Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 33: Various Jutsu to Overcome the Caged Bird Seal

It felt strange. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

Tsunade, still slightly tipsy, mulled over her thoughts. Could her luck in gambling really have faltered?

Yet, even as curiosity nagged at her, she decided against Fuji's absurd bet.

"We'll save that kind of bizarre wager for another time," she said, waving it off. "You've probably never gambled with dice before, have you? Let's start simple. One die. A roll of four or higher is 'big,' below that is 'small.' You roll first."

Fuji glanced at the dice and the cup, then stayed still.

"There's no point in that kind of wager. Whether I win or lose depends entirely on whether I want to or not."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Confident, are we?"

"You've caught my attention now. Go ahead, tell me why you're here. Afterward, you'll owe me a few games."

She assumed, as usual, that it was something related to the medical unit…

"The method to undo the Caged Bird Seal—you've already developed it, haven't you?"

Tsunade's pupils narrowed, and she shot to her feet.

"How do you know about that?!"

This was a closely guarded secret, known only to the Third Hokage, herself, and now the current Hokage, Minato. Yet somehow, Hyuga Fuji stood here knowing about it.

A flood of possibilities raced through her mind, her expression shifting unpredictably.

"Please, try to remain discreet." Fuji glanced toward the curious stares from nearby tavern-goers, his tone calm.

Tsunade noticed the attention and reluctantly sat down, her gaze fixed sharply on Fuji. "Don't try to change the subject. This is not something you should know about."

"The Hokage intends for me to remain in the village," Fuji said, meeting her eyes evenly, "to assist the advisors in governing it."

Tsunade frowned, the tension in her face gradually easing as she processed his words.

"That's not a role typically given to a member of the Hokage's Shadow Guard—or to someone from the Hyuga branch family."

Unless… Minato intends to ensure Fuji no longer carries the branch family's burdens.

"So that's it. You suspect me because of the research I did on the Caged Bird Seal?"

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, studying Fuji's composed demeanor. "You're a sharp one, I'll give you that. But a smart person wouldn't ask questions like this."

"I just want to confirm it," Fuji said, his eyelids lowering slightly. "And then I'll carefully consider the Hokage's proposal."

Tsunade poured herself another drink and shook her head. "I did complete it. But strictly speaking, the method I found isn't widely applicable."

Of course, Fuji thought. If it were easy, I wouldn't need you for this.

Though Fuji had never actively sought to break the Caged Bird Seal himself, his years of studying ninjutsu and forbidden techniques had given him numerous ideas. He had even devised several approaches to counteract the seal, both temporary and permanent.

Each, however, had limitations and lacked universal applicability.

Take, for example, the Izanagi.

He had learned the rewriting seal through his studies—there was no way he'd overlook such a glaring loophole in the Uchiha's arsenal.

During the Mist battlefield campaign, acquiring a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan hadn't been difficult for someone with a Byakugan that extended two kilometers in range.

As for the Izanagi itself… Orochimaru's experiments on the Uchiha and Senju had revealed its secrets. Orochimaru had even dug up the grave of Uchiha Madara's father to further his understanding.

Both the Izanagi and the transfer seal technique had been learned from the reanimated Uchiha clan head.

After obtaining the Sharingan, Fuji had etched the Izanagi into his eyes using the White Prison Seal, which absorbed ocular powers.

Currently, Fuji could use the Izanagi twice—but only in a limited form. Unlike Madara, he couldn't delay activation or manipulate the outcome extensively. It was, at best, a temporary solution to the Caged Bird Seal.

And, of course, the price was steep: the Sharingan would lose all its power and turn to ash.

Another temporary method involved sealing techniques. By using a specialized seal, the connection between the Main Family and the Caged Bird Seal could be severed.

While the Caged Bird itself couldn't be removed, cutting off external commands was comparatively easy.

The drawback? The seal left an obvious mark, disrupting chakra flow in noticeable ways—something easily detected by anyone with a Byakugan. Once used, the user would have to be prepared for immediate exile or retaliation.

Among permanent solutions, the best he had devised so far was a technique derived from the Spirit Transformation Jutsu and his own research into soul-based ninjutsu: the Soul Rebirth Technique.

It could erase the Caged Bird completely.

But Fuji was reluctant to use it.

As a Taijutsu specialist who relied on the Byakugan and Gentle Fist, employing this technique would mean discarding his entire fighting style.

Today, however, he had found a potentially more effective method: Ranmaru's Red Eyes.

Ranmaru's eyes had the ability to transfer life force—a technique akin to Lady Chiyo's One's Own Life Reincarnation. The key condition was that the soul remained in the body.

For Fuji, this condition was almost irrelevant.

Even in death, as long as he was revived, the Caged Bird would no longer apply to him.

But again, this method lacked universal applicability.

In Ranmaru's story, he had nearly died reviving Raiga Kurosuki using this technique. While he had inexplicably recovered later, there was no guarantee he could perform the technique a second time.

To free every member of the Hyuga branch family from the Caged Bird Seal, only Tsunade—or more accurately, the Slug Sage—was capable of offering a real solution.

The thousand-year-old sage's knowledge and abilities far surpassed those of ordinary shinobi.

The other two sages might have been able to devise solutions, but the Slug Sage was the most approachable and likely to assist. That was why the Third Hokage, Orochimaru, and even Fuji had pinned their hopes on Tsunade.

Breaking his train of thought, Fuji asked, feigning ignorance, "Does your solution involve medical ninjutsu?"

Unsurprisingly, her answer confirmed his suspicions.

"Even if I tell you, it won't help. It's not something just anyone can do."

Tsunade's expression grew complex as she casually erected a soundproof barrier.

"It's an A-rank jutsu—one of the rarest and most difficult in the history of the shinobi world. Division."

Fuji's eyes flickered with interest.

Not a clone technique. Division.

The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, had once used this jutsu to split himself into two completely independent bodies, both of which were the original.

Other than Mu, there was one other being who could use this jutsu: the Slug Sage.

The Slug Sage's mastery of division was far more advanced, allowing it to split into countless bodies of varying sizes.

"The Caged Bird Seal is ultimately a curse mark, not an innate part of the body," Tsunade explained. "When the Main Family activates the seal, your real body suffers, but shadow clones do not—because clones lack the seal."

"A division body is similar to a clone but fundamentally different. Even if the original body dies, the divided body survives. The Caged Bird isn't part of the body, so if you can perfectly divide yourself, you can escape it entirely."

The technique meant the original body, which bore the seal, would die, while the divided body would live on.

The cost? Halved chakra and permanently reduced strength.

However, Tsunade had learned from the Slug Sage that such losses could eventually be recovered through training.

The Second Tsuchikage had used this technique numerous times to survive near-death situations, slowly rebuilding his strength afterward.

"This is the best solution I can offer," Tsunade concluded.

Fuji nodded thoughtfully.

Her reasoning was sound, and her approach aligned with his own conclusion:

The simplest and most brutal way to break the Caged Bird Seal was to die once.

When a branch member died, the seal vanished. Though the cursed seal left lingering traces on bodies exhumed via Edo Tensei, such remnants were merely residual chakra—similar to Nagato's Rinnegan after death.

The Caged Bird disappeared upon death. All that was needed was a means to survive it.

Division. Izanagi. Resurrection techniques. Even Lanmaru's Red Eyes.

All pointed to the same fundamental truth: survival after death was the key.

Fuji's gaze deepened as he silently reaffirmed his resolve. Someday, the Hyuga branch family would no longer need the Caged Bird Seal.

(End of Chapter)