Caged Bird

On the wasteland, after Hyuga Kanjin and the others hurriedly departed, only Uchiha Yuan and his three companions remained.

"Yuan, thank you."

Hyuga Kagami sat on the ground with his back against a large boulder and sincerely thanked Uchiha Yuan and the other two.

Senju Gen wore an indignant expression. "I'd heard of the Hyuga Clan's Cage Bird Seal, but I never imagined it could be so vicious. The lives of your Branch Family are completely controlled by the Main Family."

Hyuga Kagami could only offer a helpless, bitter smile.

Uchiha Yuan sighed softly. "This is an internal matter of a Ninja Clan. Even the village cannot interfere."

"But they're targeting and bullying you just because you lost to me last time? Hmph, that's going too far."

Hyuga Kagami shook his head, an unwilling look appearing on his face. "That was only Hyuga Kanjin's excuse. The real reason was that he nearly lost to me during a clan match."

Uchiha Yuan frowned in confusion. "Kagami, from what I can see, Hyuga Kanjin is weaker than you. How could he have beaten you in a match?"

Hyuga Kagami smiled bitterly. "At the final moment, he activated the Cage Bird Seal."

"Despicable!"

"Shameless!"

Senju Gen and Hatake Harukaze cursed in anger at the same time.

Hyuga Kagami continued, "Because of that, the Branch Family elders were deeply dissatisfied, so the Main Family placed Hyuga Kanjin in confinement for three days as punishment.

After his confinement was lifted, Hyuga Kanjin began targeting me constantly."

Senju Gen said, "Kagami, I think you're more qualified than Hyuga Kanjin to become part of the Hyuga Main Family."

Uchiha Yuan said gravely, "Gen, you're wrong. In my view, the Hyuga Clan's rules dividing the Main Family and Branch Family are the problem.

The Main Family are the masters, while the Branch Family are slaves whose lives and deaths are entirely controlled by them. Such a division is truly hard to accept."

Senju Gen scratched his cheek. "But the Cage Bird Seal exists to protect the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan. It is precisely because of the Cage Bird Seal that other ninja villages have not obtained the Hyuga Byakugan."

Uchiha Yuan said, "That is exactly the problem. Since the Cage Bird Seal exists to protect the Byakugan, why does the Hyuga Main Family control its activation and use it to control the Branch Family?"

After a pause, Uchiha Yuan looked at Hyuga Kagami and continued, "I don't think the Hyuga Branch Family cannot accept the Cage Bird Seal. What they cannot accept is having their lives and deaths completely controlled by the Main Family.

Kagami, what do you think?"

Hyuga Kagami looked at Uchiha Yuan, and a feeling of having found a kindred spirit arose within him. He had never expected Uchiha Yuan to be the one who understood him best.

Uchiha Yuan was right. For the sake of the clan, he could accept having the Cage Bird Seal branded upon him; as a member of the Branch Family, he would even sacrifice his life to protect the Main Family.

But he truly could not accept having his life and death controlled by someone else.

Hyuga Kagami's expression softened, and he gave Uchiha Yuan a carefree smile. "Yuan, it seems you hid your true strength during our last match.

Facing Hyuga Kanjin's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, you actually managed to redirect all the palm force into the ground beneath your feet. That was incredible."

Uchiha Yuan said indifferently, "That guy was simply too weak."

After a pause, Uchiha Yuan asked Hyuga Kagami, "Kagami, do you want to become stronger?"

Hyuga Kagami nodded firmly, determination showing on his face. "I do."

"If you're willing, you can join us. We train after school at the Hatake Clan Land."

Hyuga Kagami first looked at Senju Gen in surprise. He had no idea when Senju Gen had started hanging around with Uchiha Yuan and the others.

Then, with a solemn expression, he nodded. "Of course I'm willing."

Two days later, at the Hatake Clan Land.

Senju Gen and Hatake Harukaze were sparring. One advanced as the other retreated, and for a time, neither could gain the upper hand.

At the edge of an open area nearby, Hyuga Kagami had activated his Byakugan and was carefully observing the two. This was his first time joining Uchiha Yuan's private training.

"Although Harukaze has less Chakra than Gen, his techniques for exerting force are far more refined than Gen's. I estimate they'll determine the winner in another ten exchanges."

Beside Hyuga Kagami, Uchiha Yuan sat cross-legged, his gaze fixed intently on the two combatants as he observed the openings and flaws revealed in their attacks.

"Three more exchanges. It looks like Harukaze will win today," Uchiha Yuan said.

As soon as he spoke, Senju Gen swayed sideways to evade Hatake Harukaze's punch, then stomped down fiercely.

The ground shattered and collapsed under the immense force, immediately throwing Hatake Harukaze off balance.

Seizing the opportunity, Senju Gen used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared behind Hatake Harukaze, holding one hand like a blade beside his neck.

However, Hatake Harukaze's figure burst apart and vanished. It was a clone.

At the same time, Senju Gen felt someone grab his feet.

The next second, he was violently dragged into the earth, with only his head left above ground.

It was the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique.

Hyuga Kagami deactivated his Byakugan, unable to hide the surprise on his face.

Both of their performances had far exceeded his expectations, especially Hatake Harukaze's. He had not even noticed when Harukaze had cast that final Clone Technique.

Uchiha Yuan smiled. "I thought Harukaze would lose. I didn't expect him to combine the Clone Technique and Substitution Technique so skillfully at the end."

At this moment, Senju Gen and Hatake Harukaze walked over.

Senju Gen dusted himself off, his face full of annoyance. "Harukaze's Blade Technique is getting sharper and sharper. I had to focus completely, otherwise I wouldn't have been fooled by his Clone Technique."

Uchiha Yuan smiled. "Gen, a loss is a loss. There are no excuses."

Hyuga Kagami rose to his feet and walked up to Senju Gen. "Gen, you're the person I've wanted to spar with most, but I never had the opportunity.

Today, let us have a match here."

Senju Gen broke into a hearty grin. "Haha, I've long wanted to experience the power of Hyuga Gentle Fist."

Night, at the Uchiha compound.

The surrounding houses were brightly lit, and the voices of clan members occasionally drifted out.

Uchiha Yuan followed a secluded path to a warehouse located in a remote corner of the compound.

At the warehouse's side entrance, Uchiha Yuan formed a hand seal with one hand. Several ripples immediately appeared in the air, followed by a glowing door like a curtain of water.

At this moment, a barrier enveloped the warehouse. Passing through the glowing door, Uchiha Yuan entered the warehouse.

The moment he entered, waves of shouts reached his ears. In the open space at the center of the warehouse, a group of Uchiha youths stood in neat formation, holding horse stances and performing Straight Punch Thrusts in time with breaths that followed a particular rhythm.

"Big Brother."

Uchiha Daishi stood at the front of the formation, earnestly practicing Straight Punch Thrusts. The instant he saw Uchiha Yuan, he stopped and came forward.