Naruto extended his right hand and placed it on Neji's head again.
Step aside, I'm about to show off!
Closing his eyes, Naruto's chakra, following his consciousness, began to enter Neji's body.
The "Caged Bird" Curse Mark, as the Hyuga Clan's century-old culmination of sealing arts, was incredibly difficult to break, but for Naruto, it was no problem.
Within his senses, Naruto perceived seemingly harmless chains deeply embedded in Neji's brain.
Looking around, Naruto saw layers upon layers of these chains enveloping the entire brain. The densest concentration was around his eyes. The chains were stacked thickly, restricting the Byakugan tightly.
Of course, these chains were not physical objects but the visualization of the curse seal.
No wonder Neji said that the Main Family only needed a thought to make his life worse than death. With so many restrictions and controls directly inserted into the brain, the Head Family truly held the power of life and death over the Branch Family members bearing this seal.
"Tsk, tsk..." Naruto couldn't help but marvel.
However, he still found the curse mark to be somewhat crude.
How to resolve it?
Naruto frowned. It wasn't that there was no solution; rather, there were too many solutions, making it hard to choose instantly.
One solution was to block the Main Family's control over the curse. Once the Main Family's control was cut off, Neji would naturally no longer face the threats he feared. It would be like deleting a file: the file itself remains on the storage, but the index pointing to it is wiped.
However, this method had a drawback: the side effects of the "Caged Bird" still lingered, meaning Neji's Byakugan still suffered from the slight blind spot compared to the Main Family's eyes.
Since that's the case, I can only use this method!
Thinking this, Naruto, floating in Neji's consciousness, looked at his hands and let out a sudden, mischievous grin.
"Begin!"
With a shift of his thoughts, as his chakra circulated, the character for "Dao" (The Way) appeared on Naruto's left hand, and the character for "De" (Virtue) appeared on his right.
"Demons and monsters, begone!"
Following a loud shout, the "Dao De" on Naruto's hands suddenly flared brightly. The light, which seemed almost substantial, illuminated Neji's brain.
The chains, wrapped around and deeply rooted in Neji's brain, instantly dispersed, melted, and disintegrated, much like darkness meeting the light, until they vanished completely!
In the real world, the closed-eyed Neji immediately felt a sense of relief, as if a shackle worn for many years had suddenly been removed, and a mountain that had rested on his head had disappeared.
The pressure drastically lessened!
He opened his eyes in astonishment. Did it succeed?
Seeing Naruto still tightly closing his eyes and frowning, Neji suddenly felt the situation might not be so simple.
Naruto, still within the mindscape, reluctantly took one last look at the defenseless brain before exiting the space.
He took that extra look because he simply couldn't resist the urge! He wasn't sure if it was a habit formed from overusing the Rinnegan, but whenever his hand was on someone's head, he always felt the urge to read some memories or perhaps 'modify' things a bit. Suddenly not doing it felt strange to Naruto.
"Did it work?" As soon as Naruto opened his eyes, Neji eagerly and excitedly asked.
Naruto nodded gently. "Mhm."
"That's wonderful!" Neji was nearly crying tears of joy.
The "Caged Bird" Curse Mark was finally gone!
The shadow that had followed him since childhood, the cage that had trapped him for years, the fate of being forced to die for the Main Family... was now completely erased!
Remembering his father who had pleaded and rolled on the ground for mercy, the father who ultimately died in place of the Main Family, the father who walked the destiny of the Branch Family, Neji finally couldn't hold back his tears. Drip, drop. Tears streamed down his face.
If only, if only Father had been alive to achieve this!
He smiled happily, but his eyes were filled with tears. "It's wonderful! It's wonderful!"
He, Hyuga Neji, was a completely free person starting today!
Instantly, the shackle that had bound his heart for years vanished into thin air. Even Naruto felt a change in Neji's temperament, as if he had been completely reborn.
Neji knew deep down that he had been given a second chance at life. And it was Naruto who had given it to him.
After the initial excitement, his bright eyes stared gratefully at Naruto. "Thank you, Naruto!"
"It's what I should do," Naruto smiled calmly, and restated his main point. "It is also the right that every member of the Hyuga Branch Family should have!"
"The right that they should have?"
