Neji had been spaced out all morning. As soon as the lunch bell rang, he grabbed the bento he'd packed and headed off to find somewhere quiet to eat.
Just as he stepped out of the classroom, he saw another Hyuga kid about his age shuffle past him, looking completely wrecked—lost, dazed, like the world had just collapsed on him.
Neji recognized him. The guy was in fourth year, just two years older than him, and from the branch family.
His father had died during the Third Great Ninja War. His mother? Killed on a mission three years ago by an enemy spy. Now he lived with his grandfather, who was a branch elder.
Wait… hold on—
Something clicked in Neji's mind. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed the boy's arm. The boy turned, confused, and Neji asked bluntly:
"That branch elder who got killed by the main house elder last night… was he your grandfather?"
The second the words left his mouth, Neji regretted it. Too direct. Too raw.
He saw the boy's expression crumble instantly, tears welling up in his pale Byakugan eyes, grief and hatred twisting across his face. He was choking up.
Neji froze. He'd never made anyone cry before. Not even Hinata, and he'd said some pretty harsh stuff to her before.
Now here was this kid, breaking down right in front of him—and Neji, who believed so strongly in justice, suddenly didn't know what to do with himself.
Then the boy spoke.
"Grandpa… he just wanted to help me get rid of the curse mark. He believed that with my talent, if I didn't have the Caged Bird Seal… I'd be a top-tier jōnin in Konoha. Is that such a crime? Did he really have to die for that? He was the only family I had left…"
"I… Hyuga Neji… I don't know what to do anymore. I hate the main house elder who killed him. But the other branch elders told me it's just the clan's rules. Grandpa broke the law. This was the price."
"This morning, main house people came to talk to me. They said Grandpa disrupted the Hyuga clan's order. That he was punished because he made a mistake."
"They told me not to follow in his footsteps."
"I… I don't know what to believe…"
The boy's voice cracked, and Neji stood there in silence, watching him fall apart.
All because of a single careless question.
He saw the huge tears fall from the boy's eyes, saw the curse mark on his forehead, exposed and raw. And suddenly, Neji was back in the past—thinking of his own father, Hizashi. Remembering what it felt like to watch him die as a scapegoat for the main house.
The helplessness. The rage. The pain.
"The Caged Bird…"
"The main house…"
"Murderers…"
Neji took a deep breath. His expression shifted—calm, sharp, resolute.
"Do you really think just crying is going to bring your grandfather back?" he said, voice firm. "The curse mark triggered his illness and killed him. That's no different than murder. The one who activated it is the killer."
"If you've got any guts at all, stop looking like a victim. Fate—yeah, the branch family's fate sucks. We're trapped birds in a cage."
"But!"
"There's always a way out. There has to be!" Neji repeated, staring hard into the boy's eyes. "If you're really not okay with this—if you're holding onto that hatred—then come with me."
And without another word, Neji turned and walked off.
The boy froze.
Neji was younger than him by two years, but right now? He looked like someone way beyond his age.
The boy hesitated. Opened his mouth. Nothing came out.
But the moment it looked like Neji was about to disappear from view, he wiped his tears, clenched his fists, and ran after him with everything he had.
Fueled by grief. And a tiny spark of hope.
What he didn't expect was for Neji to lead him to a first-year classroom. Before he could even catch his breath, Neji stepped right inside, walked over to a loud blond kid and a quiet Uchiha, and declared:
"I need to see Uchiha Chizumi. I found a murderer."
Naruto, who had been bored out of his mind all morning, perked up immediately.
"A murderer?!"
Even Sasuke, who had been zoning out, blinked and turned toward them.
…
Elsewhere, outside the village...
"Looks like Obito backed off," Juzo Biwa muttered, letting out a breath of relief. "If he'd set a trap, I'd already be dead."
He glanced at the wooden clone of Uchiha Chizumi running beside him.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "The Land of Rain's pretty far from Konoha. Your clone can last that long?"
"Even if my real body is on the other side of the continent, the clone will persist unless I cancel it or it takes serious damage," the clone replied coldly—sounding exactly like the real Chizumi.
"…You're a freak," Juzo muttered. Was Chizumi just that powerful, or was Wood Release just insane?
Wood Release. Sharingan. Lava Release.
Three Kekkei Genkai. In one guy.
That's just unfair.
He coughed to hide his unease and returned to his usual tone. "One more thing—what if I give that woman intel on Obito, but instead of going after him, she teams up with him and decides to silence me?"
"She won't," the clone said calmly. "She's more suspicious of Obito than anyone else in Akatsuki."
