The Chunin Exams were fast approaching.
Sasuke had signed a contract with Hikari, trading his loyalty for the prized Lightning Blade and a method to super-evolve his Sharingan. Meanwhile, Naruto, on Sarutobi Hiruzen's recommendation, inherited the incomplete Thunder Shuttle technique from Kazama Etsu.
At the same time, others were preparing feverishly.
---
Hyuga Clan Estate
In a traditional Japanese courtyard adorned with decorative rock gardens and flowing water, the sounds of sharp cries and clashing limbs filled the air.
Two figures darted and weaved, their feet tracing the steps of the Eight Trigrams, hands glowing with blue chakra. Each collision rang out like rain pelting a loquat tree.
Their attacks and retreats were fluid, the blue light carving arcs through the air, their movements as graceful as butterflies dancing through flowers.
Hyuga Hiashi stood with his hands behind his back, alongside Neji, watching the sparring match between his two daughters with a furrowed brow.
As the future heir of the main branch, Hinata's talent was, frankly, disappointing.
Five years older than Hanabi, her combat skills were barely on par—sometimes even outshone by her younger sister.
Though he hadn't activated his Byakugan to observe closely, Hiashi could still notice Hinata's irregular breathing. Her stamina and chakra were nearly depleted, and it was only a matter of time before Hanabi defeated her.
Despite her advantages in chakra and age, Hinata's Gentle Fist techniques were sloppy, her strikes weak, her footwork chaotic. She'd exhausted herself first.
Hiashi shook his head almost imperceptibly, at a loss for words.
How could someone with such mediocre talent inherit the leadership of the main branch?
"What do you think? Who's more suited to lead the main branch, Hinata or Hanabi?" Hiashi suddenly turned to Neji.
"Either works," Neji replied curtly, not even sparing him a glance. He had no interest in entertaining the main branch leader's probing.
As a lowly branch member, what right did he have to discuss the main branch's succession?
Besides, whether it was Hinata or Hanabi, what difference did it make to a caged bird like him? It was just swapping one master for another.
Only Hikari could give him the sky and freedom he craved.
The thought of her cold, ashen eyes brought a rare, gentle smile to Neji's lips. He couldn't wait to show the Hyuga main branch those eyes.
What expression would Hiashi have then?
Neji's heart thrummed with anticipation.
Receiving no meaningful answer, Hiashi studied Neji's icy gaze, his own emotions complex and hard to voice.
The rift between the main and branch families was stark, known to all. Hyuga Hizashi, Neji's father, had died for him and Hinata, so Neji's resentment was understandable.
If Neji had acted overly friendly, Hiashi would've been wary instead.
He sighed inwardly.
His brother's death was hard for him to accept too. The main and branch family system was harsh. The thought of branding either Hanabi or Hinata with the Caged Bird Seal was unbearable.
He'd even considered abolishing the Caged Bird system.
But it was just a fleeting thought.
Though he was the main branch leader, the Hyuga clan wasn't his personal domain.
If the Caged Bird system was removed, everyone would be main branch members. How would resources be allocated? Who would handle the menial tasks—guarding the estate, sparring, cleaning?
Main branch members, accustomed to branch family service and protection, would struggle to adjust to such a drastic change.
They'd lose significant privileges and likely oppose it fiercely.
Especially the Great Elder. He'd exiled his deceased daughter from the main branch—erased her from the Hyuga clan entirely—so his younger son could seamlessly become the eldest and join the main branch.
If Hiashi announced the system's abolition, rendering the elder's efforts meaningless, the backlash would be unimaginable.
Moreover, the branch family had been enslaved for a millennium, their anger and hatred ingrained in their bones. If the Caged Bird Seal was lifted, who could guarantee there wouldn't be an internal revolt?
How would the Byakugan be protected then?
These factors combined made Hiashi hesitant to change the clan's rules rashly.
Maintaining the status quo kept this twisted system afloat, but one wrong move could sink the Hyuga clan entirely.
All he could do was protect his daughters.
Thankfully, Hinata's weak talent gave him an excuse to delay branding Hanabi with the Caged Bird Seal. Once that curse was applied, there was no turning back.
