After laying the groundwork, Danzo revealed his true intentions to Hizashi Hyuga.
However, upon hearing this, Hizashi wasn't surprised at all—he found it only natural.
After all, he knew exactly what kind of man Danzo was.
Danzo had removed the Caged Bird seal, undoubtedly hoping to gain something from him in return.
As for exactly what Danzo wanted, Hizashi could more or less guess.
It was simply about pledging allegiance to Danzo and serving under his command.
Hizashi asked, "So then, what should I do to become an ally walking the same path, Lord Danzo?"
Danzo replied calmly, "It is not for me to dictate your actions... rather, it is your own choices that will prove we walk the same path. Hizashi, time is late. I hope you'll think carefully after returning. Hopefully, when we meet again, we can truly be allies."
Danzo immediately ended the conversation. It would be strange if Hizashi agreed right away anyway.
Therefore, Danzo wasn't in a hurry. He'd wait for Hizashi to make his own decision.
What Danzo truly sought wasn't just Hizashi himself, but the unwavering loyalty of every Branch family member.
After casting a deep glance toward Danzo, Hizashi left his residence.
...
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
Hizashi watched his son Neji training within the dojo, his expression unreadable.
His son...was truly a genius. Without any supervision from him, Neji diligently trained himself every day.
At thirteen years old, he had independently researched and mastered [Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms] and Rotation techniques, which were traditionally taught orally only to the Main family.
Although Hizashi knew how to perform Rotation, it was only because he had overheard Hiashi practicing it back when they were younger.
But as for Neji, Hizashi had never taught him anything—it was strictly forbidden for someone like him, a Branch family member, to pass along such techniques.
Even though Neji had discovered [Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms] and Rotation on his own, Hizashi couldn't praise him at all. Instead, he could only warn Neji never to let the Main family discover this, or he would face severe punishment.
His child possessed such extraordinary talent, yet all he could do was hide it, forcing Neji to conceal it too, as if living under constant shadow.
Without realizing it, Hizashi let out a bitter smile—a deeply bitter one.
Once Neji finished training, Hizashi walked up to him and asked, "Neji, have you ever resented me?"
Neji hesitated briefly, puzzled by why his father would ask such a question.
Seeing the serious look on Hizashi's face, Neji shook his head. "I've never resented you, Father. But there's something I don't quite understand..."
"What don't you understand?"
Neji looked at Hizashi with confusion in his eyes. "Father, why am I working so hard to become stronger?"
Hizashi's heart suddenly throbbed painfully as he stared at Neji.
After a while, Hizashi showed a relieved smile. He patted Neji's head and said, "Becoming stronger is for your own sake. You'll always be free, Neji."
Hizashi removed his hand from Neji's head and left the Hyuga clan compound.
Hizashi met Danzo again and got straight to the point. "Lord Danzo, I'm willing to lead the Hyuga Branch family to join your side!"
A smile appeared on Danzo's face. "Hizashi, you've made a wise decision."
Then Danzo continued, "Since you've made this decision, you should already know what I plan to do."
Hizashi nodded slightly, indicating that he understood.
Previously, Danzo mentioned the pressure came not only from the Hyuga Main family but also from the Hokage of Konoha—Minato Namikaze—which meant Danzo was planning to make moves against Minato.
Hizashi already knew about the feud between Danzo and Minato.
Seeing Hizashi nodding, Danzo didn't intend to hand over the method to remove the Caged Bird seal just yet.
Danzo told Hizashi, "The removal of the Caged Bird seal will be handled by me. However, to prevent betrayal from you, I'll place the Tongue Calamity Root Seal upon you. You should already understand clearly—this seal won't restrict you much. Can you accept this?"
Hizashi answered, "I accept."
Hizashi had expected all along that Danzo wouldn't easily hand him the method to remove the Caged Bird seal.
"However, I also have one request: my child, Neji, shall not be involved in these conflicts."
Danzo agreed immediately, "Agreed."
What Danzo wanted was the Branch family members led by Hizashi himself; one boy like Neji was insignificant.
Immediately afterward, Danzo removed the Caged Bird seal from Hizashi and placed the Tongue Calamity Root Seal instead.
As the moment of the Caged Bird seal's removal arrived, Hizashi felt an unfamiliar sense of relief he hadn't felt in a long time.
Hizashi said to Danzo, "Tonight, I'll bring Neji out. Please help remove the Caged Bird seal from him and leave behind a Kara."
When night fell,
After giving Neji a sedative herb, Hizashi quietly carried him out of the Hyuga clan compound. With Danzo's assistance, he removed the Caged Bird seal from Neji.
Returning home once more, Hizashi sat beside the sleeping Neji, lost in thought.
He reached out and gently touched Neji's cheek before sighing softly and leaving the room.
From now on, there was no turning back for him.
Meanwhile, inside Danzo's residence,
A wicked smile crept across Danzo's lips.
His plan was unfolding remarkably smoothly.
Now, besides a faction of the Uchiha, he had gained another powerful ally—the Hyuga Branch family.
That group of Root ninja were under Minato Namikaze's surveillance, but they would still obey orders directly from him.
Danzo felt like he could finally be the one calling the shots.
Next, he just needed to find an opportunity—one that could overthrow Minato Namikaze. Then he would truly be able to seize control of Konoha.
And such an opportunity had already emerged.
Danzo received intelligence that soon, Konoha would host a joint Chunin Exam.
At that time, besides several small nearby villages, Sunagakure would also participate.
Danzo clearly knew that Rasa, the leader of Sunagakure, had always been eyeing Konoha greedily.
Danzo said to Tatsuma standing behind him, "Tatsuma, leave Konoha and go to Sunagakure. Deliver this message to Rasa."
Danzo took out a letter and handed it to Tatsuma.
Tatsuma took the letter and departed for Sunagakure the next day.
Two days later.
Thanks to Naruto throwing a temper tantrum, Kakashi's Team 7 accepted a mission.
And the location of this mission was the Land of Waves.
During this mission, Kakashi's squad encountered attacks from Zabuza Momochi and Haku, two rogue ninjas from Kirigakure, but there were two more individuals involved—Raiga Kurosuki and Ranmaru.
Kakashi sent a distress signal to Konoha, and Minato Namikaze dispatched Shindai, who happened to be free at the moment.
Shindai accepted the mission. It was also time to give Hinata some real combat experience—and conveniently tease Kakashi along the way.
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