Double Cause for Celebration

The outside world's turmoil did not disturb the peace within Konoha.

Everything is progressing smoothly and according to the pre-set plan.

With the combined help of Minato, Taiichi, and Orochimaru, the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal is progressing rapidly.

After all, no matter how profound the Caged Bird Seal, it is still the result of hundreds of years ago.

As time goes by, Sealing Jutsu are constantly being updated and upgraded, and the most advanced techniques have improved by countless times compared to the past.

The reason why the Caged Bird could not be deciphered in the past was that the Curse Mark involved the life of the person being cursed, and it would self-destruct if it was touched, without giving it any chance to be deciphered.

But now it's like having the answer to solve the problem, and there are so many experts around. Although it's still difficult, as long as we follow the steps, deciphering it is only a matter of time.

April Year 50 of Konoha.

In a secret room within the Hyuga Clan, the new Caged Bird Seal is undergoing its final verification step: human experimentation.

Those present included the Hyuga clan head and Great Elder, Katsuya Otsutsuki and another representative, as well as the main developers for this project: Minato, Taiichi, Orochimaru, and several Hyuga Clan support personnel.

The group surrounded the sole test subject, waiting for the verification to begin.

Sitting cross-legged in the middle was Hizashi Hyuga. He had removed the Konoha Headband that had been covering his forehead, revealing the Curse Mark pattern that he loathed.

Even now, Hizashi still finds it hard to believe.

Looking back five days ago, when his older brother Hiashi found him and asked if he wanted to break the Caged Bird Seal, he genuinely thought his brother was looking for an excuse to kill him.

Although he didn't say he was terrified, his heart was filled with endless sorrow.

But after his brother explained the current situation of the clan and the plan that the village and the clan had discussed together, all that was left was happiness.

When his brother asked him to recommend a member of their tribe to participate in this human experiment, Hizashi recommended himself without hesitation.

Even though this first human experiment carried unknown risks, he was undaunted.

He was so eager to remove the shameful mark on his forehead that he was willing to be the first to do so, even if it was just a second earlier.

On site.

Taiichi walked up to Hizashi; he would be the one to perform the first experiment of the day.

This is not only because he was one of the people who spearheaded the modification of the Curse Mark, but also because he is the person with the most exquisite Chakra Control here—not one of the people, but the first.

Ironically, the entire Hyuga Clan not only lost the information on the Caged Bird Seal, but also had no one who knew how to break the seal.

In other words, even if the Caged Bird Seal is modified, the future replacement of the Curse Mark by the Hyuga Branch Family members will still rely on the three non- Hyuga clan members present. And according to Taiichi's guess, this task will most likely fall to him in the future.

Otherwise, do you expect the Hokage-sama to help you break the curse, or do you hope Orochimaru will put aside his research and speak kindly to these Hyuga clan members?

However, all of that is for the future. Right now, Taiichi's only concern is this first experiment.

Seeing the tense yet expectant expression on Hizashi's face, Taiichi himself was quite relaxed.

"Hizashi, don't worry. Don't you know my skill level? Even if I fail, I'm confident I can save your life."

Taiichi patted Hizashi on the shoulder, speaking with considerable confidence, intending to give him some encouragement, but unexpectedly—

"No, Taiichi, please don't worry about my life. Make ensuring the completion of the experiment your top priority. Even if I sacrifice myself, I can provide you with more data."

Hizashi spoke with unwavering resolve, his face filled with seriousness, and at this moment, he seemed to possess the resolve of a martyr.

Taiichi paused in his hand that was patting Hizashi's shoulder, and his face also turned serious as he looked at Hizashi's resolute expression.

Trust me, I won't let you down.

At this moment, among the onlookers, Minato, as the Hokage, watched everything with a solemn expression. Orochimaru, however, had a playful look in his eyes, appearing quite interested. The Hyuga clan members, on the other hand, were rather embarrassed, as this was, after all, a shameful incident for the Hyuga Clan.

Taiichi was in the middle, didn't care what the people around him thought. After comforting Hizashi, he began to mobilize his Chakra and formed hand seals.

He wasn't fast at Hand Seals, but it looked quite heavy, as if each seal was facing heavy resistance.

It took a full minute to complete 120 hand seals. At this moment, Taiichi's Chakra surged, and the turbulent Chakra even distorted his vision.

Then, Taiichi pointed out with his right sword finger, striking the center of the caged Caged Bird Hizashi's forehead. A massive Sealing Talisman unfolded into the void, with Taiichi's fingertip as the center.

Then the Talisman Formation rapidly contracted, penetrating into the Caged Bird mark. As the Talisman Formation shrank smaller and smaller, the Caged Bird mark was slowly worn away from its edges.

When the Talisman Formation completely disappeared, the Caged Bird mark also vanished completely.

