Hizashi, You Are Free!

It was already afternoon when they left the Sarutobi residence.

Tsunade and Orochimaru walked side-by-side through the streets of Konoha.

The late autumn sun was no longer harsh, and it felt warm as it spilled over them.

"The old man... he's really gotten old."

Tsunade couldn't help but sigh, a hint of inexplicable melancholy in her voice, as she recalled their visit to their teacher's home earlier.

The man who was once spirited and capable of suppressing all three of them now seemed like any ordinary old man.

All his sharp edges had been smoothed away by the passage of time.

"Hmph, he's just come to terms with reality," Orochimaru scoffed dismissively.

"Orochimaru!" Tsunade stopped, looking at him with displeasure. "Show some respect! He's our teacher, after all!"

"Yes, yes, our teacher," Orochimaru replied perfunctorily, lost in his own thoughts.

His gaze, however, swept over their surroundings with keen interest.

Tsunade also fell silent, beginning to observe the village she had been away from for nearly a year.

The streets were much cleaner than she remembered.

Almost every shop on either side was open, and business seemed to be good.

She even saw many commoners in the butcher shop, something rarely seen before.

Several women, carrying baskets of vegetables, chatted excitedly as they walked, discussing who had received funding from the Daimyo.

Tsunade had overheard such conversations all the way.

Suddenly, her steps faltered.

Ahead, a group of children were chasing each other, their small faces beaming with joy.

She couldn't recall the last time she had seen such a scene.

The entire village exuded a vibrant energy.

This energy felt even stronger than when they had defeated the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth.

Yet, the one who had brought this about was not the Hokage.

It was someone called the Daimyo, whom she had never met.

Standing on the bustling street, Tsunade felt a flicker of doubt for the first time in her life regarding the Will of Fire, a belief she had held unshaken since childhood.

Protecting Konoha...

What exactly were they protecting?

The Hyuga compound was as quiet as ever.

So quiet, it felt as if time itself had slowed down here.

The wind chimes under the eaves were still, the landscape in the courtyard undisturbed, and even the air was thick with a sense of oppression and solemnity.

This was one of Konoha's oldest noble clans.

And rules governed everything here.

The long corridor stretched deep, sunlight sliced into strips by the latticework, casting patterns on the polished floor.

Hizashi Hyuga knelt on the veranda.

Before him lay a neatly folded set of travel clothes and a money box filled with crisp banknotes.

These were the uniforms for the Guardians of the Twelve, recently issued by the Daimyo Manor, along with the first month's salary.

The money box remained closed, but he knew the sum inside was substantial.

Yet, he knelt there quietly, his back perfectly straight, unmoving.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the head of the Main Family, his twin brother, Hiashi Hyuga.

As a member of the Branch Family, even as a Guardian of the Twelve, he could not leave without permission.

He had to obtain the Main Family's consent.

Footsteps echoed from the depths of the corridor, unhurried.

Hizashi Hyuga did not look up, merely lowering his head a little further.

Hiashi Hyuga stopped before him, looking down at his brother.

He wore a pure white robe of the Main Family, his face identical to Hizashi's, his expression impassive.

"You're leaving?"

Hiashi spoke, his voice calm, betraying no emotion.

"Yes, Clan Head," Hizashi replied respectfully, his voice equally devoid of emotion.

In the Hyuga clan, Branch Family members had to address the Main Family with "Lord."

Even if they were brothers.

"Is everything packed?"

"Yes."

"You will be in the Land of Fire Capital for ten years, representing the face of the Hyuga. You must not be negligent."

"Yes, Hizashi understands. I will not fail the clan's trust."

The conversation was brief, like a formality.

Hiashi's gaze fell on the money chest.

"The Daimyo Manor is quite generous," he said, his tone complex.

Once upon a time, the fate, income, and life or death of the Branch Family were decided by the Main Family with a single word.

Now, a single order from the Daimyo Manor easily granted them wealth and status that even the Main Family could not provide.

This made Hyuga Hiashi feel agitated.

After a moment of silence, Hiashi took out a money bag from his embrace and placed it in front of Hizashi.

