Zou Hyuga could guess what Hizashi and his son Neji were talking about without even listening.
It would be the usual demand that the Branch Family faithfully fulfill its duty to protect the Main Family. After all, Hinata would soon turn four, which meant every Branch Family member her age would have the Caged Bird Seal engraved on them.
He could no longer clearly remember having the Caged Bird Seal engraved on him, but he remembered the growing distance between the Branch Family and the Main Family.
In fact, after several years of research, he could already use a formula to prevent the Caged Bird Seal from taking hold in advance, but there was little point.
If he could break into the Caged Bird Seal ceremony, he could simply stop it. There was no need to take such a roundabout approach.
Besides, he had no reason to increase his risk of exposure for Neji Hyuga. Once word got out, he would face pressure from the entire Hyuga Main Family, and clan members who could not become ninja would also be hunted by enemy ninja for bounties on the black market.
The Caged Bird Seal protected ordinary clan members, yet shackled the fate of geniuses.
But as he remembered it, no matter how hard Neji tried, he could never escape the shackles of fate. Even after receiving the clan head's promise, he had still died within the confines of that fate. Neji seemed to possess the Heavenly Ninja Bloodline, too.
Then could I escape the shackles of fate?
His ability to break free of the Caged Bird Seal relied entirely on the black markings. In truth, that thing felt little better than the seal.
If the black markings could give him the power to escape the Caged Bird Seal, he would