In the Hyuga Clan's compound, inside the clan head's residence, the atmosphere at dinner was unusually lively, with less formality and more warmth.
"Neji, have some more of this. It's good for your health."
"And this, it's good for your eyesight."
"This one too, it helps with recovery."
"Keiko-sama, that's enough..."
"You kid, you should call me Auntie!"
"..."
At the dining table, Keiko was overjoyed, continuously serving food to Neji, even neglecting her own two daughters.
Keiko and Neji's mother were sisters, but because Keiko was Hiashi's fiancée, she hadn't been branded with the Caged Bird, and because of this, a tragic barrier was created between them.
The rules of the Hyuga Clan had turned once-close siblings into bitter enemies.
When Hizashi was alive, he often brought Neji over for visits and meals. But after Hizashi's death, Neji had stopped coming. That's why Keiko was so happy to see Neji today.
Hinata and Hanabi didn't mind. In fact, Hinata was relieved, as it meant less attention would be paid to how much she was eating.
Hanabi, on the other hand, quietly snuck over to Hinata. At just two years old, Hanabi was still tiny and climbed onto Hinata's lap, leaning against the soft cushion behind her.
"Ah!" Hinata exclaimed, looking at Hanabi with a mix of surprise and mild scolding. "Hanabi, I'm still eating. Why did you come over so suddenly?"
Hanabi looked up at her sister, her chubby cheeks puffed out in a pout, her eyes already glistening with tears. Seeing this, Hinata was at a loss for what to do.
"Nee-chan, you spend all your holidays playing with that blond guy. You don't have time for Hanabi anymore."
Hinata finally understood. She put down her chopsticks and turned Hanabi around to face her: "I am not going to play, me and Naruto are training together, and Neji-nii-san is there too."
"Then Hanabi wants to train together too!" Hanabi said stubbornly.
"No!"
"Why not?"
"You're still too young, Hanabi. You have to wait another year."
"Then can Hanabi train with you in a year?"
"Yes, in a year you can. Right, Neji-nii-san?" Hinata, while comforting Hanabi, suddenly called out to Neji.
Hanabi turned her big, snowflake-like eyes toward Neji, full of expectation.
Neji hadn't expected to be brought into this. He instinctively looked into those pure, white eyes and felt a pang in his heart.
He thought about what Naruto had said before leaving. He knew what Naruto meant and what he was planning. Once freed from the Caged Bird, he couldn't stay in Konoha. They would have to leave soon.
He had doubted Naruto's words at first, thinking it might all be a joke. But after so many years, Naruto was the only one who had given him a glimpse of freedom. Despite the vague promise, he chose to believe.
Those who only wait to be saved don't deserve salvation. That's why he chose to reach for the sky.
But for some reason, even as he moved toward freedom, even as he was about to break free from his cage, he felt a sense of reluctance.
'Maybe this is what Naruto said, a bird kept in a cage for too long forgets how to fly, huh?'
Neji suddenly made up his mind. Looking into those expectant eyes, his usually cold face softened into a smile, and he nodded gently.
"Yes, in a year, Hanabi can train with us."
"Yay! I'm going to beat up that blond guy!"
"Hanabi! You have to call him Naruto-nii-san!"
"No, no! He's just a blond guy!"
---
Outside the door, Hiashi heard his daughter's playful voice from a long distance. He had been standing in the wind for a while, adjusting his emotions.
Now, not only was Konoha facing major upheaval, but the Hyuga Clan was also on the brink of disaster.
Hyuga Natsu, who had been missing for months, had suddenly reappeared in the Hyuga Clan's compound. The most critical issue was that the Caged Bird used by the the main family had failed!
'If this news got out, the Hyuga Clan would be in grave danger.'
---
When Naruto returned home, he found Minato and Hyuga Natsu waiting for him.
Minato could leave Naruto's sealed space, but only in the form of a shadow clone, and he had to rely on the Nine-Tails' Chakra. Otherwise, his small amount of Chakra would dissipate after a single misstep.
At the beginning, Naruto didn't know how to deal with the Caged Bird. After all, this is the secret technique that the Hyuga Clan had relied on for centuries. Solving it wouldn't be easy.
After racking his brain and finding no solution, Naruto decided to take a different approach.
'Since the Caged Bird cannot be solved, then don't solve it, but find a way to isolate the Caged Bird from the outside world, so that outsiders cannot affect the Caged Bird.'
And the best way to achieve this was through Sealing Techniques.
Fortunately, Naruto had someone skilled in sealing techniques by his side. For nearly half a year, Minato had been studying the Caged Bird in the seal space, with Natsu as the test subject.
While kidnapping someone for research wasn't ideal, it was a necessary sacrifice. Naruto's moral bottom line was quite flexible.
After months of relentless research by Minato, fueled by the Nine-Tails' Chakra whenever he was tired or sleepy, he finally developed a Sealing Technique capable of suppressing the Caged Bird.
However, this method didn't completely solve the problem of the Caged Bird. The seal still existed, and its various negative effects remained. For example, the Byakugan would still be destroyed upon the user's death or if forcibly taken. The mysterious 'one-degree blind spot' restriction also persisted.
As for how to resolve these drawbacks, Naruto felt it would require traveling to the moon to obtain the giant Tenseigan or seeking Orochimaru's help for further research.
"How did it go?" Naruto asked curiously, looking at the two.
"The results are better than expected. The main family's activation of the Caged Bird no longer has any effect."
Minato replied honestly, his face still wearing his trademark sunny smile. However, Natsu's expression was complicated.
"Since the results are so good, why do you look like that?" Naruto turned to Natsu.
Natsu clasped her hands in front of her abdomen, then bowed to Naruto, and said, "I'm sorry, Naruto-sama. It's just that I'm not used to being free from the Caged Bird."
Natsu was a traditional Hyuga Clan's branch family member. Despite possessing the strength of a typical Jonin, she had willingly become a maid for the main family. Nearly a decade of servitude had destined her to live in a cage.
"You two can return to the seal space for now."
Naruto didn't want to dwell on it. At the end of the day, she was just a maid. Placing his hands on their shoulders, black patterns swirled, and the two disappeared.
He then retrieved the three-eyed cat mask from the seal space, put it on, and vanished from the spot.