The familiar, strange stream of light—like something tearing across the heavens—once again gathered in the sky.
The "sky screen," which reflected countless fragments of the future and hidden truths, slowly unfolded above every corner of the shinobi world.
Under countless gazes—some expectant, some fearful, some conflicted—it began to display its next subject.
Tsunade stood by the window, arms folded across her chest. Her knuckles had turned faintly white from the force of her grip. The usual confidence on her sharp features was gone, replaced by deep exhaustion and worry.
Jiraiya leaned silently against the wall, brows tightly knit.
Ever since Jiraiya had returned from Mount Myōboku and relayed the Great Toad Sage chilling prophecy, Tsunade had been under unprecedented strain.
She had immediately summoned a portion of Katsuyu from Shikkotsu Forest, hoping to obtain information from the other great sage of the Three Great Sage Regions.
However, even Katsuyu—ancient and immensely knowledgeable—had never heard of the names and events revealed by the sky screen.
"I hope this time… the sky screen brings at least some good news," Tsunade murmured, staring at the gradually solidifying light in the sky.
"Even a small hint about the enemy's weakness… or at least some direction for us to work toward. Please, no more disasters. I'm really… reaching my limit."
As Hokage, the pressure she bore far exceeded that of ordinary people.
Internally, she had to stabilize the village and handle the endless incidents—such as the deaths of the two village elders.
Externally, she had to navigate the probing and cooperation of other great nations, remain vigilant against the so-called "Demon God" and "Seven Warlords," and constantly fear the prophesied destruction of the world…
She felt like a string stretched to its breaking point.
Jiraiya could only offer a bitter smile.
He understood her feelings. Was he not also suffocating under the weight of prophecy and scattered intelligence?
As they waited in heavy silence for the sky screen to begin, a figure gradually emerged within the gathering light.
The first thing that came into view was a youthful face—still tender, yet already bearing hints of determination.
Most striking of all were the eyes.
Pure white. Pupil-less.
The Byakugan.
"The Hyūga clan?!" Tsunade gasped the moment she saw those unmistakable eyes. Her expression changed dramatically.
Jiraiya stiffened as well, staring intently at the child's figure.
Those pale eyes clearly announced the identity of this episode's subject—a child of the Hyūga clan.
"Why… is it Konoha again?" Tsunade muttered instinctively, her tone filled with helplessness—and an unspoken sense of inevitability.
Jiraiya's lips twitched. His smile grew even more strained.
Konoha. Again.
Was this cursed "protagonist's halo" powered by the village's misfortune?
Across the shinobi world, however, many civilians and ordinary shinobi had grown somewhat accustomed to the sky screen's "preference" for Konoha.
In teahouses and taverns, jokes were already circulating.
"Place your bets! What's going to happen to the Hyūga clan this time? Some earth-shattering secret about the Byakugan? Or are they connected to that demon child or the Seven Warlords?"
"I'm betting the Byakugan hides some massive secret!"
"Come on. The Byakugan is just the Byakugan. What secret could it possibly have?"
Inside Konoha, however, within the Hyūga clan compound, the atmosphere was unbearably tense.
Hyūga Hiashi stood rigid, fists clenched beneath his wide sleeves.
He had recognized the child at once.
Neji.
The subject of this sky screen… was Hyūga Neji.
The clan elders beside him exchanged anxious whispers. Most villagers might not know the difference, but they did.
If the child was Neji—
Then this involved the branch family.
At the Ninja Academy training grounds—
Neji's heartbeat skipped.
That… was him.
Him, from several years ago.
The sky screen seemed to move faster than usual, as though compressing an entire life into a brief sequence.
Through dialogue and murmured commentary, information became clear: the child's name was Hyūga Neji. His father was Hyūga Hizashi—the head of the branch family.
Then the scene shifted abruptly.
What appeared next nearly froze the blood in Neji's veins.
His father, Hyūga Hizashi, had seemingly violated some rule. Before him stood the main Family head—his uncle, Hyūga Hiashi.
With nothing more than a simple hand gesture from Hiashi, Hizashi convulsed as if struck by an invisible hammer. He let out a muffled groan, his face filled with humiliation and powerless despair.
"Father!" Neji screamed silently in his heart, fists tightening until his nails dug into his palms.
The scene shifted again without pause.
Now it was Neji himself standing before Hiashi.
Hiashi's finger, glowing faintly with chakra, pressed mercilessly against Neji's smooth forehead.
Instinctively, Neji raised his own hand to his brow.
A green, intricate seal—shaped like a bird trapped in a cage—slowly surfaced beneath the skin of his forehead, before engraving itself permanently.
The Caged Bird Seal.
The moment that green seal appeared on the sky screen, it was like pouring ice water into boiling oil—the entire shinobi world erupted.
For most shinobi—and even many civilians and non-Hyūga ninja within Konoha—the term "Caged Bird" was utterly unfamiliar.
They knew only that the Hyūga were an ancient noble clan of Konoha, possessing the powerful dōjutsu, the Byakugan—a pillar of the village's strength.
But now, the sky screen had laid bare the chilling darkness hidden behind that prestige.
"What the hell is that?! The Branch Family gets dropped instantly by the main Family? They can't even resist?!"
"'Caged Bird'? That name alone sounds wrong! They brand their own clan members with a seal like that from childhood?!"
"Is that even a clan?! That's slave masters and slaves! The Main Family controls life and death?! That's terrifying!"
Ordinary shinobi and civilians stared in disbelief.
"If it were me, I'd fight to the death! I'd never accept that kind of control!" a hot-tempered wandering samurai slammed his palm onto a tavern table.
Someone beside him scoffed.
"Fight? With what? Didn't you see it? Even the branch family head—an elite Hyūga—was subdued instantly by the main Family head."
"That seal probably works directly on the brain. They can make you live or die with a thought. If you're branded as a child, you might not even be able to form the thought of rebellion."
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