A Hyūga's Gate Between Worlds

"The last one."

Hizashi, with his Byakugan activated, exerted strength in his five fingers, and with a Gentle Fist strike, pierced through the heart of a chunin before him.

At that moment, he felt as though the immense mountain named the "main house," which had weighed upon his body and mind since birth, since becoming a branch house member, since being branded with the Caged Bird, had finally been lifted.

Seeing this, Iroha, Homon, and the others, first felt a surreal sense of waking from a dream. Then, one by one, their faces lit up with wild joy as they all simultaneously turned to look at the youngest black-haired boy among them.

Their gazes burned with fervor, like devout believers beholding a god descending upon the mortal world.

Their eyes were filled with admiration, awe, gratitude, and reverence.

Click.

Tanaka opened the window, allowing the first rays of dawn to shine upon him.

Even though he was the executioner who had wiped out the entire main house, in the eyes of Hizashi and the others, that single ray of sunlight seemed to merge with the boy before them.

It was the dawn of the shinobi world. It was the dawn of the branch house.

Noticing the gazes directed at him, Tanaka turned his head. Bathed in the brilliance of the dawn, he faced the countless pairs of Byakugan.

He spoke calmly, "The main house is dead."

---

In the past, this sacred hall, where branch house members were forbidden to step foot, was now packed with people, surrounded tightly by Hyūga clansmen.

At this moment, from the highest-ranking branch house jonin to the most ordinary clansmen, even those carrying infants—382 branch house members in total—had all gathered without a single absence.

In the past, those branded with the Caged Bird would cover it with their headbands if they were shinobi, or with bandages if they were not.

But now, every single branch house member above the age of three left the hideous mark completely exposed to the air. There was no shoving, no noise—everyone stood silently, waiting in an orderly fashion.

After a while...

Click.

The tightly shut ancestral hall doors creaked open.

Several figures stepped out in succession.

The gathered branch house members all widened their Byakugan eyes, their gazes instantly locking onto the figures emerging from the hall.

Their eyes briefly shifted before fixing on a black-haired boy, not yet ten years old.

Faced with hundreds of penetrating gazes, even the most battle-hardened jonin would have felt uneasy, despite no one actively using their Byakugan.

Yet.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Tanaka remained utterly composed, walking forward with a calm and confident demeanor.

His first words sent a shock through everyone's hearts, causing their pupils to contract and their blood to boil.

"We are free from the main house."

Just seven simple words, yet they filled every gaze upon Tanaka with overwhelming excitement and awe.

Especially when they saw that his forehead was unmarked by the Caged Bird. Even though rumors had already spread, they still couldn't help but let out an earth-shattering roar.

"Ahhh!"

The once silent ancestral hall erupted with deafening cheers.

Shouts.

Cries.

Howls.

Like rolling thunder, they echoed ceaselessly.

Behind Tanaka stood Hizashi, the branch house patriarch who had participated in the complete annihilation of the main house. Though he did not join in the shouting, his face showed deep emotion, his eyes filled with tears, his throat choked with sobs.

He had once believed that he would die a caged bird, never imagining that Tanaka could single-handedly wipe out the main house in a single night, overturning centuries of oppression.

Allowing the branch house members to release their years of resentment, suppression, and despair through their cries, Tanaka finally raised his right hand.

Without uttering a word, just that single gesture was enough to silence the once-boisterous ancestral hall instantly.

It was not just because he had crushed the mountain of oppression known as the main house.

It was because, in Tanaka, they saw hope—the hope of breaking free from the Caged Bird.

Unknowingly, his authority had already taken root.

"Can you tell me your name?"

Once the crowd had quieted, Tanaka turned his gaze toward a small girl within the crowd—her large, watery eyes blinking timidly.

The girl timidly tugged at her father's pants. Under the encouragement of her parents and the reassuring gaze of Tanaka, she hesitated for a moment before finally speaking in a soft, childlike voice.

"I... I'm Aoi."

"Hyūga Aoi."

"Aoi, do you like it?"

Tanaka stepped forward, crouching down to her level, and placed his hand gently on her forehead.

"It... it hurts so much. Really, really hurts."

"I don't like it!"

Aoi bit her lip, as if recalling the excruciating pain that tore through her eyes and brain when she was branded with the Caged Bird. As she spoke, her voice trembled, and soon, tears began to roll down her cheeks.

The surrounding branch house members all wore grim expressions, their eyes cold with suppressed rage. They were not angry at Tanaka, but rather, they were reminded of their own suffering—of the moment they had been branded as children, of the agony the seal had inflicted upon them.

"You don't like it? Then I'll help you get rid of it."

"How does that sound?"

The moment these words left Tanaka's lips, even though many had anticipated it, the Hyūga clansmen still couldn't help but tremble with excitement, their eyes shining with hope.

"Can you really do that?"

Aoi's wide eyes were filled with disbelief.

"Of course I can. Look, I once had the same seal as you right here, but now, it's gone. Do you want to be like me?"

Tanaka smiled warmly.

"I do!" Aoi blurted out without hesitation.

"Then I'll help you make it disappear."

Tanaka placed his hand on Aoi's head, an invisible force expanding outward, enveloping her entirely.

As he lifted his hand from her forehead, the hideous green seal had completely vanished.

"Is it gone?"

Aoi, still too young to have activated her Byakugan, couldn't see the change for herself.

"Take a look."

Tanaka took a mirror handed to him by Natsu and held it up to reflect Aoi's small, delicate face.

"It's gone? It's gone!"

"Mom, Dad, look! The mark that made me hurt is gone!"

Aoi's teary eyes widened with excitement, her little face full of joy.

"Tanaka-sama... Thank you! Thank you for breaking her curse!"

Her parents immediately dropped to their knees, tears streaming down their faces.

At that moment, it felt as if they themselves—not just Aoi—had been freed from the Caged Bird.

"Rise."

Tanaka helped them to their feet before extending his hands toward Aoi. Without a second thought, she threw herself into his arms.

"Tanaka-nii... I have a request."

She hesitated for a moment, then gathered her courage.

"Go ahead."

Tanaka encouraged her.

"Can you help remove the seal from my mom and dad too, just like you did for me?"

Aoi finally voiced her request bravely.

"Of course."

Tanaka nodded without hesitation. The invisible space expanded once more, enveloping Aoi's parents. With a simple wave of his hand... In an instant, the Caged Bird on their foreheads were severed.

Unlike Aoi, her parents possessed Byakugan, and they immediately sensed the change within their own bodies.