"You've seen Hinata's strength. This Chunin Exam is no ordinary event. I want you to protect her—and yourself, of course," Hiashi added, thinking of his brother. Neji, after all, was closer to him than other branch members.
"Understood," Neji replied, his face devoid of emotion, growing colder as he watched the childish sparring match.
---
As they spoke, the stalemate in the courtyard shifted dramatically.
The relentless sound of flesh colliding echoed.
Hanabi, dressed in a pure black training outfit, her hair disheveled and aura slightly dark, moved like a butterfly. Her Gentle Fist strikes were precise and powerful, each swing carrying a commanding force.
Hinata, on the other hand, though her forms were solid, moved sluggishly, clearly at a disadvantage.
Boom!
Another palm clash.
Hinata, caught off guard, blocked too late and was staggered by the force.
Hanabi's eyes gleamed, seizing the fleeting opening. She stepped forward, her body coiled like a drawn bow, fingers aligned to strike at Hinata's face.
Gentle Fist Basics: Thrusting Hand!
Whoosh!
Four fingers glowing with blue chakra loomed large. Hinata's Byakugan veins bulged, her dark blue hair sticking to her sweat-soaked forehead. Exhausted, she couldn't block and barely dodged the thrust by tilting her head.
The blue fingertips grazed her hair. Hanabi's shoulder twitched, shifting the thrust into a downward chop.
Gentle Fist Basics: Draping Strike!
Thud!
Her chakra-charged palm root struck Hinata's left shoulder like a hammer, flooding her pressure points with chakra. Hinata groaned, unable to resist as her right arm went limp, no longer responding.
In a Gentle Fist duel, losing an arm meant the match was over.
"Sis, you okay?" Hanabi dropped her stance, supporting Hinata, who clutched her aching shoulder, and asked softly.
Hinata's forehead was slick with sweat, but her eyes remained gentle toward her sister. "I—"
"Useless!" A cold rebuke cut through their moment, making Hinata flinch.
The fight over, Hiashi approached with Neji, his eyes brimming with disappointment and disdain, making Hinata feel as if something was lodged in her chest.
"You can't even beat Hanabi, who's five years younger. You might as well skip the Chunin Exams to avoid embarrassing yourself—or worse, getting killed."
Hinata bit her lip, head bowed, her body trembling like a frightened rabbit.
Tears soon dripped from her nose.
Seeing her weakness, Hiashi's frustration boiled over. A main branch leader didn't need to be a great fighter or a prodigy, but they couldn't be a pushover.
How could someone with this personality bear the weight of the Hyuga clan?
"Pathetic," he said, casting one last look at Hinata before turning to leave with Hanabi. "Good job, Hanabi, but don't get cocky. Learn from Neji."
His voice faded into indistinct murmurs as they left.
"Did you find that lost handkerchief you mentioned?" Neji asked, his tone laced with disdain as he looked at Hinata's trembling, cat-like figure.
If he couldn't undo the Caged Bird Seal, even if he became a ninja rivaling the Hokage, he'd still be bound—forced to risk his life protecting this frail heiress at a moment's notice.
How unfair fate was.
"N-no, I haven't," Hinata stammered, shaking her head as tears wet the ground.
"Still nothing? How long are you going to keep looking?"
Plip, plop. Her tears flowed uncontrollably, her shoulders quaking.
Neji's Byakugan locked onto her, like a wolf eyeing a rabbit.
He'd scoured the clan's library. With Hinata's help as the future main branch leader, he'd even unlocked and read the sole scroll on the top shelf.
It wasn't the Caged Bird Seal's secrets, as he'd hoped, but a taijutsu technique called Divine Void Strike.
More precisely, God: Void Strike!
A legendary technique, said to be wieldable only by gods, it fused Yin and Yang Gentle Fist into a supreme taijutsu art.
He'd wanted to copy it for Hikari, but the scroll's training methods were sealed further, beyond even Hinata's knowledge—likely a secret reserved for the clan head.
So, with Hikari's approval, he'd pushed Hinata, his inside ally, to search Hiashi's room for the Caged Bird Seal and Divine Void Strike's unlocking method.
Yet, after all this time, she'd found nothing. It shouldn't be this hard.
Hinata might be useless, but her Byakugan wasn't. Finding a scroll at home should be simple.
