"You…"
The voice, carrying a powerful tone of enchantment, drifted into his ears, making the absent-minded Hyūga Hizashi jolt in shock.
He subconsciously staggered back a step, nearly slipping.
"What exactly are you?" Hizashi's scalp tingled as he looked at the black-robed figure beside him. He couldn't stop his trembling voice as he asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"
"I am merely pruning away pests and trimming branches while waiting to see what kind of flower might bloom."
As Hyūga Kumokawa spoke these words, though Hizashi could not see the face hidden in shadow, he could almost feel a pair of eyes staring back at him. Eyes that carried profound, malicious intent.
It was like a fire burning—not blazing, not grand—just quietly flickering.
The other party didn't care what that fire might ignite, or what it might consume.
To him, the Branch House Head was nothing more than kindling to feed the flames.
Hizashi fell into silence.
"The Main House of the Hyūga is the true root of the clan. As long as the root remains, whether the branches wither or flourish matters not."
That was the lesson drilled into him since childhood by his father, the clan head.
And yet—when he thought again of the frail and timid Hinata, who revealed flaw after flaw during training—dark, poisonous thoughts began to surge uncontrollably in his heart.
"With Neji's talent, he could have been a true powerhouse of the Hyūga. But because he is Branch House, he bears the cursed Caged Bird Seal. His freedom stripped away, doomed to live under the Main House's shadow his entire life…"
"Meanwhile, that cowardly and weak daughter of the Main House enjoys everything without effort. She is protected by Neji, as though it were her birthright—demanding his very life if necessary…"
As a father, to rob one's child of freedom with his own hands—that was too powerless, too pathetic.
For the sake of brief freedom, Hizashi could choose to die humbly.
But for Neji… he wanted his son to live free, to live with flesh and blood, as a true person.
Not as someone else's vassal, and certainly not burdened by a so-called fate.
"Believe me—selling your soul to the devil is not shameful."
Hyūga Kumokawa's voice was soft. "Only selling it at too cheap a price is shameful."
"…What can you do?"
After a long silence, Hizashi finally spoke. "And what do I have to give?"
"I can grant you the power to break free from the cage," Kumokawa said calmly. "But in exchange, you must give me everything—your name, your future, your life, your soul…"
"You…" Hizashi froze, then asked, "This deal is completely unfair, isn't it?"
"Isn't that exactly what a devil is?" Kumokawa's tone was utterly frank. "So—what is your answer?"
Hizashi's breathing grew heavier. Even so, even knowing the malice before him, he realized he could not voice a rebuttal.
The man had truly stripped him bare, as though he were a demon who dissected human desire piece by piece, weighing every ounce of his craving upon the scales.
At last, Hizashi gritted his teeth, shook his head, and said: "I don't believe you can free me or Neji from this cage. I don't believe anyone could."
As long as the Caged Bird Seal existed, Neji could never truly be free.
And even the Main Family Head had only the power to activate the seal—never to remove it.
"So be it." Kumokawa seemed unbothered by the doubt. He nodded, then extended an arm from the shadows of his cloak. "Then let me show you once."
At the same time, he whispered in his mind: "Materialize Item—Caged Bird Seal Release, Ten Seconds."
[Cost: 300 Truth Points. Proceed?]
"As expected, not the method itself, but a temporary release of ten seconds. No wonder it's cheap." His eyes flickered. Inwardly, he answered: "Proceed."
Hizashi blinked at the words, then froze as two fingers stretched toward his forehead. For an instant, his blood seemed to stop flowing, his body instinctively trying to retreat.
But the fingers touched his forehead before he could step back—and a strange tremor surged through him.
It was as if a crack had opened in his brow.
A spring poured inward, splitting into countless thin streams, washing through every blocked part of his brain.
Hizashi even heard the sound of an invisible shackle breaking apart, and felt as though a veil had been lifted from before his eyes.
The world had never been so clear.
His pupils trembled. His first instinct upon regaining awareness—veins bulged at the corners of his eyes.
"Byakugan! Activate!!"
Gone.
It was really gone.
The blind spot in his vision—was truly gone!
Impossible?!
Hizashi could not believe what he was sensing, but a look of wild ecstasy slowly spread across his face until it twisted with manic delight.
"Hahahahaha!"
So this was freedom?
Light, clear, exhilarating…
The sensation flooded every inch of his being, as though all hidden restraints had been lifted. The world itself glowed with brilliance.
He abandoned every trace of the usual Hyūga etiquette. His laughter rang out mad, unrestrained—even bringing tears to the corners of his eyes.
No one else could understand this feeling—having something once yours stolen away, having your very life gripped in another's hands every moment… and then suddenly, miraculously, it is returned to you.
But soon, the faded seal on his forehead returned, and with it the flawless Byakugan once more birthed its cursed blind spot, radiating outward from the first thoracic vertebra. The world darkened again.
"What… what happened?"
The ecstatic expression froze upon his face, his eyes flickering with confusion and pain.
But then he remembered—this was just a "trial."
"You!" Hizashi seized the cloaked man's arm, demanding desperately, "What do you want me to do?!"
Kumokawa showed neither surprise nor haste in replying. Instead, he countered with a question: "You and Hyūga Hiashi—you are identical twins, are you not?"
"…Yes."
Seeing him nod gloomily, Kumokawa continued with calm indifference: "I need you to become Hyūga Hiashi. And Hyūga Hizashi will die here."
"What?" Hizashi's pupils contracted sharply. He blurted out, "Impossible!"
This man wanted him to fake his own death, then replace his elder brother?
How could such a thing be done?!
"You said yourself it was possible." Kumokawa glanced down at Hizashi's hand clutching his arm, then gently pried it away with quiet strength. "All you need to do is obey."
Moonlight cast their shadows upon the ground, swaying among the silhouettes of the surrounding trees.
"…"
Remembering what he had just felt—the overwhelming desire nearly crushed him.
Gritting his teeth hard enough to draw blood, Hizashi finally spat out: "Fine! I'll do it!"
Seeing him in such a state, Kumokawa chuckled inwardly.
A bird that has lost its freedom… once it tastes flight again, soaring across the boundless sky..
How could it ever accept returning to a narrow cage?
But to Kumokawa, Hizashi was nothing more than a supporting piece.
The truly important piece…
Kumokawa's gaze shifted, turning toward a deathly silent compound in the distance.