"Phew!" Taiichi let out a long sigh of relief, a happy smile spreading across his face. He patted Hizashi's shoulder heavily again, his tone truly relaxed as he said, "Hizashi, you've lived up to expectations. The Caged Bird —is free."

Hizashi, who was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, was woken up by Taiichi. Upon hearing Taiichi's words, he was immediately stunned. His long-held dream had suddenly come true, leaving him momentarily unable to distinguish whether it was reality or a dream.

He blankly stretched out his right hand and helplessly touched his forehead, but he couldn't feel anything there.

Upon seeing this, Taiichi smiled slightly, not minding helping out a little more.

He snapped his fingers, and a life-sized ice mirror materialized out of thin air.

Hizashi only had time to give Taiichi a grateful look before turning to look at the Ice Mirror.

The reflection in the mirror showed a smooth forehead, no longer bearing the "ugly" mark of Caged Bird.

As he looked at and touched it, two streams of tears welled up in Hizashi's eyes.

It is said that men do not easily shed tears, but that is only because they have not yet been deeply hurt.

These silent tears best express Hizashi's feelings at this moment.

The atmosphere in the secret room became somewhat awkward for a moment, until finally Hiashi coughed lightly, signaling to Hizashi to proceed to the next step.

"I'm sorry, everyone, I couldn't control myself for a moment and made a fool of myself in front of you."

Hizashi came to his senses, he bowed deeply to everyone and apologized.

Everyone responded with kind smiles.

The next step, reapplying the new Curse Mark, is much easier; even Hyuga Elder is capable of handling this task.

Just to be on the safe side, Taiichi will do it for the first time.

When everything was over, a new Curse Mark appeared on Hizashi's forehead. Unlike the original one, this new Curse Mark only appeared immediately after it was engraved, and then gradually disappeared without a trace. According to Taiichi and the others' previous plan, when this Curse Mark reappeared, it would be the moment when this Hyuga clansman died or had his eyes taken away.

"Alright, activate your Byakugan and see if the Curse Mark affects your Byakugan's perspective." Taiichi clapped his hands, reminding Hizashi to test the effect of the Curse Mark.

Hizashi, having recovered from his initial agitation, immediately opened his Byakugan upon hearing this.

With bulging veins and white eyes, Hizashi surveyed his surroundings, as if testing the angle of his Byakugan.

Soon, a smile appeared on his face. "Very good, the Curse Mark has no effect on the Byakugan."

"Slap~ Slap~ Slap~"

A series of applause erupted from all around, and Hizashi's words reassured everyone.

After more than a month of effort, by gathering the most elite forces in Konoha, this problem was finally solved completely.

After that, the last obstacle preventing the Moon Otsutsuki Clan from merging with Konoha disappeared.

Just as everyone was still happy, Hiashi brought the Great Elder to Minato's side, looking quite awkward.

"Hokage-sama, everything is ready, but the issue of unsealing the seals... I would appreciate your assistance."

Minato chuckled inwardly as he watched Hiashi come knocking on his door again. He had already figured out what Taiichi could think of.

However, since the Hyuga Clan has been so cooperative in this matter, he doesn't mind doing them a favor.

He glanced at Taiichi, who was still chatting with Hizashi, and immediately called him over.

After explaining the situation, Taiichi showed an expression of "I knew it," and without hesitation, agreed.

Only----

"Hiashi Chief Hiashi, this unsealing process is quite costly. In order not to affect my daily work, I can only unseal the Curse Mark of 10 Hyuga clan members each day. I hope you understand."

It's not that I'm not trying hard Taiichi; it's just that only by letting the other party know how hard you work can they truly understand the value of your efforts.

Hiashi clearly understood the reasoning behind this, and upon hearing this, he bowed to Taiichi in gratitude.

On that Hyuga Clan held a clan meeting and announced that the clan would abolish the Caged Bird Seal and replace it with a brand new protective Curse Mark.

This Curse Mark no longer has the power to punish or determine life and death; it simply protects the Byakugan, and even the Main Family will be affected by the Curse Mark.

Upon the announcement, the entire family fell silent for a moment, then erupted into a deafening cheer.

As Taiichi released the 10 Branch Family members from the Caged Bird and had the Main Family members and these 10 Branch Family members jointly apply new Curse Mark, the atmosphere of the entire family reached a new climax.

Such a dramatic change in the Hyuga Clan could not possibly go Scout by those who were interested.

In fact, the Hyuga Clan itself had no intention of hiding it.

In the past, due to the Hyuga Clan 'Branch Family system of separate main and branch families, coupled with the Caged Bird, there was always a barrier between the various clans and the Konoha High Command.

It's just that the strategic role of Byakugan is so significant, and since this is someone else's family matter, this estrangement, though present, can still be suppressed.

