"What happened to him?"
Once Tenten had calmed down, Lee managed to get the gist of the story from her.
The night before last, for reasons unknown, Neji Hyuga had been punished by the head of the clan, Hiashi Hyuga. The punishment had been so severe that Neji had fallen into a coma and was currently confined to a bed at Konoha Hospital.
Tenten had only received word from Might Guy that morning and had rushed over immediately.
Lee hesitated, a stray thought crossing his mind. I wonder if he'll wake up as a completely different person? It was a scenario he had personally experienced twice now, after all.
Fifteen minutes later, the two arrived at the hospital. After checking with the nurse at the front desk, they found Neji's room.
Looking through the small glass window in the door, Lee saw that Guy wasn't alone. Three other members of the Hyuga clan were inside. He immediately recognized the stern, imposing figure of the Clan Head, Hiashi Hyuga, though the two guards flanking him were unfamiliar.
"Tenten, let's not rush in just yet," Lee whispered, stopping her as she reached for the handle. "Sensei is talking to the Clan Head. Let's wait until they're finished."
Tenten peered through the window and, seeing the tension inside, took Lee's advice. They waited in the hallway.
About ten minutes passed—the time it takes to finish a cup of tea—before Hiashi Hyuga emerged, followed by his guards. He spared a cold, sidelong glance at Lee and Tenten as he passed, his expression unreadable, before heading toward the exit.
"You two arrived just in time," Might Guy said, noticing them at the door. He looked visibly relieved.
"Sensei, why did Lord Hiashi punish Neji? What did he do wrong?" Tenten asked urgently, her voice tinged with indignation.
Guy rubbed his chin, hesitating for a moment before deciding to tell them the truth.
As the young master of the Hyuga Branch House, tradition dictated that Neji must spar with the heir of the Main House after his daily missions and training. This practice served two purposes: to reinforce the Main House's dominance and to allow the elders to gauge the power gap between the two branches.
Two days ago, during the scheduled session, Neji had sparred with the eldest daughter of the Main House, Hinata Hyuga.
The match had started normally, but as it progressed, Neji's strikes had grown increasingly heavy. Eventually, he had begun to radiate a palpable, cold killing intent.
Hiashi, observing from the sidelines, had sensed the danger and intervened.
To punish Neji for his insubordination and aggression toward the Main House, Hiashi had activated the Caged Bird Seal—the curse that had bound the Branch House for generations. Because Hiashi had been slow to release the seal, the mental trauma had been too much for Neji to bear, causing him to collapse into a coma.
Lee went still. He knew of the Caged Bird Seal—a sealing jutsu used by the Main House to keep the Branch House in absolute submission. If a member of the Branch House ever harbored ill intent, a member of the Main House could trigger the seal to destroy their brain cells. The process was said to cause a headache so excruciating it was worse than death itself.
"Don't worry too much," Guy sighed, seeing their expressions. "The nurses have checked him over. His vitals are stable, and he should recover in a few days."
Guy checked his watch, remembering his duties for the Chunin Exams. He entrusted the task of looking after Neji to the two of them before heading out.
When Lee and Tenten finally entered the room, they found Neji already awake. He was propped up against the pillows, staring silently out the window at a flock of birds soaring through the sky.
"Neji... are you feeling any better?" Tenten asked softly, stepping toward the bed.
Neji gave a slight, mechanical nod. His expression was disturbingly calm.
The more composed he appeared, the more Tenten's heart ached for him.
Konoha really is full of traumatized kids, Lee thought privately, his gaze lingering on the boy in the bed.
Looking at Neji through the eyes of an adult, Lee found the situation profoundly tragic. In the entire ninja world, there was almost no other clan that maintained such a twisted, archaic system of "Main" and "Branch" houses.
While the system was designed to protect the Byakugan from being stolen during wartime, in times of peace, it simply meant that those branded with the seal lost their fundamental right to freedom. Their lives existed purely at the whim of the Main House.
Accept your fate, or die. There was no third option.
Lee imagined being born with a brand that marked him as a slave, forced to serve a master for a lifetime with no hope of escape—and being tortured the moment he showed a hint of resistance. Very few people could ever truly accept that.
"Lee, stay here with Neji for a bit. I'm going to go buy some fruit," Tenten said, breaking the silence.
Lee snapped out of his thoughts and smiled. "Sure."
Once Tenten was gone, he pulled a chair up to the bedside and sat down. He, too, looked out the window. While his eyes took in the scenery, his mind was busy calculating.
Neji's situation was pitiable, but ultimately, it was a private family matter. Lee didn't have the power to interfere even if he wanted to. Rather than wasting energy on sympathy, he needed to solve his own problems.
Is there really a way to fix this alcohol tolerance issue?
"Lee... why do people live?"
The sudden question broke his train of thought. Lee turned his head, his eyes meeting Neji's. He didn't hesitate with his answer. "To survive and to procreate."
"Survive? Procreate?" Neji looked at him as if he were speaking a foreign language.
"You've heard of the law of the jungle—the big fish eat the small fish, and the small fish eat the shrimp," Lee said calmly. "Animals don't overthink things like humans do. Their lives are simple: they fight for the right to live and they pass on their genes."
He leaned back in the chair. "At the end of the day, humans are just animals without fur. All these wars in the ninja world... what are they really for? It's for territory, resources, and women. It's all the same."
Neji had never heard such a cynical, blunt take on life. To him, comparing humans to animals was absurd. "So... all that talk about how hard work can surpass genius... you aren't doing that to change your fate? You're doing it just to survive and 'procreate'?"
Lee: "..."
"Ahem... the procreation part is for later," Lee cleared his throat. "Instead of brooding over that, you should be thinking about how to solve the problem of that seal. You're supposed to be the genius of Konoha, aren't you?"
Lee wasn't great at comforting people. To him, this bluntness was the highest form of encouragement he could offer.
Neji let out a self-deprecating laugh. "A genius? I'm just a bird in a cage."
He turned back to the window, his fingers gripping the white hospital sheets so hard his knuckles turned white. "A person's destiny is decided the moment they are born. Whether it's you or me, we can never escape the path fate has laid out for us."
As he spoke, Lee saw a single, crystalline tear roll down Neji's cheek.
For the first time, Lee felt a genuine pang of compassion. Should I help him?
If I get involved, it's going to be a huge pain in the ass.
After a long moment of internal debate, Lee decided to test the waters. He leaned in and whispered, "If... and I'm just saying if... there was a way to remove that seal from your head, but the price was incredibly high, would you do it?"
Neji's laugh was cold and sharp. "I wouldn't care how high the price was. I would give my life if it meant being rid of this curse."
Seeing the resolve in Neji's eyes, Lee lowered his voice even further. "You won't need to die. But the risk is high, and the person who can help might not even agree to do it."
Neji's body went rigid. He turned to stare at Lee, his voice trembling. "Lee... are you serious?"
"I have a lead that might help you. Whether it works is one thing, but it depends on if you're willing to take the chance."
Lee's expression remained neutral. "Of course, there's no such thing as a free lunch. If I help you, I'll need you to help me in return."
Lee had been thinking about his training. If he could have Neji's Byakugan to help him analyze the physical stresses and chakra flow of his techniques, the insights would be invaluable.