Truly Pitiful, Unfortunate People

The Branch Family Head's residence was dimly lit, and the night air carried a chill.

Thump... Thump...

A series of muffled blows echoed through the courtyard. A boy with fair skin and a bandage wrapped around his forehead stood in the yard, repeatedly striking a wooden post with fluid punches.

Yet as he swung, the vacant look on his youthful face gradually twisted into a savage grimace. A trace of fierceness replaced his former calm, and the Gentle Fist in his hands slowly became vicious and violent.

Not a single palm strike used Chakra. This self-destructive method of training gradually reduced his fists to a bloody mess, and glaring bloodstains began to appear in the deep dents on the wooden post.

Rather than practice, it was more like venting.

Even so, he showed no sign of stopping.

All Hyuga Neji could think of was the scene from a few days ago, when he had first witnessed the Caged Bird.

As on every day over the past few years, he had gone to spar with that Main Family Young Lady.

By then, the ugly Curse Mark had already been carved onto him. Yet he had no idea what it meant, naively believing it was merely the "duty" the other clan members spoke of—a duty symbolizing the Branch Family's protection of the Main Branch.

Duty.

Those two words had never felt real to him. In his eyes, as an older brother, protecting his younger sister was simply what he ought to do.

Even without that so-called "duty," he had done so every day in the past, cherishing Hinata as his younger sister.

Until that day, that moment.

He saw with his own eyes his father, whom he had always revered, clutching his head tightly as his body convulsed, howling and screaming in agony on the ground like a dog.

He had never understood why his father refused to remove his forehead protector even in his own home.

Until the moment it fell from his father's forehead, revealing the Curse Mark carved there. The bulging veins resembled centipedes, while the hideous blue Curse Mark seemed to be writhing as well.

And that so-called Main Branch head, that man whom he should have called "uncle," merely watched him and his father coldly, activating the Curse Mark without the slightest pity.

"Just this once." Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan glinted coldly in the dark room as he said indifferently, "Do not forget your mission."

That was the first time Hyuga Neji had seen the ugliness of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, the first time he understood what the Curse Mark truly meant to them.

That so-called Curse Mark could easily destroy their cranial nerves. This meant that the Main Branch, which held control over the Curse Mark, held the power of life and death over the Branch Family.

Should anyone from the Branch Family harbor disloyal or presumptuous thoughts, or fail to fulfill their obligations and duties, the Main Branch could use the Curse Mark to execute them.

And according to everyone, only death could free them from that Curse Mark, which was no different from a curse.

From then on, the once gentle Hyuga Neji became cold and distant. The way he looked at Hinata was no longer with an older brother's doting affection, but with the disgust and hatred one would feel toward an enemy.

Creak!

Hyuga Neji gritted his teeth and threw punch after palm strike, as if his father's counsel echoed in his ears once more.

"Neji, do not resent the Main Branch. The Caged Bird is not a curse; it is merely a protective measure."

"I understand, Father."

"Our Byakugan is coveted by enemies. The Main Branch does this to prevent the Byakugan from falling into enemy hands, for the future of the Hyuga Clan."

"I understand, Father."

"This is our mission as the Branch Family, and our fate as the Branch Family. One day, you will understand."

"I understand, Father..."

Crack!!

Amid a shriek as the air was torn apart, the wooden post finally gave way and snapped in two. Wood chips scattered like snow.

Hyuga Neji staggered to his knees and lowered his head to look at his bleeding palms. His black hair concealed his face as he murmured softly, "I understand, Father..."

But I don't understand.

Why could those of the Main Branch accept all this with such peace of mind?

Why the hell could those of the Main Branch accept all this with such peace of mind?!

Why did those people who harmed their own kin get to sit upon the backs of the Branch Family and accept everything without shame? Why did they get to prettify the Branch Family's sacrifices as "fate"?!

Click.

The door made a faint sound, breaking the deathly silence in the courtyard.

The hazy yellow light behind him came on, and a figure slowly walked up behind Neji. That broad shadow enveloped him.

"Neji..."

Looking at the child with his back turned, Hizashi Hyuga's expression was incomparably complicated.

After decades, even centuries, of such "inheritance," most Branch Family children had been indoctrinated from childhood with the belief that "the Branch Family was born to protect the Main Branch." Almost no one from the Branch Family still resisted the Main Branch.

They rejoiced at the Main Branch's praise, feared the Main Branch's wrath, and grew angry over the Main Branch's sorrow.

Hizashi Hyuga should have instilled the Master-Servant Concept in Neji from childhood like everyone else, but in the end, he had not done so.

Perhaps he had regretted it at times over the past three years. Yet whenever he saw the sincere, doting smile on Neji's face when he looked at Hinata, he was glad he had not.

He did not want Neji and Hinata's relationship to become like that between himself and his older brother. He had hoped that when the day came for Neji to receive the Caged Bird, Neji would sincerely feel that being marked by it did not matter, and would continue treating Hinata like an older brother as he had before.

In his view, given Hinata's personality, she would never use the Curse Mark on Neji. The two could still get along as they had when they were children.

But Hizashi Hyuga had never expected that what happened that day—his momentary impulse, his murderous intent toward Hinata, and everything that followed—would affect and change Neji so profoundly...

"Father."

Hyuga Neji rose to his feet and hid his hands behind his back.

Hizashi Hyuga came back to himself, gently patting Neji's head as he forced a mild smile. "Neji, your Thirty-Two Palms has become very proficient. After a while longer, I can teach you more advanced Gentle Fist techniques."

"Yes, Father." Hyuga Neji's expression remained calm, with no trace of joy.

Seeing Neji like this, Hizashi Hyuga could not help falling silent. He sighed inwardly.

"Go treat your wounds." He glanced at the hand Neji had hidden behind his back. "Don't do this again next time."

"..." Hyuga Neji lowered his head. Only after a moment did he speak. "Yes, Father."

As Neji stepped into the house, Hizashi Hyuga remained where he was in silence for a long time.

It was not as though he had never tried to resist that so-called fate. But by now, he had long understood that fate was not someone standing before you, whose throat you could seize simply because you wanted to.

Fate had no weaknesses. It could advance, and it could retreat. Neither you nor I could escape it.

"I only hope that as Neji gradually grows up, the resentment in his heart will fade." Hizashi Hyuga seemed to be speaking to himself as he murmured, "All the suffering he endures now will become treasures that make Neji even stronger."

As his words fell, just as he was about to turn and leave, a scoff drifted into his ears on the wind.

"What a tragedy," someone said. "Unfortunate people are always creating people even more unfortunate than themselves."