Neji Hyuga

"Hiss... My head hurts so much~ I never expected that Hyuga Hiashi would trigger the Caged Bird Seal just once and render Neji Hyuga utterly powerless, leaving me to reap the benefits in the end..." Inside the dim room, Neji Hyuga clutched his head and let out a painful groan.

The current Neji Hyuga was no longer the original Neji Hyuga. The original Neji Hyuga had given up his life under the torture of the Caged Bird Seal, and then a soul from another world inherited everything belonging to Neji Hyuga.

"Damn it! He's only eleven years old... Hiss~" The transmigrator who had inherited Neji Hyuga clutched his head, rubbing it fiercely as he said with bitter resentment, "This Hyuga Hiashi is truly a fucking piece of trash! Didn't Neji just look at his daughter with a slightly fierce gaze? He just had to lay a Caged Bird Seal like that on his own younger brother's son!"

Last night, Neji Hyuga had accompanied Hinata Hyuga for training and sparring as usual, but during the sparring session, Neji Hyuga caught sight of Hyuga Hiashi standing off to the side. Seeing that familiar visage reminded him of his father, Hizashi Hyuga.

Thinking of Hizashi Hyuga led him to recall the peace talks involving the Kumogakure Delegation a few years ago. It was precisely that incident which had made Hizashi Hyuga a scapegoat for Hyuga Hiashi!

Recalling the day of his father's sacrificial death, Neji Hyuga's gaze grew somewhat fierce, and at that, Hyuga Hiashi off to the side instantly flew into a panic.

He directly activated the Caged Bird Seal, the reason naturally being that a Branch Family member entrusted with protecting the Main Family actually dared to direct killing intent toward the Main Family Young Miss.

Neji could not remember how many times his previous self had thrashed about on the ground the night before; his memories contained only the pain of his soul being torn apart.

Although a full night had passed, Neji still felt that tearing pain in his head, much like the agony stemming from a fractured soul.

"Hiss~" Neji kept drawing in sharp breaths from the pain; this sensation made a person wish for death.

The muscles on Neji's face twitched unnaturally. If this sort of pain lasted just a little longer, it could literally pain a person to death.

Thud, thud, thud. Suddenly, Neji's room door was knocked upon, and a gentle voice drifted in from outside: "Neji Brother, how are you doing?"

Neji frowned imperceptibly: "Lady Hinata, I am fine. Sorry for the trouble."

After these words were spoken, there was no movement from outside for a long time. Just when Neji thought Hinata Hyuga had already left, her voice came in once more: "Neji Brother, I'm sorry."

"Lady Hinata!" Neji raised his volume slightly: "You didn't do anything wrong, you don't need to apologize. On the contrary, I should be the one apologizing to you; I shouldn't have given you that look last night."

"Neji Brother, I know you didn't mean it that way. Lord Father must have seen it wrong." Hinata Hyuga's voice came from outside once more.

"This person is really annoying!" Neji clutched his aching head, feeling irritated in his heart, and simply stopped speaking.

"Neji Brother, I'm really sorry." Hinata Hyuga outside apologized again.

Neji furrowed his brow, his tone solemn: "Lady Hinata, this is not something you, as the Main Family Heir, should be doing. This will cause the dignity of the Main Family to be lost!"

Neji spoke again: "Lady Hinata, at this time you should be practicing the Gentle Fist. Do not let such trivial matters delay the time for practicing the Gentle Fist."

"Neji Brother, as long as you're okay, I'm going to go practice the Gentle Fist." After that gentle voice was transmitted over, there was no further sound.

"Hah~" Neji let out a long breath of pent-up air. Throughout the entire exchange just now, he had been struggling mightily to suppress his anger.

He knew that last night's matter was essentially unrelated to Hinata Hyuga, but whenever he thought of how his previous self had arched his body on the ground like a boiled shrimp when the Caged Bird Seal acted up last night, an anonymous fire flared up in the current Neji's heart.

Clutching his twitching head, Neji began to ponder his future.

The Neji Hyuga in the original story could be described as a tragedy; the son of a scapegoat ultimately ended up acting as a scapegoat himself.

Possessing the name of a genius yet lacking the reality of one, he was bound by the Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird Seal, becoming nothing more than a bird that could only gaze up at the blue sky from inside a cage.

"The Caged Bird Seal!" Reciting these words, Neji's eyes were filled with gloom.

Even he, a transmigrator who had read the entire plot of Naruto, knew of no method that could remove the Caged Bird Seal!

He was not even certain whether this Caged Bird Seal would truly be lifted after death. After all, when Hizashi Hyuga was summoned out via the Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu, the Caged Bird mark was still present on his forehead and body.

Therefore, even in death, this cursed seal remained branded upon the soul.

It was very likely that this Caged Bird mark was something that existed on both the body and the soul.

Perhaps the only method of removal was for even the soul to be completely annihilated; only then would this seal be considered lifted.

"This is truly damn it!" Neji's white eyes were filled with hatred. The moment he thought of how his life and death were completely controlled in the hands of others, his heart brimmed with deep resentment.

The Caged Bird was originally a means meant to protect the Byakugan, but at some unknown point it evolved into a method for the Main Family to control the life and death of the Branch Family—this was the account given by his previous self's father, Hizashi Hyuga.

"What means to protect the Byakugan!" The present Neji did not believe a single word of this explanation. To call a cursed seal capable of controlling people's lives and deaths a protective measure—even dogs would shake their heads at that.

If it were truly a means to protect the Byakugan, then from the very beginning there would not have been a method capable of controlling the life and death of the person branded with the curse, nor would it be solely the Branch Family that received the curse seal. Everyone ought to have been branded with the seal, rather than just the Branch Family.

It was not as though incidents of the Hyuga Main Family losing a Byakugan had never occurred. During the Third Shinobi World War, someone from the Main Family stepped into a Kirigakure trap on the battlefield, and a Byakugan was seized by others, becoming a trophy of war.

"Therefore, something like the Caged Bird was developed from the very beginning purely to make people into slaves!" Neji clenched his fists, his face a sheet of ice.

Just at that moment, the sound of pattering footsteps arrived. Upon hearing the commotion, Neji's expression immediately returned to peace, revealing not a shred of hatred—only a calm face.

Neji turned his head to look toward the door, discovering that the door had already been pushed open by someone. A man who looked to be around thirty-some years old stood rigidly in front of the doorway. He wore a solemn expression, with long black hair draped behind him, and was dressed in a white, loose-fitting house robe.

This person was none other than the head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi! An elite jonin with formidable strength.

"Lord Hiashi." Neji lowered his head in greeting.

Hyuga Hiashi sized Neji up with a scrutinizing gaze for a few moments, then said indifferently: "Neji, Hinata is your younger sister, and your destiny is to protect her. I do not wish for last night's events to happen again."

"Neji understands!" Neji Hyuga lowered his head an additional fraction.

Hyuga Hiashi said with a solemn expression: "You are Hizashi's child, and I hold high expectations for you. I hope you can understand Hizashi's resolve back then; it was precisely to protect the Hyuga Clan that he willingly went to his death."

"Lord Hiashi, I will try to understand Father." Neji acted out the words that the personality of the past Neji Hyuga would have spoken according to his impressions.

"It doesn't matter if you don't understand now. You will understand once you become a ninja." Hyuga Hiashi finished speaking and turned away, leaving the room.