Caged Bird

A cheerful celebration broke up unhappily because of that young man's arrival. After being rendered speechless by Zi Xu, the Byakugan youth fled in disgrace.

"Thank you." Chino, now calmer, let out a light breath and softly thanked Zi Xu, but her expression had returned to its previous coldness. Hatsumi and Zi Xu didn't know what to say—from the young man's words, it seemed to be a problem within their clan, so they kept quiet.

"Let's call it a day. We've all eaten plenty. Go home and rest well..." Zi Xu waved a hand lightly, indicating there was no need to dwell on it. Since Chino didn't intend to elaborate, he wouldn't pry.

Only then did Hatsumi feel the oppressive atmosphere around them ease. She let out a relieved sigh and hurried off to pay the bill.

The three parted ways at the barbecue restaurant's entrance. On his way home, Zi Xu once again sensed the contradictions within Konoha.

"Main House and Branch Family? The conflict between the two factions is severe. It seems the Main House holds an absolute position. If I think boldly, in dangerous situations, might the Branch Family be forced to sacrifice their lives to protect the Main House? And even within the Branch Family, there are different factions..." Based on the man's and Chino's conversation, Zi Xu speculated in his mind.

"But wasn't the Hyuga Clan one of the first families to follow the First Hokage and join Konoha? Was the Main House/Branch Family system established back then, or did it appear after the Third Hokage took office?" Zi Xu felt he shouldn't dwell on this—the deeper he went, the more he might touch the darkest roots of Konoha.

"Anyway, I'll practice the Clone Technique first. With my current strength, knowing more would be useless anyway. Mastering the Clone Technique will give me more confidence..." Zi Xu pushed the chaotic thoughts out of his mind and prepared to begin training in the Clone Technique.

He had a bold idea. The system's prize pool contained many strange Demon Fruits he'd never seen before. If he could draw a few, then feed them to his clones, would he effectively master multiple abilities? If this hypothesis could be realized, he could also use different personas and accomplish much more.

Unfortunately, the Clone Technique he currently knew definitely couldn't be used that way. He had asked the system and confirmed he wouldn't explode from it before daring to try. Maybe it had something to do with Chakra energy? He wasn't sure.

"The Chakra flow path is correct. Next are the hand seals." Zi Xu skillfully formed hand seals in his room, one after another. Finally, he let out a soft shout. He felt only a negligible thread of Chakra drain from his body—slightly different from when he'd tried before.

"Clone Technique!"

The Clone Technique, which had never succeeded before, perhaps affected by the earlier events, now worked. A puff of white smoke emerged beside Zi Xu, and a figure identical to him in clothing and build appeared next to him.

Though the figure looked no different from Zi Xu on the surface, he felt something was missing. It seemed insubstantial, like a painting lacking the final finishing touch—obviously fake at a glance.

Zi Xu punched the clone, and it dispersed on impact.

Shaking his uninjured fist, he sighed:

"As expected, the ordinary Clone Technique is just a flashy trick. Only an illusion, no substance. It can only confuse enemies or be used for reconnaissance... Actually, it can't even do reconnaissance properly..." He had heard from Chino and Hatsumi that Konoha also had the Shadow Clone Technique and Multi Shadow Clone Technique developed by the Second Hokage. Shadow clones had substance and grew stronger with the user's strength. Compared to the Shadow Clone Technique, this ordinary Clone Technique was more like a controllable illusion.

"I'll have to find a way to learn Shadow Clone later. And about Chino's matter—maybe that's why she opposes the Will of Fire..." Zi Xu repeatedly practiced the Clone Technique while striking his own body with a hammer. He had recently discovered that subjecting his body to impact could increase his Fusion Level. Though the progress was small, it was still progress.

The next day, Zi Xu and Hatsumi attended class as usual, but Chino, who had never been absent, was late. Takeshi Goda said Chino had taken the day off, sparking discussion between the two.

"Hatsumi, do you think the situation in Konoha, where a clan like Chino's has Main House and Branch Family opposing each other, is right?"

"It's definitely wrong, but since the First Hokage founded the village, the Hyuga Clan joined, so there must be..." Hatsumi tried to defend it, but her words grew weaker and weaker.

"Right? Does it align with the essence of the Will of Fire?" Zi Xu pressed relentlessly.

"No... no..." Hatsumi spoke weakly.

"If it's wrong, why do they still do it? If they can't achieve equality and fraternity within their own clan, how can they achieve equality and peace for the village and the entire ninja world?" Zi Xu pressed further.

"The Hyuga Clan has been like this since the village was founded. It's never changed, all the way to now..."

