Caged Bird

A small grove.

Metal sliced through the air, emitting a sharp, piercing hiss.

Shuriken flew in from various angles like a flock of birds fighting for scraps, while Hyuga Shingetsu, the target, swung her arms with lightning speed.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—

Her kunai traced graceful arcs, deflecting the incoming shuriken and sparking a series of flashes.

It looked like an excellent defense, yet it made Akashi frown slightly.

Something was wrong; the hesitation between her movements was far too long.

She seemed somewhat distracted.

A shuriken was aimed directly at her vitals; the usual Shingetsu would have blocked it easily, but today, she was clearly a beat too slow.

"Watch out!" Akashi barked.

Shingetsu jolted, realizing too late that her hand speed couldn't keep up.

She instinctively tilted her head to dodge.

The metallic ring of the shuriken grazed past her ear, catching a few strands of her hair.

Immediately after, both of them froze.

Her forehead protector, engraved with the Konoha symbol, clattered to the ground, revealing her smooth forehead and the glaring—

Caged Bird Seal.

Stunned, Shingetsu scrambled to pick up the protector, trying to tie it back on, but the strap had been severed, leaving her looking flustered and disheveled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Akashi apologized hurriedly.

"It was my own carelessness."

Shingetsu held the protector in one hand and covered her forehead with the other. Unlike her usual cold, proud demeanor, she suddenly appeared incredibly fragile.

A bold thought suddenly sprouted in Akashi's mind: perhaps he could win this girl over!

He did not step closer, leaving a respectful distance for them to communicate.

In moments like these, maintaining boundaries was crucial; a storm of comfort was not always effective.

Sure enough, Shingetsu did not push him away. "You saw it, didn't you?"

"Huh?"

"That thing..."

"Yes, I know. It's a tradition of the Hyuga clan." Akashi nodded. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. You get used to it eventually," Shingetsu said with a faint smile.

She sat on a rock, staring blankly at the sky, her eyes as pure as the expanse above.

The Caged Bird Seal, carved onto the foreheads of the Hyuga branch family, served as a mechanism to protect the Byakugan. It was an ancient tradition and a responsibility passed down through generations.

But while it protected the branch family, it also became a shackle.

Talented youths could not grow into eagles soaring freely through the sky; they were forced to remain in a birdcage, destined to be the hounds of the main family.

They lived for the main family, and they died for the main family.

They rejoiced for the main family, and they worried for the main family.

The branch family had to sacrifice everything for the main family, while the main family could control and destroy the branch family's neural pathways through this curse seal, effectively holding the power of life and death over them.

Regardless of what kind of person the heir to the clan head position might be, they could use this method to maintain autocratic rule, where protection and persecution gradually became one and the same.

There were benefits, and there were drawbacks.

It was true that it prevented the Byakugan from leaking out, but it was equally true that it stripped the clansmen of their freedom.

"Is it ugly?" Shingetsu asked suddenly.

"Not at all," Akashi replied truthfully.

"I heard that Uchiha say earlier that we branch family members are just dogs for the main family, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. Honestly, when I was little, I didn't understand. If everyone is the same, why did my parents have to bow and scrape before the main family?

"It wasn't until I was branded with this mark that I realized we aren't the same.

"At first, it was hard to accept. I cried for a long time, but my parents told me that everyone goes through this. There is only one main family, but there are countless branch family members.

"Later on, I came to terms with it. The Hyuga clan has been able to endure and become the strongest in Konoha because of necessary sacrifices. If others can sacrifice, why can't I? Perhaps this is what they call fate."

Shingetsu maintained her smile, though a trace of sorrow flickered in her pure eyes.

"Are you truly willing to sacrifice yourself?" Akashi asked.

"I..." Shingetsu rested her chin on her hand and pursed her lips. "What does it matter if I'm willing or not? Our clan has always been this way."

"Just because it has always been this way, does that make it right?"

Akashi countered, his words ringing like a bell.

Niuzuki froze.

"Things like destiny exist only to be defied."

Akashi took the opportunity to step closer, sitting down beside Niuzuki. "The more you submit, the deeper you sink, and the more firmly you are controlled."

The two sat side by side, chatting as easily as friends.

Their tones were soft, yet every word carried weight.

The stirred-up memories and suppressed resentment began to accumulate, building into a force ready to erupt from within Niuzuki's body.

"Are you saying that we of the Branch House could stand on equal footing with the Main House?"

"At the very least, you must fight for it."

Akashi knew the fundamental structure of the ninja world was bizarre; things like feudal lords and clan heads were like mountains of air pressing down upon one's head.

They were light, yet somehow heavy enough that they could never be cast off.

"Once a person has knelt for too long, it becomes difficult to stand. I think finding a way to stand up is far more important than trying to figure out how to kneel more comfortably."

Niuzuki seemed shocked by these words; she had never considered such rebellious, heretical thoughts.

Rebel against the Main House?

Don't be ridiculous.

It wasn't as if there hadn't been those who attempted to resist throughout history, many of them geniuses, but what had become of them? In the stories told by her parents and elders, they had all failed, used as cautionary tales to warn future generations.

The moment the Caged Bird Seal was branded upon them, the Branch House had already lost the right to dialogue.

"You don't understand us, and besides... besides, the Caged Bird is a form of protection for us."

"If that's the case, then your friends, your children, and your children's children will all repeat the same tragedy. The Caged Bird doesn't protect the Branch House; it protects the Byakugan."

Akashi spoke slowly, his voice low but every word piercing the heart:

"You fear the Caged Bird, but in reality, the Main House fears you. Once everyone stops fearing the Caged Bird, what can the Main House do? Kill you all? A Main House without a Branch House is no longer a Main House."

"What you're saying is too insane."

Niuzuki shook her head slightly, acknowledging Akashi's concern, but that was all.

An outsider, in the end, could never understand them.

Akashi pressed on, step by step: "Your freedom, your dignity, your dreams—are you just going to abandon them all? To become an obedient slave, to live by others' whims, to accept the ideology of submission drilled into you since childhood—can you truly be content with that?"

Niuzuki bit her lip, her eyes clouded with confusion.

Those deeply rooted ideas had long been planted in her heart, but what Akashi said today was unlike any logic she had ever heard before.

No sacrifice, no destiny, no dictates of bloodline.

He was talking about the self.

What am I living for? Niuzuki couldn't help but start to wonder. Yes, am I only meant to be a tool for the Main House to realize their dreams? Perhaps all my growth has been nothing more than someone else's arrangement?

She, who had been outstanding since she was a child, why should she be an appendage to someone else!

"Haven't you ever suffered for your own plight? Where did the resentment from a few years ago go? Why suppress your own feelings, why not dare to question them—on what grounds? By what right?"

"Stop it! You don't understand anything at all!" Niuzuki suddenly raised her voice.

Her fists were clenched tight.

"Good, you're angry. Look, you're actually furious, aren't you?"

"I'm sorry..."

After that momentary burst of courage, Niuzuki sank back into despondency.

Akashi continued to turn up the pressure: "You aren't wrong, there is no need to apologize. The ones who are wrong are the Hyuga Clan, Konoha, and this world."

Since the words were already out, he didn't care if it sounded melodramatic or not.