"Take this money with you."

"You'll need it on the road."

Hizashi's body stiffened.

He didn't look up and said in a low voice, "Thank you for your generosity, Clan Head."

The money bag was thin, like a form of charity.

It was more like the Main Family's final, hypocritical grasp on the Branch Family.

Hiashi grunted and crouched down, meeting Hizashi's gaze.

This face, identical to his own, bore only one difference: the blue Caged Bird Seal on his forehead.

He reached out, intending to pat his brother's shoulder.

His hand stopped in mid-air, eventually landing on Hizashi's luggage, gently smoothing out a wrinkle.

"Be careful with everything when you reach the Land of Fire Capital."

"The Guardians of the Twelve are elites from various clans. Competition is inevitable."

"But remember, you are one of the Hyuga."

Hizashi still kept his head bowed. "Yes, for the Hyuga."

For the Hyuga.

These four words were another seal carved into his soul.

Because of these four words, his son Neji would also bear the same shame when he grew a little older.

Because of these four words, he, who possessed talent no less than his brother, could only be a shadow, a shield for the Main Family.

Seeing his obedient demeanor, a sense of inexplicable annoyance rose within Hiashi.

He stood up.

"Go and say goodbye to Neji."

"Yes."

Hizashi finally looked up, but his gaze avoided his brother's face, instead looking at the cherry blossom tree in the courtyard.

"Neji... he's still young."

"In the future, I will trouble you, Clan Head, to look after him."

Hyuga Hiashi's eyes flickered.

He knew what his brother wanted to say.

"Neji is also a member of the Hyuga clan. The Main Family has its own arrangements," Hiashi replied.

Rules were rules.

Sometimes, even as Clan Head, he could not break them.

Hizashi's lips moved, but he said nothing more.

He lowered his head again, his forehead touching the ground, and performed a standard deep bow.

"Then, Hizashi takes his leave."

With that, he slowly rose, picked up his luggage and money chest from the ground, turned, and silently walked out of the long corridor.

He didn't look back.

Not a single extra word of farewell.

His retreating figure was solitary, step by step, as he walked out of the courtyard that had suppressed him for half his life.

Watching his brother's back, Hiashi Hyuga remained silent.

He watched him walk from light into shadow, and then from shadow out into the sunlight beyond the corridor.

He watched that figure about to disappear around the corner.

He suddenly spoke.

"Hizashi."

Hizashi's steps halted.

He didn't look back.

Hiashi Hyuga gazed at the stiffening figure, his throat bobbing, and spoke in a tone he himself found unfamiliar:

"You are free."

The air froze in that instant.

Free?

How laughable.

From the moment he was born, from the moment the seal was branded onto his forehead, those two words had nothing to do with him.

A long silence.

Just as Hiashi Hyuga thought he wouldn't answer, Hizashi turned around.

On his face was a flawless smile.

Yet, in those pure Byakugan eyes, there wasn't a trace of mirth, like a bottomless cold pool.

"Brother, you jest."

His voice was still calm.

"My freedom, from the moment of my birth, belonged to the Main Family."

"Now, it belongs to the great Lord Daimyo, just like my life."

"It was never mine to begin with."

"So how can there be talk of freedom?"

After speaking, he bowed slightly again, his smile unchanged, "I must go fulfill my duties, Patriarch."

As his words fell, he turned and left, not pausing again.

Hiashi Hyuga stood frozen in place.

His brother's final look, those few words, had pierced through his facade, tearing apart his hypocrisy as an elder brother.

Freedom?

Yes.

How could someone with the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead possibly be free?

That sentence that blurted out felt more like a curse.

Hiashi Hyuga suddenly felt a chill.

That supreme Daimyo, with just one command, one decree, had freed Hizashi from the prison that had confined him his entire life.

And it was a decree he had personally written.

But what about himself?

He, the master of the Hyuga, was forever trapped in the larger, more ornate cage of the Hyuga Main Family.

In the end, who was the true prisoner?

Ring! Ring! Ring!

A gust of wind blew past, and the wind chimes hanging from the eaves let out a crisp, yet lonely, mournful cry.