Reminder to Sasuke

Sasuke's training room is located in the deepest isolation zone on the east side of the base.

This place was originally where Orochimaru conducted high-risk experiments. The walls and floors are made of a special alloy that can absorb the impact of S-rank Ninjutsu. The ceiling is covered with monitoring and emergency fire extinguishing devices. The air circulation system is independent of the main system of the base to prevent any experimental leaks from contaminating other areas.

Now, this place has become Sasuke's private space.

Neji stood before the heavy isolation door, and without knocking, directly entered the access password. The airtight door slid open to both sides, and a suffocating aura of Chakra, carrying a burnt smell, rushed out.

The meditation room was in a complete mess.

There were seven slash marks, each half a meter deep, on the left wall—the marks left by the Kusanagi Sword. The ground on the right was covered with scorched and corroded pits, clearly the result of multiple Fire Release and Lightning Release. The surveillance camera on the ceiling was half broken, its debris scattered on the ground. In the central meditation area, the specially made energy-absorbing pad was torn to shreds, its filler scattered everywhere like snowflakes.

Sasuke stood in the center of the room, with his back to the door.

He wore a dark blue, high-collared robe, and his long black hair swayed slightly in the still room—a sign of his Chakra naturally overflowing. His right hand gripped the Kusanagi Sword tightly, its tip touching the ground, the blade wreathed in unstable dark purple lightning. Blood dripped from the fingertips of his left hand, clearly indicating that he had used all his strength when smashing the wall.

What are you doing here?

Sasuke didn't turn around; his voice was cold and hoarse, tinged with obvious irritation.

Neji entered the room, the airtight door closing behind him. He surveyed the signs of destruction around him, his face expressionless.

"Let's check on the condition of our allies," he said. "Right now, they don't seem to be in good shape."

"An ally?" Sasuke finally turned around.

The pattern of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan slowly rotated in the crimson light, its gaze carrying a tangible sense of oppression, enough to instantly freeze an ordinary Jonin. But Neji simply met its gaze calmly, the veins around the pupils of his Byakugan bulging, negating the Sharingan's Genjutsu effect.

"We made a promise," Neji said. "We cooperated; I helped you become Hokage and revolutionize the Shinobi World, and you fought when I needed you. Until our common goal was achieved, we were allies."

"So what?" Sasuke's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Your allies just lock me up in this underground prison, making me practice those Ninjutsu I already know like an idiot? While you're out there gathering intelligence and preparing plans?"

"Because you are the key." Neji walked to the center of the room and sat Madara Uchiha is looking for you, Zetsu is looking for you, and the entire Akatsuki intelligence network is searching for Sasuke Uchiha. If you go out now, the probability of being discovered is over 70%. Once Madara Uchiha catches you, you will become his puppet."

Sasuke's pupils contracted slightly.

He knew this, of course. If he were captured, Madara Uchiha wouldn't kill him, but it would be worse than killing him: he would become Madara Uchiha's puppet, a tool in his Eye of the Moon Plan.

"I can hide it," Sasuke said, but his voice lacked confidence.

"In front of Zetsu?" Neji retorted, "In front of that monster who can merge with the earth, split spores, and whose sensory range covers the entire Shinobi World?"

Sasuke fell silent.

He had witnessed Jue's abilities firsthand. If he hadn't suddenly cleared Jue's Spore Technique in the ruins of the shrine of the Uzumaki Clan, he would still be unaware that his every move was being monitored.

"So all I can do is wait?" Sasuke gripped the Kusanagi Sword, its blade crackling with lightning. "Wait until you're ready, wait until you say 'the time has come,' and then be placed on the chessboard like a pawn?"

"No." Neji looked at him calmly, "When you're ready."

He took a scroll from his robes and tossed it to Sasuke. Sasuke caught it instinctively, his brow furrowing.

"What's this?"

"What happened in the last three days," Neji said. "A complete record of the Battle of Waterfall Country, Konoha's defensive deployment, the current situation of the Allied Forces remnants, and... an assessment of Naruto's current strength."

Sasuke unfurled the scroll and quickly scanned it. When he saw "Ōnoki died in battle," "Mifune died in battle," and "Only 3,000 of the 50,000 Allied Forces survived," his pupils contracted slightly. When he saw "Naruto sensed malice in Nine-Tails Mode and identified White Zetsu's disguise," his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan involuntarily accelerated its rotation.

