How could the Caged Bird Seal be undone?
This was a question Yuzuru had pondered since childhood. He had thought about it for many years, devising countless possibilities.
Most of those plans, however, were unreliable—mere speculation, not something he could realistically strive toward.
After considering every angle, only one viable path remained:
the technique to解除 the seal had to come from someone of the Main House.
But convincing a living member of the Main House to remove the seal was far too difficult.
Thus, his gaze turned toward the dead.
He had also considered another possibility—
what if even the Main House itself could not undo the seal?
In that case, the only remaining option would be fūinjutsu research. After all, the Caged Bird Seal was fundamentally a sealing technique. With sufficient mastery of sealing arts, there might be a way to dismantle it.
Yet fūinjutsu was extremely rare and precious knowledge. Under normal circumstances, Yuzuru would never be able to obtain such expertise from a living practitioner.
But… weren't there still the dead?
That was precisely why Edo Tensei was so important to him—
a technique he was determined to acquire at all costs.
Fortunately, things did not have to go that far.
The Main House truly did possess the method to解除 the seal:
a technique consisting of one hundred and eight hand seals, incredibly complex—so much so that it effectively eliminated any possibility of being reverse-engineered.
Beneath the setting sun,
Yuzuru lifted his head and gazed at the orange-red sky, murmuring softly,
"So this… is freedom."
On this day, the bird trapped within the cage finally broke free of its shackles.
After tying up all loose ends, Yuzuru used Reverse Summoning to return to Konoha.
He had already resolved to defect.
Not only would Konoha never tolerate someone who had broken the Caged Bird Seal, but remaining in the village had also begun to severely limit his growth.
For instance, the rule that forbade leaving the village without official missions alone was enough to make him deeply resentful.
However, now was not yet the time to flee.
Because Yuzuru still needed a perfect, fully developed Byakugan.
Members of the Branch House were usually branded with the Caged Bird Seal in early childhood. This shackle strangled the Byakugan's potential at its root, even affecting its development.
As a result, every Branch House member developed a flawed Byakugan upon reaching adulthood.
This defect could not be corrected simply by removing the seal.
Nor could it be fixed through medical ninjutsu—it was an organic deformity caused by abnormal development from childhood.
It was like someone who chewed using only one side of their teeth growing up; by adulthood, their skull would develop asymmetrically—one side longer, the other shorter.
Similar issues occurred with habitual leg-crossing, leading to uneven shoulders or legs of differing length.
The Branch House Byakugan suffered from a comparable flaw.
While it did not impair its basic function, it killed any chance for further evolution.
Therefore, Yuzuru needed a complete Byakugan—
and that could only be taken from the Main House.
Attack a Main House member.
Seize the Byakugan.
Then defect.
Such a thing could only be accomplished amid utter chaos within Konoha.
The Night of the Nine-Tails—there would be no other chance.
Deep within the Hyūga compound.
Hyūga Daihui sat respectfully before a handsome young man.
The man's long black hair fell freely down his back. His eyes were pure white and flawless, his forehead unmarked—clear proof of his status as a member of the Main House.
He was none other than Hyūga Hiashi, the current clan head.
Between them lay a wooden board, black and white stones interwoven in a tight struggle.
Tap.
Hiashi placed a white piece on the board, the crisp sound echoing faintly.
"How is that child, Yuzuru?" Hiashi asked, his expression rigid, maintaining the dignified authority befitting the clan head.
"His fundamentals are solid," Daihui replied quickly, "but his reactions are somewhat slow. It seems he hasn't devoted much effort to the Gentle Fist. In terms of combat strength, he likely lacks the qualifications of a proper jōnin. However, I've heard that his accomplishments in medical ninjutsu are remarkable—he even received personal instruction from Lady Tsunade. In the future, he may become a medical jōnin."
Hiashi nodded thoughtfully.
"That is indeed unexpected. Back then, it was precisely because he lacked talent in the Gentle Fist—and because we wanted a medical ninja within our clan—that we allowed him to study medical ninjutsu. I never imagined he would achieve so much in that field."
