Four days later.
At the edge of the Konoha Main Camp, a figure quietly appeared.
Aokawa was travel-worn.
Although the reconnaissance mission was easy for him, the continuous travel had consumed a lot of his energy; a trace of unavoidable fatigue was visible between his brows.
He had just stepped into his humble Barracks.
A figure stumbled in after him.
It was Hyuga Ryosuke.
His face was as pale as paper, his expression listless, and he had lost a significant amount of weight.
Seeing Aokawa, Hyuga Ryosuke's lips trembled, his eyes filled with humiliation and resentment, yet he couldn't say a single word.
"What happened?" Aokawa's voice was calm.
He reached out, infusing a gentle stream of Chakra into Ryosuke's body to check his injuries.
The external physical wounds had healed, but traces of Chakra disorder remained in his meridians.
Even more serious was the mental trauma.
Under Aokawa's questioning, Hyuga Ryosuke used a trembling voice to intermittently recount what had happened over the past few days.
How Hyuga Zetsu bullied others with his status.
How he was a coward afraid of death in the Black Wind Valley.
And finally, how he used the "Caged Bird Seal" to torture him into unconsciousness in front of all the Branch Family Ninja.
As a member of the Branch Family, he had known since childhood that the Main Family bullied others with their status, but during his upbringing, he had rarely experienced firsthand how the Main Family oppressed people.
All he had was being told over and over: "In the Hyuga Clan, the Main Family is the heaven, responsible for the Legacy of the Bloodline and Secret Techniques."
But a few days ago, he truly felt the unreasonableness of the Main Family for the first time.
Aokawa listened quietly.
The expression on his face didn't change at all, as if he were listening to a story that had nothing to do with him.
However, the air inside the Barracks grew colder bit by bit.
After finishing his story, Hyuga Ryosuke could no longer hold himself up; his eyes reddened, and he bit his lower lip hard.
Aokawa reached out and gently patted his trembling shoulder.
"Do you still remember the freedom I mentioned to you last time?"
Hearing this, Hyuga Ryosuke's whole body jolted; he widened his eyes and looked at Aokawa with total disbelief.
He finally realized the true meaning of Aokawa's words from last time.
Freedom within the Hyuga Clan!
It meant resisting the Main Family!
The partner he had grown up with since childhood seemed so strange at this moment.
Under long-term brainwashing, the Branch Family's respect for the Main Family's authority had become deep-seated and numbing.
Suddenly, someone told him that he could resist.
After a flash of excitement, he instinctively felt a fear that pierced his very marrow.
"I, I..." His lips moved several times; he wanted to speak but swallowed his words back each time.
Finally, he shook his head, his voice trembling: "What about my dad, my mom, my relatives..."
"And you... can you let go of your father? And your grandmother?"
He shook his head, the light in his eyes quickly dimming.
"None of us are alone."
"And... and once the Caged Bird Seal is activated, even you, no matter how powerful your strength is, won't be able to use it..."
Aokawa was about to speak.
Outside the Barracks, a sudden commotion broke out.
An extremely arrogant voice pierced the quiet of the camp.
"Is that small fry Aokawa back?"
"Tell him to get out here and see me!"
Hyuga Zetsu walked over grandly with several Main Family Guards.
With a playful smirk on his face, he prepared to give this "Genius" of the Branch Family, who had been in the spotlight recently, an unforgettable show of authority.
Inside the Barracks, Hyuga Ryosuke's face turned deathly pale in an instant.
Bang!
A loud noise.
The already worn-out wooden door of the Barracks was kicked open by Hyuga Zetsu.
Backlit, he looked like a high-and-mighty monarch as his gaze swept over the two people in the room.
His gaze first stopped on Hyuga Ryosuke, and he spat disdainfully: "Trash."
Then, his gaze fell on Aokawa.
With just one look, Hyuga Zetsu's pupils shrank imperceptibly.
The person before him was handsome and had a tall, straight posture.
Just standing there calmly, he possessed an Aura that commanded respect without being angry.
That Aura was even more powerful than his own, a young master of the Main Family who had long held a superior position.
Hyuga Zetsu couldn't help but puff out his chest, putting his hands behind his back, trying hard not to let his own Aura be overshadowed.
He tilted his chin slightly, adopting the posture of someone inspecting goods, his eyes filled with deliberate contempt.
"Are you Aokawa?"
Seemingly having regained his feeling of being high and mighty.
Hyuga Zetsu continued in a charitable tone, commanding condescendingly: "I'll give you fifteen minutes to pack your things."
"Get back to the Village immediately."
"The Elder Council wants to personally interrogate you about the crime of deserting your post."
Aokawa looked at him quietly, as if watching a buffoon.
He replied indifferently: "During a mission, I only follow the orders of the Front Lines Commander-in-Chief."
"As for the Elder Council..."
"I will explain myself after I report to Lord Minato."
As soon as these words were spoken, the breathing of the surrounding Branch Family Ninja hitched.
Contradicting the Main Family?
And right in front of Hyuga Zetsu!
Hyuga Zetsu's face instantly turned the color of pig liver.
He felt that his authority had been challenged like never before.
A surge of anger rushed to his head.
"You ungrateful thing!" he roared. "It seems if I don't give you a lesson, you won't know your place!"
Maintaining his high-and-mighty image, he secretly formed hand signs with his hands behind his back.
Caged Bird Seal, activate!
However.
The expected heart-wrenching scream did not ring out.
Time seemed to stand still at this moment.
Aokawa remained standing in place.
He even slowly lifted his eyelids, looking at the utterly bewildered Hyuga Zetsu with a look reserved for idiots.
What was going on?
Hyuga Zetsu's mind went blank.
All the Branch Family Ninja who witnessed this scene were also dazed.
They looked at Hyuga Zetsu, their eyes seemingly asking: "What are you doing?"
"You..." Hyuga Zetsu could no longer care about his image.
He jerked his hands from behind his back and, in front of everyone, rapidly formed hand signs!
The Cursed Seal hand signs that made the Souls of all Branch Family members tremble appeared clearly before everyone's eyes!
"Secret Technique: Caged Bird Seal!"
Hyuga Zetsu shrieked, his eyes already filled with a hideous and cruel pleasure.
He wanted to see!
He wanted to see with his own eyes this reckless small fry kneeling on the ground, rolling and begging for mercy like a dog in pain!
However.
The expected heart-wrenching scream still did not ring out.
Time seemed to stand still once again.
Aokawa still stood in place.
Those pure white eyes held a hint of amusement, as if watching a ridiculous play.
The Cursed Seal still hadn't activated.
Hiss—
The sound of people drawing in cold breaths echoed around.
The minds of all the Branch Family Ninja went blank.
What did they just see?
The Caged Bird Seal... failed?!
Hyuga Zetsu remained in the hand sign posture, his body as stiff as a stone.
Large beads of cold sweat rolled down from his forehead.
He looked at the unharmed Aokawa before him in disbelief, muttering unconsciously.
"Impossible..."
"This is absolutely impossible..."
"Why... why is it useless?"
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