Chapter 188
Eliminating the Caged Bird
Chapter 188 Eliminating the Caged Bird
The Bamboo Clan's settlement is located deep in the mountains along the border of the Land of Fire, shrouded in a thin mist at dawn and dusk.
As Hyuga Hizashi led his wife and children through the dew-covered bamboo forest, the clan chief, Taketori Ichiyo, personally escorted them to the end of the mountain path.
Taketori Ichiya's figure was as slender and strong as bamboo, wearing a gray-green tribal robe, with the tribal emblem on his back faintly visible in the white mist.
He didn't ask anything, but simply placed one hand on Hizashi's shoulder.
"The fog is even thicker over Konoha." A voice from the night rubbed together like two dry bamboo stalks: "You... just make sure you can see the road clearly."
Hizashi bowed deeply; this friend, far from Konoha, had finally given him some breathing room.
"Take care." His reply was brief and to the point, without elaboration.
He turned around, took his wife's warm hand, and placed it firmly on Neji's young but upright shoulder, blending into the winding mountain path leading to Konoha below.
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The Hyuga clan's territory in Konoha is quiet and solemn.
At the gate of the clan's territory, Hyuga Hiashi, dressed in the traditional plain white robe of the main family, stood on the stone steps, with several solemn-looking branch family members standing behind him, their foreheads bearing bluish-gray curse marks.
The sunlight was cut off by his tall figure, casting long, distinct shadows that stretched all the way to the feet of the approaching Hijiki.
Hizashi's wife instinctively pulled Neji behind her.
Neji raised his Byakugan, his eyes clear and bright like a child's, and met the deep, heavy white of his uncle Hiashi's gaze.
A moment of silence, broken only by the sound of the wind rustling through Rizu's wide sleeves and the strands of hair on Rizu's forehead.
"It's good that you've returned safely." Hiashi's voice was calm and even, without the slightest hint of emotion.
He took a step forward, his movements carrying a touch of ritual, and personally brushed away non-existent dust from Hizashi's shoulders.
As fingertips glide across the fabric, the subtle tactile sensation clearly conveys the strict boundary between master and servant.
Hiashi's gaze swept over Hizashi's entire body under the Byakugan's scrutiny, confirming that there was no injury. His gaze finally landed on Hizashi's left shoulder, seemingly lingering for a moment, or perhaps it was just an illusion.
He then turned to his sister-in-law and nephew, his tone slightly gentler, and nodded, saying, "Thank you for your hard work on the journey."
After a brief welcome, Rizashi returned with his wife and children to their separate courtyard in the divided area.
The room was as clean as it had been before they left, and even the scent of incense in the air was unchanged, but an invisible chill had already seeped into every inch of the wood and floor tiles.
That evening, Hizashi sat alone at his desk in his study.
Only a low lamp was lit in the room, and the tiny flame flickered on his face, illuminating the "caged bird" on his forehead in a half-light, half-dark manner, like a living creature perched on his pale skin.
What lay open on the desk was not a scroll, but a thin sheet of paper containing a list of the members of the divided family.
His fingertips brushed over those familiar names, without resentment, only concern for the future of the Hyuga clan.
Having witnessed the remnants of the bloody purge between the Otsutsuki main family and branch family on the moon, and having seen the unprecedented war that broke out due to disagreements over the wishes of their ancestor Hamura, the Otsutsuki branch family ultimately created a giant Tenseigan by fusing countless Byakugan.
When faced with his elder brother Hiashi's dignified face, which was also bound by the rules of the main family, Hizashi strangely found that he could not muster much hatred.
That was just another cage, and Hiashi was merely a prisoner of a higher rank within it.
But this realization brought not comfort, but a deeper sense of hatred.
This is the very system of the main family and branch families that binds the soul from birth to death!
I have a deep-seated hatred for that system that uses blood ties as chains, divides people into different classes, and deprives them of freedom and hope generation after generation!
Every name on the register could lead to freedom or to an abyss.
Just as his fingertip hovered over the name of a young branch family ninja.
The candlelight beside them flickered very slightly, yet with unusual clarity.
It wasn't moved by the wind.
The air inside the closed study was like grease that had solidified instantly.
The candle flame burned steadily the next second.
He looked up suddenly!
Outside the window, in the deep darkness of night, a figure stood silently, unnoticed.
Without any trace of its origin, it seemed to appear out of thin air in the moonlight on that narrow terrace outside the window.
The wide black robe almost blended into the shadows, with only the hem swaying slightly in the night breeze, its edges outlined with sharp, knife-like creases by the faint moonlight.
The white three-eyed fox mask on the man's face was cold and smooth. Behind the eye holes of the mask, two gazes calmly fell on him, piercing through the dimly lit study, like a bucket of ice water being poured over his head!
