Old Book Returned, and Testing Neji's Seal

"The book has already been returned."

As Chiba passed Neji, Neji raised the diagram between them.

"The librarian said you were still listed as the borrower."

"You took it without registering it."

"Then let's register it together."

Yakushi Yeyue was organizing notes in the classroom. Hearing their conversation, he looked up.

Chiba did not look at him and headed straight for the old archives section.

Neji followed him to the end of the shelves and set the diagram on the table.

"You said last time that the core of the Bird in a Cage was near the heart."

"I did."

"The Hyuga clan's seal is engraved through the forehead. When the main family activates the technique, the pain starts from the head as well."

"So you've been staring at the forehead."

Neji pulled out a chair but did not sit down.

"You're saying I've been looking in the wrong place?"

"The forehead receives the main family's chakra. For the technique to last for years, it also has to draw power from your body."

Chiba turned to the page on heart meridians and pressed a fingertip to one branch.

"Every time this meridian passes through the heart, it also passes through the forehead. The Bird in a Cage only needs to hide a circuit here to turn your chakra into fuel for the seal."

"The Byakugan can see the meridians throughout the body."

"You were born with it. Your own chakra is tangled with the seal, so naturally they look no different to you."

Neji's finger stopped over that branch.

"Where did you learn that?"

"The Senju Clan Grounds have old medical records. During the Warring States era, the Hyuga once helped the Senju identify chakra nodes, and the Senju also treated Hyuga seal backlash."

"The Hyuga main family has never mentioned any of this."

"Would the main family tell the branch family that their ancestors once asked an outside clan to touch the Bird in a Cage?"

Neji flipped back to the overall seal diagram.

"What is the record called?"

"Remnant Scripture Record."

"Which archive?"

"Under the shrine."

"Take me to see it."

"You can't get in."

Neji raised his eyes at Chiba.

"Is it that I can't get in, or that there was never such a book?"

Chiba pulled out a Konoha medical incident record from the shelf beside him and turned to a roster with half the page torn away.

The remaining text only stated that a Hyuga branch-family ninja had once assisted a Senju medical team in treating meridian damage.

"The ancient text does exist. I inferred the connection between the Hyuga and Senju from this roster. As for the Bird in a Cage's structure, I only saw similar techniques."

"Which part was false?"

"The title."

Neji pressed down on the edge of the table, and the wood gave a soft creak.

"You used a fake title to test me?"

"If you went back and questioned the main family, they would know you were investigating the Bird in a Cage."

"You calculated that I wouldn't ask."

"You're not someone who would leave your life to the main family's explanation."

Neji fell silent, his gaze returning to the heart node.

"I checked this place last night."

"And?"

"Every time chakra passes through, one branch lags half a beat behind. It's close to the spot you pointed out."

"Don't touch it."

"You told me to find it, and now you're telling me not to touch it?"

"Finding it and dismantling it are two different things. If you forcibly destroy the circuit, your heart may stop before the seal does."

Neji closed the diagram.

"What exactly do you want from me?"

"Nothing for now."

"You would just hand the Hyuga's secret to me for nothing?"

"A clue is not an answer."

"When I find the answer, then you'll name your price?"

Chiba withdrew the medical record and returned it to the shelf.

"When you can take your own life back from the main family, then we can discuss what you can do."

Neji blocked his path.

"You want to turn me into the Senju's blade?"

"If a blade cannot hold itself, it makes no difference who wields it."

"Easy for you to say. You weren't born with the Bird in a Cage."

"I was born carrying the Senju name. Do you think fewer people are watching me than you?"

Only half a step separated them. Neji's forehead protector hid the seal, but the veins around his Byakugan gradually emerged.

"Let me see your meridians."

"Do you need permission before activating the Byakugan?"

"There's unfamiliar chakra lingering around your eyes. Its color differs from ordinary Wood Release."

Chiba did not stop him.

The Byakugan's vision pierced through his skin and settled on his meridians.

The faint green traces left by natural energy the previous night had already dispersed into his chest. Only tiny circuits around his eye sockets remained.

Neji watched for several breaths before deactivating his Byakugan on his own.

"What is that?"

"Something left over from training."

"Wood Release would not alter the eye meridians."

"The Hyuga may not necessarily understand the Senju either."

"You're guarding against me."

"You also didn't tell me how long the heart node had been slowing down."

Neji picked up the diagram, opened the borrowing page, and added his own name.

"In one breath, chakra cycles seven times. One of those cycles deviates from its original path."

"When is it most obvious?"

"When someone from the main family is nearby."

That information was more valuable than Chiba had expected.

The Bird in a Cage did not remain in the same state at all times. When the main family's chakra approached, the hidden circuit prepared in advance to receive commands.

As long as he recorded those changes, he could gradually pinpoint the entire control chain.

"The next time the main family activates the technique, remember where the first pain begins."

Neji's expression darkened.

"You're asking me to wait for them to torture me?"

"If you only want it to hurt less once, you can give up now."

"You're not the one in pain."

"That's why the choice should not be mine to make for you."

Neji pushed the book back in front of Chiba.

"If you're lying to me, I'll personally seal your chakra points."

"Say that after you find the core."

The sound of pages closing came from beyond the shelves.

Yakushi Yeyue stood in the aisle with his organized class notes in his arms, not approaching either of them.

"Iruka-sensei is looking for you. The group list for wilderness survival training needs to be confirmed early."

As Neji passed him, he glanced at the old textbooks.

"New transfer?"

"Yakushi Yeyue."

"How much did you hear?"

"I only heard the teacher calling for people in the hallway."

Neji did not press further and walked directly out of the archives section.

Chiba picked up the diagram from the table, and Yeyue followed behind him.

"Do you really know how to undo the Bird in a Cage?"

"No."

"Then you dared to let him investigate his heart?"

"If he does not investigate, the seal will not disappear on its own."

"You want to win over the Hyuga branch family."

"Who do you plan to send that remark to?"

Yeyue handed over the class notes.

"If I really had someone to send it to, I would not have stood where you could see me just now."

"You stood there precisely so I could see you."

"Talking to you is exhausting."

The two entered the teachers' office, where Iruka was spreading a training ground map across the desk.

The outer perimeter of Training Ground 44 was marked by a blue line, while the central danger zone bore a conspicuous red X.

"This will be a mixed-grade training exercise. Eight teams will compete for flags, and lower- and upper-grade students will be split up."

Naruto leaned over the desk, his finger already reaching for the map.

"Are there really snakes bigger than houses in the Forest of Death?"

Iruka smacked his hand away.

"You will only operate around the perimeter. If anyone crosses the red line, your entire group's results will be voided."

Kiba, holding Akamaru, squeezed over to the other side of the map.

"Sensei, can we choose our own opponents?"

"The instructors will decide the groups. Once you enter the training ground, you will decide for yourselves how to handle whoever you encounter."

Rock Lee stood behind Neji and raised a hand toward a slope on the map.

"If we seize all the flags, can we prove that hard work can defeat any genius?"

Tenten pulled his hand back down.

"Listen to the rules first. Don't end up not even knowing where your own flag is."

Iruka rolled up the map.

"The detailed rules will be announced in three days. Start preparing your field equipment tomorrow. No one may enter the training ground privately."

Neji walked to the door, then turned back to look at Chiba.

"In three days, the school will hold a wilderness survival training exercise with group combat. If you and I are not in the same group, don't blame me for not holding back."