Caged Bird Is Born

"My second son is indeed too mediocre. How about finding another outstanding young man in the Uzumaki Clan? Hyuga Tenfu's daughter certainly won't be treated unfairly..."

"I'm not marrying anyone!"

Hyuga Rika shouted furiously, then bolted out the door without a care.

"Father, I'll go check on her."

Hyuga Tenjin had a splitting headache. Afraid his sister might do something rash, he hurried after her to talk her down.

Hyuga Tenfu's expression shifted unpredictably. He had to admit that Ryū had handled this matter disgracefully, practically slapping the Hyuga Clan across the face. If they did not need something from him, Hyuga Tenfu would definitely have demanded an explanation from Ryū.

But for now, he could only swallow his anger.

"Young Master Shusen, why are you back so soon?"

In the woods, Uzumaki Maple Leaf and the other guard squad members were quite surprised. They had assumed he had gone back last night to prepare for the wedding.

"Something went wrong. That girl wasn't suitable for me," Shusen said vaguely, unwilling to discuss Hyuga Rika with others.

"Stay on high alert, all of you! Get patrolling already. Stop thinking about slacking off all the time!"

After giving them that instruction, he found a comfortable spot, lay down to sleep, and covered his face with leaves.

Everyone: "..."

Shusen could not actually sleep. His mind was heavy with worries.

He kept feeling that the engagement had been called off too easily—so easily that it left him uneasy. He had already prepared himself to be strung up and beaten by his father, yet his father had shown no reaction at all.

If his political marriage with Hyuga Rika had gone through, the two clans could have formed an alliance. The Uzumaki Clan already had the Senju Clan as an ally. If they added the Hyuga Clan as well, they would become an absolute behemoth and might even change the current chaotic war situation in Fire Country!

Yet his father had brushed aside such a major matter as though it were nothing...

Could it be that he had really believed his nonsense? Had fatherly love taken hold, making him willing to abandon the clan's interests so his son could be with the girl he liked?

At that thought, warmth welled up from deep within Shusen's heart. A father's love had always been like this—silent and gentle, nourishing without notice.

At the same time, he was far from calm.

The girl he supposedly liked had been completely made up on the spot. If Ryū ever told him to bring that girl over, he would be utterly stumped. By then, that fatherly love would turn into an earth-shattering disaster.

For the next few days, Shusen did not dare return home, afraid his father might pull some stunt. He ate and slept in the mountains with the guard squad members. When hungry, he gnawed on rations and picked wild fruit; when thirsty, he drank spring water. He did not even dare return to the laboratory to fuse his eyes.

Three days later, inside the clan leader's building in Whirlpool Village.

"Clan Leader Tenfu, the sealing technique you wanted is inside this scroll."

Ryū handed Hyuga Tenfu a scroll containing the sealing technique. "You will set the activation formula and release formula for the curse mark yourself. I am only the developer. Aside from you, no one else knows them."

Hyuga Tenfu sighed in relief. Naturally, he had to set the curse mark's activation formula personally. It concerned the lives of every branch family member and could not possibly be entrusted to someone else.

"Thank you, Clan Leader Ryū."

"There is no need to be so polite, Clan Leader Tenfu. The generous gift you provided has also been of great help to Whirlpool Village," Ryū said. "Although our two clans ultimately could not form a marriage alliance, we can still interact more in the future. Cooperation becomes easier after the first time."

Hyuga Tenfu nodded. "Precisely."

"This sealing technique does not have a name yet. Clan Leader Tenfu, please give it one."

"A name..."

Hyuga Tenfu pondered for a moment. Raising his head, he saw a bird fly past the window.

"Let it be called the Caged Bird."

Ryū fell into thought. A bird locked in a cage symbolized the loss of freedom, just like those who received this sealing technique. From then on, their lives would no longer be their own.

Ryū did not actually approve of Hyuga Tenfu using a sealing technique to control branch family members. He felt that such a practice was extremely cruel, as though they no longer regarded their own clansmen as human.

But he had no standing to comment on the Hyuga Clan's family affairs, so he only kept those thoughts to himself.

"By evening, my clansmen will deliver the last batch of grain. It is time for us to leave. Thank you, Clan Leader Ryū, for your hospitality these past few days."

In the mountain forest, Shusen woke from his afternoon nap and began the routine patrol with the guard squad members.

He had to admit that this kind of slacking life was quite leisurely. If it could continue forever, he would not have to rack his brains over how to dig out eyes and improve himself.

Unfortunately, life would not always be smooth sailing. There were too many uncertainties ahead. Without Kage-level strength, one would ultimately remain an ant.

After passing through a dense stretch of forest, Uzumaki Maple Leaf suddenly spotted a girl sitting on a tree ahead.

"Who goes there!"

Uzumaki Maple Leaf immediately became alert, and the others tensed up as well.

"I came to find Uzumaki Shusen."

The girl answered casually. Her pale eyes were beautiful as she bit into an unknown fruit, her long slender calves swinging in the air.

Only then did Uzumaki Maple Leaf recognize her as one of the Hyuga clansmen from four days ago. He lowered his guard and turned his gaze toward Shusen.

Shusen's teeth ached. He could not pretend she did not exist, so he could only ask, "Miss Rika, what do you need from me?"

"Obviously I have something to say. Who would come looking for you for no reason?"

Hyuga Rika had always spoken with such blunt simplicity.

"Come sit over here." She patted the branch beneath her, then told the others, "All of you leave. I want to talk with Uzumaki Shusen alone."

"This..."

Everyone hesitated.

She was an outsider, after all. They could not rest easy leaving the clan leader's son alone with her.

Shusen sighed inwardly. "You should go first. She and I are friends."

Since Hyuga Rika had come looking for him, whether she was here to cause trouble or for something else, he could not avoid it. He could only deal with whatever came.

Soon, Uzumaki Maple Leaf and the others withdrew. Shusen jumped onto the branch and sat beside Hyuga Rika.

As if performing a magic trick, Hyuga Rika produced a fruit from somewhere. She casually wiped it on her clothes. "Here, eat this."

"Thanks."

Shusen did not refuse. He took the fruit and bit into it. For a time, the crisp crunching of the two of them eating fruit filled the treetop.

"Who is that girl?" Hyuga Rika suddenly asked.

"What girl?"

"You know exactly who."

Hyuga Rika stared at him gloomily, like an abandoned woman who had been used and discarded.

Shusen suddenly understood. "She's from the Uzumaki Clan. We grew up together, more or less."

"Is she stronger than me?"

"...No."

"Is she prettier than me?"

"Yes."

"..."

"You lecher!" Hyuga Rika snapped in embarrassment and spat at him.

Shusen explained, "It has nothing to do with whether she's pretty. The main thing is that we have deep feelings for each other."

"You'll regret not marrying me."

Hyuga Rika continued as though talking to herself. "My brother analyzed it for me. You're completely ordinary and unremarkable in your clan. In the future, the Uzumaki Clan's great ambitions will either fall on your sister or your younger brother. They have nothing to do with you."