"Neji! Run—quickly, run! Leave this place at once!"
Neji's mother struggled to keep her eyes open, staring at the blurry shadow not far away. Her voice was weak, almost a whisper, but the urgency in her tone could not be mistaken.
Neji could not stay in Konoha. She had already suffered enough torment here, and she would never allow her child to endure the same fate.
"Shut up, woman! You dare to keep talking?" sneered one of the two Hyūga Main Branch members holding her. His voice dripped with contempt, and he even raised his hand, ready to slap her across the face to teach her a lesson.
Even now, she still had the nerve to defy them!
But—
Just as his hand was about to fall, a firm and powerful grip clamped tightly around his wrist.
"Who?" The Main Branch member frowned in irritation, shocked that he could not move his arm. He turned his head sharply, wanting to see who dared to stop him.
The moment he turned, his eyes met Neji's.
Those pale, red-tinged Byakugan eyes bore into him, carrying a sharpness that made even someone of the Main Branch instinctively tense.
What kind of gaze was this?
"You were going to hit her?" Neji's cold voice echoed in the silence, every word cutting like ice into the Main Branch disciple's ears.
Buzz—
The Hyūga felt his head hum, his chest tighten. For a moment, he actually felt fear rising from deep within. His lips trembled as he stammered, "I… I was only…"
Halfway through, he caught himself.
Wait. This was Hyūga Neji, a member of the Branch Family. Why was he afraid? A Branch Family member's life and death were decided by the Main Branch.
How foolish of him to falter just now.
With that thought, he forced his fear down, straightened himself, and glared back into Neji's cold, merciless eyes with arrogance.
"Yes. I was going to hit her. She's just a Branch member—and yet she dared to hide your whereabouts. She even tried to help you escape. That is a grave sin!"
"Is that so? Then you should atone for the mistakes you've made!" Neji said coldly, gripping his wrist and squeezing with force.
Crack—
A bone broke!
"Ah—!"
The intense pain from the broken bone made the branch family disciple scream in agony, sweat forming on his forehead.
"Neji… what are you trying to do?" he wailed.
"Of course, I'm going to kill you!" Neji said calmly. His other hand had already locked around the man's throat, twisting hard.
The neck snapped.
Just like that, a main family member was lifeless.
Even in death, his eyes were wide open, filled with despair, shock, and disbelief.
How dare he?
How dare he kill one of their own?
A main family disciple… killed just like that?
Even in his final moments, he couldn't believe Neji would actually do it.
Hiss—
The branch family members watching couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.
Neji had already injured the main family's disciple, Hyuga Sōsuke, before, but now he dared to directly kill a main family member.
It seemed he truly didn't want to live anymore.
With so many main family members present, Neji coming back like this—he must really have given up on life.
The Eighth Elder and several other elders looked extremely grim.
Neji, however, ignored everyone's expressions and focused his gaze on the person holding his mother.
"Here, take her!" The person, startled by Neji's glare, quickly stepped back.
He handed Neji his mother, barely clinging to life.
"Mother!" Neji hurriedly caught her, and the sharp, imposing aura around him instantly softened. His voice was filled with guilt: "Mother… it's my fault. I shouldn't have left you alone in the village. It's my fault."
Cradling his barely-living mother carefully in his arms, the proud young man finally shed tears.
His hands trembled as he wanted to touch her wounds, but he feared causing her more pain, so he hesitated, unable to reach her injuries.
"Nei~ is that you?" Nei's mother opened her eyes. Even though Neji was only a short distance away, her vision was still blurred. Her soul had been shaken so much that her voice sounded faint and ethereal.
She didn't want her son to come. She really didn't.
"Mother, it's me. I'm Neji!" Hearing his mother's weak voice, Neji finally couldn't hold back his tears. He cried like a child, sobbing, his words full of regret.
"Mother, I'm too late. If I had come earlier, you wouldn't have… if only I had…"
His voice carried both frustration and sorrow.
If he had brought his mother away earlier, she wouldn't have been hurt like this. Even when he first felt his eyelids twitch or his heart race, he should have returned sooner.
It was all his fault.
But he hadn't expected that, when he left the village, his uncle Neji Hiashi, the clan leader, personally promised to take care of her. And yet… where was he?
"You foolish child… you shouldn't have come." Nei's mother trembled as she lifted her hand, trying to touch her child's face. This was the child she had watched grow up.
But, because her soul had suffered excessive damage, her hand lost strength halfway and faltered.
Neji caught her hand, letting her touch his face. He allowed her bloodied hand to stroke him. "Mother, if I hadn't come back, I would have lived my whole life in pain."
The thought of his mother being tortured by the clan while he remained carefree outside had nearly driven him to death.
Now, he was grateful. Grateful that he had returned.
"Hehe…" Nei's mother suddenly laughed, but it was a hopeless laugh. "Then… let's go to the Pure Land together. Your father is still waiting for us there."
She intended for Neji to end her life, then take his own, sparing him some of the suffering. The torment of being a caged bird was too painful.
"No, Mother! We're not going to the Pure Land. I'll take you away!" Neji held his mother tightly, shaking his head repeatedly.
"Mother, I've found a way to free you from the cage bird seal. I'll get someone to break the curse. You'll be okay!"
"Mother, open your eyes and see! The Caged Bird Seal on me has disappeared!"
"Look!"
Neji whispered into his mother's ear, careful not to startle her. Her consciousness was already fading, and he didn't want her to endure any more shock.
He wanted to ignite a spark of hope in her, to lift her spirits.
"The Caged Bird Seal… it's broken?" His mother blinked with effort, trying to focus on the figure before her.
Gradually, her vision cleared.
She could vaguely make out the mark on Neji's forehead—it had changed. Where once was the Caged Bird Seal, now a lotus-shaped seal shone softly.
She reached out, wanting to touch it.
Neji felt her intention and held her hand gently, guiding it to his forehead, especially over the refined seal.
Though it was just a mark, his mother seemed to feel it as if it were tangible. A smile spread across her face, brighter and warmer with each passing moment.
"My child… you've finally broken free from the Caged Bird Seal~~"
****
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