The branch family head's residence was dim, the night air carrying a sharp chill.
Thud… thud…
Muffled impacts echoed through the courtyard. A boy with pale skin and a forehead protector wrapped tightly in bandages stood amid the posts, delivering fluid strikes with practiced precision.
But as he continued, his once-serene young face twisted into something ugly and fierce. The calm gentleness vanished, replaced by raw savagery. His Gentle Fist grew brutal and unrelenting.
He used no chakra at all. Each blow was self-destructive, turning his knuckles into a bloody mess. Deep craters formed in the wooden posts, stained with bright streaks of fresh blood.
This was not training. It was pure release.
Even so, he showed no sign of stopping.
In Hyūga Neji's mind, only one scene replayed: the moment, just days earlier, when he had witnessed the Caged Bird seal for the first time.
It had started like any other day. He had gone to spar with the main family's young lady, just as he had for years.
He already bore the ugly mark on his forehead, yet he hadn't understood what it truly meant. He had innocently accepted what the other clansmen called it—a symbol of the branch family's "duty" to protect the main house.
Duty.
The word held no weight for him. As an older brother, protecting his little sister had always felt natural.
Even without that so-called duty, he had loved and cherished Hinata every single day.
Until that moment.
He had watched his respected father clutch his own head, body convulsing, howling in agony on the ground like an animal in pain.
He had never understood why his father refused to remove his headband even at home.
Then the headband slipped away, revealing the cursed seal etched into his forehead. Veins bulged like writhing centipedes, and the grotesque blue mark seemed to twist and crawl.
The main family head—the man Neji should have called "uncle"—simply stared down at them with cold indifference and activated the seal without mercy.
"Just this once," Hyūga Hiashi had said, his Byakugan gleaming coldly in the dim room. "Do not forget your mission."
That was the first time Neji saw the true horror of the Caged Bird seal. The first time he understood what it really meant for them.
The seal could destroy their brain nerves in an instant. It gave the main family absolute power over the branch family's lives and deaths.
Any sign of disloyalty, any failure to fulfill their obligations, and the main house could execute them with a single hand seal.
Everyone called it a curse—one that could only be escaped in death.
From that day forward, the once-gentle Neji grew cold. The loving look he once gave Hinata turned into the bitter hatred of an enemy.
Crunch!
Neji clenched his teeth and drove his palm forward. His father's gentle words echoed in his ears once more.
"Neji, do not hate the main family. The Caged Bird is not a curse—it is a protective measure."
"I understand, Father."
"Our Byakugan is coveted by enemies. The main family does this to keep it safe, for the sake of the Hyūga clan's future."
"I understand, Father."
"This is the mission of the branch family. It is our destiny. One day you will see."
"I understand, Father…"
Crack!!
With a sharp screech of splitting air, the training post finally shattered at the waist, wood chips exploding outward like snow.
Neji staggered and dropped to his knees. He stared at his bloodied palms, long black hair falling over his face, and whispered hoarsely, "I understand, Father…"
But I don't.
Why can the main family accept all of this so easily?
How can they sit so comfortably on the backs of the branch family, calling our sacrifices "destiny" without a shred of shame?
Click.
The soft sound of a door opening broke the heavy silence in the courtyard.
Warm, hazy light spilled out from behind. A figure approached and stopped just behind Neji, his broad shadow falling over the boy.
"Neji…"
Hyūga Hizashi's expression was filled with complex emotion as he looked at his son's back.
After decades—centuries, even—of this "tradition," most branch children were raised to believe they existed solely to protect the main house. Almost no one resisted anymore.
They felt joy at the main family's praise, fear at their anger, and rage at their sorrow.
Hizashi should have instilled those same values in Neji from the start, yet he had never been able to bring himself to do it.
He had regretted it at times over the past three years. But whenever he saw the genuine, affectionate smile Neji gave Hinata, he was glad he had chosen differently.
He had not wanted their relationship to become like his own with his brother. He had hoped that when the day came for Neji to receive the Caged Bird seal, the boy would accept it without resentment and continue treating Hinata like the loving older brother he had always been.
Given Hinata's gentle nature, Hizashi had believed she would never use the seal against Neji. They could have stayed as close as they were in childhood.
Yet he had never imagined that his own impulsive killing intent toward Hinata that day would leave such a deep scar on Neji…
"Father."
Neji stood up, hiding his injured hands behind his back.
Hizashi snapped out of his thoughts. He gently ruffled the boy's hair and offered a warm smile. "Neji, your Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms is already quite polished. In a little while, I'll be able to teach you the advanced Gentle Fist techniques."
"Yes, Father." Neji's voice was flat, showing no trace of excitement.
Seeing his son like this, Hizashi fell silent and sighed inwardly.
"Go tend to those wounds," he said, glancing at the hands Neji tried to conceal. "And don't do this again."
"…" Neji lowered his head, then answered quietly after a moment. "Yes, Father."
Hizashi watched his son walk into the house, then stood motionless for a long time.
He had once tried to fight against this so-called destiny himself. But now he understood: fate was not someone standing before you whose throat you could simply grab.
Fate had no openings. It could advance or retreat as it pleased, and neither you nor I could ever escape it.
"I only hope that as Neji grows up, the resentment in his heart will fade," Hizashi murmured to himself. "All the suffering he endures now will become the treasure that makes him stronger."
Just as he turned to leave, a soft, mocking laugh drifted in on the night breeze.
"How truly pitiful," someone said. "Unfortunate people always end up creating others even more unfortunate than themselves."
***
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