"Keep looking. It's a pain if we can't clear out the trash," Neji said, unable to press further in the main branch courtyard. The burning seal on his forehead tirelessly reminded him of his lowly status.
Only by finding the scroll to undo the Caged Bird Seal could he act against the main branch.
Otherwise, the branch members under the seal's control would either die by its activation or be forced to attack Hikari, dying by her hand.
Both deaths were humiliating.
Unable to stomach Hinata's sobbing, Neji turned to leave.
As the daughter of the oppressive main branch leader, she bore original sin, even if it wasn't her intent.
Plop!
Tears hit the ground, splattering mud.
In the courtyard, only Hinata's frail, rabbit-like figure remained. She stopped trembling, slowly raising her head. The veins around her Byakugan pulsed, her timid gaze shifting to confusion and struggle.
Neji's threats, Hikari's coercion, her father's disappointment, Hanabi, and the looming Caged Bird Seal weighed on her like mountains, suffocating her.
Whoosh!
Her sleeve billowed with a gust of chakra. Her right shoulder, struck by Hanabi, suddenly surged, expelling the sealed chakra like an arrow.
Gently flexing her arm, Hinata, who'd seemed exhausted, had red-rimmed eyes with tears. She assumed the Gentle Fist stance, but her arms were positioned differently—one forward, one back, like a lion opening its maw.
Moments later, the rock garden exploded, rubble raining down. Two blue lions roared wildly in the courtyard!
---
"Is this the Root's base?"
In a desolate forest south of the Forest of Death, Mitarashi Anko, Morino Ibiki, and Shiranui Genma looked around.
The trees were half-green, budding sparsely. Old leaves carpeted the ground, with new grass poking through, showing faint traces of green.
The area was quiet, save for distant bird calls, crisp yet lonely.
As the Anbu's shadow division, the Root and its base were shrouded in mystery. If Ibiki weren't familiar with the Root, they wouldn't have found this core facility.
"Now what? We just wait here?" Anko, in her usual provocative outfit, crossed her arms, her disgust unmasked. If not for the Third's orders and the Super Chunin Exams, she'd never step foot in the Root.
"Just wait," Ibiki said, holding a scroll, standing patiently.
Outsiders couldn't enter the Root's base, but there were surely ninja on guard duty nearby. They were already close to the core area; someone would likely come soon.
"You two dragged me along for this?" Genma yawned, leaning against a thin tree, looking sleepy.
He was just a referee for reading rules—there was no need for him to discuss exam topics with the Root. Anko and Ibiki had forced him to come.
"You think I wanted to come?" Anko licked her lips, avoiding a direct answer.
Her childhood trauma from the Root ran deep, her fear outweighing her disgust. Having another Jonin-level ally made entering the base slightly less daunting.
Suddenly, Ibiki, standing like an iron tower, looked up, a grim expression crossing his scarred face.
"They're here."
Alerted, Anko and Genma looked up.
The tall trees rustled as a white figure darted through them like a ghost.
Fast.
The three noted the speed with mild surprise but weren't shocked. As Root ninja, such agility was expected.
Zzt, zzt!
As the figure approached, they heard the crackle of electricity. Using Lightning Release to boost muscle and reaction speed—this was a taijutsu expert skilled in Lightning Release. If fighting, they'd need wide-range attacks or tracking beast-style ninjutsu to counter.
Instinctively, the three analyzed, already formulating strategies to counter the technique.
Unknowingly, the approaching figure triggered their combat instincts.
Crackle!
A cold blue arc flashed, and a handsome black-haired boy in white landed before them.
Three tomoe spun in his crimson eyes. Sasuke scanned the trio, who looked ready for a fight, and frowned slightly.
A towering, rugged man radiating bloodlust, a woman in a provocative black mesh outfit who seemed to hate Uchihas, and a lazy man with a toothpick—all had Jonin-level chakra responses.
What a powerful organization, Sasuke thought, impressed. No wonder Hikari joined this secretive group if even Jonin were just gatekeepers.
At the same time, Anko, Ibiki, and Genma studied Sasuke, their hearts racing.
The iconic three-tomoe Sharingan and the fan crest on his robe—he was an Uchiha, from a clan thought extinct!
Is this the Root's true depth?
The four eyed each other warily, the forest falling into an eerie silence.