Everyone patiently waited as Kushina inspected the seal on Neji's forehead, and only ten minutes later, she nodded her head.
"It can be removed, Hiashi-san, without any issues."
As soon as the Hyuga Patriarch heard her words, he sighed in relief, and Hinata too happily smiled.
"Please do..."
"No." She shook her head, causing everyone to look at her in surprise. "You are the Hyuga Patriarch, and you should be the one to do it. I will just teach you the Reverse Seal for the Caged Bird Cursed Seal."
At her words, the man nodded his head and ordered Ko and Iroha to take Neji and Hinata out.
Once the door of the Hall was closed again, Kushina picked up an empty Tag Pad and made the Hyuga Patriarch watch as she drew a slightly complex Seal on the paper, and also showed him the Hand Seals to use with it.
Hiashi had to practice twice to understand exactly how to use the Reverse Seal, but his two attempts took nearly half an hour, and they consumed a lot of Chakra as Kushina made him draw those seals with his own hands.
Once he was ready, Neji alone was called inside the Hall, and then in front of them, Hiashi activated the seal he had created on the paper and stamped it on his nephew's forehead.
He activated the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, but instead of inflicting pain on his nephew, the Caged Bird Cursed Seal started to disintegrate together with the Reverse Seal Tag.
When Neji opened his eyes, his brows furrowed, and then he lowered his head and failed to hold back his tears.
Hiashi too could not help his own tears and stepped forward and hugged his nephew. Only he knew how relieved he was that he had fulfilled the promise he had made to himself on the day his late twin sacrificed his life to save him.
As soon as he separated from his Uncle's arms, Neji deeply bowed to him, not speaking any words but conveying a lot of emotions with his silence.
When they came out, Kushina asked Enma to show the boy and Hinata around the Uzumaki District, and he bowed to her before taking both of them out of the compound.
"You intend to make your nephew your Heir, Hiashi-san?" She asked the Hyuga Patriarch, guessing his intentions, and watched him nod his head.
"I do. And I do not doubt that he will become a great leader for our Clan."
"What about Hinata?" She curiously asked.
"She's been working hard, but her personality is not suited to lead the Clan. I do not doubt that my daughter will become an exceptional Kunoichi, but leadership is not just about strength. It is also about having the heart to make decisions that are not easy but necessary." He lightly said. "I have always felt that the position of the Heir was a burden on her shoulders. I talked with her last night, and she was very happy for Neji, not in the least upset that she was being replaced as the Heir of Hyuga Clan."
"That's good," Kushina nodded her head and appreciated the girl in her heart.
It was truly rare for someone to be so kind in their world.
"I also have a wish that she and Neji would marry each other in the future. He already likes her, but she..." he sighed, and the Uzumaki Matriarch giggled.
"Interesting ability you have there with your Byakugan. To be able to sense the emotions of people, if I am not mistaken, is only possible when your mastery over your eyes is close to perfection."
Hiashi looked at her in surprise and then nodded his head.
Even his father did not know about this detail, but for some reason, he was not surprised that the Uzumaki Matriarch knew about it.
"Yes."
His admission stunned Ko and Iroha, and they reverently looked at the back of their Leader.
"You should let the two of them spend a lot of time together. Have them train together, and have them stay close to each other. Otherwise, your daughter will never realise his feelings for her. Her mind and heart are completely occupied by Naruto right now," said Hazuki.
"I have already thought about it, but I am not going to force anything on her. I won't stop her if she wishes to leave the Clan in the future and marry that blond boy. He is, after all, the legacy of the Fourth Hokage, and a Half-Uzumaki. Mizumi-san and I were good friends."
Hazuki knew about the last detail, and she nodded her head in understanding.
"He's not suitable for her." Kushina shook her head after giving the match a few seconds of thought. "At least, not the way he is right now. I hope if you have to face the day when Hinata decides to marry him over Neji, he would be a man who would cherish her, and not someone who would put his dreams over his family."
"Yes." Hiashi agreed with her words.
"And I hope you won't forget your promise to me, Hiashi-san. In case things don't work out between Hinata and Neji, I hope you won't try to pair Hanabi with him. She belongs to the Uzumaki Clan now."
Even though there was a smile on her face, her voice was filled with the authority of the Uzumaki Matriarch, and the two Hyuga who were following them, felt chills run up their spines.
"I never forget my promises, Kushina-san," Hiashi assured her, and she nodded her head.
