To cripple one arm, and destroy one Byakugan eye.
The Eighth Elder didn't consider this demand too harsh, yet he believed it was something Neji could do.
After all, Neji loved his mother deeply—he could sacrifice anything for her sake.
But the elder also had his own plan. Once Hyūga Neji lost an arm and a Byakugan, his strength would plummet.
By then,
He would rally the Main House and Branch House together and strike, killing Neji once and for all.
Ever since Neji had discovered a way to unravel the Caged Bird Seal, neither him nor Hyūga Aomatsu had any chance of survival. Neji… must die.
"To cripple my own hand? My eye Hyūga Neji's voice was quiet, but it carried a proud and resolute edge as he looked at the people before him.
"Are you sure? If I sacrifice one arm and one eye… you'll let Aomatsu take my mother and leave?"
Neji's greatest fear now was that the Hyūga clan would suddenly turn against his mother.
If she died before his eyes, he could never accept it.
"Of course," the Eighth Elder nodded, staring at Neji. "This is the promise of the Hyūga Main House. Do you still doubt it?"
"Of course I doubt it." Neji let out a cold laugh, his gaze like ice. "When has the Main House ever kept faith with the Branch House?"
His tone was sharp, edged with scorn.
The elder sneered at his reply. "If that's the case, you can try escaping with your mother. Let's see what's faster—your speed, or the activation of the caged bird seal."
His words dripped with mockery. He wasn't the strongest among the clan, but he knew people. And he knew Neji would never abandon his mother—just as she had endured the agony of the seal, hiding Neji's whereabouts, to protect him.
Today,
Neji's arm and his Byakugan must be taken. No—none of them would be allowed to leave.
"You…" Neji faltered. He had hoped to pay a smaller price to protect his mother, but the elder had seen through his thoughts.
In his arms, Neji's mother tightened her grip on his shoulder. She tried to speak—but no words came out.
Although her consciousness had already grown blurry, there was still one unshakable thought in her heart—she could not let her child be harmed.
Now, all the pain she endured seemed meaningless, because death itself had become the better ending.
Neji had a bright future ahead of him. The Caged Bird Seal had been lifted, and from this moment on, he was truly free. No longer would anyone bind his destiny.
Neji's mother did not want her existence to drag him down again.
But even so, in this moment, she longed to open her eyes and speak to Neji. Yet her body refused to move.
All she could do was grow restless inside.
"Zushi," the Eighth Elder spoke coldly, glancing at a nearby branch family member. "Take this kunai and give it to Hyūga Neji. Let him decide for himself. Will he choose his mother, or one arm and one eye?"
"Yes, Elder."
Without warning, a kunai appeared in the young man's hand. A mocking smile played on his lips as he walked step by step toward Neji.
His movements were slow, deliberate, as if granting Neji more time to think—time that only tightened the pressure in Neji's chest.
From his wheelchair, Hyūga Sosuke finally let out a twisted smile.
"Hyūga Neji, so you finally have your day of reckoning? Heh… did you truly think that escaping the Caged Bird Seal meant freedom?"
"As long as you have family or friends bound by the Caged Bird Seal, you will always be restrained."
"Hehehe…"
"I've been waiting for this day for a very long time!"
If anyone in the clan hated Neji most, it was Hyūga Sosuke.
To be crippled by a mere branch family member was already a disgrace. It left him the subject of ridicule within the main family.
And today, he would make Neji's life worse than death.
As for Neji's mother—did he really believe the main family would ever allow her to walk away alive?
How ridiculous.
The branch family members lowered their heads. They hated the main house, but none of them dared to step forward to help Neji.
They were bound by the cursed caged bird seal, shackled not only in strength but also in their lives. Their wives, children, their entire families were under this cruel restraint.
If Neji himself was powerless while his own mother was being held hostage, how could they possibly resist?
"Neji… will you take this kunai, or not?"
Hyūga Zushi was still young, yet his expression carried a mocking smile.
Neji's growth had far exceeded his expectations, but with his mother's life in their grasp, Neji had no choice but to obey.
And so, Zushi's arrogant smirk remained fixed on his face.
He had no fear of Neji. He knew that the moment Neji tried to strike him, his mother would be executed instantly.
"Neji, let's leave. Your mother wouldn't want you to lose your eyes or arms because of her. If that happened, she would never find peace, even in the Pure Land."
Hyūga Aomatsu urged anxiously, hoping to stop Neji from reaching for the kunai.
Those words… they were exactly what his mother would have wished for.
But Neji whispered, his tone heavy with helplessness, "Right now… I don't have a choice."
He knew what his mother wanted. She was willing to die for him. But as her son, how could he ever allow her to be sacrificed like that?
If only Genya or Shisui were here. With the Flying Thunder God, they could have broken the spiritual restraint and saved her.
But they weren't here.
Now, the only way to protect his mother was to follow the main house's demands.
"Neji…" Aomatsu grew more frantic. If Neji truly accepted, he would be falling straight into the main house's trap. The cost would be far too great.
Yet no matter how he tried to dissuade him, Neji's expression didn't change.
It was as if his decision had already been made.
"Take it."
Hyūga Zushi held the kunai out, the smirk on his lips twisting into open provocation.
"Are you certain you'll let my mother leave?" Neji Hyuga hesitated, but still spoke.
"What nonsense? Will you take it or not?" Hyuga Zushi gave Neji no chance to negotiate, his words sharp and final.
"Fine." A cold light flickered in Neji's eyes, but his expression remained calm as he spoke each word clearly. "I hope you'll keep your promise."
Neji was prepared to trade an arm and an eye for the chance to let his mother live.
But if the main family went back on their word, then he would make sure every last one of them wished for death.
With that said, Neji released his grip on his mother and reached for the kunai.
Yet in that instant of loosening his guard, he suddenly felt the frail woman in his arms shove against his shoulder with all her remaining strength. Her body twisted, and before Neji could react, his mother threw herself straight onto the kunai in Zushi's hand.
****
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