The Bird in the Cage

Chapter 14 The Bird in the Cage

Hyuga Yuto bowed respectfully, standing with his hands clasped in front of the two main family geniuses.

Even the most strict and rigid elders of the Hyuga clan could not find the slightest fault in him.

"The Hyuga Jewel..."

Shinji Hyuga murmured softly, the shadows of the leaves obscuring most of his face, fragmenting the young head of the family's expression:

"As expected of the Hyuga Treasure, I'd heard the branch family had produced someone remarkable, but I didn't believe it at first. Seeing you tonight, it's clear you're quite formidable." He paused, his voice suddenly becoming sharp.

"But the branch family cannot bear the name of the [Hyuga Jewel]; that is the responsibility and honor of our main family! Hyuga Yuto, you have overstepped your bounds!"

"Do you think I want to bear the name of Hyuga... You unambitious parasites," Hyuga Yuto thought to himself, but his expression remained impassive as he calmly replied:

"That's just the kindness of my fellow villagers. Yuto is not very knowledgeable and certainly cannot represent the Hyuga family."

"It's good that you know." Shinji's expression softened slightly.

"The technique you used to defeat Uchiha Shota tonight, was it your own creation?"

"Yes."

"Let's hand him over to the clan school's secret chamber." Shinji Hyuga's expression was as casual as if he were saying, "Let's have yakiniku tonight."

"As a member of the Hyuga clan, everyone has the obligation to enhance the clan's foundation. According to the rules, branch families can hand over their mastered techniques to receive the rewards they deserve. At the next clan meeting, you can kneel behind me or even the elders of the main clan to listen. As long as you make more contributions in the future, there will be plenty of such opportunities. How about you hand it over to me now..."

If the atmosphere weren't so awkward, Hinata Yuto would have really wanted to burst out laughing.

—The secret technique developed through countless days and nights of painstaking thought, enduring loneliness and suffering, you just take it away with a single word? And the reward is kneeling beside you?

Of course I know that in clan gatherings, the closer a member of a branch family is to the main family, the higher their status. But look at me closely—do I really look like a dog?

Hyuga Yuto blinked, trying to brush off the trouble at hand:

"I'm sorry, Master Shinji, the time for the reunion agreed upon by the Hokage is approaching..."

Shinji Hyuga's face darkened completely:

"Hyuga Yuto, how dare you disobey the clan rules?" He took a step forward, veins bulging at the corner of his eye:

"The main family is the Hyuga lord, and the branch family is the main family's shield and sword... I think you've really forgotten the branch family's obligations."

As if on the same wavelength, Hinata Miko, the young lady from the main family, also turned her eyes and stared coldly at Yuto.

Hyuga Yuto frowned, realizing something was wrong. He had been too prominent tonight and had hurt their ridiculous pride.

Before he could come up with a solution, he heard the rustling sound of footsteps on the grass behind him.

With his Byakugan activated instantly, Hyuga Yuto saw Hyuga Naoto aggressively approaching from behind within his 360-degree field of vision without turning around.

"What an obedient dog," Hinata Yuto sneered.

One against three, Shinji Hyuga, Yoshiko Hyuga, and Naoto Hyuga are all formidable opponents. If a real fight breaks out, he will have to fight with all his might.

The main family's rules? Ridiculous! Are we supposed to offer our faces up to be trampled on? Hyuga Yuto isn't that low!

The lone boy was expressionless, yet chakra was rapidly surging within his body, and the fangs of a lion were quietly emerging.

However, the fierce battle that Hyuga Yuto had anticipated did not occur.

In the dark garden, Shinji Hinata raised one hand to his mouth and sneered at Yuto Hinata.

That smile was so flippant, as if it were crushing an insect.

The next moment, endless pain erupted from the depths of Hyuga Yuto's eyes.

Starting from the eyeball, then the optic nerve, and finally the entire brain, it felt as if a rusty pair of scissors was slowly tearing apart flesh and nerves from the inside out. Needle pricks, knife chopping, burning, sword gouging... all the pain was no match for this torment.

Unable to put up any resistance, Hyuga Yuto clutched his head and curled up in pain.

A hand suddenly appeared in front of him; it was Hyuga Naoto. He covered Hyuga Yuto's mouth tightly, his nails digging into his flesh, completely disregarding the ravaged body of this branch family comrade, preventing him from making a sound.

After an unknown amount of time, Hyuga Yuto stopped struggling.

Naoto Hyuga released his grip and shook off the blood clots—it was Yuto Hyuga's tongue, which he had bitten off in pain.

Hinata Yuto was delirious. He propped himself up and tried desperately to open his eyes, but found that everything in his vision was blurry.

"Can't see clearly anymore?" Shinji Hinata walked over, examining Yuto Hinata's bloodshot eyes with interest.

"The Caged Bird Seal is a cursed seal perfected over a thousand years. It can not only automatically destroy the brain and eyeballs after the subject's death, but it can also be manipulated through secret commands to actively destroy brain tissue by relying on the will of the main family... Of course, even the most perfect things have flaws..."

The young man from the main family lowered his head, his pure white eyes filled with condescending malice:

"For example, after activating a caged bird, the recipient often experiences varying degrees of vision impairment. Some recover in a few days, while others suffer irreversible damage; you might even become blind in the future..."

A gurgling sound suddenly came from Hyuga Yuto's throat.

Shinji leaned over to listen for a while, but couldn't make out what he was saying, so he could only stand up and say disappointedly:

"You probably bit your tongue to pieces, didn't you? You're really good at enduring... But even if you're good at enduring and have a strong backbone, what good is it? In the end, it's just a separate family."

"Hyuga Yuto, listen carefully. I'll only say this once tonight."

Shinji pointed to himself, then tapped Yuto's headband:

"My Hinata is different from your Hinata!"

"For a ninja, the most important thing is being reincarnated."

After he finished speaking, he didn't look at Yuto again and left with Miko and Naoto.

Only Hyuga Yuto remained, unable to move.

The handsome young man from the separated family clung tightly to the soil, desperately trying to stand up and catch up.

He didn't care about any plans or waiting for the right moment; all he wanted was to tear those three guys' throats apart with the teeth of a lion and pour the blood of revenge over himself.

Unfortunately, he tried for a long time but failed.

Once activated, the Caged Bird technique is considered one of the most brutal forms of torture in the ninja world.

In the dark garden, moonlight slowly spilled down, and after a long time, Hinata Yuto finally regained some of his strength.

He trembled as he pulled out a hemostatic ointment from his pouch and fiercely smeared it on his tongue. The irritating pain of the ointment tormented his nerves, but this pain was far less than the pain of a caged bird, and even less than the burning anger and hatred in the boy's heart.

rustle.

Footsteps sounded from behind; someone had unexpectedly arrived.

"...You look terrible, lad."

In the darkness, a woman's voice reached Hinata Yuto's ears.

The boy who had separated from his family returned.

The blonde woman was carrying a jar of wine upside down, drunk, somewhat bold and languid. The Senju clan's unique vigorous vitality and sun-like chakra seemed to dispel some of the night's chill.

(End of this chapter)