Daihui hesitated, then added,
"Perhaps Lady Tsunade was right when she said the Hyūga clan is highly compatible with medical ninjutsu."
Hiashi fell silent.
The special medical training class at the Academy had been established by Tsunade to cultivate a new generation of medical ninja. Though she delegated most responsibilities to her subordinates, before leaving the village she would still occasionally teach personally.
It was during such an opportunity that Hyūga Yuzuru caught her attention.
Even Tsunade herself had been amazed by his talent, ultimately concluding that the Hyūga clan and medical ninjutsu were a natural match.
And she was not wrong.
With the Byakugan's ability to see through the human body, the Hyūga possessed an inherent advantage in medical applications. Moreover, their chakra control was exceptional—precisely what medical ninjutsu demanded.
Perhaps… we should encourage more clan members to study medical ninjutsu, Hiashi thought.
Daihui placed another stone and lowered his voice.
"At one point, we thought he might even become Lady Tsunade's disciple. Unfortunately, she ultimately accepted only the Kato clan's young girl."
Hiashi shook his head.
"There's no point speculating about such matters. Even if he had become her disciple, it wouldn't matter now. The current Hokage is Jiraiya's student."
Daihui sighed in regret.
Even now, he could not understand why Minato Namikaze, Jiraiya's disciple, had ascended to the position of Hokage.
Minato was undeniably powerful and brilliant, but his seniority was lacking, and his ties to the great clans were weak. Within the village, he did not command much traditional support.
Logically speaking, if Orochimaru had been abandoned by the Third Hokage, then Tsunade should have been the one to succeed.
For clans like the Hyūga, Tsunade would have been far preferable to a civilian-born ninja.
So why had even Tsunade been passed over?
Daihui could not make sense of it.
Hiashi placed another stone and said calmly,
"Orochimaru has failed. There's no need to continue fostering Tetsu. Apply some pressure—Hyūga should not produce a jōnin who was once part of Orochimaru's squad."
Daihui nodded in understanding.
Hyūga Tetsu was, at best, loosely considered Orochimaru's student, alongside Mitarashi Anko and Akado Manabu.
It was worth noting that Akado Manabu would later become one of Konoha's elite jōnin and remain in the village even after Orochimaru's defection.
Yet three members of that same squad—Yakushi Kabuto, Tsurugi Misumi, and Akado Yoroi—were all spies planted by Orochimaru.
If all subordinates were spies, then what role had their captain truly played?
As for Anko and Tetsu—
one drifted aimlessly through life, while the other all but vanished.
"What attitude should we adopt toward Yuzuru?" Daihui asked.
"After all, he joined Root. Elder Danzō is a troublesome figure."
Hiashi paused, his hand hovering over the board.
"Yuzuru serves under Orochimaru within Root. He has no direct ties to Danzō."
"What?" Daihui exclaimed in shock.
Not because Yuzuru was connected to Orochimaru—but because the clan head had access to such information.
Root was famously impenetrable.
"It came from the Inuzuka clan's ninja hounds," Hiashi said slowly.
"Yuzuru caught Orochimaru's attention due to his exceptional medical talent. He assists Orochimaru in certain forbidden experiments within Root."
Daihui felt restless.
Information from the Inuzuka clan?
At first glance, it seemed strange—there was no close relationship between the Inuzuka and the Hyūga. How could they obtain such intelligence?
But as Hiashi's confidant, Daihui understood the tangled connections beneath the surface.
The current Inuzuka clan head, Inuzuka Tsume, had fought alongside Minato during the Third Shinobi World War, forging bonds of life and death.
At the jōnin council convened to select the Fourth Hokage, all eight votes from the Inuzuka clan had gone to Minato. After his ascension, they pledged themselves fully to him.
Thus, everything became clear.
The intelligence had come from Minato, delivered through the Inuzuka as intermediaries.
Such indirection allowed all parties room to maneuver—
much like a ruler sending a trusted minister to act first, while observing quietly from the shadows.
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