Chapter 29
Hyūga Neji stood beneath a tree near the Academy grounds.
The sky was darkening, the shadows of the rooftops stretching long, but Neji wasn't the type to linger just for idle play. He was waiting. Waiting for someone.
He was waiting for his classmate, his comrade, the one who had secretly drawn him into the so-called "Red" circle—Uchiha Makoto.
Earlier, after dismissing himself with a polite bow to Tenten and Rock Lee, Neji caught the subtle glance Makoto had thrown him. It wasn't the kind of look you gave lightly; it was a summons. So, pretending to walk home as usual, Neji doubled back after parting ways, circling back to the Academy grounds.
And there, he found Makoto.
"…Is there something you wanted to tell me privately?" Neji asked, lowering his voice.
Makoto only gave a thin, mysterious smile. He offered no explanation, merely telling Neji to leave first, keep up appearances, and come later to meet him again.
That alone was enough to sink Neji's heart. Clearly, this wasn't a casual conversation. So that was why Makoto had gone so far as to secretly teach him the Shadow Clone Technique.
For days Neji had thrown himself into practice, perfecting the technique until he could produce a solid clone. Tonight, he used it exactly as instructed: send the clone home in his place, and keep his real body free for the rendezvous.
He must have something important planned, Neji thought grimly.
And then—Makoto appeared before him. But not in his usual form.
What stood in front of Neji now was not a proud Uchiha, but an unremarkable villager: plain face, average build, utterly forgettable in every detail.
Now we look like conspirators meeting in secret, Neji thought, narrowing his eyes.
"Makoto, is this about something urgent?"
"Call me Tōdō," the disguised Uchiha replied smoothly. "Tonight, we don't know each other. We never met."
Neji's brow furrowed. This entire act—hiding his appearance, using false names—it hardly looked like the work of someone with noble intentions.
Then the question came.
"Neji," Tōdō said quietly, lifting his gaze toward the twilight sky, "do you want to break free from the curse of the Caged Bird?"
The words struck Neji like a kunai to the chest. His pupils trembled, and instinctively his Byakugan flared to life. Veins bulged at the sides of his face as his hand reached up to untie the bandage on his forehead, exposing the cruel seal burned into his flesh.
That cursed mark. Not only etched onto his brow, but carved into his fate. It branded him forever as branch family—a servant condemned to protect the main house until death.
His father had died for this system. His freedom stolen, his dignity destroyed. All because of this seal.
Of course he wanted it gone.
"…You ask something foolish," Neji muttered, forcing his tone to remain steady.
"The real question is—how could you possibly help me break it?"
If there was a path to freedom, he would take it—even if it meant losing these pale eyes. Yet Byakugan was bound to his life itself. He could not throw it away, not yet—not before the Main Family had paid the proper price for their tyranny.
Makoto's voice was calm, but edged with fire.
"Neji, I told you before—you and I are alike. Both of us born into families with Bloodline Limits. Both of us chained by systems that care nothing for the individual. And both of us unwilling to accept a future imposed upon us."
The words stirred something deep in Neji's chest—resentment, recognition, anger. Makoto always spoke like this, weaving truths with provocation, a voice that stirred rebellion in his heart even when he tried to resist it.
Neji clenched his fists. "Makoto… no. Tōdō. Enough riddles. What exactly are you trying to tell me?"
The Uchiha dropped the false name for just a moment, his expression darkening as his Sharingan flickered through the mask of ordinariness.
"I, too, come from a Bloodline clan. The Uchiha. And like you—I know what it means to live caged by fate."
"The Uchiha clan, like the Hyūga, is one of the great houses of the village and paid a heavy price in the wars. Yet for all that service, they've been pushed out of the political center because people fear their power."
"What do you think the Hokage truly believes?" Makoto glanced at Neji, who had gone quiet, and went on.
"Hokage-sama is the village's strongest symbol of authority—so why can't he erase the fact that the Uchiha are being sidelined?"
"Think about it: there must have been branch families who hated their fate long before you. Where are those people now? I've never heard of a single branch family that successfully broke their 'caged bird' curse."
"It's not that the Hokage won't try to change things. It's that there are limits to what the Hokage can change." Makoto's voice hardened with conviction.
Neji's fists tightened. "Then what about you saying you wanted to become Hokage—were you lying?"
"Of course not." Makoto shook his head. "But the Hokage I talk about isn't simply 'Konoha's Hokage'—it's the Hokage of a renewed shinobi world."
"If I become the village's Hokage, that office alone can only protect so many. Your release might free you, but the system that brands other branch families will still exist."
"Even after you're freed, your descendants—or other Hinata branch members—could remain shackled by the same seal."
"So I don't aspire merely to be Konoha's leader. I want to change the entire shinobi order."
"The present world is rotten in some of its roots. Only by changing that system can we prevent many tragedies from repeating."
Neji felt stunned by the scope of Makoto's words; he had expected rescue, not revolution. After a long breath, he found his voice.
"Can I still say no?" he asked, wary.
The ordinary-looking man smiled, an almost sad kindness in the curve of his lips. "Of course. We're friends—I won't force you."
Silence settled between them for a moment before Neji answered. "Alright… then what do you want me to do?"
Makoto leaned closer. "Hokage keeps the village archive—the sealed books and forbidden scrolls. There are records of fūinjutsu and other restricted arts there."
"Maybe among them is a sealing jutsu or a counter-curse—something that can undo your 'caged bird.'"