"He's already... that strong?" Sasuke asked in a low voice, his voice filled with complex emotions—resentment, competition, and perhaps even a barely perceptible hint of... satisfaction?

"He's stronger than you think," Neji said. "Having mastered the Nine-Tails' power, coupled with Senjutsu and Jiraiya's guidance, Uzumaki Naruto's strength has surpassed that of a typical Kage Level. In a one-on-one fight, you'd have to activate your Complete Body Susanoo to contend with him."

That was a very blunt remark.

Sasuke's face darkened. He stared at the description of Naruto on the scroll—his achievements, his abilities, his evaluations—every word pierced his proud heart like a needle.

"Are you here to put me down?" he asked coldly.

"I'm here to remind you." Neji stood up and walked to Sasuke. "I'm reminding you that if you can't truly master the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and can't advance your Susanoo to its perfect form or even higher, then in this war, you won't only be useless, but you might even become a burden. And Madara Uchiha ... he's best at using burdens."

Sasuke clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white.

But he didn't refute it. Because Neji was right. Since awakening the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, although his strength had increased dramatically, he could sense that there was still untapped power deep within those eyes. He could now stably maintain the third stage of Susanoo, but he couldn't yet control the complete form—that massive, mountain-like form capable of changing the battlefield.

"I need real combat," Sasuke said through gritted teeth. "Real, life-or-death combat, not just practicing against walls and puppets."

"It will happen," Neji said. "In three days, in Konoha, there will be so much real combat that you'll want to run away. But not now. What you need to do now is continue to hone your skills, continue to familiarize yourself with every ability of the Eternal Manjushri, and continue to advance Susanoo from 'being able to use it' to 'being able to control it as if it were an extension of your own arm'."

He paused for a moment, then said the really important thing.

"Furthermore, I need you to understand that our goals are aligned. Madara Uchiha is the biggest obstacle standing in your path to revolution. Once the Eye of the Moon Plan succeeds, everyone will be trapped in the illusion of Infinite Tsukuyomi —including you, including me, including everyone you want to change, save, or destroy. At that time, any revolution or any new world will be nothing but empty talk."

Sasuke raised his head, his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan staring Neji.

"And what about you?" he asked. "What is your goal? To free the Caged Bird, and then what? Will you stand by my side and help me revolutionize Konoha? Or will you, like Orochimaru, just watch the show?"

This is a very pointed question.

But Neji already had the answer ready.

"After the Shinobi World War ends," he said clearly, each word like a promise, "I will support your revolution against Konoha. Not just verbal support, but with concrete actions—with the Dust Release I've mastered, with the Senjutsu I've learned, with all my power, to help you destroy the old system and establish a new order."

This promise stunned Sasuke.

He stared at Neji, trying to discern lies or scheming in those Byakugan. But all he saw was calm, an almost icy, rational calm—a calm that was more believable than any impassioned vow.

"Why?" Sasuke asked. "The Hyuga Clan is also part of the old system. Your revolution against Konoha is equivalent to the revolution against the Hyuga Clan."

"So what?" Neji countered. "The shackles of Caged Bird, the oppression of the Main House by the main Branch House, that fate decided from birth—do you think I would have any attachment to such a system?"

His voice was soft, but there was a chilling coldness in it.

"What I want is not to reform the Hyuga Clan, nor to replace the Main House as the new oppressors. What I want is to uproot the entire system. To ensure that the Hyuga Clan, the Uchiha Clan, all ninja clans, and the entire Shinobi World —no one is born with their fate predetermined, and no one is noble or lowly because of their bloodline."

This vision is far more radical and thorough than Sasuke's "revolution".

Sasuke remained silent for a long time.

Then, he nodded slowly.

"Alright," he said. "Then, until we overthrow Madara Uchiha, we are allies. After that..."

"After that, we remained allies," Neji continued, "Until you got what you wanted."

The two looked at each other.

The bulging veins in his Byakugan and the spinning of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan created a strange balance in this ruined training room. There was no trust, no friendship, no illusory emotional bonds—only a common enemy, only mutual exploitation, only a cold and realistic exchange of interests.

But that's enough.

For them now, that's enough.

