Night.
After finishing a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku and parting ways with Iruka at the crossroads, Naruto walked alone toward his "home."
The number of pedestrians gradually thinned. The evening breeze carried a faint chill.
With his hands resting behind his head, Naruto walked at an unhurried pace.
Yet his thoughts drifted inevitably back to Orochimaru's words from the previous loop—and to the countless cycles he had endured.
"You understand the tragic fate of the Hyūga clan. You've saved Neji before. But even then, he still lived beneath the curse of the Caged Bird Seal. Did you ever attempt to use your endless lifespan to research a way to break it?"
"Stop thinking about how to escape it. Instead, quietly experience everything around you. Change everything."
Hyūga Neji.
The moment Naruto thought of him—this time with a different perspective, his heart became complicated.
In his first life, Naruto had fully understood the source of Neji's hatred.
He knew the truth behind the death of Neji's father, Hyūga Hizashi.
Time and again, during the Chūnin Exams or even earlier—Naruto had used that "information" to facilitate reconciliation between Neji and the current clan head, Hyūga Hiashi.
Naruto had personally witnessed the moment when the hatred and confusion vanished from Neji's eyes after the misunderstanding was cleared.
After that—
Neji's once-stiff relationship with Hinata gradually warmed, until they truly became close as cousins should be.
In every loop, seeing Neji no longer extreme, calmly sparring with Hiashi and steadily growing stronger…
Seeing him treat their peers with gentleness and composure…
Naruto had naturally assumed Neji's problem was solved.
After all, they had reconciled.
Neji no longer railed against fate.
But now, walking this road home for the thousandth time—Naruto suddenly realized the crucial point he had completely overlooked.
Reconciliation did not mean liberation.
Hiashi might no longer feel guilt toward Neji.
Neji might have come to understand his father's choice and no longer direct his anger at the Main House.
But then what?
The Caged Bird seal etched onto Neji's forehead—the curse that bound his destiny and even his life, was still there.
The Hyūga clan's rigid Main and Branch House system, which divided clan members into clear hierarchies, remained unchanged.
Reconciliation had only allowed Neji to accept it all.
To carry those heavy shackles… until death.
Just like in the first life—when only at the very end of Neji's life was the curse mark finally removed.
But what kind of freedom was that?
Had Neji truly accepted it?
Naruto stopped walking and looked up at the night sky.
After countless loops, his way of thinking had evolved again and again. He had seen too much.
He had long since matured beyond most adults.
Now he could see deeper—clearer.
Orochimaru's guidance had forced him to shift perspectives entirely.
Naruto began to understand Hiashi's logic as well.
"These are the rules. It has always been this way."
So even if it pained him, Hiashi would brand his own nephew with the Caged Bird seal. He would consider sacrifice by the Branch House natural and necessary.
And Neji—at first, and even after reconciliation, had merely changed from "angrily accepting fate" to "calmly accepting fate."
But…
Just because something has always been done that way—does that make it right?
Once the thought appeared, it refused to leave Naruto's mind.
Protecting the Byakugan bloodline?
It sounded noble.
But what was the cost?
Estrangement and sacrifice among close family.
Choices forced upon someone like Hizashi.
A genius like Neji never being allowed to fully realize his potential.
Perhaps the system itself was the greatest mistake.
A powerful sense of doubt rose within Naruto.
This time, he would no longer be satisfied with merely saving a few lives—or stopping a single war.
He wanted to change something deeper.
Something rooted at the core.
Like completely overturning this system.
His thoughts had never felt clearer.
The fatigue and confusion in his blue eyes faded, replaced by determination.
He now had two concrete goals.
First: find a way to remove the Caged Bird seal.
Second—and far more difficult, change the Hyūga clan's Main and Branch House system at its root, a system that had persisted for centuries, perhaps even longer.
This was not just about freeing Neji.
It was about liberating every Branch House member.
About dismantling a distorted system.
That would require more than strength.
It would require convincing the leadership of Konoha—and even the Hyūga clan themselves, to recognize the flaws in their own tradition.
For the first time in a long while, Naruto felt a clear sense of purpose.
It stirred the hot-blooded passion he had once carried in his first life.
This would be harder than defeating a powerful enemy.
It involved hearts, traditions, institutions—and enormous resistance.
But wasn't this exactly the kind of "overlooked truth and detail" he had never truly tried to confront in all those loops?
Naruto inhaled deeply. The cool night air sharpened his mind.
As he thought, he noticed a familiar figure at the intersection ahead.
White hair. A mask covering most of his face. A Konoha forehead protector tilted to obscure one eye—the Sharingan that once belonged to Obito.
Hatake Kakashi.
One hand casually in his pocket, the other holding Jiraiya's novel Make-Out Paradise, Kakashi strolled leisurely down the road.
Naruto didn't stop walking, but something flickered in his heart.
In countless loops, he had grown accustomed to Kakashi appearing at this exact time and place.
He had once confided in Kakashi about the pain of the infinite loops—but it had changed nothing.
Kakashi was his teacher, but he couldn't comprehend a dilemma of that magnitude.
In his desperate search for answers, Naruto had sought out many people and mastered many techniques—sealing techniques, curse mark techniques…
Even so, while he could be considered proficient, breaking the Caged Bird seal alone—quickly, would still be difficult.
Naruto knew Kakashi's knowledge of sealing and curse techniques was extensive.
But whether Kakashi could offer meaningful insight into something this deeply rooted was uncertain.
More likely, if Kakashi understood what Naruto intended—
He would try to stop him.
Still, since they had crossed paths, a greeting wouldn't hurt.
"Good evening."
Naruto stepped forward and spoke casually.
Kakashi seemed slightly surprised that someone addressed him—especially at this hour, and with an unfamiliar tone.
"Oh? Do I know you?"
Kakashi raised his head slightly. The visible eye curved lazily.
"I've heard of you," Naruto said with a faint smile. "Konoha's Copy Ninja. Kakashi of the Sharingan. I figured it out from your appearance."
He paused.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto."