After the meal.
Hyuga Hiashi did not keep anything from Neji Hyuga.
Neji Hyuga was a child with exceptionally high talent, and because he had witnessed his father's death with his own eyes at a very young age, his mental fortitude had matured rapidly.
He had always displayed a composed demeanor.
It was also possible that, in order to protect himself, he put on a cold exterior toward the outside world.
However, in his training.
And in his strength.
He had already displayed formidable talent.
He was even far stronger than his father, Hizashi Hyuga, and his uncle, Hyuga Hiashi.
Without the restriction of the Caged Bird Seal, Neji Hyuga would definitely be able to become an even more powerful existence in a short period of time.
"Lift the Caged Bird Seal?!"
"Patriarch, why!?"
After hearing all of this, Neji Hyuga suddenly stood up.
A pair of Byakugan eyes trembled slightly.
Neji was not yet a Genin.
A strip of cloth covered the Caged Bird Seal on his forehead.
At this moment, Neji Hyuga ripped the cloth off, and the ugly seal appeared before them all.
Seeing the Caged Bird Seal for the first time, Hinata instinctively covered her mouth.
She had always felt that Neji might dislike someone as weak as her.
But now, she had gleaned a great deal of information from what Hyuga Hiashi had just said.
So, Neji-nisan...
"I couldn't stop what happened back then."
"Therefore, all I can do is help you grow."
"Once your strength improves to a certain degree, you'll be able to step forward and break this outdated custom of the clan."
"But now, the Fifth Hokage has already issued an order for us to lift the Caged Bird Seal."
"I've agreed."
"Even if the elders in the clan object, I won't care."
"So, finish eating first, Neji."
Hyuga Hiashi said, continuing to eat quietly.
Neji Hyuga, standing in place, froze.
The body that had just been trembling with anger now stopped as well.
He looked at Hyuga Hiashi eating before him, and at Hinata watching him from the side.
Neji's emotions began to grow somewhat chaotic.
On one hand, his perseverance over the past few years seemed to have become a joke.
On the other hand, if the Caged Bird Seal could really be lifted, it would also be a very good thing for him.
Right now, Neji didn't even know what attitude to use in facing Hyuga Hiashi.
The drive to keep pushing forward that he had maintained until now was also starting to waver.
"Neji!"
"Hizashi was, after all, my own biological brother!"
"He isn't just your father."
Hyuga Hiashi spoke softly.
Although there was no great emotional fluctuation in his words, those two casual sentences stirred up ripples in Neji Hyuga's heart.
"Uncle."
"I understand."
Instead of wrapping the cloth back around his head, Neji tossed it aside.
He returned to the dining table and sat down.
And at that word, Uncle, Hyuga Hiashi completely solidified the decision in his heart.
He never wanted to experience that kind of sorrowful despair again, nor did he want his juniors to experience it...
After the meal, Hyuga Hiashi directly removed the Caged Bird Seal from Neji.
Neji, whose Caged Bird Seal had been removed, discovered that his Byakugan had undergone some special changes.
His perception and field of vision became clearer.
"Go on, and practice with Hinata."
"You don't need to go back tonight."
"I will arrange a room for you, so live here from now on."
"We are family, after all!"
After saying this, Hyuga Hiashi stood up and slowly walked away.
As for the clan's subsequent decisions, although he was no longer the one calling the shots.
Still, he cared deeply.
After all, they were members of the same clan...
Three days passed.
The Hokage Building was quickly rebuilt thanks to the frantic missions undertaken by the shinobi.
At this time, Uchiha Kazama's Hokage robe had also been delivered.
Putting it on, it certainly looked dashing.
It was just that it somewhat hindered combat.
"Hokage-sama, Konoha's finances are already facing some issues."
"With the previously destroyed buildings plus the issuance of mission bounties, the funds left behind are no longer enough."
"If we want to continue maintaining the village's normal development, we need to quickly apply for funds."
"Also, because missions have been heavily taken up, there are no missions left now."
"Correspondingly, the village's number of shinobi is also insufficient."
"Next..."
Shikaku Nara laid out all of Konoha's current problems.
"We're out of money?"
"Isn't the village's expenditure supposed to be handled by the Daimyo?"
Uchiha Kazama looked at Shikaku Nara somewhat strangely.
Uchiha Kazama hadn't paid much attention to the matter of money.
After all, the Daimyo needed the village's combat power for protection.
If a shinobi village of a country lost its defensive capability.
Then, these so-called Daimyo would become fish on the chopping blocks of other shinobi villages...
Therefore, Daimyo generally wouldn't let the village's development encounter too many problems.
Basically, support was the main approach.
Once the village was gone, the Daimyo's safety would also become a problem.
Moreover, it would be very difficult to face invasions from other countries.
"Word has already come from the Daimyo's side."
"They said that because the internal problems within Konoha have not yet been resolved, the Daimyo is temporarily withholding financial funds."
"They require us to resolve all of the village's problems before they will provide us with financial support."
"This point has indeed been affected by the deaths of all the higher-ups."
Shikaku Nara also wore a helpless expression.
However, amidst that helplessness, there was even more worry.
He was afraid Uchiha Kazama would suddenly go crazy and directly go to do...
"Then go send word once more."
"If funds are not disbursed within a week's time."
"Then, from now on, the safety of the Daimyo and the ministers of the Land of Fire will no longer be the responsibility of my Konoha."
"The Daimyo, if we didn't still need them to manage the country and then provide money."
"There would be no need for them to exist at all."
"If they don't give money, then make them disappear."
As Uchiha Kazama spoke, he felt a bit of a headache.
The documents in front of him simply could not be finished.
Does even the daily life of the widow at the edge of the village require him, the Hokage, to arrange and care for it?!
[Ding, Shikaku Nara thinks you are crazy, Pupillary Power +500, Mysterious Pass "Inactive"]
Following the system prompt, Uchiha Kazama looked somewhat surprised.
Just what kind of strength did this Daimyo possess?
To actually be able to control the ninja village?!
Back during the Warring States period.
The Uchiha Clan had practically beaten all the surrounding clans around once over.
Simply put, right here in the Land of Fire.
As long as it was a named clan or village, all of them had experienced the feeling of their lives being threatened beneath that pair of Sharingan.
Even the Senju Clan was no exception.