Neji mulled over the words, deeply moved, especially after gaining complete freedom from the Main Family's control.
"It's true!" he sighed. He had gained freedom, but what about the others?
Neji suddenly remembered the others in the Branch Family; they were still struggling under the burden of the "Caged Bird" Curse Mark, just as he had been.
Naruto's earlier proposal flashed in his mind.
Suddenly, Neji fixed his gaze on Naruto, his eyes burning with conviction. "Naruto, let me join you. Let me join Root!"
"Good!" Naruto smiled. Now this is the right path!I knew I wasn't wrong about you, Neji!
Even after being saved himself, he was still thinking of the other Hyuga members!
Since that was the case, for the development of Konoha and the peace and prosperity of the shinobi world, it was only right that Neji should fire the first shot against the Main Family and the clan system!
Don't worry! Naruto looked deeply at Neji. By leveraging the political capital of dismantling the clan system, Neji would certainly secure a high position in the future governing body. Don't say I, Uzumaki Naruto, don't look out for you.
However, there was one more thing.
"Neji, there is still one issue," Naruto suddenly lowered his voice. "Although the 'Caged Bird' Curse Mark is hated by all Branch Family members, it did objectively protect the Byakugan from being coveted and hunted by other villages. So..."
Naruto's meaning was clear. Without the protection of the "Caged Bird," was Neji prepared to face the storm? The pressure wouldn't just come from outside the village! The pressure from the Main Family wouldn't be small either!
Neji lowered his head in silence. Then, he looked up sharply, his Byakugan filled with resolve. "I am ready. As long as I no longer walk that fate, I have no regrets, even if I die!"
"Ahem, actually, there's no need to die," Naruto quickly stopped his sudden, intense idea. Why did Neji become so aggressive after the curse was lifted? Was it just over-excitement?
"Actually, I just thoroughly studied that curse seal. I can make an identical-looking seal, but the effect will be completely different."
Staring at Naruto, Neji's eyes burst with light. Is this what a true genius looks like?
At this moment, Neji recalled the scene during the Chunin Exams when Naruto had said to him, "Genius? Genius is just the entrance fee to see me!"
This is the true once-in-a-million genius!
"The effect of my curse seal is this," Naruto began explaining his new seal to Neji. "First, the protection of the Byakugan is naturally retained; this seal will still protect your Byakugan from being stolen. Plus, there are absolutely no side effects, so the one-degree blind spot you mentioned will be completely gone."
"Secondly, I've integrated a personal seal that I developed, which will continuously restore your chakra."
"Finally, the appearance of the seal is the same as before. I also utilized certain parts of the original curse to recreate the former 'Caged Bird's' effect."
"What effect?" Neji asked curiously.
"Uh, it's the effect where the Main Family can cause pain in your brain with a single thought."
"That..."
Seeing Neji hesitate, Naruto quickly explained, "Don't worry, it's only a partial effect. The pain will be less than an ant bite—it's only there to remind you if the Main Family tries to activate the curse on you!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes. We are still operating underground right now. Before we have sufficient power, the matter of your 'Caged Bird' being gone cannot be brought into the open," Naruto stressed.
"I understand." Neji wasn't foolish; he knew the value of hiding one's strength. "Then let's do it!" He trusted Naruto completely, without any hint of suspicion.
"Here we go!" Naruto slapped his right palm and placed it on Neji's forehead again. "Seal!"
As the word dropped, the forehead, which had been bare and without any mark since the "Caged Bird" had been removed, now bore the same mark once more under Naruto's new seal.
With that, everything was settled.
Standing at the door, watching Neji's retreating figure, Naruto pondered another matter.
Neji's situation was resolved, but how should he train his other friends? Naruto was confident in his own talent and strength as a guide, but how should he train them in real combat, getting his comrades to "die a little" for experience?
Naruto frowned. He had a rough idea but seemed to lack specific materials.
"It looks like I need to take more trips around the shinobi world."
Bang! Naruto closed the door and went back inside.
At almost the exact same time.
In the Land of Rice Fields.
Orochimaru was also contemplating a difficult problem.
Who among his subordinates was the traitor?
-----------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------
I handpick only the finest and most captivating novels for you. Don't forget to check out my other novels!
p@treon HongMengZi