Caged Bird

Inside the Hyuga Clan head's residence, the atmosphere at dinner was different from usual today—less solemn, more lively.

"Neji, have some more of this. It's good for your body."

"And this. It's good for your eyesight."

"This too. It's good for recovering from injuries."

"Clan Head's Wife, that's enough already..."

"You child, call me Aunt!"

"..."

At the dinner table, Keiko was overjoyed, constantly placing food on Neji's plate. She had even neglected her own two daughters.

Keiko and Neji's mother had been biological sisters. However, because Keiko had been Hiashi's fiancée, she had not been branded with the Caged Bird curse mark. Because of that, a tragic, thick barrier had formed between them.

The Hyuga Clan's rules had turned siblings who had once been close into enemies who resented one another.

Back when Hizashi was still alive, he would often bring Neji over to visit and share a meal. Ever since Hizashi's death, Neji had never come again. So, Keiko was very happy that Neji had come today.

Neither Hinata nor Hanabi had any objections. Hinata even felt relieved—at least everyone would not be paying so much attention to how much she ate.

Hanabi, meanwhile, quietly scooted over beside Hinata. Only two years old, Hanabi was still tiny. She climbed straight onto Hinata's lap and leaned against the cushion behind her.

"Ah!" Hinata cried out. Looking at Hanabi, who had suddenly burrowed over, her expression became somewhat stern. "Hanabi, Sister is still eating. Why did you suddenly come over?"

Hanabi tilted her little face up at her sister, her tiny mouth pouting high. Her chubby baby face was full of grievance, and mist had already welled up in her eyes. Hinata was suddenly at a loss.

"Whenever Sister has a day off, you go play with that blondie. You don't have time to spend with Hanabi anymore."

Only then did Hinata realize what was wrong. She put down her bowl and chopsticks, turned Hanabi around on her lap, and explained face-to-face, "Sister isn't going there to play. Naruto-kun and I are training together. Brother Neji went too."

"Then Hanabi wants to train too!" Hanabi said stubbornly.

"No!"

"Why not?"

"Hanabi is still too young. You have to wait another year."

"Then after one year, can I train with Sister?"

"Mhm, after one year, you can. If you don't believe me, ask Brother Neji." As Hinata coaxed Hanabi, she suddenly brought Neji into it.

Hanabi looked toward Neji as well, her snowflake-like eyes blinking with expectation.

Neji had not expected to be called on so suddenly. He instinctively looked into those innocent, pale eyes, and suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his heart.

He recalled what Naruto had said before leaving today. Naturally, he knew what Naruto meant, and he understood what Naruto intended to do. Now that he had been freed from the Caged Bird's restraints, it was impossible for him to remain in Konoha. They would soon leave Konoha.

It was not as though he had never doubted Naruto's words, wondering if Naruto was merely toying with him. But after all these years, Naruto was the only one who had shown him a chance to fly again. Though that promise was so fragile, he had still chosen to believe.

Those who only waited to be saved were not worth saving, so he had taken the initiative and run toward the sky.

Yet for some reason, even though he was heading toward freedom, even though he was about to cast off the Caged Bird's restraints, he still felt somewhat reluctant.

Perhaps this was what Naruto meant when he said that after staying in a cage for too long, one would forget how to fly.

Neji suddenly made up his mind. Looking at those expectant eyes, a smile appeared on his usually cold face, and he gently nodded.

"Mhm. In another year, Hanabi can train with us."

"Yay! When the time comes, I'm going to beat that blondie up good!"

"Hanabi! Call him Brother Naruto!"

"No, no! He's Blondie!"

Outside the room, Hyuga Hiashi could hear his daughters' playful voices from far away. He stood outside in the wind for quite a while before finally steadying his emotions.

Now, it was not only Konoha that had suffered a major incident. The Hyuga Clan was facing a disaster as well.

Hyuga Natsu, who had been missing for several months, had suddenly appeared within the Hyuga Clan Estate. More importantly, the main family's Caged Bird had stopped working!

If this matter leaked out, the Hyuga Clan would be in grave danger.

--

When Naruto returned home, he found Minato Namikaze and Hyuga Natsu already waiting inside.

Minato Namikaze could leave Naruto's Sealing Space, but he could only appear in the form of a Shadow Clone, and he had to borrow the Nine-Tails' Chakra. Otherwise, with just that wisp of Chakra, he would probably vanish after taking one fall outside.

At first, Naruto had not known how to deal with the Caged Bird. After all, it was the secret technique the Hyuga Clan relied on to continue its bloodline, and one they had used for hundreds of years. Solving it could not possibly be simple.

After racking his brains without finding a solution, Naruto decided to take another path.

Since he could not resolve the Caged Bird, he would not try to resolve it. Instead, he would find a way to sever the Caged Bird's connection to the outside world, preventing others from affecting the bearer through its technique. To achieve that, Sealing Technique was the best choice.

There happened to be someone by Naruto's side who was proficient in Sealing Technique. For nearly half a year, Minato Namikaze had been studying the Caged Bird's seal in the Sealing Space. Naturally, his research subject had been Hyuga Natsu of the Hyuga Clan.

Although directly kidnapping someone for research was not exactly ideal, it was a necessary sacrifice. Naruto's moral bottom line was rather flexible.

After several months of sleepless research by Minato Namikaze—taking a mouthful of Nine-Tails' Chakra whenever he was tired, and another whenever he was sleepy—he had finally created a Sealing Technique capable of sealing the Caged Bird.

However, this method could not completely solve the Caged Bird problem. The Caged Bird still existed, as did its various negative effects. For example, the Byakugan would still be immediately destroyed upon the bearer's death, and it would also be destroyed if someone tried to forcibly take it. That strange one-degree blind spot still remained as well.

As for how to solve those drawbacks, he would probably have to wait until he flew to the moon and obtained that Great Tenseigan, or perhaps ask Orochimaru to study it in the future.

"How did it go?" Naruto asked curiously, looking at the two of them.

"The results are even better than expected. When the main family actively activates the Caged Bird technique, it no longer has any effect."

Minato Namikaze answered truthfully. His face still wore a smile as warm as the sun, but Hyuga Natsu's expression was filled with conflict.

"Since the results are so good, why do you look like that?" Naruto turned to Hyuga Natsu again.

Hyuga Natsu clasped her hands over her lower abdomen and bowed to Naruto. "My apologies, Young Master Naruto. I've just suddenly lost the Caged Bird's restraints, so I'm still not quite used to it."

Hyuga Natsu was a traditional branch family ninja of the Hyuga Clan. Even though she possessed the strength of an average jonin, she had still willingly become a maid of the main family. Nearly ten years of serving as a maid had destined her to live only within a cage.

"You two, return to the Sealing Space first."

Naruto had no interest in meddling further. She was merely a maid, after all. He placed his hands on their shoulders, and dark patterns flowed across them as the two vanished instantly.

He then took the Three-Eyed Cat Face Mask from the Sealing Space. After putting it on, he vanished from where he stood as well.