Chapter 75 – The Caged Bird Becomes the Freest Man in the World
The moment Aike said "Deal," Neji's face lit up like the sun.
He immediately tore off his forehead protector, revealing the hated caged-bird seal on his forehead.
Aike studied it for a few moments and confirmed his earlier suspicion.
The seal was indeed soul-bound.
Once applied, escape was effectively impossible.
"Interesting…"
After diving deeper into the seal's mechanics, Aike's interest spiked.
Combining Aizen's Kidō knowledge with Uzumaki sealing arts,
he quickly found a clean way to dismantle it.
He could have brute-forced it, of course.
But a rare soul-binding curse like this?
He wanted to own it, not just break it.
While he worked, Nami and the others crowded around curiously.
Aike gave them the short version: the Hyuga main and branch family system, the caged-bird seal, the whole ugly truth.
"That's just legalized slavery!"
"Worse than the nobles back in the East Blue!"
Nami, Carina, and Kaya were instantly furious.
They liked Neji—he was polite, earnest, hardworking.
And this was how his own clan treated him?
Even Izumi, hearing about another dojutsu clan for the first time, scowled.
"The Sharingan is stronger and we never needed curse seals to 'protect' anything.
It's just the main family's greed."
"What about little Hinata?" Nami suddenly asked.
Neji answered quietly.
"Lady Hinata's talent is considered inferior to Hanabi's.
Without outside intervention, she will be demoted to the branch family and marked with the seal."
The girls' opinion of the Hyuga clan plummeted from "Hinata's family = good" to absolute zero.
Aike finished his analysis.
"Alright. Time to set you free."
He placed his palm on Neji's forehead.
Reiatsu gathered, condensing at his fingertips.
"Kidō · Release."
A cold command.
Neji suddenly felt something inside him snap—like chains he had worn his entire life finally shattering.
Freedom.
Pure, indescribable freedom.
"Byakugan!"
He activated it instinctively.
The blind spot at the back of his head was gone.
He wasn't overly excited, though—this might be the last time he ever used the Byakugan.
"Done. Transaction complete."
Aike's right hand swept out.
Golden Scales appeared.
Under their light, Neji's Byakugan was stripped away—not the eyeballs themselves, but the bloodline limit at the genetic level.
When the scales vanished, Neji's eyes were perfectly normal human eyes.
"My eyes… I can still see?"
He had expected total darkness.
"I took the bloodline, not your eyesight," Aike chuckled.
Taking the physical eyes had been an option, of course.
But Neji had been an excellent guide and never once complained.
A little bonus kindness cost nothing.
Neji understood immediately and bowed so deeply his forehead nearly touched the ground.
"Thank you, my lord!
If you ever need anything—anything at all—Neji is at your command."
"Enough bowing. Go home.
If anyone asks, tell them I removed the seal and took your Byakugan.
Anyone with a problem can come cry to me personally."
Neji left.
The moment he was gone, Aike pulled out the freshly acquired caged-bird seal and started remodeling it like a kid with a new Lego set.
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