In the blink of an eye, one month passed.

This month Konoha and Kumo delegation conducted three negotiation meetings and finalized the terms for signing the peace treaty after which they officially held the signing ceremony of the peace agreement. ​​

When the peace treaty between the two great powers was finally signed, a large-scale peace celebration was also held in the Village.

On this day, almost all the villagers took to the streets, enjoying the hard-won peace, the streets were crowded with people, and the whole village was cheerful and full of laughter.

But the atmosphere of the Hyuga Clan was not so good, as many of the families of the Hyuga Clan were gloomy and depressed, there was no cheerful atmosphere.

Under the leadership of Hyuga Hizashi, a group of Clansmen of the Branch family all came to Hyuga Shrine with a cold face.

Looking at his brother Hiashi, who was standing at the front of the Shrine, and Hyuga Hinata, the eldest lady of the Hyuga Clan standing behind Hiashi, her eyes dodging others, and she looked timid at first glance, Hizashi said indifferently, "Hinata-Sama is three years old today, Congratulation!"

As the elder brother and Patriarch, Hiashi nodded faintly, "Yes."

At this moment, the young Neji tugged his father's Kimono and said, "Otou-Sama, Hinata-Sama… …is a cute child!"

"Neji… It is your destiny to protect her, and to protect the Hyuga bloodline." – said Hizashi with an inexplicable expression as he rubbed Neji's forehead.

Neji was confused by his father's actions and asked, "What's wrong, Otou-Sama?"

"No… nothing." – Hizashi just turned his head to the side and sighed lightly.

Kuroto who was standing behind Hizashi just shook his head slightly.

Hyuga Hizashi has yet to tell Neji the meaning of the 'Cage Bird' curse seal, from this alone it can be seen that deep down in his heart, Hizashi cannot accept his son being engraved with the cursed seal.

But no matter how much unwilling he is for it to happen, the moment has finally come.

Hyuga Hiashi didn't seem to notice his younger brother's cold attitude or maybe even if he did, he didn't seem to care about it and said indifferently, "Leave Neji to me."

Hizashi bowed down before the patriarch and nodded, "Yes."

Watching the patriarch taking Neji away, Hizashi's face was gloomy.

No matter how much he rejected or resisted, but when this moment finally came, he had no way to prevent it from happening.

While Kuroto was watching everything happen, a member of the Hyuga Clan appeared in a corner on the wheelchair, his face had signs of vicissitudes and he appeared to be in his mid-forties with a strange calmness.

Noticing the middle-aged man in the wheelchair, Kuroto asked Hizashi who stood on his side, "Who is he?" – Hizashi who was somewhat absent-minded answered lightly, "He is Hyuga Aoki, another member of the branch family."

"Hyuga Aoki!?" – Kuroto was surprised, this name was very unfamiliar to him and even if he tried to recall, he could hardly remember this person, not to mention he has never heard others talk about him.

Noticing Kuroto's doubts, Hizashi explained, "It is normal that you haven't heard of him or know him, he has been stationed in Hyuga restriction Cell for the past few years and was released only a few days ago."

Kuroto was again surprised and asked curiously, "What did he do?"

"Dereliction of duty!" – after a short pause, Hizashi continued with a lonely expression, "In the third great shinobi war, he and his brother Aoba were the personnel responsible for protecting the members of the main family, however, they didn't fulfill their duty, as a result of which the Byakugan was stolen by the enemy, as a punishment for their mistake, Aoba was executed for his negligence and failure to fulfill his duty, Aoki was lucky enough to not be penalized with the death penalty because he had already lost his legs, however, he was imprisoned."

Hearing this Kuroto remembered that there was indeed the case of one Byakugan being stolen by the Kirigakure, but the matter is regarded as taboo to be discussed because it brought great shame to the Hyuga Clan, and since Kuroto was still very young at that time, so he isn't very clear of the old clan matters.

When he again turned to look at the position where Aoki sat on his wheelchair, Kuroto found that he had already left.

