction and method. This mindless style of attack was certainly destructive, but for Yuzuru Hyuga, it was still relatively safe.

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

"Izumi!"

The Byakugan allowed him to locate his target with ease. Just as Izumi, her eyes red-rimmed, was so panicked that she could only cling to her mother and sob, he descended before the family of three like a divine soldier from heaven.

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

Seeing that Izumi's family of three was safe and sound, Yuzuru Hyuga let out a slight sigh of relief.

Mr. Kawai was a ninja after all. Faced with such a scene, although he was panicked and uneasy, he had not completely lost his composure. "Yuzuru, take them to shelter. I—"

"You're only a Chunin. Make sure you stay alive first."

Yuzuru Hyuga cut him off coldly. "This is not a battlefield we can interfere with, and the Nine-Tails is not an opponent we can contend against right now."

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

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

"I understand!"

He stopped hesitating and decisively changed his original plan.

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

His expression darkened slightly. The Uchiha Clan's response was actually this slow?

"Itachi, it seems the birthday gift I gave you still failed to change anything."

Yuzuru Hyuga sighed deeply. He no longer thought about what had happened to the Uchiha Clan, instead instinctively directing the crowd toward safer places. Both the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan were located in remote areas and possessed complete defensive measures; sheltering part of the populace would not be a problem.

However, his Byakugan, with its complete field of vision, caught sight of what was happening in the distance. In the next moment, his expression changed slightly.

The Third swung a staff resembling a golden cudgel and roared. The long staff in his hand extended outward, smashing heavily into the Nine-Tails' head.

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

At the same time, a terrifying Tailed Beast Ball was deflected by that blow away from the main urban area where the crowd was densest, shooting toward the street where Yuzuru Hyuga stood.

Strictly speaking, this Tailed Beast Ball had not fully formed. It had been interrupted by Hiruzen Sarutobi while it was still gathering power, so it could be called a dud.

But Yuzuru Hyuga still adjusted his glasses, his expression grave.

Tch.

This is troublesome.

PS: I made it onto the recommendations! Now, the road to this new book's rise 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 even know how far this book can go. As a newbie, I'm begging everyone, please don't stockpile chapters. Keep reading along!

There's really no way around it during the new-book period. I often write 3–4k words a chapter, and it's already reached eighty thousand words now, so you know I'm definitely not the type to slack off.

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 rising star in the anime fandom.

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

I apologize for the oversight. Please provide the Chinese text you would like me to translate, and I will ensure it is rendered into natural, fluent English according to your specifications.