Juzo squinted. "You've never even met her. How do you know that?"
"In my eyes, no one with a reputation in the ninja world has secrets."
Even me? Juzo thought. Before he could ask—
"Yes. Even you."
"…Hmph."
…
Hokage Tower
Hiruzen opened a drawer, reached for his tobacco tin… empty.
"Oh, right. Ran out yesterday…"
He sighed, still not used to the silence.
"Itachi, go buy—"
He stopped mid-sentence. It still hurt to say his name out loud.
"…Still not used to it," Hiruzen muttered.
Just then, an Anbu landed in front of him, kneeling. "Hokage-sama. There's been another death in the Hyuga clan."
Hiruzen frowned.
Another one? Someone dies in this village every damn day… at this rate we'll be extinct in a year.
He asked instinctively, "Was it Chizumi again?"
The Anbu shook his head and explained.
The deeper he got into the report, the tighter Hiruzen's brow furrowed.
"A clash between the main and branch families… After Hizashi died, things were stable for years. And now someone from the branch dies again?"
Rubbing his forehead, craving a smoke, Hiruzen growled, "Send Homura. Tell the main family they need to fix this fast. We're not having a civil war break out inside the Hyuga clan."
Whether it was the Uchiha or the Hyuga, internal war was poison for Konoha. All it did was weaken the village.
And as Hokage, that was the last thing Hiruzen needed right now.
"Also," he added as the Anbu turned to leave, "tell Homura to move fast. Get both sides under control—before Chizumi finds out."
"Because once he gets involved, it's out of our hands."
…
Hyuga Clan Compound.
Konoha Advisor Mitokado Homura had arrived.
The Hyuga clan greeted him in full formal fashion. Several main-house elders came out personally, bowing, ushering him into their grand reception room.
This was the Hyuga survival strategy: always polite, always deferential to Konoha's higher-ups. Always keeping a low profile. Anything to avoid becoming the next Uchiha.
Homura didn't bother with pleasantries.
He sat down and got straight to the point.
"I heard last night, a main-house elder killed a branch-house elder."
"Anbu noticed a lot of anger brewing among the branch members. The situation is extremely volatile."
He paused—eyes scanning the room—and locked onto one elder whose expression visibly tensed.
"Jinsuke," Homura said sharply. "Was it you?"
The old man didn't deny it. His wrinkled face twitched slightly. "It wasn't on purpose. I had no intention of hurting him."
"It was the Caged Bird Seal. It accidentally triggered a pre-existing condition. Technically… he died of illness."
Homura shook his head slowly. "Even if that's true… do you think the branch family's going to forgive and forget? As far as they're concerned, you're the reason their elder's dead. Directly or not."
"The Hokage doesn't want internal conflict. I trust you understand what needs to be done."
Hyuga Hiashi, clan head and symbol of Hyuga diplomacy, responded with a cold, flat voice.
"Tell the Hokage—he has nothing to worry about. The Hyuga clan won't cause problems for the village."
"Good."
Homura stood. "I'll be visiting the branch house next. You'd better settle this before Chizumi catches wind of it."
Once he left, the room went dead silent.
Then Jinsuke finally spoke, his tone ugly.
"He broke the clan rules. Whether I meant to or not doesn't matter. Even if I did mean to kill him, it's still allowed under centuries-old clan law."
"Now the Hokage wants me to hand myself over just to make the branch family feel better? Since when does the Hokage get to dictate Hyuga clan business?"
Even if they bowed to Konoha in public, privately, the resentment in the room was palpable.
No one liked being treated like they were beneath someone else.
A second elder spoke up, calmly.
"No need to get so fired up. The Hokage doesn't really understand our inner workings. The branch family can't stir up anything serious."
"If they're angry, let them be angry. Glares don't kill. But if they step out of line, the Caged Bird Seal will remind them who's in charge."
"The moment it's branded on their foreheads, their lives stop being their own."
Jinsuke's scowl softened a little.
Then a third elder spoke, voice low.
"The real problem isn't the Hokage… it's Uchiha Chizumi. If he gets involved, this becomes a nightmare. Just like last time."
Everyone in the room winced.
Last time, Naruto and Sasuke—Chizumi's ideological disciples—had executed a Hyuga child outside the clan compound. They'd called it "Justice."
The Hyuga had swallowed that blood quietly.
If Chizumi stepped in again?
The entire room felt the chill. Jinsuke looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"Jinsuke-san," Hiashi finally said. He placed both hands on his knees. "You need to lay low for now. Stay out of Konoha until Chizumi leaves the village. I'll have someone contact you when it's safe."
