Konoha, Hyuga Clan Estate.
Bang!
A wooden stake, already heavily battered, broke and fell to the ground. A five-year-old boy with Byakugan, dressed in white training clothes, was breathing somewhat heavily, his clothes soaked with sweat.
"Neji!"
Hiashi looked at Neji, who was training, and immediately thought of Hizashi, calling out with a hint of sorrow.
The training body paused, then turned to face Hiashi, respectfully saying,
"Greetings, Clan Chief!"
Neji turned and bowed, making it even harder for the Hyuga Clan Chief, who harbored unspoken difficulties, to speak.
The coldness emanating from him made Hiashi sigh. He had personally held him when he was a baby, and he had been so cute, sensible, and talented.
But now, he had become like this. The main Family and branch Family division made Hiashi sigh deeply.
And today, their relationship would likely worsen again.
Because there were two things he had to tell him.
"There is something I must tell you!"
Neji quietly watched Hiashi, unperturbed, for he had already guessed.
"Your father, Hyuga Hizashi, sacrificed himself for the Family and the Village."
Neji didn't show much emotion, just calmly looked at Hiashi, but that gaze made Hiashi somewhat unable to bear it.
After all, Neji already knew; failing to protect Hinata and letting her be captured meant he couldn't stop any of this.
After a long while, Neji finally spoke.
"Did Father leave any words?"
It wasn't that he was cold-hearted; as a Transmigrator, he had known this long ago but was powerless to change anything.
"He said... he was sorry, that he couldn't keep his promise!"
Hiashi was Hizashi's blood brother, but their statuses were worlds apart.
Now, facing his own nephew, as a member of the main Family and the Clan Chief, he had to maintain the proper demeanor and suppress his emotions.
"I understand!"
Neji was very calm, so calm that he himself was frightened, and Hiashi, looking at his precocious nephew, didn't know what to say.
"Does the Clan Chief have anything else?"
Seeing that Hiashi didn't intend to leave, Neji asked, though he also understood what it was about.
"Your father pleaded for you, delaying it for a year, but that ritual can no longer be postponed."
Indeed, now at five years old, he should have received the Caged Bird Seal at four.
But he pleaded with his father, and Hizashi pleaded with Hiashi, which is why it was delayed until now.
He had hoped to change things this time, for Hizashi to survive, but it turned out he had hoped for too much.
Now that Hizashi was dead, Hiashi could no longer withstand the pressure from within the Clan. As the main Family, he had to make a statement to reassure those of the branch Family.
After all, it had already been delayed for a year; they couldn't just not apply the Caged Bird Seal because he was the main Family's nephew.
Only one branch of the main Family is allowed; this is a rule passed down through generations, and it is a necessary means to protect the Hyuga Clan from being coveted by others.
All external coveting and threats are borne by the main Family, while the branch Family must protect the main Family.
"I understand!"
As soon as he spoke, Neji's next action shocked Hiashi.
He raised two fingers and dug!
Neji personally gouged out his own eyes, without even a grunt, let alone a cry of pain.
His calm tone, yet at this moment, he performed such a cruel and unfitting action that even Hiashi was stunned and couldn't stop him in time.
He skillfully applied simple hemostasis and treatment, as if he had prepared for it many times.
It made Hiashi's vision blur. This... a thousand words could not describe his inner feelings.
When he focused again, Neji's head was already bandaged, and he wore a black eye patch.
He personally placed the pair of still-clean and exquisite Byakugan into Hiashi's stiff hands, then left directly, leaving a message for him.
"This is my explanation. It has troubled the Clan Leader!"
This made Hiashi's heart tremble violently, his hands shaking as he looked at the exquisite Byakugan in his grasp.
He stumbled back a few steps, leaning against a pillar before stopping.
For a moment, in this deserted training ground, Hiashi could no longer hold back his tears.
As the Clan Chief, as Hizashi's older brother, did he not want to save Hizashi? Did he not want to change the plight of the main Family and branch Family?
He always wanted to, but without the Caged Bird Seal, then their Hyuga Clan would be the biggest prize in others' eyes!
Countless Clan members would die, their Byakugan gouged out, or even be imprisoned, and Konoha would not be able to protect them.
Because they themselves, unlike the Uchiha Clan, had no restrictions; they could generally activate their eyes, and their utility was extremely strong.
He had thought Neji was mature enough to be comparable to Uchiha Itachi, and could understand.
But the result was so intense, so unyielding.
He directly gouged out this pair of Byakugan with his own hands and gave them to him!
It made him smile bitterly: "Main Family and branch Family, this is Neji's answer, his answer!"
"An answer from a five-year-old child!"
"My Hyuga Clan has fallen so low!"
He lacked the strength to protect his younger brother Hizashi, and now he even lacked the strength to protect Neji.
He let him resort to gouging out his own eyes, unwilling to have the Caged Bird Seal imprinted!
He accepted this answer. He would never let anyone in the Family dare to speak ill of Neji again.
After all, the Caged Bird Seal technique is based on the Byakugan; without the Byakugan, it's uncertain if the Caged Bird Seal would even work.
There was no such precedent, and Neji's decisiveness made it impossible for him to predict.
Carefully protecting Neji's eyes, if possible, there might still be a chance to reattach them. After all, Neji was too young, and such delicate surgery... perhaps... only Lady Tsunade could do it!
Hiashi, with a hurried look, no longer possessed the Aura of the main Family. His face slightly sorrowful, he headed towards the Hokage Building.
Alas, it was ultimately fruitless!
...Meanwhile, Neji, who had personally gouged out his eyes, used his rudimentary Kenbunshoku Haki to perceive, which did not hinder his movement.
Walking within the Hyuga Clan Estate, after turning a corner, a small figure softly spoke from behind him.
"Neji-nīchan!"
It was Hinata. Having woken up startled, she had no idea what had happened.
Seeing her beloved Neji-nīchan, she happily called out.
Neji felt a faint ache in his eye sockets and sighed softly, turning around.
"Ah! Neji-nīchan, are your eyes hurt?"
Seeing Neji with bandages and an eye patch, Hinata was very worried and quickly exclaimed, thinking his eyes were just injured.
Neji placed his hand on Hinata's small head, revealing a faint smile, and coaxed her.
"It's nothing, just an incorrect amount of Chakra used, and I hurt them a little. They'll be fine soon."
Hinata carefully touched Neji's cheek, afraid of touching her older brother's wound, and softly said,
"Is that so? Then Neji-nīchan, you must be careful, don't be reckless. Older brother always trains too hard."
"How can I get stronger without working hard? How can I protect little Hinata?"
Neji pinched Hinata's small nose, which made Hinata wrinkle her nose slightly, feeling ticklish, and she retorted indignantly,
"Then I want to protect Neji-nīchan too, so Neji-nīchan doesn't have to work so hard. I want to get stronger too!"
"Then I'll look forward to it. But Neji-nīchan still has some things to do. How about I play with Hinata next time?"
Feeling a warmth in his eye sockets soaking the bandages, it seemed his Life Return was not yet fully Cultivated.
He gave her another head pat, making Hinata behave.
"Mm! Then Neji-nīchan, rest well, and don't train if you're injured."
"Okay, I promise you!"
Neji extended his pinky finger and hooked it with Hinata's small hand, and they both said in unison,
"Pinky promise, never change for a hundred years!"
The novice shivers, timidly poking his head out of the sewer: Is this the world of the strong?