Unraveling the Caged Bird

In the Hyuga clan, Neji had already become a genin.

Neji's instructor was Might Guy, and his teammates were Rock Lee and Tenten.

With his formidable strength, Neji had completed three D-rank missions and one C-rank mission in just a year.

Today, Neji was once again at home, training against wooden dummies.

Veins bulged around his eyes, and sweat poured down his forehead as wooden dummies rushed at him one after another!

Neji dealt with the dummies in an orderly manner.

But as the dummies grew faster and faster, Neji began to struggle.

His original three-hundred-and-sixty-degree field of vision had been flawed by the Caged Bird seal!

A wooden dummy attacked from directly behind Neji, but he failed to notice it!

A shuriken instantly shattered the dummy.

Neji stopped moving and halted the dummy formation.

Neji looked at Sasuke and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Sasuke smiled. "Neji, I have a way to remove your Caged Bird curse mark!"

Neji's face lit up, but worry soon appeared in his eyes. He hesitated. "But... that's the clan's rule!"

Sasuke said to Neji, "You clearly know that rule is utterly stupid. Your Byakugan is naturally of great purity, yet the Caged Bird has left it flawed!"

Sasuke asked Neji, "Think carefully. Do you want to live for yourself, or for the clan? With the Caged Bird on your forehead, you will never escape the title of 'branch family'! Your children and descendants will be branded with the Caged Bird as well!"

Neji's expression twisted in pain!

He was also wondering whether he was living for himself or for the clan!

After a moment, Neji said to Sasuke, "I want... to live for myself!"

Sasuke nodded and led Neji toward the forest.

In a forest on the outskirts of Konoha stood a ruined experimental base.

Long ago, Orochimaru had used it for human experimentation.

Danzo's Sharingan arm had also been transplanted by Orochimaru.

But because of the Third Hokage's siege,

Orochimaru had fled in defeat, leaving behind much of his research material. Still, Orochimaru was not worried.

After all, those idiots in Konoha definitely would not understand it.

Orochimaru cleaned up the experimental base and resumed his research into "curse marks."

This was the power of the sages from Ryuchi Cave, but Orochimaru could not wield that power himself. He could only extract a portion of the sage power and transform it into "curse marks."

Orochimaru pressed a red button, and a figure immediately appeared. Tubes covered his entire body as he lay submerged in nutrient fluid.

It was Jugo, the child Orochimaru had found near Ryuchi Cave.

Jugo's blood was extracted and converted into a viscous black liquid through a special instrument!

Orochimaru injected this liquid, which contained natural energy, into his own body.

At once, veins spread across Orochimaru's entire arm.

He was in tremendous pain!

But as black markings crawled across his arm, Orochimaru was both pained and delighted.

When pitch-black markings spread across half of Orochimaru's body like flames, he revealed a satisfied smile.

The power contained within made Orochimaru's heart stir!

Suddenly, a little white snake slithered over, crawled into Orochimaru's sleeve, and merged with him.

Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely. "Heh heh heh, Sasuke-kun has arrived."

Sasuke brought Neji to this experimental base.

Looking at this place he had never seen before, Neji cautiously asked Sasuke, "Sasuke, where is this?"

Sasuke said, "The only person I could think of who might help you break the Caged Bird is the person before you!"

Then Sasuke led Neji before Orochimaru!

Using his Byakugan to look at Orochimaru's back, Neji could only sense that the man before him possessed an extremely sinister chakra presence!

As Orochimaru turned around,

Neji saw Orochimaru's deathly pale face and was shocked!

"Orochimaru!"

Orochimaru, Konoha's S-rank rogue ninja!

The former disciple of the Third Hokage!

Orochimaru, one of Konoha's legendary Three Sannin, as famous as Jiraiya!

Why had he returned to Konoha!?

Orochimaru chuckled hoarsely. "Heh heh, Byakugan brat, you're a little one from the Hyuga clan. Hiashi Hyuga and I are 'old friends.'"

Orochimaru had once tried to dig out Hiashi Hyuga's Byakugan, but had failed.

So Orochimaru considered the two of them old friends.

Sasuke told Neji that Orochimaru was the only person who might be able to break the Caged Bird curse mark.

After hesitating for a moment, Neji chose to trust Orochimaru as well!

Orochimaru thoroughly examined Neji's body. Orochimaru's hands were ice-cold, and whenever they brushed over Neji's body, they sent a shiver of revulsion through him.

Neji suspected Orochimaru was deliberately trying to disgust him, but he had no proof. For the sake of breaking the Caged Bird, he endured it!

Orochimaru said, "Heh heh heh, I've long heard that the Hyuga clan plants a curse mark called [Caged Bird] on members of the branch family. The Caged Bird damages the host's nerves and brain, leaving the originally flawless Byakugan with defects.

Normally, the Caged Bird curse mark can only disappear with its host's death. But in my view, a curse mark that weakens talent by damaging the body is merely the lowest grade of curse mark."

Orochimaru continued, "Breaking the Caged Bird is not difficult, but I will need some time."

Neji asked nervously, "How long?"

Orochimaru replied, "Three hours."

Orochimaru was an ancestor-level expert in curse mark research. He removed Neji's forehead protector, exposing the Caged Bird hidden beneath it.

Orochimaru began trying to determine how to "extract" the curse mark without damaging Neji's brain.

In the end, Orochimaru chose to place Neji inside Jugo's container. As the nutrient fluid covered Neji's head, a suffocating sensation washed over him, and Neji lost consciousness.

One tube after another was inserted into Neji's head—five in total.

The tubes extracted Neji's blood, purified it, then pumped it back into his body. Strands of black impurities were separated out.

This method of unraveling it strand by strand was the safest!

It would not trigger the Caged Bird's "self-destruction" mechanism.

Orochimaru said to Sasuke, "Sasuke-kun, I am about to break Neji's Caged Bird. When will you fulfill your promise?"

Sasuke said, "From now on, you are my teacher. Is there anything you can teach me?"