Once the cannons roared, gold flowed by the ton. Every day, shinobi came and went from the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation, restocking and trading explosive tags, ninja tools, and soldier pills. Amid it all, the Uchiha Clan made a name for itself once again.
When they appeared on the battlefield, defeating them one-on-one was all but impossible. Only by ganging up on them could their opponents break their genjutsu. Still, compared to Uchiha Mu and Madara, they were not impossible to handle, so the shinobi villages breathed a sigh of relief. At least the Uchiha had not produced another figure like Madara or Mu.
During this time, they also seized Sharingan from the Uchiha and transplanted them, but compatibility proved a major obstacle. Even when they forced a transplant, they could not deactivate the Sharingan, which drained chakra constantly. A few ninjutsu in battle were enough to exhaust their reserves.
They ended up weaker than they had been without the Sharingan. Gradually, the shinobi villages abandoned their designs on those eyes. The Byakugan, however, remained something they desperately wanted. They sorely needed a sensory kekkei genkai like that.
Indeed, like the Uchiha, the Hyuga had also made a name for themselves in this war. Although the title of the strongest Hyuga in the shinobi world belonged to Hyuga Lingnai, that did not mean the others were incapable. Their Byakugan saw through every village's traps and preparations, allowing them to destroy them.
This left the shinobi villages deeply envious of the Byakugan. Once they learned about the Caged Bird Seal, they could confirm that the Hyuga's Byakugan would at least not suffer the same compatibility problems as the Uchiha's Sharingan. All they needed to do was capture a Hyuga from the Main Family.
But the Main Family's Hyuga generally stayed away from