Imprisonment

After leaving a Shadow Clone behind, Yui started walking home.

"I need to get to bed early tonight. I have to report to the Ninja Academy tomorrow morning."

She rubbed her chin as she walked, thinking to herself.

Which jonin would lead her team?

Never mind. She probably didn't know any of the jonin from this period anyway!

As she pondered, Yui arrived outside her room.

But a familiar figure seemed to be waiting at her door.

"Miss Ikuko, what are you doing here?"

Looking at Ikuko Hyuga before her, Yui couldn't shake a bad feeling.

"Yui, you're back," Ikuko said flatly. "The clan head sent me to deliver a message today."

A message? What could he possibly want with her? Yui wondered.

But on second thought, she began to have a few suspicions.

"Yui, you don't need to report to the Ninja Academy tomorrow," Ikuko said calmly. "The clan head has already discussed it with the Hokage."

"Why?" Yui asked.

"The clan head wishes for you to become Lord Hizashi's wife," Ikuko explained.

Yui: ???

She was going to become Neji's mother?

No, absolutely not. She couldn't let that happen.

"No. How could you ask me to do something like that?" Yui protested.

"Besides, that son of his is only four right now, isn't he?"

She would never agree to marry someone, whether a man or a woman.

Let alone bear someone else's children.

That was even more unacceptable.

"Miss Yui, the clan head's orders are not yours to refuse." Ikuko's tone grew stern.

"I came here to inform you, not to discuss it with you."

With that, Ikuko started walking away.

As she passed Yui, she said slowly, "Yui Hyuga, it is your good fortune to have caught the clan head's eye."

"Although Lord Hizashi was given the Caged Bird Seal as the second son, he will still be the heir to the branch family."

"I hope you will give it some thought."

After saying this, Ikuko Hyuga paused, then turned her head to look at her.

"Oh, and the clan head said that until Lord Hizashi comes of age, you should stay at home."

"Don't go outside."

With that last remark, Ikuko quickened her pace and left.

What did she mean by that last remark?

Yui stood rooted to the spot, her expression grim.

Were they going to imprison her?

"Hmph. I won't let anyone push me around."

Pushing open her door, Yui walked out with heavy steps.

She looked around the room and, finding nothing unusual, began packing her belongings.

She couldn't let herself be trapped in the branch family, controlled by the Caged Bird Seal.

It looked like she would have to speed up her plan to remove the Caged Bird Seal.

Her gaze fell on a short sword in a black sheath lying on the table.

Hatake Sakumo had given it to her. It seemed she would have to find ways to improve her strength beyond the Gentle Fist.

Taking everything she needed, Yui sighed.

"I'll leave tonight," Yui murmured.

Bang!

A loud crash came from behind her as the door slammed shut on its own.

She turned and saw black Cursed Seals slowly spreading across the door.

Only then did she understand what Ikuko's final remarks had meant.

"Damn it..." she cursed under her breath, finally realizing she had walked into a trap.

Some distance from the room, Ikuko Hyuga watched Yui's every move with her Byakugan activated.

Only after she saw Yui enter the room did she slowly begin forming Hand Seals.

"Bottomless Sealing Technique..."

Once she finished the seals, lines of black sealing script crawled over the entire room, trapping Yui inside.

Seeing that the seal was complete, Ikuko Hyuga finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She couldn't disobey the clan head's orders.

Then she bowed in Yui's direction.

"I'm sorry. These are the clan head's orders," Ikuko said quietly. "You'll be able to come out in six years."

With that, she vanished from the spot.

The clan head had entrusted her with another task, and she needed to get it done as soon as possible.

Otherwise, she would run out of time.

Inside the room.

Yui unleashed a barrage of attacks on the sealing script covering the walls, but none of them made so much as a ripple.

Neither her Taijutsu nor her ninjutsu could break through the walls covered in Cursed Seals.

Instead, every ninjutsu attack she launched was absorbed.

But she refused to give up. She wanted to see just how much chakra this seal could absorb.

Only after some time had passed and she was utterly exhausted did she accept the truth.

With her current abilities, she couldn't break this seal at all.

"Hah... hah..."

Lying on the floor, she gasped for breath.

After recovering, she abandoned the idea of continuing to attack the seal.

Fortunately, things weren't quite that bad. She could still sense the Shadow Clone she had left in the laboratory.

As long as the Shadow Clone didn't run out of chakra, she could continue to exist.

But if she went too long without seeing her original, Yui feared she might dispel the Shadow Clone Technique on her own.

The Shadow Clone should also be able to sense her original's location. Yui had faith in her own intelligence.

If the Shadow Clone sensed that her original had stayed in one place without moving, she would probably come to investigate.

It wasn't as though she had no hope of getting out.

But she couldn't just sit around waiting, either, so she returned to researching the development of ninjutsu.

At the Hyuga Training Ground.

"Yes, that's it. That's the correct posture."

Nai Hyuga nodded at the two children practicing their horse stances.

"As long as you build a solid foundation in your stance, learning the Gentle Fist will be easier later."

Strangely, the two boys looked exactly alike, in both appearance and build.

If one of the children hadn't had a green Cursed Seal etched onto his forehead...

She probably wouldn't have been able to tell them apart.

"Mm-hmm... You're both doing very well," Nai Hyuga praised them.

Both children were undoubtedly geniuses, whether judged by their attitude toward learning or their natural talent.

But if she had to say which one was better, Nai Hyuga still felt that Hizashi Hyuga, the one branded with the Caged Bird Seal, was the more gifted.

The Caged Bird Seal, the Caged Bird Seal!

Why did it always have to be the Caged Bird Seal? One day, she would eradicate this twisted abomination for good.

For that reason, she, too, wanted to grow stronger as quickly as possible.

Clack, clack, clack...

The sound of wooden sandals striking the floor reached her.

Nai Hyuga turned toward the sound.

"Ikuko?"

Nai Hyuga wondered why she had appeared here at this hour.

But after thinking it over, she understood. Ikuko had probably come for the two young heirs.

Before Ikuko Hyuga could speak, Nai Hyuga spoke first.

"Ikuko, both young masters are very talented."

At those words, Ikuko fell silent.

Then she shook her head.

"No," Ikuko said flatly. "Lady Nai, the clan head wishes to see you."