69novels Chapter 3 The Caged Bird
Chapter 3 The Caged Bird
"Father, I've arrived. What brings you here?"
Dressed in a long white robe, with a dignified expression, Hyuga Kanan slowly walked to the main seat. He gently placed his hands on his abdomen, bowed slightly, and then spoke, asking a question.
The Hyuga clan is a family that places great emphasis on etiquette and tradition. There are no warm greetings between relatives, only questions and answers between superiors and subordinates. This is the main content that etiquette teachers teach from a young age.
Hyuga Kanan looked up at the middle-aged man kneeling on the main seat, dressed in a long robe, with long hair, and staring at him expressionlessly—Hyuga Kagaku, the head of the Hyuga clan. Beside him stood a boy of about 11 or 2 years old, Hyuga Hiashi, the heir to the Hyuga clan headship, who also mirrored the expressionless gaze of the middle-aged man on the main seat.
"Jianan, you are already 4 years old this year, and there are some things I should tell you."
Hinata Kōken spoke slowly and deliberately, his gaze fixed on Hinata Kanan's face. He paused for a moment, then reached for the teacup on the table and took a small sip.
"Hmm?" Hyuga Kanan was taken aback for a moment, then her gaze sharpened slightly, and she asked in a somewhat low voice, "Father, is there something I absolutely need to know?"
Hyuga Kanan already guessed what it was about. He was four years old, the age at which the Hyuga clan inscribed the Caged Bird Seal. However, he had no way to refuse. He just didn't know what kind of sealing technique this seal was, or whether it would affect his future training.
Hyuga Kanan was feeling uneasy because he didn't understand the sealing techniques in the Naruto world and wondered if they would affect his path of cultivation.
Hyuga Kanan, who was already somewhat worried about the trace of someone else's will in her chakra bloodline and hadn't bothered to learn about it, now discovered that something even more troublesome was about to happen.
But there was no way around it, because even his own brother, the twin brother of the 11 or 2-year-old boy standing opposite him, had been marked with a curse mark just minutes after he was born.
The entire Hyuga clan, except for the clan head, a few elders and a few other members of the main family, were all depicted without exception.
At such a juncture, even if one is unwilling, there is no way to refuse.
It seems there's no chance of escaping it today. Ever since Hyuga Kanan discovered the trickery in the chakra within his soul power, he's been focusing all his time and energy on it, completely forgetting about the Caged Bird Seal of the Hyuga clan. He just doesn't know how much of an impact this sealing technique will have on him.
Hinata Kanan watched as the long-haired middle-aged man opposite her, whom she called her father, carefully finished his tea, gently put down his teacup, and then focused his gaze back on her. The boy beside her clenched his fists tightly, a hint of reluctance showing on his face.
To be honest, because his father was too old-fashioned and serious, his two older brothers, Hiashi and Hizashi, rarely spent time with him. Only his mother accompanied him every day, so the family seemed somewhat estranged.
“You should know that among the young people of your generation, your eldest brother, Hiashi, will inherit the position of clan leader and become the head of the main family, so your second brother, Hizashi, and you can only become members of a separate family.”
As he spoke, Hyuga Kakuju paused, stroking his teacup with his fingers, before continuing, "The branch family's duty is to protect the main family from harm and to maintain and guarantee the main family's authority."
Listening to Hyuga Kakein's words, Hyuga Kanan's fair face showed a look of confusion.
Otherwise, if someone so young hears about this and immediately seems to understand, it will reveal that they know the difference between the main family and the branch family, which would be the real problem.
Until you have resolved the issue of others' will within your chakra and can protect yourself, it's best not to reveal your uniqueness.
If it attracted the attention of the Hyuga clan and disrupted his future development plans, that would truly be a loss. After all, he was a sage seeking the path to immortality.
If you reveal even the slightest flaw, don't doubt it, the Hyuga clan will definitely investigate you thoroughly.
There was no way around it; the cultivation method in his mind was simply too astonishing, like a primitive tribe suddenly evolving from primitive humans into modern humans. Most importantly, no one knew whether it would attract the attention of the Sage of Six Paths, who was watching the entire ninja world from behind the scenes.
You have to understand, the entire ninja world is the Sage of Six Paths' breeding ground. He can't possibly allow anyone else to disrupt his plans. If he discovers that you're an outcast, he might personally eliminate you to ensure his success. That would be truly a situation where you'd be left speechless with despair.