Jinsuke looked like he wanted to explode, but all he could do was clench his jaw.
"The Hokage we can brush off. But a threat from some rogue Uchiha and we're playing scared? He doesn't even represent his clan."
"Hmph…"
But in the end, he said nothing else. Just stood and muttered:
"I'll go say goodbye to my family before I leave."
He backed down.
Bluster aside, he was scared too.
Hiashi let out a long breath and turned to the others. "We need to keep the branch family calm. Don't let them draw Chizumi into this."
"They're all in the compound, right?"
"Except for two kids still at the Academy," one elder replied. "One of them is the grandson of the elder who just died."
"Neither should have any ties to Chizumi. They're just students."
Hiashi's expression shifted. There was one exception.
Hyuga Neji.
As he sat in thought, another elder cut in.
"Hiashi-sama, it's time to consider the matter of Hinata and Hanabi. Only one of them can remain in the main house."
"This has always been the rule. Even your own brother, Hizashi, became part of the branch house. Hinata and Hanabi can't both be exceptions."
The elder stood, trying to be gentle.
"I know it's hard. I had to make the same decision when I was clan head. But rules are rules. They don't change."
"You're the clan leader now. You can't afford to hesitate. Make it a proper ceremony. Make it dignified. But one of them must carry the seal."
Hiashi was silent for a long moment.
"…I'll consider it carefully. Hinata's old enough now, but Hanabi is still young. I need time to evaluate her potential."
His voice was heavy.
…
"Huff… huff…"
"We found him!"
Naruto, out of breath and sweating, pointed excitedly ahead. Just a short distance away stood Uchiha Chizumi. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Naruto turned to Neji and the nervous Hyuga boy behind him.
"When we get there, just tell Chizumi-sensei everything. Straight up. No lies."
As Naruto started jogging forward, he suddenly noticed Sasuke had stopped walking.
"Huh? What's wrong with you?"
Naruto tilted his head, confused.
What he didn't know—what almost nobody outside the Uchiha clan knew—was that Uchiha Itachi had been killed recently. And not by just anyone.
By Uchiha Chizumi himself.
To Naruto, Chizumi was a mentor. To Sasuke… he was the man who had just killed his brother.
"…I'm fine," Sasuke muttered. He inhaled deeply, holding back the turmoil churning inside. Over and over in his head, he repeated: Itachi deserved it. Itachi deserved it.
He exhaled. "Let's go."
Naruto gave him a weird look. "You're acting kinda off today."
But he let it go.
They approached fast. Naruto threw up a hand and shouted:
"Chizumi-sensei!"
"And Jujirou-senpai!"
The massive ninja cat lazily opened his eyes and gave a satisfied purr at being addressed so respectfully by the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Sasuke offered a short, respectful nod. "Chizumi-sensei."
"Meow—shouldn't you two brats be in class right now?" Jujirou drawled. "Pretty sure lunch ended… oh, about one minute ago?"
Naruto waved his hands, trying to explain, "There was a murder in the village! So we ran over to find Chizumi-sensei right away!"
Chizumi's eyes narrowed. "A murder?"
He looked past Naruto and Sasuke, locking his gaze onto Neji and the Hyuga boy trailing behind them.
The moment Neji felt Chizumi's eyes on him, his chest tightened. It was like being stalked by something ancient and predatory.
Like a monster that could see everything.
Naked. Exposed.
But Neji clenched his fists. He reminded himself: This is nothing. If I believe in justice—if I believe in his justice—I can't look away. If I can't meet his eyes, then what the hell am I even doing here?
He forced himself to lift his head.
And told Chizumi everything.
Start to finish. No embellishments. No exaggeration.
He could have twisted the story—painted the main house in the worst light possible. Maybe Chizumi would've stepped in and destroyed them. Maybe Neji could've gotten his revenge that way.
But deep down, he knew—that wouldn't be justice.
So he told the truth.
All of it.
When he finished, there was silence.
"…Wait, what?" Naruto blinked, completely stunned.
He'd been in such a rush to find Chizumi, he hadn't even stopped to ask what the "murder" was about.
Now, hearing it?
His jaw dropped.
"What the hell kinda rule is that?! Trying to remove a curse mark is a crime?! And the punishment is death?!"
He turned to Neji and the other boy. "What the hell is a Caged Bird Seal? That already sounds evil! Since when do Hyuga clan rules matter more than the Land of Fire's laws?!"
Even Sasuke was frozen in place.
"…So the Hyuga clan's just as messed up as the Uchiha," he muttered.
~~~
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