White streaks carved across the sky, scattering down like flower petals.
Jinzō reached out, catching a snowflake in his palm."Snow, huh."
The street was already painted white, but he didn't shiver. A quick change from short sleeves to long sleeves was more for fashion than warmth. With chakra control strengthening his body, the cold couldn't touch him. That was the perk of solid fundamentals: no matter the weather, his body could handle it.
Ninja kids were like that. Even the weakest genin trained to endure pain, hunger, and the elements from day one at the Academy. Comfort was for civilians.
He wandered through the streets, eyes flicking over the passing shinobi, until finally his feet carried him back to the "old place."
The abandoned training ground was buried in snow. Only a battered wooden post stuck up like a tooth from the frozen earth. And hammering that post with everything he had was a lone figure.
"Hinata Kiyoshi!" Jinzō called out.
The boy in white froze mid-strike. He didn't turn right away — he took the time to tie his forehead protector properly before facing Jinzō.
"Jinzō," Kiyoshi said flatly. "Didn't think anyone would come."
Since graduating, he was the only one who kept coming back to train here. He hadn't seen Jinzō, Minato, or Kushina in ages.
Jinzō shrugged. "We've been stuck doing chores."
Helping elders, babysitting kids, hauling sacks of rice, planting, harvesting… to him it all felt like make-believe housework. Nothing like shinobi life.
Kiyoshi forced a smile, but the bitterness was clear. For him, even mundane team missions would've been a luxury.
Jinzō didn't press. Instead, he asked, "So… where are your teammates?"
Kiyoshi didn't answer. He just stared down at the snow at his feet, silent and heavy, like his voice had been buried beneath it.
Then suddenly, he snapped his head up. His pale eyes burned.
"Fight me, Uchiha Jinzō!"
Before Jinzō could reply, Kiyoshi threw himself at the post with a brutal strike—so hard the wood split and toppled. He collapsed onto the snow, gasping, eyes fixed on the falling flakes.
Then he laughed. Harsh, ragged, desperate."Ha… hahahahahaha!"
Tears spilled down his cheeks as he laughed harder, louder. The pain in his body was nothing compared to the one rotting his heart.
"What a gap," he choked out, staring up at Jinzō's shadowed figure. "You're a monster."
Jinzō looked down at him, unmoved. "Don't say stupid things like that."
Standing above, his presence was like a mountain — immovable, untouchable.
"I don't care about your Hyūga family politics," he said coldly. "But if you're looking for a punching bag, sure. I'll indulge you."
He already understood. Every year in the Academy, at least one Hyūga kid cracked under the pressure of the clan's cursed fate. Most turned silent, emotionless. It was rare to see one break this late, after graduation.
Kiyoshi gave a weary smile. "Jinzō… you're a genius at creating jutsu, right?"
"So what if I am?"
"Then… could you make one that breaks the Caged Bird Seal?"
Silence. Jinzō tilted his head back, watching the snow fall.
Kiyoshi followed his gaze, voice trembling as he spilled his story.
"At first, I didn't care about the Caged Bird. I thought… if I just stayed far from the clan, I'd be free. But I was wrong."
His fists clenched.
"They pulled me back anyway. Stuck me as my uncle Hizashi's 'bodyguard.'" His lip curled. "Bodyguard? Hah! I'm nothing but his personal slave."
"My uncle told me to be grateful. Said it was the family's 'great kindness' to me!"
His face twisted with rage.
"My parents already died for the main family! Do I have to throw away my life too? Why?!"
The words echoed across the snowy training ground, raw and jagged.
Jinzō stared at him thoughtfully. How deep did Hyūga hatred go? What would happen if the Caged Bird really disappeared one day? The thought was… interesting.
A sharp smile tugged at his lips."Then tell me… what can you offer me in return?"
Kiyoshi blinked, stunned. He hadn't expected Jinzō to take the question seriously. But the boy wasn't bluffing. This was the Uchiha prodigy whispered about even in the Hyūga compound. The one who'd created new taijutsu styles and reshaped chakra training itself.
Could he really…?
Kiyoshi's body trembled. Then, without hesitation, he dropped to his knees in the snow. His forehead slammed into the frozen ground with a dull crack, leaving a streak of red behind.
"I, Hinata Kiyoshi, will give you everything, Lord Jinzō!"
Every ounce of loyalty, every risk — all for the faint chance of freedom. No Hyūga in the branch family could resist such a temptation.
Jinzō chuckled darkly. "Not so fast. If I really do this, you'd better keep your promise. Because the whole Hyūga clan will have to bear the consequences."
Kiyoshi staggered to his feet and left, unsteady but determined.
Jinzō watched him go, musing. Could he break the seal? With his golden finger, it wasn't impossible. But the Caged Bird was tied to the soul itself — a knot not easily undone.
For now… too difficult.
"Jinzō, what are you thinking about?"
Two voices interrupted his thoughts. Kushina and Minato strolled up, snow crunching underfoot.
"Ran into Hinata Kiyoshi," Jinzō said casually. "Didn't look too good."
Minato frowned. "Haven't seen him in ages…" Everyone else from their year showed up during missions, but Kiyoshi had vanished. Clan business, maybe.
Neither Minato nor Kushina knew about the Caged Bird. Few outside the Hyūga did.
"Next time, we'll drag it out of him," Kushina huffed.
Jinzō just hummed, eyeing their casual clothes. Same simple outfits all year round. Honestly… ridiculous.
"So, what are you teaching us today?" Kushina leaned in, eager.
"Teaching Minato," Jinzō deadpanned. "If you can keep up, fine. Otherwise, don't waste my time."
"Who'd want to learn from you?!" Kushina made a face and shoved Minato forward.
"Sorry about that," Minato said sheepishly.
Jinzō's eyes glinted. "By the way, Minato… what'd you call that new jutsu of yours?"
Minato's face lit up. "Dancing in the Wind, Roaring in the Storm—Four Heavenly Strikes! Cool, right?"
Jinzō: …Kushina: …
"What the hell kind of name is that?!" Kushina groaned.
"Too long," Jinzō added bluntly. "You'd be dead before you even finish shouting it."
Minato scratched his cheek, embarrassed. "…It sounded cooler in my head."
"From now on, it's 'Step Slash.'"
"But that doesn't fit—"
"It fits the jutsu I'm about to teach you," Jinzō cut him off, pulling a kunai from his pouch. "Try to keep up."
Minato readied his own kunai, eyes serious.
Their blades clashed in a spark of steel, wind curling around them. Minato flinched—some of his chakra had vanished on contact.
"What…?"
Before he could think further, Jinzō moved again, crossing both kunai in a single motion."Steel-Cutting Flash!"
A blade of pure wind burst forth, slicing the air. Minato's pupils shrank — he couldn't react in time. At the last second he used his own jutsu, launching himself aside.
The wind blade ripped through the forest behind him, carving a clean path.
Jinzō smirked. "Made this to cover your lack of attack power."
The technique was elegant: seal absorption onto the kunai, drain chakra on contact, then channel it into wind nature, unleashing a devastating slash. Mastery would decide the power.
Minato's jaw dropped. "That's… incredible!"
Jinzō twirled the kunai between his fingers, grinning. "Of course it is."