Shimizu's Selective Interpretation

The resentment in Hyūga Natsu's eyes was almost impossible to conceal.

Something must have happened after she returned.

With Hyūga Ginka's condescending attitude, it was obvious she would never treat branch family members as equals.

"I've come to terms with a few things."

Dressed in a black-and-white maid outfit, Hyūga Natsu's once timid demeanor now carried a hint of ruthlessness.

"That's for the best."

Shimizu moved closer to Hyūga Natsu, gently running his fingers through her dark green short hair. The strands slipped through his fingertips before he reached up and removed the forehead protector tied around her head.

Hyūga Natsu trembled slightly—her forehead protector had been removed!

For most shinobi, forehead protectors were casually worn on different parts of the body—some on their arms, some around their necks, others at their waists.

But for the branch family of the Hyūga clan, they were usually tied around the forehead.

They used them to cover the cursed seal of the Caged Bird, hiding that ugly symbol and concealing their own helplessness.

Two green sealing marks stretched across Hyūga Natsu's forehead, with a strange green emblem at the center.

Her brows furrowed slightly, as if she wanted to cover the mark in shame, but she resisted the urge.

Her delicate, flawless face bore an expression of deep internal conflict.

In the past, she would have immediately stepped away from such close contact.

Even among the branch family, very few would be so rude as to directly look at another's Caged Bird seal.

But she had already done something for Shimizu. There was no turning back now.

When Shimizu's fingertips brushed against the cursed seal, Hyūga Natsu squeezed her eyes shut.

"Do you want to break free from the Caged Bird?"

Shimizu suddenly asked.

Hyūga Natsu's eyes snapped open in an instant.

"The Caged Bird Seal cannot be undone. This is the fate of all branch family members."

There wasn't a single branch family member who didn't wish to break free from the Caged Bird. Many who resisted the main house's control had secretly conducted their own research.

However, countless attempts had proven that the only way to completely remove the seal was through the death of its bearer.

"Work for me, and perhaps one day it can be undone."

Shimizu tied her forehead protector back in place.

What a joke—no matter how formidable the Caged Bird might be, it was still just a type of sealing jutsu. The Hyūga clan wasn't even specialized in sealing techniques.

Once he mastered the Uzumaki clan's sealing arts, there was a high probability that he could break the Caged Bird.

The Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques were so powerful that the entire world conspired to annihilate them.

The fact that no one had broken the Caged Bird in the Hyūga clan for centuries wasn't because it was impossible—it was because of the weight of tradition and politics.

If the main house ever found out that someone had a way to remove the seal, they would stop at nothing to eliminate that person.

Breaking the Caged Bird wasn't just an act of defiance against the Hyūga family's structure—it was a declaration of war.

The Hyūga clan was powerful. Few dared to take such a risk.

Even in Boruto, when Naruto became the Seventh Hokage, he never interfered with the Caged Bird tradition—it continued to be passed down.

Yet ironically, his daughter, Uzumaki Himawari, who had awakened the Byakugan, should have been marked with the Caged Bird seal but wasn't.

Hearing Shimizu's words, Hyūga Natsu's eyes flickered with astonishment and shock.

Based on his behavior yesterday, Shimizu seemed like a lecher.

He had grabbed her hand at the first opportunity, and she had assumed today would be no different.

But the words in her ear told a different story—Shimizu wanted to free her from the Caged Bird Seal!

"Go back for now."

With the recording device in hand, Shimizu no longer had immediate use for Hyūga Natsu and began ushering her out.

Hyūga Natsu hesitated, then nodded and turned to leave.

She thought Shimizu was joking, but deep inside, a sliver of hope remained.

What if?

What if Shimizu really could remove the Caged Bird Seal?

...

Shimizu entered his room, removed the chip from the recording device, and inserted it into a specialized player.

Static crackled for a few seconds before Hyūga Ginka's voice played.

Most of it consisted of her scolding Hyūga Natsu, with occasional responses from the latter.

Shimizu fast-forwarded to the part about the Uchiha.

"... The Uchiha are inherently evil... far too dangerous. I told you not to associate with them any further..."

Hyūga Ginka's stance on the Uchiha was clear: keep away.

Her general message was that the Uchiha were dangerous, that Konoha's higher-ups had policies in place regarding them, and that other shinobi avoided them with cold indifference.

The two clans could cooperate, but no one should take the initiative—unless the village issued a directive, excessive contact would only cause trouble.

It was obvious Hyūga Ginka held prejudice against the Uchiha.

This was normal. Both clans possessed powerful dōjutsu, both were prestigious lineages, and conflicts—both overt and covert—were inevitable.

However, the Hyūga clan had always maintained a stance of neutrality—or perhaps opportunism. They had never had any major clashes with the Uchiha.

But their members rarely mingled.

At least, Shimizu had never seen an Uchiha hanging out with a Hyūga on a regular basis.

"To be hated by all... such is the fate of the Uchiha."

After listening to the final words, Shimizu understood how the Hyūga viewed the Uchiha.

The smarter clans had all kept their distance from the Uchiha.

And when the Nine-Tails Incident happened, the cold treatment toward the Uchiha would only intensify.

"Good. This will make it even easier to gather evidence."

Shimizu manipulated the recording, cutting out the neutral and reasonable parts.

Only the discriminatory remarks remained.

If selective quoting was necessary—so be it.

For example, if the original sentence was: "The Uchiha are inherently evil... maybe the Second Hokage was exaggerating a bit," he would cut out the latter half, leaving only: "The Uchiha are inherently evil."

Konoha had rarely engaged in media manipulation.

The only one who had ever done so was Danzō, spreading rumors everywhere.

Even when Shisui confronted Danzō, he hadn't thought to bring a recording device as insurance.

Had he done so, and if Danzō had still attacked him, the resulting outcry would have been catastrophic.

The entire shinobi world would have been thrown into turmoil.

A loyal shinobi like Shisui, robbed of his Sharingan because of Danzō's ambition, would have sparked universal outrage.

Once fear turned into anger, not even Hiruzen Sarutobi would have been able to protect Danzō.

Finishing his work, Shimizu sealed the chip into a scroll.

Hyūga Ginka was the fiancée of a certain main house member. Due to strict family discipline, she rarely interacted with other men to avoid rumors.

Shimizu had never had a reason to approach her—until now.

She had spoken words that threatened unity.

If she didn't atone properly, the consequences would be dire.

The Next Day

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on a high platform, addressing the assembled shinobi preparing for war.

"The Third Hokage sure talks a lot..."

Uchiha Obito muttered, feeling like his feet were no longer his own.

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