It had never been so easy—not just physically, but mentally as well.
"The air is so sweet."
Seiran took a deep breath, savoring the moment. The seal had shattered. Without the oppressive weight of the Caged Bird Curse Mark pressing down on his mind, his Byakugan's range had expanded from four kilometers to five. The one-degree blind spot was gone.
The marks on his forehead remained—faint traces of what had been—but they were hollow now. Empty vessels. Useless.
Even if Soka stood before him and tried to activate the seal, Seiran would beat him senseless and show him exactly why flowers bloomed red.
The physical seal was broken. The spiritual one still lingered, buried deep in his soul, but that would come in time. Once he stripped that away, even these faint marks would vanish entirely.
What he didn't know was whether the Main Family would notice the cage had cracked.
The seal on his body was the transmitter; the one on his soul was the receiver. If the Main Family's connection had been severed, they'd have no way to monitor him. But he couldn't be certain. In the original timeline, even Hinata had retained the mark after being reborn from the Pure Land. The spiritual seal was stubborn—more stubborn than death itself.
Still, Seiran had already mapped out three paths forward.
The first was to obtain Orochimaru's soul-splitting technique. The snake sage couldn't die because he'd fractured his soul into countless pieces, scattering them across dozens of seals. When the main body fell, those fragments would resurrect him. If Seiran learned that method, he could simply divide the soul containing the Caged Bird seal away from himself. Crude. Effective. But the cost would be steep—sacrificing pieces of his spirit would weaken him in ways he couldn't predict. Orochimaru himself had learned that lesson the hard way, his spiritual resistance crumbling after too many divisions.
The second option was more elegant. The Kato clan's spiritual techniques allowed ninjas to exist as pure spirit. If Seiran mastered that secret art, he could study the seal from his soul's perspective—just as he'd carefully unraveled the physical one. Theory was simple. Practice would be another matter entirely.
The third option was the simplest of all: wait.
A Caged Bird Curse Mark with no power left couldn't threaten him. Once his spiritual strength grew high enough, clearing the remaining seal would be as effortless as a thought.
Seiran gazed out through the laboratory window at the sky beyond, a faint smile crossing his face. The future stretched before him, full of possibility.
He wouldn't defect to Konoha. He had grander plans for the Hyuga Clan.
"Maybe one day I'll break every Caged Bird Curse Mark on the branch family," he murmured, watching the clouds drift past. "A coup from within. A clan truly emancipated."
It wasn't fantasy. It was a future he could touch, if he reached for it.
---
With the curse seal's threat lifted, Seiran felt lighter than he had in years. The weight that had pressed on him since birth was finally gone. Over the next two days, he threw himself into training with renewed focus, pushing steadily toward the threshold of electromagnetic force Level 4.
Then ANBU arrived with a summons.
The Third Hokage's office was exactly as Seiran remembered it—scrolls stacked haphazardly, the scent of pipe smoke lingering in the air. Hiruzen looked up from his desk, and his tired expression melted into that signature grandfatherly smile.
"Ah! You look well-rested. Spirited!"
The same opening as always.
"The past few days have done you good," the old man continued warmly.
Of course they have, Seiran thought. For the first time in my life, I'm not living under a guillotine.
He kept his expression neutral. "You summoned me, Lord Third. Is there a mission?"
Hiruzen's smile faded. His weathered face hardened.
"Our scouts have detected Iwa Shinobi near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass. Judging by their movements, they're scouts themselves—and there are more of them than we initially thought." He paused, letting that sink in. "It appears Iwagakure is preparing something significant. We don't have the advantage in this reconnaissance war. Their earth jutsu gives them superior mobility underground."
The Third Hokage studied Seiran carefully.
"Your Byakugan detection range is unmatched. Your ninjutsu gives you options if you're compromised. You're the best person for this."
Seiran nodded, already understanding. "I'll gather intelligence on their positions and intentions."
"Good." Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, stroking his beard. "But if things go wrong—if you find yourself in genuine danger—escape. Your safety matters more than any information. You're too valuable to the village to risk unnecessarily."
Seiran swallowed. There was something in the Third Hokage's tone—something that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. Was he reading too much into it, or was there an undercurrent he wasn't catching?
He bowed. "I understand, Lord Third."
---
The border of the Land of Grass came into view as the sun began its descent.
Seiran found a secluded ridge overlooking the scouting grounds and activated his Byakugan. The familiar white glow settled over his eyes as he began his sweep.
His stomach dropped.
The Third Hokage had reported four Iwa Shinobi scouts. Within five kilometers, Seiran counted ten—maybe more. They were everywhere. Concealed in the trees, buried in the grass, even tunneling beneath the earth. Each one moving with deliberate caution, communicating through subtle hand signals.
The situation was far worse than the village leadership realized.
Iwagakure wasn't probing. They were preparing for something massive.
Seiran's jaw tightened. He needed to report this back immediately—and he needed to be very careful not to get caught while doing it.
---
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