Shura!
Ri Cha felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
He quickly stepped out from behind his desk and knelt on one knee.
"Lord Shura!"
The voice carried a faint glimmer of hope and a slight tremor.
His lowered gaze could only see the shoes lying on the windowsill. Why had Lord Shura come to find him again so soon?
Is there something wrong with my trip to the moon?
still is……
Mianma did not enter the study.
He stood in the moonlight on the narrow terrace by the window, like a non-human silhouette cut out of the night.
Without uttering a single superfluous word, the three tomoe of his left eye beneath the mask spun wildly, forming a peculiar vortex pattern.
Then, Menma slightly raised his hand, which was wearing a black fingerless glove, with his palm facing Hyuga Hizashi, who was kneeling on the ground. He spread his five fingers and made an extremely simple, gentle movement, like brushing away a spider web.
Eye Technique: Wheel Fear!
hum-
A very subtle, almost imperceptible ripple spread silently across the space.
Hizashi's entire body tensed up suddenly!
It wasn't excruciating pain, but rather a very strange sensation!
The forehead, the location of the Caged Bird Seal!
The mark that had accompanied him for half his life, as if it had grown into his bones and flesh, vanished completely in an instant!
There was no stinging, no discomfort, as if it had never existed; only the phantom pain of the caged bird being triggered remained in my memory.
Instead, there was an indescribable emptiness...
An absolute sense of ease!
The deathly constraint that had shrouded the depths of his mind, like a sword hanging overhead, vanished without a trace!
Hishi slowly raised his hand, trembling, and touched his forehead!
Trembling fingers frantically explored the bluish-gray skin that was originally branded with the image of a "caged bird".
It's smooth and flat there!
Apart from the skin's natural fine lines, there is nothing else!
That "bird in a cage" curse mark, symbolizing imprisonment and the power of life and death...
Disappeared!
Completely...erased!
It's like it never appeared!
An indescribable torrent of intense emotions instantly shattered the mental defenses that Hyuga Hizashi had built up over the years!
Like a prisoner who has been locked in a dark cage for most of his life, suddenly thrown into the bright sunlight, the huge impact made his vision go black and his mind go blank!
ecstasy?
No, what's deeper is the immense bewilderment and uncontrollable bitterness that comes after despair is suddenly redeemed!
Tears welled up like a burst dam, completely uncontrollable, flowing freely between his fingers as he pressed his forehead, splashing dark watermarks on the cold floor.
A suppressed sob, like that of a dying beast, escaped from his clenched teeth, only to be swallowed back down his throat, leaving behind a violent, uncontrollable trembling of his shoulders.
in front of the window.
The gaze beneath the white three-eyed fox mask seemed completely unwavering.
"This is a reward bestowed upon you." Menma's voice pierced through the darkness, as cold as ever, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.
"The mark has been removed, the trace has disappeared; as for how to explain it or hide it..."
The figure outside the window paused slightly, and the outline drawn by the moonlight seemed to make a barely perceptible adjustment, as if observing how a test subject who had just been freed from shackles was walking again.
"Solve it yourself."
Before the echo of the sound had faded, Menma's right hand, which had just unleashed an invisible power, casually fell back to his side, his black sleeve slipping down, returning everything to nothingness.
"The time is almost ripe for the family to split up and leave; we need to sort out the list as soon as possible."
The moment the words left his mouth, the moonlight on the terrace outside the window rippled like water.
The standing figure, along with the moonlit area he occupied, vanished instantly like melting ice and snow, leaving only the empty terrace outside the window.
A night breeze swept by, stirring a few bamboo leaves outside the window that had just been frozen in mid-air by an unseen force, causing them to flutter again.
"Yes, Lord Shura..." came the hoarse, low reply.
Silence returned to the study.
All that remained was the faint candlelight of the low lamp and the trembling figure kneeling on the ground, pressing his forehead tightly against it, looking utterly lost and dejected.
Hyuga Hizashi's fingers dug deep into the smooth skin of his forehead, feeling the unprecedented sensation of skin free from curses and constraints. Tears mixed with sweat and a tremendous sense of unreality flowed continuously.
He took a deep breath of the still cool air, which inexplicably carried a sense of freedom, as if he wanted to inhale this unprecedented feeling of ease into every corner of his lungs.
He slowly raised his head, his eyes wide open! Experiencing a 360-degree panoramic view!
"Haha~! Hahahaha!!!"
Hyuga Hizashi suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Japan! We won! We won!"
Hyuga Hizashi seemed to transform into the laughing Uchiha, his laughter carrying a hint of madness and sorrow.
The list that originally represented enormous risks quietly took on a new meaning after the invisible pressure of being a "caged bird" suddenly disappeared.
(End of this chapter)