Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

On the distant cliff, the bulging vein in Izumi's right eye subsided. He closed his eyes and felt the memories returning to him.

After using the Shadow Mist Technique, he moved through the air and hid on a nearby cliff. Using the power of his Byakugan, he observed the ground while controlling the puppet.

Talk-no-jutsu is very useful in this world. Those branch family ninjas, after being embarrassed and angry, clearly didn't put in much effort after their attack.

Even that sir, after making his move, should have guessed that his true form was not too far from the battlefield.

"Hinata..."

Izumi chuckled softly. The main family wasn't taking action themselves; they were only sending ninjas from the branch family. To him, it wasn't much of a threat, just a bit of a hassle.

Even a few casual remarks from a branch family ninja like Hyuga couldn't shake off their feelings. The stronger the branch family ninja, the more they understood the limitations of being a branch family member.

Not only are they unable to learn powerful family secret techniques, but the existence of the Caged Bird also makes their complete Byakugan flawed, creating an additional blind spot.

It can be said that as a branch family ninja of the Hyuga clan, one only needs to fight on the front lines, while the main family has many more things to consider.

The release of this white eye from the main family caused the main family to cower in fear, while the branch family bore the blame for failing to protect their territory.

In other words, the fact that no one from the main family got into trouble doesn't count as a contribution; it just means that you fulfilled your responsibilities as a member of the branch family, which is what you were supposed to do.

It is tragic and lamentable that within the Hyuga clan, one's fate is predetermined at birth, with no right to choose.

Therefore, his targets were never the Hyuga branch family ninjas who had already been imprinted with the "Caged Bird Seal," but rather their children who had not yet been harmed.

As for whether the White Eyes will be taken away in the future without the Caged Bird, that will have to wait until we escape the Caged Bird before we can talk about it.

"……genius!"

Izumikawa shook his head slightly. The emergence of a genius in the branch family was the greatest mockery of the main family. Any good system will rot in people's hearts.

When someone else's contribution is taken for granted, it ceases to be a contribution and becomes your responsibility, something you are supposed to bear.

If the Hyuga clan were to split up after a period of hardship, it could continue and achieve better development. When the clan becomes stronger, it won't have to worry about losing its Byakugan.

People always like to talk about a bright and hopeful future, but in the process of working hard, after the first group of people pass away, the implementers gradually lose their original purpose.

In the eyes of the next generation, the division of the family was the proper way to go; they were born to protect the main family, and dying for the main family was the right thing to do.

Instead of separating from the family, it was a voluntary sacrifice, a choice to be marked with the "Caged Bird" symbol to fight for the survival of the family and maintain its continuity.

Well, the seed has been planted; as for when it will take root and sprout, we'll just have to wait and see.

"Hizashi, you wouldn't want your genius son to be branded with the 'Caged Bird' mark, would you?"

Although the message left for Nishizaki is not this one, the meaning is almost the same. Classics are always classics, and they are useful!

……

Meanwhile, in Kirigakure, Mei Terumi had been busy ever since meeting Izumi, running around conducting investigations.

In particular, they inquired with some elderly people in the village and some senior ninjas, who were all people who had lived through the time before the Third Mizukage's personality changed drastically.

After conducting the investigation, Mei Terumi felt a chill in her heart. She compiled and compared all the policies and decisions made before and after the changes of the three Mizukage, as well as the changes in the village.

The conclusion drawn is that the Third Mizukage, who had not experienced any events that could be called major changes, suddenly underwent such a huge change overnight, to the point that he could be described as a completely different person.

The village elders are also complaining that since the "Village of Blood Mist" policy was implemented, the village has become increasingly impersonal.

People are smiling less and less, their expressions are getting colder and colder, and they are indifferent and even uncaring towards their companions.

They miss their old village, but they can't stop the changes in the village and can only live their lives in silence.

An old Mist ninja revealed that the ninjas who opposed the "Bloody Mist Village" policy had all disappeared without a trace.

The disappearance of these people gradually silenced the remaining dissenting voices, leaving the Third Mizukage to act unilaterally.

They even lamented that the village of the past was gone, and the village of today was not a village at all, but just a cold, running machine, completely devoid of the original intention of building the village.

Mei Terumi looked at the documents and fell into a long silence. As a member of the new generation, she vaguely remembered the village from her childhood.

But my main impression is that the village has always looked the same as it does now, so I didn't feel anything unusual.

Now, after learning about the village from the old folks, she feels a huge sense of unease.

Originally, the village should have looked like this, not like it does now.

Just as she was feeling lost, a figure stood in front of her and picked up the documents she had just put down to examine them.

This startled Mei Terumi, who jumped to her feet, only to find that the figure in front of her was none other than Jonin Ao. A look of surprise and panic flashed in her eyes.

Qing looked at the information she had compiled, his expression shifting slightly. Finally, he looked up at the girl in front of him and said in a deep voice, "What are you investigating?"

After a brief silence, Mei Terumi mustered her courage, after all, she was only investigating a former village and had not been involved in any secrets.

"Senior Qing, what was the village like before? Why is the village like this now? What happened in between?"

"Furthermore, why was a policy like the [Bloody Mist Village] even approved?"

"After all, the Zabuza incident is enough to prove the problem with this policy."

Mei Terumi graduated after the Zabuza incident, which shocked the entire Hidden Mist Village because Zabuza had killed all the graduating students.

Therefore, even the Third Mizukage was forced to change some of the rules; otherwise, if everyone did this, Kirigakure would no longer have any new ninjas.

Qing sighed deeply, then asked, "Are you investigating the Third Mizukage?"

"I suggest you stop here. If I hadn't noticed your actions and stopped the others..."

"The one here now is not me, but an ANBU ninja."

Mei Terumi was shocked and asked incredulously, "Why? I was just learning about the village from the past. Is this not allowed?"

Ao simply shook his head slowly and continued, "You should be glad that the new Mizukage hasn't taken office yet, and the village is currently too busy to take care of itself."

"If the Third Mizukage were still alive, your behavior would have disappeared long ago."

"Stop investigating this matter. There are some things you shouldn't be touching. The Third Mizukage is dead, so everything should be buried with him."