Staring at the explosive tag in his hand, Hyūga Tokuma was frozen.
'How could this be?'
'Am I still trapped in a genjutsu?'
'Impossible.'
'Even with Yun's abilities, those eyes capable of casting illusions that couldn't be broken with a single release, everything that had happened since returning to the village couldn't have been fabricated by genjutsu alone.'
'Then why…?'
Tokuma clutched his hair in frustration. 'Why was the intel from the genjutsu turning out to be real?'
'Explosive tags… scattered throughout all of Konoha.'
'Even if most had degraded over time and failed to activate, just a few functioning ones could cause serious damage to the village.'
His thoughts churned. When the genjutsu ended and he saw Yun again, he had assumed everything within the illusion was fake, including the intel.
But now, reality was telling him otherwise.
And Yun hadn't said a word.
If this information were reported, the first place they'd clear would be the Hokage Rock.
Beneath it lay the village, if it collapsed, the damage would be catastrophic.
Yet no one had come to investigate.
'Had Yun… not reported it?'
'What was his goal?'
Tokuma's grip tightened around the tag. Another possibility came to mind.
If that were true, there was someone else he needed to speak to.
Whoosh!
Explosive tag in hand, Tokuma leapt from the Hokage Rock and headed toward Inuzuka Hana's home.
At the door, Hana's mother, Inuzuka Tsume greeted him.
"Tokuma? Hana just got back. She's probably freshening up, girls take a bit longer."
Tokuma, flustered, nodded. "Auntie, we just finished our Genin exam. Our team leader said we'd have dinner together, so I came to wait for her."
Tsume tilted her head. "Who's your team leader? Hana rushed in and out so fast, I forgot to ask."
Tokuma scratched his head. "It's Yun, Uchiha Yun. He was our classmate, but with his battlefield achievements, he's far beyond us now."
"Uchiha Yun?!"
Tsume was surprised. After a moment, she muttered, "He really is your age… I hadn't realized. I never thought of him as your peer."
Tokuma winced. But in a way, it was comforting. If no one saw them as equals, no one would compare them.
Just then, Hana stepped out, freshly washed.
"Dinner's not for hours. Why are you here so early?"
Tsume glanced between her daughter and Tokuma, frowning slightly.
Tokuma didn't notice. He spoke urgently. "There's something about the exam I think you need to know…"
Hana blinked. 'The exam was over, wasn't it?'
Though the genjutsu had been intense…
After a moment, she turned to her mother. "Mom, I'm heading out with Tokuma."
"Alright. Be back soon."
Tsume nodded, watching her daughter leave with a member of the Hyūga branch family.
The Hyūga… branch family.
If the Caged Bird seal was on his forehead, having the Byakugan might be worse than not having it at all.
On the street, Hana watched Tokuma scanning the area with his Byakugan, looking puzzled.
'Using the Byakugan in public? That was rare.' The Hyūga usually avoided activating it in crowded places.
Hana scratched her head. "If I didn't know you, I'd think you were a creep and arrest you."
Tokuma paused, then smiled awkwardly. "I'm not using it for anything weird. You've known me for years, you should know that."
Hana pointed to a nearby bathhouse curtain marked with the word "Bath." "Whatever you're looking for, if you go any farther, I'm not following. I don't want to get killed."
"Found it!"
Tokuma's shout startled her. He pulled her into a narrow alley.
At the corner, he crouched and reached into a crevice.
Moments later, he pulled out an explosive tag.
Hana's eyes widened.
"What?!"
She blurted it out instinctively.
'Is this still a genjutsu?'
'No… everything since returning to the village had felt real.'
"How did you find it?" she asked.
Tokuma looked toward the Hokage Rock. "There are more buried there."
He turned back. "The spy in the genjutsu said the Hokage Rock was filled with explosive tags. I didn't know why, but I checked."
They fell silent.
Both were member to major clans, raised with more knowledge than most.
Naruto had been an orphan from birth. Sasuke lost his entire clan at eight. Sakura came from a civilian family.
Shikamaru, though, had always understood more than the others.
"It's been almost two hours since we returned, and no Anbu have gone to investigate the Hokage Rock."
Tokuma held up two tags. "One from the Rock. One from this crevice."
Hana thought for a moment. "Did we pass any tags on the way here?"
