A Hyūga's Gate Between Worlds

"So what? Even if you do end up killing me, you won't escape death either. The moment you step out of this door, all that awaits you is a dead end."

Hiashi spoke coldly and sternly before turning to look at his younger brother, "Hizashi, I can understand him. But you—how could you go along with this as well? Have you forgotten? I'm your own brother! Our bond is thicker than water!"

He looked at Hizashi with a face full of pain, as if his brother had committed the most unforgivable sin.

"When the main house branded me with the Caged Bird, why didn't you stand up and say I was your brother?"

"When you branded Tanaka with the Caged Bird, why didn't you stand up and say I was your brother?"

"And now, kneeling before us, you suddenly want to tell me that blood is thicker than water?"

Hizashi's eyes burned with fury as he roared out, venting years of suppressed resentment.

"Everything I did was for the clan. You have to understand me, Hizashi!"

"Even as the head of the main house, I must abide by the clan's rules."

Faced with his younger brother's thunderous rage, Hiashi's gaze flickered slightly. Then, shifting his tone, he tried to play on emotions.

"Of course, I understand you. I've always treated you as my older brother. So now, please try to understand me."

After saying that, Hizashi ignored Hiashi and turned toward Tanaka.

"I'm ready. Do what you must—I will cooperate with you fully."

Hizashi knew that after stepping into this room, Tanaka had not acted immediately. Instead, he had endured until now—out of respect for him as his teacher.

A disciple who viewed him as family—he naturally had to treat Tanaka as his closest confidant.

For this reason, he absolutely would not allow himself to become a burden to Tanaka.

"What are you trying to do?"

"If you stop now, everything can still be undone. I can pretend none of this ever happened—don't make an irreversible mistake."

Hearing this, Hiashi grew increasingly uneasy.

Although he didn't know what they were planning, an ominous voice in his mind warned him that whatever was about to happen could very well overturn the entire main house.

Even if he refused to believe that Tanaka and Hizashi had the ability to do so.

"…"

Hizashi's expression remained unchanged as he stared at Hiashi with his Byakugan—firm and ice-cold.

"You won't succeed! Even if you kill me, you'll still be caged birds! In this life, no—forever and ever, you will remain in the cage."

Seeing this, Hiashi felt a chill in his heart. But even as he roared defiantly, his hysterical shouts abruptly stopped.

Because Tanaka, sitting in front of him, had reached up and brushed aside the bangs covering his forehead.

"No… impossible!"

Hiashi's eyes went blank, his expression dazed. His reaction was even greater than when he was betrayed by his brother Hizashi, or when he was mutilated by Tanaka.

There was only one reason.

The Caged Bird—the main house's tool of control and suppression over the branch house—had just disappeared from Tanaka's forehead.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible! This morning, I personally branded you with the Caged Bird!"

Hiashi lifted his head off the floor, his face filled with horror. His shrill screams betrayed his deep fear.

Yes.

Even when Tanaka severed his limbs, he had still managed to maintain his composure as the head of the main house.

But now, he had completely lost control.

All because the Caged Bird had been broken.

As the head of the main house, no one understood better than him.

The Caged Bird didn't just restrict the branch house's Byakugan and their lives, it also suppressed a century's worth of accumulated resentment from the branch house since the seal's inception.

Once the Caged Bird was gone, what awaited the main house was a violent reckoning.

At the mere thought of this consequence, he felt his entire being turn cold, as if his soul were plunging into an icy abyss.

And what truly drove him to despair was the sight of Hizashi crouching down, lowering his head right in front of him.

Then, just like Tanaka, he reached up and brushed aside his bangs.

"Hizashi, you—!"

Hiashi stared at his younger brother's forehead—spotless, without a trace of the cursed seal.

His first reaction was not joy at seeing his brother free from the Caged Bird.

No.

His eyes, besides reflecting pure terror, now burned with an overwhelming, murderous intent.

So it really is like this. Just as Tanaka said.

My own brother, upon seeing me freed from the Caged Bird, doesn't feel happiness—his first thought is to kill me!

Hizashi took in every detail of Hiashi's expression, his shifting gaze, his emotions laid bare.

Because the Byakugan had insight surpassing even the Sharingan, he could see everything with absolute clarity.

From the moment Hiashi saw him freed from the Caged Bird, every single frame of his expression—from shock to sheer killing intent—was burned into Hizashi's mind.

His heart turned completely cold.

He felt utterly disheartened.

Because on the way back to the clan, he had pleaded with Tanaka to spare Hiashi's life.

And yet, Hiashi wanted to kill him.

"N-No, that's not it, Hizashi. You've got it wrong."

Seeing Hizashi's cold expression, Hiashi panicked, his eyes flickering uneasily.

He knew that the fate of his entire family now rested on Tanaka's whims.

From the moment he witnessed these two breaking free from the Caged Bird, he had already foreseen the downfall of the main house.

After all, if Tanaka could break the seal on himself, if he could free Hizashi—then he could do the same for the rest of the branch house.

And when that happened, the main house would have to face the fury of a hundred years of oppression.

As the head of the main house, he would be the first to be struck down.

Rip.

Tanaka reached out, grabbed Hizashi by the hair, and lifted his upper body—now reduced to just a head and torso—suspending him in midair.

"You—What are you trying to do?" Hiashi struggled, twisting his body desperately.

But the only response was—

Click.

The sliding door of the room was suddenly pulled open.

Standing at the doorway was a branch house girl dressed in a maid's outfit, Natsu.

The sudden development stunned Hiashi for a moment.

Then his face lit up with joy.

However, he failed to notice that Tanaka's expression remained completely unchanged.

There was no panic, no fear of being exposed.

As if everything was still firmly within his control.

Just as Hiashi was about to cry out for help, Natsu spoke first—her words instantly silencing the head of the main house.

"Tanaka-sama, apologies for keeping you waiting. I have brought you what you requested."

She stepped into the room, carrying a small dog.

Then, like a servant greeting her master, she knelt down in deep reverence before Tanaka.

"You've worked hard, Natsu. And remember this, from now on, you never need to perform this branch house bow again."

Tanaka shook his head.

He had no qualms about accepting bows from those outside the Hyūga clan.

But among his own kin, this rigid, hierarchical display of submission was unnecessary.

"Tanaka-sama, this bow is not a branch house's submission to the main house."

"It is my gratitude for the rebirth you have given us. You have given me a new life."

After finishing her words, Natsu once again bowed deeply to Tanaka.

When she lifted her head again, Hiashi—who had been lying on the tatami like the small dog beside her—finally noticed.

She had removed the forehead protector she once wore.

And more importantly, the Caged Bird, which should have been permanently engraved on her forehead, the seal that would only disappear in death, was completely gone.