Thinking of this, Hyuga Kanan pretended to listen attentively, not caring whether she would soon be branded with the Caged Bird Seal. If she was branded with the Caged Bird Seal, she would still have time to find a way to break it; it would be a huge loss if that cunning old fox killed her.
"The main family is the hope for the Hyuga clan's continuation, while the branch family is the one that protects that hope." Hyuga Kagaku, seeing the earnest look on Hyuga Kanan's face, continued, "The Hyuga clan's Byakugan is renowned throughout the ninja world and possesses strategic value. To ensure that the Hyuga clan's Byakugan is not coveted by others, members of the Hyuga branch family must bear the Caged Bird Seal to protect it. This is how our Hyuga clan has maintained its position in the ninja world for over a thousand years, a position that no one else has been able to replace."
Looking at his youngest son's childish face, Hyuga Kagaku paused for a moment before continuing, "After the Caged Bird Seal is inscribed, even if you are captured by someone else or die on the battlefield, our main family can control the Caged Bird Seal to destroy your Byakugan, ensuring that the Byakugan will not fall into the hands of others and that it will forever remain within the Hyuga clan. Do you understand?"
"Yes, I understand, Father." Hyuga Kanan pretended to be a little excited, uneasy, and nervous as he looked at Hyuga Kagaku across from him in the living room, but his heart was very calm.
"That's good." Hyuga Kagaku nodded to Hyuga Kanan, then turned to the door and called out, "Elder, come in!"
Then an elderly man in his sixties pushed open the door and entered. He nodded slightly to Hyuga Kagaku, then looked at the small figure standing in the living room, and said in a hoarse voice, "Come with me."
Hyuga Kanan glanced around, bowed slightly to his father and brother in farewell, and then followed the old man out of the living room toward the deepest building of the Hyuga clan.
Hyuga Kanan followed behind the old man, secretly looking around. He discovered that this was a forbidden area of the Hyuga clan, and clan members were not allowed to approach it normally. This was also his first time here, and he seemed quite curious.
A dozen minutes later, I stopped about 10 meters away from a building. Outside the building, there were occasional ripples of light that seemed to envelop the entire structure.
The old man stood 10 meters in front of the building's entrance, his hands rapidly forming hand seals. After a dazzling display of hand gestures, he uttered a low shout, "Open!"
The light at the entrance seemed to stop. The old man beckoned to Hyuga Kanan and whispered, "Stay close to me, don't stop!" Then he strode towards the gate.
Hyuga Kanan watched quietly until the old man's voice rang out, then he followed closely behind the old man and entered.
"Is this the array formation of this world? Hmm, this world should be called barrier technique. It's really amazing. I wonder how it differs from the array formation in the ancient jade in my mind. I can study it and make comparisons when I have time."
Hyuga Kanan followed the old man without stopping, his heart filled with curiosity about this barrier technique. He knew there were many arrays in the ancient jade in his mind, and there were also some protective arrays on Longhu Mountain on Earth back then, but they were all ineffective without environmental energy.
Upon entering the building, one sees a place in the center of the hall that resembles an altar, surrounded by dense patterns that are dazzling to the eye.
"Young man, go inside and sit down. No matter what happens, don't step out of that spot," the old man said to Hyuga Kanan in a hoarse, serious voice.
"Yes, Elder!" Hyuga Kanan replied, swallowing nervously. He had lived two lives and even experienced tribulations, but he was still a little nervous about the unknown.
There are some things you won't know unless you've experienced them yourself.
As Hyuga Kanan sat cross-legged in his position, the old man walked up to him, pricked his finger with a kunai, and began to carve something on his forehead, finishing quickly.
The old man began rapidly forming hand seals, at least dozens of them, before placing them on Hyuga Kanan's forehead. He then uttered a low shout, "Caged Bird, Condense!"
Light emerged from the surrounding patterns and continuously converged towards Hyuga Kanan's forehead.
Hyuga Kanan unconsciously used his soul power to carefully observe the formation of the cursed seal. His soul power detected that the energy in the environment, activated by these patterns, moved in a rhythmic pattern, quickly converging on the symbols the old man had inscribed, and then locking onto his own eyes. Sensing the will of another being born within his eyes, he quickly understood the operating principles of the Hyuga clan's Caged Bird Seal.
Subsequently, some of the energy from the eyes dissipated into the brain, quickly stimulating the brain's protective mechanisms, and the person soon fell into a coma.