Even Hizashi Hyuga himself could not be sure whether Hinata Hyuga would become a second Hiashi Hyuga in the future. Talking about gentle personality or good relations meant little, as he and Hiashi Hyuga had once been close brothers as children and still ended up estranged.
Even if Hinata Hyuga did not use the Curse Seal on Neji Hyuga, would she treat other Branch Family members the same way? Without the sword of Caged Bird Seal hanging overhead, how could her weak strength suppress the many Branch Family members?
If the Branch Family were allowed to replace the legitimate status of the Main Family, the bloodline of the Hyuga Clan would gradually thin. The Hyuga Clan was not like the Uchiha Clan, and the Byakugan could not awaken through mental stimulation like the Sharingan, nor did it have a method to purify bloodlines.
If a clan's bloodline became too diluted, the Byakugan would truly disappear. On one side lay the responsibility of the clan head and the inheritance of the family, and on the other lay personal desire and selfish interest.
Who could say what Hinata Hyuga would choose in the future? This was the distortion created by Caged Bird Seal, where the Main Family needed the Branch Family to protect and sustain them in order to preserve pure bloodlines.
This caused their own strength and experience to weaken, and the weaker they became, the more they relied on the Caged Bird to suppress the Branch Family. It was a dead loop.
As long as the Hyuga Clan cared about bloodline inheritance, the hierarchy between Main Family and Branch Family could not be broken, and siblings were destined to turn against each other. There was never any other possibility through root means.
Indeed, as Hiashi Hyuga said, the longer one sat in the position of clan head, the more one felt how trapped the Hyuga Clan had become. This was not something one person could change.
However, this did not mean that Hizashi Hyuga had forgiven Hiashi Hyuga. In fact, he felt an even deeper hatred toward this twisted clan.
"Yes, you are the clan head, and you are the Main Family!"
Hizashi Hyuga stared at Hiashi Hyuga and spoke hoarsely, saying they were great, noble, and justified for thinking of the greater good. He asked why the ones sacrificed, trampled, and branded with shame were always them.
He asked if it was all because of the so-called fate they spoke of.
Hearing this, Hiashi Hyuga's face twitched slightly as he replied that it was decided from birth and chosen by no one, and that this was fate. He asked if being born this way meant it had to stay this way forever.
Hizashi Hyuga's lips slowly curled into a smile as he said that in the past, without any chance to change fate, he could endure and even deceive himself. But now that fate stood before him, he asked why he should give up, and why the ones favored by fate could not be them, could not be Neji Hyuga.
Seeing Shadow standing behind Hizashi Hyuga, Hiashi Hyuga finally could not hold back his anger and accused him of sacrificing the entire clan. Hizashi Hyuga cut him off and said that they could abandon them for the clan, so why could he not abandon the clan for Neji Hyuga?
He said that while Hiashi Hyuga was the clan head of the Hyuga, he was also Neji Hyuga's father and only wanted to be a father. He asked if Hiashi Hyuga's choice was truly more noble than his.
By this point, Hizashi Hyuga was almost shouting, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily, his eyes filled with a frightening madness that echoed through the chamber. Soon, however, that madness faded and was replaced by a cold indifference.
"Hiashi Hyuga, I am not the same as you," he said slowly, his voice low and clear. He accused him of being able to sacrifice his own younger brother and ruthlessly activate Caged Bird Seal for the sake of the Hyuga Clan's inheritance.
He said that to make Hinata Hyuga a qualified clan head, he had forced his own daughter into a weak and timid state. He added that after realizing Hinata Hyuga lacked the qualifications, he even planned to abandon her, repeatedly proposing to have another child and brand Hinata Hyuga with the Curse Seal.
He asked whether he had ever thought about how, once branded as a Caged Bird, Hinata Hyuga and her future children would end up in the same situation they were in now. He answered for him, saying that he had thought about it but did not care.
Even if they came to see each other as enemies and tore each other apart in pain, it would not matter, because in his eyes there was only the continuation of the Hyuga Clan bloodline.
Hizashi Hyuga stared straight into Hiashi Hyuga's eyes and said that he had used his name and identity for so many years and seen too much helplessness. This only made him more certain of one thing.
"I am not the same as you."
He said that he could not be as cold-blooded toward his own child, and that from beginning to end, the only one he cared about was Neji Hyuga.
Hiashi Hyuga's face turned iron gray, and though he opened his mouth, he could not say a word. Hizashi Hyuga no longer looked at him and instead turned to Shadow, who was watching with interest.
He asked Shadow to explain the method to break Caged Bird Seal. He said that no matter the price, as long as it was something he had or could do, nothing else mattered.
From the moment he chose to replace Hiashi Hyuga, and from the moment he knowingly concealed that the killer of a Main Family member was Neji Hyuga, he had already decided to give up everything for Neji Hyuga. Name or identity, clan or village, life or future, none of it mattered anymore.
At this point, he had no path of retreat left. He only hoped that Neji Hyuga could gain the chance and the strength to break free from the cage and soar into the sky.
He gave a soft laugh. "It seems I chose the right person."
Facing Hizashi Hyuga's resolve, Shadow let out a low chuckle. "Then before I tell you the way to break it, Hizashi Hyuga, let me ask you something."
"Do you know why Neji Hyuga attacked people of the Main Family?"
Hizashi Hyuga paused in surprise. He had not expected that question.
"Is it not because Neji Hyuga hates the Main Family?" Hizashi Hyuga frowned. "He hates this twisted system and hates the bondage of the Curse Seal."
"Yes, and no." Shadow nodded, then slowly shook his head. "If it were only hatred, why take the Main Family's Byakugan?"
Hizashi Hyuga felt his heart tighten and his throat go dry. He knew that for the Hyuga Main Family, gouging out the Byakugan was far worse than killing a clansman. It struck at the foundation of the Hyuga Clan.
Moreover, as long as the Caged Bird Seal was not removed, removing the Byakugan had no meaning. He had always thought Neji Hyuga acted only to vent anger, but Shadow's words suggested a deeper reason.
"Why?" Hizashi Hyuga asked, his voice trembling despite himself.
"Because," Shadow said with a smile as his gaze returned to Hizashi Hyuga, "the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan is the same as the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan."
"The Sharingan can become Mangekyo Sharingan. The Byakugan can also reach a higher level."