Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump—
Silence followed.
Hyuga Itsuki and the attendant who had delivered the report stood frozen where they were, completely at a loss.
Their pupils dilated to the limit, shock overwhelming their senses as their minds went blank, utterly incapable of processing the absurd scene unfolding before them.
Just moments ago, this hall had been the unquestioned center of Hyuga Clan authority. The clan head and three elders had sat here like gods, deciding the lives and deaths of others at will, their presence alone exerting suffocating pressure.
And now—
In the blink of an eye, those same god-like figures collapsed like puppets whose strings had been severed, falling one after another without a sound. Some froze in their final postures, eyes hollow and unfocused, expressions twisted into something grotesque.
There were no hand seals.
No physical contact.
No visible attack.
No one reacted in time—no one even realized that Hiroki had made no discernible move before the Ninjutsu had already taken effect.
How could this happen?
Those were the Hyuga Clan Head and Elders—elite Jonin among elites!
Even facing a Shadow-level opponent, such an outcome should have been impossible!
Hyuga Hiashi stared in utter disbelief.
The elders he had never dared question, the authority figures who had towered over him his entire life… had fallen just like that?
Yet amid the silence, only Hiroki remained calm.
He simply stood there, expression unchanged, watching as the hall returned to stillness—as though the matter had already ended before it began.
The boy they had contemptuously dismissed as a "commoner brat" had done nothing more than stand in place.
And then—it was over.
The entire scene felt unreal, like a farce that ended in an abrupt and anticlimactic curtain drop.
Hyuga Itsuki subconsciously rubbed his eyes, half-expecting the world around him to dissolve. For a fleeting moment, he even wondered whether he had fallen into some terrifyingly realistic genjutsu.
But everything remained the same.
The heavy air, the cold stone floor, even the ancient sandalwood scent permeating the Hyuga main estate—nothing had changed.
Reality had not bent.
The elders had simply fallen.
Hiroki ignored the two terrified onlookers entirely. He paid no attention to the turmoil flickering across Hyuga Hiashi's face, either.
This wasn't the first group to believe they could decide others' destinies from on high.
And when people lacked vigilance—when they grew too accustomed to power—instant-triggered links and direct mental interference became devastatingly effective.
Humans were creatures ruled by thought.
If they could not think, then they could not resist.
Hiroki had no interest in debating clan traditions with a group of already "crashed" relics.
He had defeated Rasa, crushed a Shadow-level opponent, and helped bring down Hanzo. If he still had to waste breath arguing with these people, then what had all his effort been for?
He wrote code.
He copied Ninjutsu.
All so that he wouldn't have to argue endlessly or drown in meaningless rhetoric.
His gaze drifted to Hyuga Qishi's forehead.
There, faint yet unmistakable, was the seal.
The Bird in a Cage.
An image surfaced in Hiroki's mind—one he remembered vividly from before his transmigration, from countless manga panels burned into memory.
Hyuga Neji.
A prodigy hailed as a genius.
At the moment of his death, veins bulging beneath the cursed seal, pushing his comrade aside as wooden spears pierced his body.
Neji shouldn't have died.
Not like that.
Bird in a Cage—
Hiroki clicked his tongue softly.
Danzo Shimura—infamous as Konoha's master of shadows—used the Tongue Sealing Technique to control Root. That seal merely prevented Root operatives from speaking Danzo's name; even the thought of it would paralyze them.
And when Danzo died, the seal vanished automatically.
Yet the "upright" Hyuga Clan used the Bird in a Cage to permanently cripple their own kin.
It suppressed strength.
Created blind spots.
And allowed the Main House to control life and death with a mere thought.
Hiroki didn't even know how to properly evaluate such a seal.
Back when he'd read the manga, all he'd felt was disgust.
Now, standing here, seeing the Hyuga Main House's arrogance firsthand—
The resentment he'd carried across worlds overlapped perfectly with the sneering faces of these elders.
"Destiny."
"Rules."
"Order."
Hiroki sneered inwardly.
A bunch of Ōtsutsuki-bloodline material packs, acting as if they were gods.
Well.
Since he was already here—
He entered his consciousness space.
His cursor swept across the four windows representing the fallen Hyuga elites, stopping without hesitation on Hyuga Qishi.
He opened [D Disk (Memory Disk)] directly.
If he wanted the truth about Hyuga Itsuki—
Then he would see everything.
The first memory unfolded.
A Branch Family ninja reported solemnly:
"—Hyuga Mao remained behind to cover his comrades during the mission. He confirmed his own sacrifice."
"Hmph," an elder scoffed. "Foolish. The Main House warned him the mission was dangerous. He should have withdrawn. His death is his own fault—a waste of resources we invested in him."
Hyuga Qishi spoke coldly, without emotion.
"Compensation will be issued at the minimum standard. No—deduct it further. Consider it punishment, and a warning to other Branch members who grow too clever."
"Wise decision," an elder nodded. "By the way, Mao's wife has been doing odd jobs outside?"
"Unacceptable," another snapped. "Hyuga women must not appear in public. Send someone to warn her."
Hiroki closed the memory and opened the next.
Hyuga Itsuki's frail mother knelt on the ground as a steward berated her mercilessly.
"Lowly work disgraces the Hyuga name. From today onward, you are forbidden from leaving the estate."
"But sir—our savings—"
"That's not our concern. If you can't survive, let the child die sooner. Save the grain."
"Get out."
Hiroki's eyes hardened.
He continued searching.
[Bird in a Cage Usage Records]
The files opened one by one.
A Branch ninja screaming in agony as veins bulged across his forehead.
Another collapsing in filth during training as a Main House youth laughed.
A man executed at the village gate for attempting to flee.
Others punished simply for standing out too much.
For being too talented.
For existing.
Hiroki closed his eyes.
Enough.
This wasn't merely a cursed seal problem.
This was rot—deep-seated and systemic.
He reopened his eyes and scanned the remaining folders.
He copied everything.
Every technique.
Every secret.
Especially the Complete Bird in a Cage Formula—including removal, improvement, and a substitute method.
They had always known how to undo it.
They had simply never intended to.
Hiroki exited the mental space.
He retrieved the clan's money vault with practiced ease, took the compensation owed, and placed it into Hyuga Itsuki's hands.
The boy hesitated.
Then returned most of it.
"I only need my father's pension," he said quietly. "The rest… isn't mine."
Hiroki paused.
Then gently pushed it back.
"This isn't charity," he said calmly. "It's restitution."
Itsuki broke down.
Hiroki turned toward the unconscious elders.
The Main House also bore the Bird in a Cage.
And now—
Every secret behind it belonged to him.
He exhaled slowly.
What began as justice for one boy had become something far larger.
"Hyuga Itsuki," he said evenly.
"Yes!"
"Gather every Branch Family member," Hiroki ordered. "Bring them here."
"I have something to say."
Hyuga Hiashi lifted his head in shock.
"Undo… the Bird in a Cage?"