Preparations

Neji had no idea how much time had passed before he heard Hyuga Hiashi's icy voice. "Let this be a lesson to you, so you learn the difference between the Main Family and the Branch Family!"

With a cold snort, Hyuga Hiashi turned and left with the maid.

Panting heavily, Neji shakily rose from the ground. The pain from this activation of the Caged Bird Seal had been nowhere near as severe as the previous times.

His body trembling, Neji slowly made his way back to his home. The people he passed either gloated or watched expressionlessly. They all stopped to look on from the sidelines, but no one dared step forward to help him.

Neji did not care. That was how the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family lived—a group of people bound by the Caged Bird Seal, treading carefully in everything they did for fear of offending the Main Family.

More than a few members of the Branch Family had been executed by the Main Family using the Caged Bird Seal.

In the nearly year since Neji had transmigrated into this world, five Branch Family members had been executed by the Main Family. Most had been responsible for attending to the Main Family's daily needs.

If Neji's father had not been the current Clan Head's younger brother, Neji probably would not have fared much better after defying the Main Family's orders.

Heh... the Hyuga Clan... Neji sneered inwardly.

Standing before a mirror mounted on the wall, Neji removed his forehead protector and carefully examined the blue-green Caged Bird Seal mark on his forehead.

The mark has faded a little. At first glance, Neji noticed how the blue-green mark differed from before.

Compared to before, the blue-green mark on his forehead was considerably lighter, looking more like a faint blue-green imprint.

Looking at the mark on his forehead, Neji could not contain his joy. Just as I thought! Evolving the Byakugan toward the Tenseigan is a way to break the Caged Bird Seal! I'm on the right path.

Once he confirmed that he had not taken the wrong path, a weight lifted from Neji's heart.

Next, I just need to keep an eye on Danzo and find an opportunity, Neji thought.

Only after two days had passed did Neji leave the Hyuga Clan's compound and rejoin Team 3.

It was not that Neji needed two days to recover. He simply did not want to do those boring, low-level missions. Besides, it would help mislead the Main Family. After all, Hyuga Hiashi had kept the Caged Bird Seal active for quite some time, and recovering too quickly might arouse unnecessary suspicion.

"Neji, are you all right?" As the four members of Team 3 walked down the street, Tenten looked at him worriedly.

When Team 3 had gathered two days earlier, Neji had not shown up. All of them had gone to the Hyuga Clan's compound to see what was going on, but the gatekeeper had stopped them and refused to let them in, no matter what they said.

In the end, they had no choice but to leave.

"I'm fine. Don't worry." Neji shook his head.

Seeming to realize something, Might Guy did not deliver any passionate speeches about youth this time. He simply patted Neji on the shoulder, then gave him a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile.

"Thank you, Teacher Guy." Neji smiled back.

"Lee, don't bother Neji for the next few days," Might Guy said quietly as he walked over to Rock Lee.

"Teacher Guy?" Rock Lee looked at Might Guy in confusion, not quite understanding why he would say that.

"Lee, just listen to me." Might Guy had no intention of explaining.

Talking about the Hyuga Clan's affairs would only taint his innocent student's heart. There was truly no need to tell Rock Lee about Neji's situation. None of them could do anything about it.

"Teacher Guy, I understand." Although Rock Lee did not understand, he still agreed.

"What a shame. That means a few fewer matches with Neji," Rock Lee muttered.

Might Guy laughed. "Haha! Lee, let me spar with you for the next few days! Let me see how brightly your youth is burning!"

After completing a routine D-rank mission, Team 3 split up to train on their own.

Neji went straight to a secluded spot and began observing the duty rotations at the Root Base.

He could not afford to be careless with his preparations. If his plans were exposed, he would have no choice but to prepare for the worst and flee.

Yes, Neji had already planned for the possibility of being exposed. If Root Ninja tied him down at the Root Base, he might come to the Hyuga Clan's attention. Once their ninja arrived, they would undoubtedly see through his identity.

At that point, Neji would have only one option: flee far away, leave Konoha behind, and escape the Hyuga Main Family's watch.

If he ever appeared before the Hyuga Main Family after that, they could activate the Caged Bird Seal and instantly rob him of his ability to fight.

The Caged Bird Seal had a limited activation range. Beyond a certain distance, the Main Family could no longer control the lives of Branch Family members, and the seal would cease to work. It was not possible for the Main Family to activate the Caged Bird Seal in Konoha and instantly kill a Branch Family member in another country.

So, in theory, even a member of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family could defect, as long as they ran far enough away and avoided being found by Konoha or the Hyuga Main Family.

I'm playing with fire here, Neji sighed inwardly.

That afternoon, Neji sought out Sasuke.

As soon as they met, Neji said, "Let me sign a contract with the Ninja Cat Clan too, and get me a few Storage Scrolls."

"What are you planning to do?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm going to pull off something big." Neji did not mind letting Sasuke know about his plans.

"Something big? Are you going to kill the entire Hyuga Clan?" Sasuke asked, half joking.

"Heh..." Neji chuckled. "Can you be a little more realistic? You've never experienced the Caged Bird Seal. The pain alone can kill you."

"Then what are you planning? You want Storage Scrolls and a Summoning Contract with the Ninja Cat Clan. Did you spot something good with your Byakugan?" Sasuke grew curious.

"I'm planning to steal some things from Root," Neji said casually, as though he were talking about going out for barbecue later.

"Huh?" Sasuke wondered if he had misheard. "What did you just say? Steal things from Root?"

"Go down to the docks and grab some fries. Happy now?" Having already made up his mind, Neji was actually in a fairly good mood.

Sasuke was speechless. This guy was still in the mood to joke around. Stealing from Root—only Neji could come up with something like that.

Sasuke eyed Neji suspiciously. "Do you have a death wish?"

"You might be the Uchiha Clan's champion at taking pressure, but don't underestimate other people's willpower." Neji was annoyed.

Sasuke ignored the remark about being a champion at taking pressure, though he could tell it probably was not much of a compliment. Frowning at Neji, he said, "If you really don't want to live anymore, you'd be better off finding a chance to ambush a few Main Family members. With your strength, I'm sure you could kill a few if you caught them off guard."

Hearing the concern in Sasuke's voice, Neji smiled and said with utter seriousness, "Don't worry. As long as there's even a sliver of hope, I'll try to seize it. I'm not someone who gives up easily."