"Just because it's always been this way, does that make it right?" This sentence became the last straw for Hatsumi. The timid, submissive girl finally began to face a fact—Konoha wasn't as wonderful as she had believed.

"Hatsumi, Konoha's future needs us to change it. You don't want the Hyuga Clan to stay like this forever, do you? And if a major clan like Hyuga is like this, who can guarantee their own clan won't follow the same path?" Zi Xu's words were like a demon from hell, filled with seductive, corrupting power.

"Huh? Chino?" Hatsumi felt flustered. Fortunately, she saw Chino, who was supposed to be on leave, walking toward them carrying her schoolbag. Seizing it like a lifeline, she quickly ran over to Chino.

"Chino? Fat Tiger said you took the day off?" Zi Xu asked with concern. Both girls were used to him calling Takeshi Goda "Fat Tiger."

"It's nothing. Just a small matter. Here." Chino yawned, took a bag of medicinal herbs from her backpack, and tossed it to Zi Xu. He caught the flying herbs and stored them in his Sealing Scroll.

"Chino, are you really okay? Do you need our help? We'll definitely help you!" Influenced by Zi Xu's earlier words, Hatsumi wanted to do something to change the situation.

Chino returned to her seat, crossed her arms, and looked at Zi Xu and Hatsumi with a scrutinizing gaze. Finally, she let out a soft sigh and spoke in a tired voice:

"After school."

Zi Xu could roughly see the limits of the Ninja Academy's teaching. Besides cultural classes, it was just basic ninjutsu. The day's lessons ended quickly. Without exaggeration, aside from ninjutsu and taijutsu classes, the other courses were basically subtle brainwashing.

After class, the three went to their usual training spot. This place was their secret base, unknown to anyone else—by "anyone else," they meant people at the Ninja Academy, not professionals like the Anbu.

Chino stood opposite them, slowly untying the dark red forehead protector from her head, revealing a fluorescent green mark. At the center of her forehead was a cross-shaped cross, with horizontal hook patterns pointing in opposite directions on each side. It looked like a butterfly trapped in a spiderweb.

"What's this?"

"The Caged Bird Curse Seal. It's a seal placed by the Main House to limit the Byakugan's power. It only disappears upon death. At the same time, the Hyuga Main House can destroy the brain tissue of the person bearing this seal at will..." Chino let out a long breath. Her emotions were far from calm.

"In other words, my life isn't under my control. If I do anything detrimental to the Main House, they can kill me with a single thought..." Chino spoke rapidly, her eyes filled with undisguised hatred for the Main House.

Chino continued, as if wanting to vent all the oppression and anger she had bottled up over the years. Through her explanation, they understood the general structure of the Hyuga Clan.

The so-called Main House was the true heir of the Hyuga Clan, bearing the responsibility of protecting and developing the clan.

The Branch Family was the Main House's guardian, tasked with protecting the Hyuga Main House.

The overall idea was that the Branch Family protected the Main House, while the Main House enjoyed the benefits.

There could only be one heir to the Main House. If the Main House had multiple descendants in the same generation, only one would be chosen as the Main House heir, while all others became Branch Family.

That meant only one person per generation could be in the Main House. Even after a thousand years, the Hyuga Clan had only one Main House. The Branch Family was forever the Main House's guardian, and their numbers kept growing. Internally, they had split into the Pro-Main Faction, which had completely become the Main House's lackeys, and the Independence Faction, which opposed Main House rule and demanded Branch Family independence.

All Branch Family members had the "Caged Bird" curse seal engraved on their foreheads when the Main House's eldest child turned three. The Main House could use this seal to control and destroy Branch Family members' brain nerves, thus controlling them. The seal only lifted upon death.

According to the Main House, this seal could limit the Byakugan's power and, after the subject's eyes were removed or they died, completely destroy the subject's eyeballs and brain. It was a decision made to keep the Hyuga Byakugan from spreading and prevent power leakage. But looking at the current situation, this policy used Branch Family blood to water the Main House's flowers, confirming Zi Xu's earlier speculation—when the Main House was in danger, the seal's power forced Branch Family members to desperately save the Main House, whether the Main House wanted it or not.

And if something happened to the Main House, all Branch Family members responsible for protection would die.

"H-How can this be? This... this is..." Hatsumi covered her mouth, her eyes filled with shock and disbelief. Zi Xu finished the sentence she couldn't.

"It's practically slavery..."

Zi Xu looked at Chino, whose eyes were slightly red, and couldn't help feeling a chill run down his spine toward Konoha again. Though he had seen through Konoha's nature long ago, at this moment, he felt an inexplicable anger.

"The Will of Fire?" Zi Xu's eyes narrowed slightly, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

---Author's Note---

New book, please add to collection.