…

In the afternoon, the patriarch invited Hizashi, Neji, and Kuroto to his house.

In the practice room.

Hiashi-Sama was strictly instructing young Hinata-Sama in Hyuga-Style taijutsu while, Hizashi, Neji, and quietly sat at the side watching Hinata's training.

"Entire pace is messy…"

"Increase the speed…"

"What are you hesitating for? There should be no hesitation when you strike…!"

Scolding of Hiashi-Sama continued to be heard, he was like an extremely strict teacher, pointing out all of his daughter's shortcomings one-by-one.

The young Hinata didn't seem to have the courage to speak and could only nod timidly.

Young Neji looked at 'Hinata who was practicing tirelessly under her father's guidance with a faint smile on his face, it appears as if the first time he met his sister, he seemed to have fallen in love with his shy sister.

Hizashi glanced at his son who already had a white piece of cloth wrapped on top of his forehead and said lightly, "Neji, you must remember that it is your foremost duty to protect Hinata-Sama, this is your destiny, your fate!"

However, Neji didn't seem to realize the heavy tone of his father as his eyes were turned towards Hinata and he nodded, "Yes Otou-Sama!"

Neji's straightforward answer simply made Hizashi's heart more guilty as he turned towards Hinata and his expression became colder.

In the eyes of Hyuga Hizashi, the weak and timid Hinata is unworthy and inferior to his son, and yet Neji was engraved with the cursed seal of the 'Cage Bird' because of the incompetence of the father, on the other hand, Hinata, a timid and mediocre child was able to enjoy the privilege of being the head of the Clan just because she was born as the child of elder brother!?

At this moment, his heart was feeling incredulously guilty and he seemed to really hate his destiny and h=those that put his child under such a destiny, feeling this hate, Hizashi didn't realize it as driven by his instinct, the meridians around his eyes bulged and he activated the Byakugan subconsciously!

'Uh-oh' – thought Kuroto, as both he and Patriarch noticed the killing intent subconsciously leaking from Hizashi.

Having immediately discovered the source of killing intent, Patriarch released a soft sigh and muttered, "Stay down!"

In an instant, Hizashi's Byakugan deactivated and the 'Cage Bird' curse mark glowed greenish-blue.

"AHhhhhhhhhh….!!!"

Immediately following the glow of the Caged Bird Cursed Seal, Hizashi clutched his head with both hands and rolled over the floor in pain.

Neji was suddenly panicked and rushed towards his father, "O-otou-sama, w-what happened!?"

Although the young Neji didn't exactly understand what happened, it didn't stop him from crying because he could feel his father's pain, tears started flowing out of his eyes as he tried to ask his father.

Kuroto who sat on the side didn't do anything, watching all this happen calmly.

'Is it actually possible to activate the cursed seal without even the need for the specific hand seals?'

This is the first time he has seen the activation of the caged bird cursed seal, and Kuroto noticed that Hiashi-Sama activated the curse in an instant.

Moreover, the moment the cursed seal was activated, Hizashi's Byakugan was immediately sealed.

This clearly implies that even if the strength of the two people is the same, the members of the branch family clearly don't have any ability to resist in the face of the Hyuga Main family.

'If even Hizashi-sama couldn't bear the pain, and can only cry in agony so terribly, then the pain inflicted must be extremely harsh, and it really affects the brain nerves!'

Hyuga Hizashi is an elite Jonin, and like all other ninjas, Hizashi has also been trained from a very tender age to resist the pain, therefore, it wouldn't be wrong to say that his pain tolerance is very high, and if such a person could only wail in agony by clutching his head, must mean that it is really unbearable.

After a short while, the patriarch stopped the cursed effect and said lightly, "Go back, I will forgive your foolishness this time for stepping out of your bounds, remember not to make the same mistake again, you are a member of the branch family, accept this fact, the sooner you do, the less pain you'll have to go through!"

Leaving these words, Hiashi-sama led the panicked Hinata and left the training room…

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Read up to Chapter - 360 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n. Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations