**Chapter 56: A Heart Returned**  

*Drip. Drip.* 

Rainwater streamed down the umbrella, forming silvery threads between its ribs and the ground. 

The sky was nearly pitch-black—no light, no sense of direction. 

A silver-haired girl stood hidden in the shadows, her face obscured by a black cloth, her expression unreadable. 

Neji watched her figure in the rain, his gaze turbulent. 

*"The main house treats the branch house's lives as worthless.* 

*The heavier the crimes pinned on Hinata Ameki, the more they devalue the branch family's existence.* 

*What's worse, many in the branch family themselves call Ameki a 'criminal,' venting their pent-up resentment from years of oppression. Because now, at last, there's someone in the Hyūga clan lower than them.* 

*But they don't realize—by doing this, they've already internalized the main house's ideology."* 

*"Stupid. Lowly. Weak.* 

*People like that aren't part of the branch family—they're the main house's lapdogs. No one cares about a dog's life, not the main house, and certainly not the branch family."* 

Neji's words struck like iron, using Ameki's case to lay bare the deep-rooted conflict between the main and branch families to Hikari. 

Just from his tone, Hikari understood: 

These weren't the conclusions of a child. 

They were the inherited convictions of Hyūga Hizashi. 

Once, there *had* been main house members like Ameki, who treated the branch family with kindness. 

But after centuries of power, their ideals had warped—now, they saw the branch family as nothing more than disposable servants. Slaves. 

And the branch family was just as fractured. 

Some had been thoroughly broken, their minds twisted to accept the main house's superiority. 

She grasped the implication in Neji's words. 

The gatekeeper brothers were part of the branch family's *"lapdog faction"*—unwanted by either side, the lowest of the low in the Hyūga clan. 

Cowards who only dared to complain in secret, yet groveled before the main house. 

No one would care if such people died. 

Hikari adjusted her umbrella, meeting Neji's gaze squarely. His forehead bore the green curse mark of the Caged Bird Seal. 

First, he used Ameki's fate to stoke her hatred for the main house. Then, he laid out the branch family's divisions, subtly declaring his own stance—reassuring her. 

All his words boiled down to one point: 

*The main house is the enemy. They must be destroyed.* 

And Neji's faction within the branch family would stand with her. Killing a few "lapdogs" wouldn't turn them against her. 

*Is this what children in the shinobi world are like?* 

Neji was only seven, his youth obvious in every line of his face—yet his mind was sharper than most adults'. 

It struck her then: the title of *"genius"* in Konoha, a village of prodigies, carried real weight. 

Her attitude toward him shifted. 

He had shown his hand. She would respond in kind. 

Hikari never forgot her greatest advantage: 

Not foreknowledge of the story, but the ability to exploit *weaknesses.* 

With timid Hinata, she used intimidation and dominance. 

But for someone like Neji—proud, sharp-witted, yearning for freedom—respect and recognition were the keys. 

What he gained from her was something the main house would *never* give him. 

And that was how she ensured his loyalty. 

*"Thank you. Your information is invaluable."* 

Neji's brow relaxed. Her equal treatment was exactly what he needed. 

*"Gh—!"* 

Suddenly, dizziness slammed into her. She clutched her head with a stifled groan. 

*"Hey! What's wrong?!"* Neji shot to his feet, alarmed. 

Shaking off the fog, she sorted through the memories flooding her mind—her shadow clones, waiting at home, were running low on chakra. 

They hadn't dispersed all at once to avoid overwhelming her with exhaustion. Instead, the *"Academy clone"* had undone itself first to warn her. 

*Byakugan.* 

She numbed her nerves preemptively, bracing for the fatigue from the soon-to-vanish *Water* and *Wind* clones. 

*"I'm fine,"* she said, waving him off. 

Neji exhaled. Right now, *her* safety mattered more than his own. 

*No. She needs to be stronger.* 

The main house had numbers, resources, and the lapdogs' support. The "resistance faction" in the branch family could barely resist the Caged Bird's control, let alone fight back. 

To take on the Hyūga alone, she needed *power.* 

*"Hikari, which of the main house's secret techniques do you want to learn first?"* Neji's tone was bold. 

*"You can get them?"* She frowned, still processing the clone's memories. 

Even Hinata, the main house's heiress, needed permission to access the clan's techniques—and she couldn't take the scrolls out, only memorize them on-site. That was why she'd only been able to pass Hikari fragments bit by bit. 

But now, between the Academy clone's memories and Hinata's latest delivery, she had *78* of the diagrams. A complete set was within reach. 

*"I can't steal the originals, but I can copy them for you,"* Neji said. *"The main house is small, and they're too 'noble' to handle menial tasks. The archives are guarded and maintained by branch family members. For high-level secrets? No chance—those are sealed. But most standard techniques? If I 'look the other way,' so will they."* 

Hikari nodded. 

Makes sense. 

The main house's priority was protecting the Caged Bird Seal. Letting branch members learn a few techniques changed nothing—they'd still be slaves in the end. 

*"I've already got the Eight Trigrams Palms from Hinata. Now I need the Gentle Fist's pressure-point strikes, Rotation, and the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm."* 

*"Consider it done."* Neji thumped his chest in determination. 

If he couldn't fight beside her, stealing techniques was the least he could do. The stronger she grew, the sooner his seal might break. 

*"If it's too dangerous, back off. I can get the rest from Hinata,"* Hikari warned. 

Losing Neji now would be a waste. 

*"Don't worry. I'll be careful."* 

Her concern struck him deeply. 

The branch family was *taught* to throw their lives away for the main house. But Hikari—she was different. 

Like Ameki, she was what the Hyūga *should* have been. 

A bird that could choose its own sky. 

Even with the Caged Bird still etched into his forehead, Neji felt the first rays of freedom. 

*"I swear on my name—Hyūga Neji—I'll do everything to help you grow. I won't betray you."* 

His vow was firm, his posture straight. 

Hikari met it with her own. 

*"And I swear—I'll break your seal. I'll tear down the divide between main and branch houses. That's my promise as Tsukihi Hikari."* 

She raised a fist. 

*"I don't need your loyalty. Just a comrade I can trust at my back—an ally, fighting for the same cause."* 

Neji's face broke into a grin, the last of his reservations vanishing. He bumped his fist against hers. 

The respect in her words—he *felt* it. 

Under the night sky, in the steady rain, the two stood united. 

A pact sealed. 

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