Now that the biggest obstacle has disappeared, Hyuga can be considered to have fully integrated into the Konoha family.

Uchiha Compound, the clan head's Reception Hall.

Clan Chief Fugaku and the four elders were all present, listening attentively to the information gathered by a clansman.

After the Uchiha given the report left, only silence remained in the Reception Hall.

A long time----

"I never expected that Hyuga, who is usually so conservative, would make such a radical decision."

The Fourth Elder, the Uchiha Yashiro, slapped his knee and uttered a sigh, it was unclear whether he admired the Hyuga's boldness or was subtly criticizing the Uchiha's conservatism.

"The tide of the times has come, and even the most conservative family must change, or perhaps only destruction awaits you."

The Great Elder sighed softly and said something meaningful.

The Hyuga Clan had discussed their decision more than once during this period. Faced with this "sudden" crisis, they saw it as both a danger and an opportunity.

Faced with this sudden external pressure, the Hyuga Clan clearly made the best choice.

So, what about the Uchiha?

The relationship between the Uchiha and the village is currently at its best, except for the special period following the founding of Konoha.

The Fourth Hokage was not as wary of the Uchiha as the Second and Third Kazekage Hokage.

The Uchiha clan also maintained a close and positive relationship with the village's high-ranking military leaders (Taiichi).

In addition, the changing mindset within the Uchiha led to the opening up of some departments, such as the Military Police Force, which were previously controlled solely by the Uchiha.

But is that enough?

They say there's no harm in comparison.

Previously, the Uchiha clan genuinely believed they had already accomplished a great deal.

But now that the Hyuga family has Hyuga a precedent, it means that the entire family's ancestral system has been overturned and rebuilt.

This completely unsettled the Uchiha.

"Great Elder, the clan has changed so quickly. It's only been a short time since we opened the Military Police Force. If we make further changes, I'm afraid there will be internal strife!"

The Second Elder glanced at the worried expressions on the faces of the Great Elder and Fourth Elder, sighed inwardly, and voiced his concerns.

Everyone says he's Radical Faction, but why does he think the Neutral Faction Great Elder and the moderate Fourth Elder are more like Radical Faction?

"Fast? Can that be as fast Hyuga?"

Besides, who would object, aside from those old fogies who cling to the past glories and reminisce about bygone days? Which young person today would object to the current state of affairs?

The Fourth Elder retorted without hesitation. Although he himself was considered an old codger in his own words, he felt that he could still work for another twenty years.

"You—" The Second Elder was almost speechless. Was he doing this for his own sake? This was a problem that the family needed to face.

Seeing that the two elders were about to start arguing, Fugaku Uchiha finally spoke up.

"Alright!" He interrupted the Second Elder, who was about to speak again. "The problem Hyuga is facing is indeed unique and cannot be treated as a routine matter."

Before the Second Elder could even feel pleased, Fugaku spoke again, "But the pace of change within the clan truly needs to be accelerated."

Seeing that the Second Elder and Third Elder still looked conflicted, Fugaku sighed and decided to be more explicit.

"Most of you have had little contact with Taiichi, and your understanding of him is limited to hearsay. But I am different—"

Fugaku looked around, not only at the two Radical Faction elders, but also at the Great Elder and the Fourth Elder.

"I fought alongside Taiichi for a period during the Third Shinobi World War, and I also gathered some information from Itachi and Yohei. Even if his strength hasn't reached Madara Uchiha's level back then, it's not far off."

This time, not only the Second Elder and the Third Elder, but also the Great Elder and the Fourth Elder showed surprise on their faces.

"How could that be, clan chief? What's your basis for saying that?"

"Yes, clan leader, with his strength already at that level, how can he still improve so quickly? Is he even human?"

"Heh—" Fugaku chuckled softly, his voice tinged with self-mockery, "Gentlemen, the difference between people can sometimes be greater than the difference between a person and a dog."

Fugaku's words silenced everyone, but everyone understood that although Fugaku's words were harsh, they were the truth.

"As everyone knows, Lord Taiichi uses Shadow Clone to stay and train at the training camp."

Everyone nodded. They all understood this point. It wasn't that no one wanted to learn, but only those who had actually tried it would understand what it felt like to be worse than dead.

"According to the latest intelligence, Taiichi previously maintained eight permanent Shadow Clone, but not long ago, this number broke through to ten. Considering his ability to easily suppress the Nine-Tails during the Night of the Nine-Tails, I think you all don't need me to explain the reason."

Everyone fell silent. There was nothing they could do; in the face of absolute power, everything else was meaningless. Just like in the era of the First Hokage, no Uchiha dared to clamor for rebellion, which was an absolute recognition of the First Hokage's strength.

"Then—I have no objection." The Second Elder closed his eyes and said resignedly.

The Third Elder looked around, then, like the Second Elder, closed his eyes. "I have no objections either."