"I will continue my training," Sasuke finally said, dispelling the lightning on the Kusanagi Sword. "Three days later, in Konoha, I will show Madara Uchiha the true Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan."

"Very well." Neji turned and walked towards the door. "Then, I won't disturb you any longer."

He walked to the door and entered the password. The airtight door slid open, revealing the cold, dimly lit corridor of the base.

"Neji," Sasuke suddenly called out to him.

Neji stopped in his tracks, without turning back.

"What you just said... about the revolution..." Sasuke's voice hesitated. "Were you serious?"

Neji remained silent for a few seconds.

"I never make promises lightly," he finally said, "But once the Caged Bird is freed, once I gain true freedom—yes, I will help you. Because your revolution will also be my revolution."

The door closed.

Sasuke stood alone in the messy training room, looking down at the memory scroll in his hand, reading the description of Naruto's strength and the records of Madara Uchiha's terrifying power.

He slowly tightened his grip on the scroll, the patterns of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spinning rapidly in his eyes.

"Three days..." he said softly, "Then let's wait three more days."

When Neji returned to the main laboratory, Orochimaru had already completed a certain task.

On the lab bench, two specially made culture jars were placed side by side. The jars were filled with a pale green nutrient solution, and suspended in the liquid were two tissue samples as thin as cicada wings—one was dark gold with fine hair-like structures on the surface; the other was silvery white with irregular serrated cracks on the edges.

The body tissues of the Kinkaku and Ginkaku brothers.

Orochimaru was using precise tweezers to pick up one of the pieces and examine it under a high-powered microscope. His expression was so focused it was almost sacred, his golden snake eyes unblinking, as if he were gazing at some kind of holy object.

"You're back?" he asked without looking up. "Have you calmed Sasuke down?"

"For now." Neji walked to the lab bench, his gaze falling on the culture jar. "Is this the tissue of the Kinkaku and Ginkaku?"

"That's right." Orochimaru put down the tweezers and brought up the microscope image on the main screen. "A direct descendant of the Sage of Six Paths, a monster that once devoured the flesh and blood of the Nine-Tails and gained the Nine-Tails Chakra Attribute. Even in such a tiny fragment of tissue, the remaining Chakra nature is astonishingly intact."

On the screen, a cell image magnified 100,000 times appeared. It didn't resemble a normal human cell; it looked more like some kind of... energy crystallization. The cell membrane was covered with fine sealing runes—natural seals inherent in the Sage of Sage of Six Paths' bloodline, preventing Chakra leakage.

"The Nine-Tails 'Chakra nature," Orochimaru's voice was filled with admiration, "Is extremely small in quantity, but its 'quality' is complete. Even a trace of it, I can use cell culture technology to multiply it to a sufficient quantity."

Neji stared at the screen, his Byakugan's vision piercing through the magnified image, directly "seeing" the essence of those Chakra attributes. In his perception, the Nine-Tails' orange light was vast, warm, and filled with hatred.

Although it was only a trace, it was indeed the Nine-Tails 'Chakra nature.

"How long will it take?" Neji asked.

"Cell proliferation and Chakra extraction, one day," Orochimaru said. "The next morning, you'll have a complete concentrated solution of the Nine-Tails Chakra Attribute. But I must remind you, Neji- kun—"

He turned around, his golden snake-like eyes staring directly at Neji.

"Obito possessed all nine elemental attributes and had the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path as a vessel. Obito's strength at that time, did you really have a chance to steal the Ten-Tails 'Chakra?"

"There is an opportunity," Neji said calmly. "Obito has already collected the Chakra of all eight Tailed Beasts, and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path nearing its complete form. When the Nine-Tails or the Kinkaku and Ginkaku are captured, and the Ten-Tails is resurrected, the Chakra gathered within the Mazo will reach its peak. That will be the best opportunity."

Orochimaru's snake-like eyes narrowed slightly. "You want to evolve your Byakugan on the battlefield? Right under Obito's nose?"

"The most dangerous place is the safest place." Neji walked to the laboratory window. "Obito's attention will be on Naruto, on Sasuke, and on the entire Allied Forces. He won't realize that his desire to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki is precisely my opportunity to evolve the Tenseigan."

"Extremely risky," Orochimaru commented.