Tokuma paused, then shook his head. "None. Even in the commercial district, my Byakugan didn't detect any."
He realized something.
"That proves the tags were planted thirty years ago, back when Konoha wasn't this large. The commercial district was relocated during urban planning."
Hana nodded. "Exactly. That confirms the intel. And Yun… our teacher didn't report it, did he?"
She looked at Tokuma. "So you came to me because you suspected something?"
Tokuma scratched his head, silent for a while.
Finally, he said, "Given Yun's current position, and the Uchiha's status in the village, he wouldn't need these tags."
"As a branch member, I've heard things from Lord Hizashi. The Uchiha today are nothing like they were six years ago."
"After the war with the Hidden Cloud, Yun and the Uchiha clan leader brought the Uchiha back into the village's leadership."
"So these tags might've mattered six years ago, but not now."
Hana nodded. "Then… this was all intentional. So the exam isn't over?"
"No."
Tokuma shook his head. "The exam is over. We're officially Genin. But the explosive tags… that's Yun's way of testing our judgment."
A first test of attitude.
Hana understood.
Tokuma represented the new generation of the Hyūga branch family. She represented the Inuzuka clan's future.
She realized something else.
She couldn't have found the tags, even with the genjutsu's intel. Tokuma's discovery was likely anticipated.
'What was Yun really planning?'
"Tokuma, what will you do?"
She looked at him. "Report to the Hokage? Or speak to Yun?"
Tokuma looked up.
Two choices. Two attitudes.
Trust Yun, or report to the village leadership.
He hesitated. "What about you?"
Hana shook her head. "Yun knows the Inuzuka clan well. I don't need to choose. You shouldn't have come to me. He knew you'd find the tags with your Byakugan. Rimaru couldn't have found them."
"He knows that. Telling me wasn't necessary. The Inuzuka have always stayed neutral. With my connection, there's no need to test me."
Tokuma understood.
He and Hana… were different.
He touched his forehead, feeling the seal.
So… only he needed to be tested?
Then Yun must have a way to remove the Caged Bird seal.
"Tokuma."
Hana's voice pulled him from his thoughts.
"I've heard about the Hyūga's main and branch families…"
"The Caged Bird seal, no enemy nation has ever broken it to steal the Byakugan."
"That means you have no real choice. So why hesitate?"
She stepped closer. "You know what kind of monster you're up against. The branch family's fate is shaped by ancient, rigid rules."
She looked toward the Hokage Tower and the Hyūga compound.
"And those rules were made by the high-and-mighty main family."
"When the war with the Hidden Cloud began, I heard the current Hyūga head locked up his own elder out of compassion for his brother, stripping him of his elder status."
"This generation… is a chance for the branch family. The Hokage is still young."
She paused.
Then turned and waved. "I'm heading back. I'll see you at dinner. As for your fate, you'll have to choose your own path."
She walked away.
Tokuma raised his head. "I know what I have to do."
Hana smiled without turning back and waved again.
At the Uchiha compound.
Leaning against the doorframe, Yun looked at Tokuma and said, "You found it? Show me."
Tokuma had so many questions, but couldn't speak.
Behind Yun, Izumi peeked out. "Don't misunderstand my brother, Tokuma…"
Tokuma smiled at her, feeling a bit helpless.
'Had Izumi figured it out?'
'Had Yun told her the truth about the tags?'
Inside the Hokage Rock.
Yun pressed his hand to the soil. Moments later, an explosive tag surfaced.
"Thirty years ago, Kagero Village sent a trap master to Konoha. He planted these tags. No one noticed."
"If things had gone as planned, Konoha would've suffered greatly. But fate intervened, Kagero Village was destroyed before the detonation."
Tokuma asked, "Sensei, aren't you going to tell the village?"
Yun shook his head. "Now that you've brought me here, you'll tell them. After all, Uchiha are Konoha's Uchiha, aren't they?"
Tokuma stared, speechless.
Yun stepped forward and placed a hand on Tokuma's forehead.
"I can remove the Caged Bird Seal right now. The main family would no longer control you."
"But once it's gone, if you die and your body is taken, the Byakugan will fall into enemy hands. And that knowledge will spread through the black market fast. Every branch member outside the village would become a target."
Yun met Tokuma's gaze.
"So… what will you choose? Either way, I'll help you."