"Well then, it seems the experiment has hit a temporary roadblock—but that's fine. I already have an idea for a solution. It'll just take some time to prepare. We've all been working hard these past few months, so I say we take a few days off to relax. How about a trip to the Land of Hot Springs for a soak? What do you think?"
Uchiha Ashikaga and Uchiha Izumi had no objections. After all, they had joined as assistants from the start and hadn't expected too much success to begin with. The only reason they'd kept going was because every new result had been more astonishing than the last—their curiosity had completely taken over.
Now that the experiment was stalled, they naturally saw no reason to push on.
As for whether shinobi could take vacations outside the village—that was certainly possible, as long as they filed a report in advance.
Since all three of them were ninja, and members of prominent clans at that, getting leave approved was a mere formality.
Before leaving the village, however, Rokuro first sent a message to Hyūga Hizashi.
Within minutes, Hizashi arrived at Rokuro's home—alongside Hyūga Taiki, who had disguised himself as Inuzuka Hana.
"Rokuro," Hizashi's tone trembled slightly, his eyes filled with both excitement and apprehension. "Don't tell me…?"
Rokuro smiled faintly.
"You guessed right, Captain Hizashi. I've successfully developed a method to undo the Caged Bird Seal—and I've already made a batch of scrolls."
Forming a quick hand seal, Rokuro summoned with a puff of white smoke a stack of twenty scrolls that landed neatly on the table.
Hizashi and Taiki stared wide-eyed, their bodies trembling with excitement.
Rokuro unrolled one scroll, revealing densely packed sealing formulas that could make anyone's head spin.
"Through my research, I discovered that the Caged Bird Seal doesn't just affect the body—it also extends into the soul. It uses chakra as a medium to control the Hyūga branch members' physical functions."
He continued, "Every person in the shinobi world, even non-shinobi, possesses chakra. That means unless the person dies, the Caged Bird Seal can never truly disappear."
Both Hyūga men nodded—after all, as victims of the seal, they understood this all too well.
"I reversed the process—using chakra as the medium once again—but this time, to dissolve the seal's formula and sever its link to chakra entirely. The detailed theory's complicated, so I'll skip that. What matters is this: each scroll contains the necessary formula to erase one Caged Bird Seal."
Rokuro looked at the two men. "We can try it right now. Which of you wants to go first?"
Hizashi and Taiki exchanged glances. Finally, Hizashi stepped forward.
"I'll go first. This started because of me—it's only right I take the risk. If something goes wrong… Forgive me, Rokuro. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just—"
"I understand," Rokuro interrupted softly. "This concerns your life. Caution is natural. Sit there—you don't need to do anything else."
He approached Hizashi with a scroll, unrolling it completely before pressing one palm to the floor and channeling chakra into it.
As the energy flowed, the scroll's seals began to glow blue, one after another. Soon, the formulas detached from the parchment like tadpoles and crawled up Hizashi's body, covering him head to toe.
"Here we go," Rokuro warned. "It might hurt a bit—bear with it."
Hizashi nodded slightly. A heartbeat later, pain stabbed through his body like a thousand needles. His head throbbed violently, as if struck by lightning, and for a moment he thought he might scream.
But he gritted his teeth and endured. This pain, intense as it was, still paled compared to the agony of the seal's activation.
Months earlier, when he had once harbored killing intent toward Hinata, his elder brother had triggered the Caged Bird Seal—the torment had been unbearable, reducing him to a writhing heap on the floor. Compared to that, this was almost like acupuncture.
Taiki stood nearby, tense and sweating, stealing anxious glances at Rokuro.
Maintaining his focus, Rokuro kept channeling chakra into the seal while explaining calmly, "The longer the Caged Bird Seal has been imprinted, the harder it is to remove. But generally speaking, it shouldn't take more than five minutes. In Captain Hizashi's case, I estimate about three."
Hearing that eased Taiki's nerves a little, and Hizashi pressed on in silence, jaw clenched tight.
Minutes passed.
At the three-minute mark, the pain began to ebb away. Hizashi felt an almost cleansing sensation sweep through him, especially in his head—it was as if a long-clogged vessel had finally been cleared.
The sensation was indescribable—refreshing, purifying, like an old teapot scrubbed spotless after years of grime.
Meanwhile, Taiki watched in awe as the cursed seal on Hizashi's forehead faded, growing lighter until it vanished entirely.
At that moment, a pair of radiant white wings unfurled behind Hizashi, bathing him in a divine light. His entire being seemed to glow with that same purifying energy.
"Did it work?" Taiki asked, eyes wide.
Rokuro ceased the chakra flow and nodded.
"It worked. When those wings—symbols of freedom—manifest, it means the Caged Bird Seal has been lifted."
"Wings of freedom, huh? Fitting." Taiki smiled faintly before turning to Hizashi. "How do you feel?"
Hizashi didn't answer right away. Instead, he activated his Byakugan.
The veins around his eyes bulged—though on someone of his features, it looked more fierce than monstrous. (Of course, with someone like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki or even Hinata, the effect would be almost elegant. Speaking of which, does Kaguya technically count as a married woman…?)
"The blind spot—it's gone! And my vision range has nearly doubled! I can now see within a ten-kilometer radius!"
"What!? Ten kilometers!?" Taiki gasped. His own Byakugan, even at full power, had only ever reached three kilometers—four at his prime, at best.
"Congratulations, Captain Hizashi," Rokuro said with a warm smile. "After years of suffering, you've finally been rewarded. Your perseverance wasn't in vain."
Hizashi turned to him. "Rokuro… you mean—?"
Rokuro nodded.
"The Caged Bird Seal didn't just restrain the Byakugan—it also tempered it. Like a taijutsu practitioner training with weighted gear, the restriction forced your eyes to adapt and strengthen under pressure. Now that the weight's gone, your true power can finally surge forth."
He folded his arms, smiling knowingly. "Your Byakugan has been freed—and refined over twenty years of suppression. You're in your physical prime, and all those factors together have awakened a far more powerful dōjutsu. If you continue to train in the Hyūga clan's secret techniques, it won't be long before you surpass them all—and step into the ranks of the Kage."
END OF CHAPTER
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