When Neji and Hinata returned with Enma a couple of hours later, the Hyuga, Uchiha, and Uzumaki had their dinner together.
Kushina and Hazuki then accompanied their guests as they saw them off at the gate of the District. And as soon as the Hyuga left, the Uchiha pulled Kushina with her and led her on the longer route back home.
"What promise?" She asked once she made sure that no one was listening to their conversation.
"I set a betrothal for Hanabi and Enma."
"What? Why?" Hazuki surprisedly looked at her.
"She's special, and her talent is greater than any Hyuga I have ever seen. The Uzumaki Clan would benefit a lot from having a new Branch Family through her."
"And the Hyuga agreed to let you have the Byakugan?" She frowned.
"Not really, but it doesn't matter. Their children will not possess Byakugan. They will have a different Dojutsu that you have never seen before."
"Oh?" She interestedly raised her brow, but the Uzumaki gave her no details.
"Izumi seems to be growing quite close to Enma."
The sudden words froze her, and a few moments later, the Uchiha Matriarch furrowed her brows.
"You want her to stay away?" She lightly asked.
"Did I say that?" Kushina smiled. "In fact, it is better if they can grow even closer. I would love to have Sharingan in the Uzumaki Family." She grinned, and Hazuki narrowed her eyes. "Sorry, but you get no choice or say in this matter."
"Sharingan is the identity of the Uchiha..."
"Relax. Their Dojutsu won't be the same," She assured her, and Hazuki sighed and nodded her head.
"Fine." She said and frowned a little. "Does Enma know about your plans for Hanabi and my daughter?"
"No. I don't tell him these things. He is still a kid who does not yet truly understand responsibility."
She relaxed after she heard those words.
"Let things take their course. Do not interfere in their feelings."
"I won't. I never do."
The two chatted all the way back to the Uzumaki Compound and then went their separate ways.
Kushina narrowed her eyes when she saw Enma preparing to leave to see his pinkhead lover.
She just knew that he was heading to her, and instantly appeared in front of him, blocking his way.
"Do what you have to do but only after you have put Hiyori to sleep and read her a story. She has been waiting for you all these months."
She narrowed her eyes when he did not move, but smiled when he nodded his head and walked back towards his little sister's new room.
"Where's Karin?" He asked.
"Joguku Forest with Team 10. They are collecting Medical Herbs for the Konoha Hospital," she informed him, and after watching him enter Hiyori's room, she walked towards her own.
After taking a quick shower and changing into her night clothes, she jumped into her bed and pulled the blanket on, closing her eyes and falling asleep.
Instead of going to some dreamland, she arrived in her Mindscape and chatted with Kurama, who had a lot of interesting stories to share with her.
On the other side, Enma gently combed his little sister's hair, who was soundly asleep, but on top of his chest, hugging him as if she feared that he would disappear, and he gave up the idea of seeing Sakura tonight and just closed his eyes.
At dawn, when he woke up, he quickly got ready to leave, but Himari stopped him, pulled him by his ear, and dragged him to the chabudai, where his breakfast was waiting for him.
She sat down across him, ate with him, and did not let him leave until he had finished everything.
At 7 am, he left the District, not waiting for Sasuke and Izumi.
He went straight to Sakura's house and sneaked in through her window.
She was taking a shower at the time, and he quickly placed the things he had prepared for her on her study table and left a beautiful pink rose on top of them. He also wrote down a small note, informing her that he was leaving again on a mission.
Sensing her mother coming over, he covered the things with Sakura's Medical Pouches and transformed them to look like more pouches before he left and went to visit one more person.
As soon as Sakura came out of the bathroom, she thanked her mother for preparing her clothes, and then merrily started getting ready for their day.
She curiously looked at the extra pouches on the table, and after wearing her shoes, she walked over to check what was inside of them but soon realised that it was a Transformation Jutsu.
She only needed to touch them to dispel it, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the pink rose.
A sweet smile crept on her face, but it faltered when she read the letter. He would be gone again for a while, and she did not know when she would see him again.
Her mood, however, instantly improved when she saw a new set of Ninja Tools and some useful Sealing Scrolls, one of which was a storage scroll and contained a pair of beautiful gloves for her with weight seals on them.
She wanted to hug and kiss him to thank him for these things, but did not want to ruin her day with sad thoughts and quickly left for the Hospital.
When Enma arrived at the gate at exactly 8 am, everyone was waiting for him there. Without stopping, he continued heading out, and Akaisen took their formation behind him with Izumi and Tokuma soon catching up to cover his flanks.