Chapter 2: The Caged Bird Becomes a Target
After finishing their instant ramen and boiled egg dinner, Hyuga Ritsu remained in Hiruko's tent to rest while Hiruko went out to pull some strings. He needed to find the supreme commander of the Eastern Front—one of the legendary Sannin, Orochimaru.
Hiruko and Orochimaru were classmates.
More precisely, Hiruko had been classmates with all three of the Sannin back at the Academy.
But if the Sannin were phoenixes perched on the highest branches, then Hiruko was merely a sparrow sitting on a nearby limb for contrast. The reason Hiruko violated village law and secretly dabbled in the forbidden Chimera Technique was simple—he refused to spend his entire life as an unremarkable, drab little sparrow.
However, in Ritsu's opinion, Sensei Hiruko underestimated himself far too much.
Whether he could truly compare to the Sannin was debatable, but the fact that he'd improved the Chimera Technique from creating beast-human hybrids to usurping five Kekkei Genkai was proof enough of his extraordinary talent. Ordinary shinobi couldn't hope to improve forbidden techniques—most couldn't even master them through study alone.
"Caged Bird."
Ritsu removed his headband and held up a small mirror. The reflection showed an X-shaped mark on his forehead.
This was the Caged Bird Seal, branded onto him when he was three years old by the Main Family.
His right index finger traced the seal lightly. His heartbeat quickened slightly. From the moment this mark was carved into his flesh, he'd wanted nothing more than to remove this ugly, disgusting slave brand.
To that end, he'd painstakingly approached Hiruko and became his student at age six.
Originally, his target had been Orochimaru—the shinobi world's premier scientist. The Caged Bird Seal had gone unbroken for a thousand years, proof of the curse's sophistication. If anyone in this world could break it, Ritsu—as a transmigrator—believed it would be Orochimaru.
But as one of the Sannin, Orochimaru was simply too difficult to approach. Ritsu was just a Branch Family child from the Hyuga clan. Despite his reputation as a prodigy, he was too young and his status too low to make contact with someone like Orochimaru.
Left with no choice, he'd settled for the next best option—Hiruko, who appeared to be an ordinary jonin on the surface.
In the movie timeline, Hiruko successfully stole four Kekkei Genkai using his improved Chimera Technique. According to his own claims, obtaining a fifth would grant him an immortal body.
Whether immortality was truly achievable remained questionable, of course.
But Ritsu didn't need immortality. Erasing the Caged Bird Seal would be more than enough.
After Ritsu became his student, Hiruko conducted extensive research and confirmed that the Caged Bird Seal's foundation was the Byakugan bloodline itself. There were two ways to break it. The first required surpassing the curse's creator in cursed seal mastery and developing a counter-technique. But that Hyuga ancestor had been a genius of unprecedented caliber. The Caged Bird curse was profoundly complex—Hiruko admitted he might spend his entire life without creating a solution.
Fortunately, there was a second method.
Remove the foundation itself.
The Caged Bird Seal was rooted in the Byakugan bloodline. If the Byakugan could be altered somehow, the seal would become a tree without roots, water without a source—it would dissolve on its own.
And coincidentally, Hiruko's improved Chimera Technique specifically targeted Kekkei Genkai.
Using it to break the Caged Bird Seal was genuinely possible.
"Finally, a chance to remove this thing."
Ritsu murmured to himself.
"Ritsu, what did you say?"
Hiruko pushed aside the tent flap and entered.
"Just feeling a bit emotional."
Ritsu picked up his headband and retied it around his forehead. He looked at his approaching teacher and noticed the document in his hand. "Sensei, is it done?"
"It only took one word from Orochimaru."
Hiruko handed over the document. As his beloved student opened it and read carefully, he continued, "Before I left, Orochimaru told me something. The theft of Daisho's Byakugan has caused an uproar back in the village. Hyuga Hiashi himself—the clan head—is personally heading to the Eastern Front as we speak."
"Just Clan Head Hiashi?"
"Apparently several Main Family members and a number of Branch Family guards are accompanying him."
"They're coming for blood."
Ritsu didn't look up from the document.
"Exactly."
Hiruko nodded, his expression dark. "Orochimaru gave me a heads up. The Main Family members are coming to the front lines to assign blame. At the Hokage's office, they declared that someone must take responsibility for the loss of a Main Family Byakugan. They want to punish the Branch Family for being too slow to provide reinforcements. The target is clearly you, Ritsu."
"Just as expected."
Ritsu's expression remained calm. He showed no anger or indignation, simply tucking the document Hiruko had obtained carefully against his chest.
"I should have seen this coming sooner."
Hiruko released a helpless sigh.
He truly hadn't anticipated this absolute mess within the Hyuga clan. He'd assumed the clan would maintain at least some appearance of propriety. Ritsu had saved Daisho's life, after all. He shouldn't be rewarded, perhaps, but surely he wouldn't be blamed either.
Instead, the Main Family proved utterly shameless. Or perhaps they genuinely didn't consider Branch Family members as their own people. To them, the Branch Family might as well be servants and slaves. Punishing Branch members was simply the natural order of things. Now Ritsu had become everyone's target.
Thank goodness Orochimaru had tipped him off out of old school friendship. If they'd waited until that group actually arrived at the front lines, there would be no room left to maneuver.
"Ritsu, leave now. Avoid this whirlpool for the time being. But... there's something you need to understand. If you truly manage to erase the Caged Bird Seal using the Chimera Technique, you'll become a thorn in the Main Family's side. This isn't appropriate to say as your teacher, but I have to say it anyway—if things become truly desperate, remember to protect yourself first. Stay far away from danger!"
Hiruko issued his final warning.
These words were indeed inappropriate.
Stay far from danger?
But the danger came from the Hyuga Main Family itself. Avoiding it meant leaving Konoha. And leaving the village without permission was commonly known as defection.
To speak such treasonous words that violated the shinobi moral code showed that Hiruko truly treated Ritsu as his own son.
After several seconds of silence, Ritsu nodded. "Sensei, I understand."
"Get moving, then!"
Hiruko lifted the tent flap and glanced at the darkening sky outside. "If you leave now, you should reach our laboratory right around dawn."
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