[This Chapter is Sponsored by "Elder Bunta". if you're interested in sponsoring a chapter, consider joining the Patreon]
------------------------------------------------
[Goal 3: Reach 189/200 Collections and 3/10 reviews to receive additional chapter]
Dear 189 collections, the unspoken warriors, Thank you for being a part of the journey.
[200 collections is right there—summon your inner power, my readers]
------------------------------------------------
moshi moshi
That night, as moonlight bathed the Hyuga compound in silver, Neji sat in his room with the doors shut tight and a chalkboard of his own making scratched into the wall. On it, faint sketches of the seal glowed faintly, drawn in chakra residue he had traced with his fingers.
"Three anchors," he whispered.
He tapped them with a stick of pale chakra wax:
Cerebral Dominance Loop (CDL)
Pain Trigger Relay (PTR)
Monitoring Lattice Weave (MLW)
Each had sub-components. Interlocked, mutually compensating. And worst of all, reactive.
"If I sever one, the others will reinforce. If I suppress all, the MLW will send a feedback pulse to the Main Family."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
He leaned back, exhaustion settling into his tiny limbs. Five years old and already navigating neurological warfare.
But even in the face of that complexity, Neji was not hopeless.
He had seen something else.
With the True Eyes, buried deep beneath the third anchor—in a region of the chakra system few even knew existed—was a subroutine cluster of foreign origin. Unlike the other components, it did not pulse in Hyuga chakra rhythm.
It was added later.
"This part..." he muttered, squinting, "it's... universal. Not clan-specific."
And in that moment, Neji realized something. The Caged Bird Seal had once been a generic protection of Byakugan, later modified and refined into a clan weapon. That meant its foundation was alterable.
If I can learn the original version...
A plan formed.
Not for today. Not for next year. But for a time when he would be stronger than even the Hokage.
He would break the seal.
Not just for himself.
For all of them.
Neji scratched into the chalkboard and started writing his future goals:
Goal 1: Chakra Layer Mapping
Study the chakra layers of branch members to find common structures. True Eyes allows me to view chakra at a granulated level. Compare variations.
Goal 2: Adaptive Disruption Technique
Design a method to emit harmless 'chakra noise' that interrupts feedback without alerting the MLW. Possibly using sympathetic vibration through breathwork?
Goal 3: Neural Reflection Field
Theory: It may be possible to generate a minor reflection field around vital nerves to delay or redirect pain input from the seal. Risk of paralysis.
Goal 4: Recovery Contingency
If seal removal fails and results in seizure/shutdown, create a sealed node that can reboot chakra flow manually.
Goal 5: Archive Access
Identify non-Hyuga sources of knowledge. Find allies. Study Uzumaki sealing theory.
Goal 6: Grow Strong, Unbelievably Strong
I were just strong, I could have just eliminated the threat. If i grow strong uncontrollably fast, main family could get alert. Also, refine acting skills to enact being weak while being strong.
Outside, a breeze stirred the courtyard. Hinata, only three, was asleep nearby with her caretaker humming lullabies.
Neji watched from his room's lattice window, thoughts twisting.
She will never be marked, he thought. But she will suffer anyway.
Because he could already see the elders whispering of her frailty. He saw Hiashi's measured sighs when she tripped during footwork drills. The clan had expectations for her—not because she was strong, but because she had to appear strong.
Neji hated it.
Not her.
The system.
And even though he was just five, with a cursed seal burning faintly against his head, he promised himself:
"I will become the blade that breaks this."
Not with rage.
Not with rebellion.
But with clarity.
As he slept that night, the seal pulsed faintly—a warm vibration against his forehead.
And in a vision, something answered.
He was floating in a dark space. The Hyuga compound was gone. The world was blue. Light pulsed in networks beneath him.
A voice, deep and ancient, echoed from within the seal:
"You saw me. I was waiting for someone to come to me."
Neji's child heart clenched, but recovered quickly.
But he carefully analysed this place, could it be the that true eyes has gained sentience or is it God who reincarnated me or something else entirely.
As Neji drifted on the edge between waking and sleep, right before the dream shattered into fragments, he had almost heard it:A voice—deep, yet distant, like an echo in a long-forgotten temple.
The words had blurred together, incomprehensible then...But somewhere deep inside his subconscious, a fossil of meaning had been preserved, buried for now but waiting to resurface.
If Neji could have heard it clearly, the message would have sounded something like this:
"The seal is a lock... but locks are made by hands. Find the craftsman, not the key."
The words themselves were simple—yet dense with layers.
The tatami mats creaked softly as Neji jolted upright, sweat clinging to his forehead like a second skin. His chest rose and fell rapidly.Something had invaded his dream—a presence both colossal and elusive, like a hand brushing the strings of a harp before vanishing into mist.
Neji pressed a palm against his pounding heart, steadying himself. What... was that? It wasn't just a dream. His instincts, sharper than any kunai, told him so.
Without wasting a moment, Neji shut his eyes again, calling forth his True Eyes.
The world around him faded into a lattice of intricate light and energy—the secret blueprint of existence. He directed his perception inward, searching through the neural pathways of his brain.
"Memory... Memory is not just stored. It's encoded—chemical, electrical, ethereal."
With utmost care, Neji began probing the folds of his mind, attempting to stabilize the residual brainwave patterns linked to his recent REM cycle.He activated a narrow, precise focus of his True Eyes—something he was still refining—targeting the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, areas responsible for dream retention.
He found... nothing.Or more accurately—fragments. Flickers of distorted impressions:A luminous silhouette.Whispered words that felt more ancient than the clan itself.A hand outstretched, but not quite reaching him.
Neji gritted his teeth. "There must be something left..." he whispered. His chakra pathways strained under the intense concentration, veins at his temple bulging slightly.
Again and again, he cycled through deeper states of self-induced meditation, forcing his True Eyes to scan and reconstruct missing fragments, as if piecing together a broken mirror.
And yet—failure.
--------
Chapter [17]: Dream Visitor remains open to all members for free— for just 12 more hours. After that, access will be reserved exclusively for higher-tier patrons.
--------