"But the rewards are also immense." Neji turned to look at him. "Once the Byakugan evolves successfully, the Caged Bird Curse Mark will no longer pose a threat. In fact, I can reverse-analyze the structure of the Curse Mark, find the root of its millennia-long maintenance of the Main House Branch House, and then—"

He paused for a moment, his voice carrying a cold, suppressed excitement that had been building up for a long time.

"Then, destroy it. Completely change the Hyuga Clan, which has been twisted for a thousand years."

He had never fully shared this vision with anyone. Even with Orochimaru, he had only revealed his goal of "removing the Caged Bird Seal." But now, on the eve of the final battle, at this moment when he had witnessed the success of Dust Release and the possibility of evolution, he finally spoke of his deepest desire.

It's not a matter of personal freedom.

It's the collapse of the entire system.

Orochimaru stared at him, remaining silent for a long time. His golden snake eyes gleamed in the dim light, as if assessing, calculating, and pondering the weight of the young man's words.

"Do you know what this means?" Orochimaru finally said, "If you really succeed, you will become the enemy of all the vested interests in the entire Shinobi World. The Hyuga Main House will stop at nothing to kill you, the other great ninja clans will unite to resist you, and the Five Great Shinobi Villages will classify you as S-Rank Missing-nin — missing-nin even more dangerous than the Akatsuki."

"I know." Neji's voice was completely flat. "But I also know that there are many more people in the Shinobi World struggling under the shackles of the Caged Bird Seal. The children of the Branch House families, the commoner ninjas without Kekkei Genkai, the girls whose fates are decided by their clans, the Genin who are used as tools by their villages... They won't oppose me."

He walked to the lab bench and gently ran his fingers across the cold surface of the culture vessel.

"As for Obito's redemption..." he continued, his voice growing colder, "I will not give him that chance. The Infinite Tsukuyomi is a false peace, a cage created with Genjutsu. I will not allow that to taint the true freedom I am about to win."

As for Madara Uchiha and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki —the mother sealed away by the Sage of Six Paths —whether they will appear depends on his mood.

His tone was calm, but beneath that calmness lay absolute, unquestionable confidence.

"At that time, everything will depend on my mood," Neji concluded, a barely perceptible smile playing on his lips. "If I'm in a good mood, I might just take care of those troubles. If I'm in a bad mood... then let the world find its own way in true freedom."

Orochimaru smiled.

This time, it was genuine, hearty laughter.

"Arrogant," he commented, "But arrogant in a... interesting way. I like this plan, Neji- kun. Well then, let's see how far you can go."

He turned back to the control panel and began operating the cell culture program. The nutrient solution began to circulate, a trace amount of Chakra was injected, and the tissue fragments in the culture vessel began to proliferate and differentiate at a visible rate.

Neji stood to the side, watching quietly.

But his inner world was not as calm as it appeared.

It's been more than three years.

From deciding to defect from Konoha, from joining Orochimaru, from enduring those agonizing training sessions, from wearing a mask and acting within the Akatsuki, from struggling time and again on the brink of life and death—

Everything was for this moment.

In order to evolve the Tenseigan, in order to break free of the Caged Bird, in order to destroy the shackles around his neck.

And now, the goal is right in front of us.

Dust Release has been mastered, Kinkaku and Ginkaku are ready to make their appearance, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path is about to reach its complete form, Obito is about to launch a full-scale attack on Konoha —all the conditions are converging according to plan.

Just wait three more days.

Three days later, on the battlefield of Konoha, as the light of the Ten-Tails' resurrection illuminated the sky, as Obito reveled in the impending success of the Eye of the Moon Plan, and as everyone's attention was drawn to the final battle—

That was the moment when he, Neji Hyuga, truly emerged from his cocoon.

He raised his hand and looked at his palm.

There, the white cube formed by the Dust Release still seemed to retain a tactile sensation. That power, which perfectly fused the three attributes and decomposed matter into atoms, was only the beginning.

The power of the Tenseigan will be even stronger.

Powerful enough to change destiny, change systems, and change the entire world.

"It'll be soon..."

He muttered to himself, his voice barely audible in the quiet laboratory.

But the light burning in those Byakugan was more intense than ever before.

That was the light of yearning for freedom.

That was the final gaze of a caged bird about to break free.