In Konoha, Naruto lies down

"Hmm?" She lay in the chair, her eyes swept towards Naruto, her expression seemed a little lazy, "What else do you have to say? If you have something to say, please tell me quickly."

"Um, I want to ask about the Hyuga clan." He said after thinking for a moment.

"Hyuga clan?" Tsunade perked up a bit, looked at Naruto carefully, and smiled meaningfully, "You're not asking because of Hinata, are you?"

"I guess so. I'm mainly asking about the caged bird." Naruto answered truthfully, "This issue is too sensitive, and I don't dare discuss it with others."

Hearing this, Tsunade raised her hand to touch the wine cup and frowned slightly.

"You're not crazy. This kind of thing can't be known to anyone in Hyuga. Especially the caged bird. Whether it's the main family or the branch family, the resentment towards the caged bird is not as great as you think."

"The branch family doesn't object to the protective role of the caged bird, but they hate the fact that the main family relies on the caged bird to stand over the branch family and bully others. However, these things are unavoidable."

"If you get involved, you won't gain any benefits from either the branch family or the main family. It's totally a thankless task."

After listening to Tsunade's words, Naruto remained silent, and a little understanding came to his mind. Some situations really can't be based on empty speculation. The Hyuga is too closed and the internal situation is complicated.

"I didn't want to get involved, it's just..." Naruto didn't know what to say. He couldn't say that he wanted to destroy the order of Hyuga in order to get Hinata.

He hadn't considered setting aside time specifically to do it, but simply planned it as a matter of convenience, to avoid leaving any traces too obvious and wasting time.

Although he is not a good person, he still has to maintain a positive image in front of Hinata. At least there are some things that Hinata does not need to know.

Since I couldn't think of any good solution at the moment, I had to give up.

After leaving the Hokage Building, Naruto suddenly felt the pressure on him ease.

For him, reconciling with Tsunade was more stressful than any other mission he had ever undertaken. Fearing that Tsunade would turn against him, he could only maintain the relationship with great care.

He had been planning to look for Ino, but after thinking about it, he figured she was probably home at this hour. The night was getting dark, and it seemed inconvenient to look for anyone other than Anko.

Anko, the lazy fish, had probably already finished her bath and was lying on the sofa reading some books to kill time. If a video game console appeared in Konoha in the future, she would definitely lie in bed and play it.

Looking for Hongdou? But she thought better of it. She needed to take a break.

"Naruto!"

He was about to turn around and go home when he heard a familiar voice. He turned around and saw Neji walking towards him from a distance, with a bag on his shoulder. He must have just returned from a mission.

Neji's face was calm as he walked over to Naruto and said hello. Thinking about it, it had been almost a year or two since they last met, and Neji seemed to have grown taller.

"Ningji? Are you on a mission?"

"Yeah, I just came back." Neji looked a little tired, and there were a few gray marks on his body, probably because he had been in a hurry.

He looked up at the sky, thinking that it would be boring to go back and stay with those two women, so he glanced at Neji and asked.

"It's been a while since we've gotten together. Let's have a midnight snack together?"

Neji was actually a little hesitant. He was very tired and just wanted to go back to the Hyuga base to take a shower and sleep.

But then I thought about it and realized it had been a long time since I last saw Naruto. We were close friends, and after not seeing each other for so long, I wanted to talk about some things.

"Ok."

The two walked side by side towards the bustling street of Konoha, chatting idly along the way, and the topics were all related to recent events.

Neji recounted what he had seen and heard on the mission, and Naruto recounted the huge changes that had taken place during his absence, from Tsunade's dismissal to Danzo's downfall and the departure of the advisor.

Overnight, the four top leaders all withdrew from the Konoha stage.

Hearing this news, Neji felt like he was dreaming. The reality was too absurd, even novels wouldn't dare to describe it. In just a few days, Konoha changed drastically.

"Is this all true?" Neji asked in surprise.

"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you?" Naruto said, spreading his hands. He then continued, "The current candidate for the Sixth Hokage is probably Kakashi."

"Teacher Kakashi?" Neji turned his head in surprise.

This is the gap between the second generation of ninjas and ordinary ninjas. Basically, the high-ranking officials of Konoha can call him "teacher" because of their kinship. Even if you have to wait for seniority like Neji, it will be much smoother than ordinary ninjas.

The two of them sat down casually at a night market stall. Naruto ordered some food and drinks, while Neji took a look at the menu and ordered some of his usual food.

Naruto took the menu, looked at it, then put it down and looked at Neji and said.

"Ningji, can I ask you something?"

"Well, what's going on?"

"About... the caged bird." Naruto glanced at Neji casually, and seeing that he was stunned, he asked, "I want to know what you would do if there was no caged bird?"

Neji was silent for a moment and then said.

"Can we change the subject?"

"No." Naruto suddenly shut his mouth. The boss brought the food and drinks. He watched the boss leave before he continued to ask.

"I wonder what you would want to do if you didn't have the Caged Bird imprint?"

"Don't make such jokes, talking about a bird in a cage. I don't care anymore. The branch family was born to protect the main family." Neji was a little uneasy.

But he did not leave the table, perhaps because he felt that leaving would prove that he still cared about the caged bird mark.

"There's no need to say that to me," Naruto asked bluntly, "If I can erase the Caged Bird Mark... then what?"

Neji stared at Naruto, holding the cup in his hand, veins bulging on the back of his hand, but he fell into a long silence.

Branch family, main family... If he was born mediocre, if his father was not the patriarch's younger brother, perhaps he would be like all the other branch families, living in fear in the main family's shadow.

But it is clear that there is no genius in the main family, he is the genius of the Hyuga clan.

His father had died for the sake of his so-called family, and his fate had long been sealed. One day in the future, he would die for the clan just like his father had.

Because he is a genius, the genius with the closest bloodline to the clan.

Hinata Hiashi's explanation did not make him let go of his fate, but he reconciled with himself and calmly accepted his fate.

Hiashi-sama is not a bad person, the family's ills have been there for a long time. Hinata and Hanabi are innocent, he can't blame anyone but himself.

His father had convinced him before his death, and Neji planned to do the same. Living peacefully was just a way to strengthen his will before his death.

He seemed hesitant, staring at Naruto again and again.

"You said you could erase the Caged Bird Mark?"

"Probably. I can if you want." Naruto said, tapping the table. "Do you want to do that? How about untying the caged bird?"

"What?" Neji frowned.

"Ningji, I won't hide it from you." Naruto lied with a serious face, so skilled that he didn't even need to write a draft, "I have been studying sealing techniques, and it just so happens that the bird in the cage..."

"I want to try and see if I can solve it. I have a pretty good chance of success."

It turned out that he just wanted to do an experiment, and Neji suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. But for some reason, this made him feel less conflicted.

"Do you really have a solution?" he asked.

"Yes, it is, but Neji, once this caged bird is freed, there's no getting it back. Once the arrow is shot, there's no turning back. You're the only one in the entire clan who has freed the caged bird."

"How will you cope with it then?"

"I..." Neji didn't know how to choose, but felt his mind was a little confused. "Let me think about it carefully. It's hard for me to accept it when you suddenly tell me this."

"Ah."

Naruto stood up and left, leaving Neji sitting there, drinking non-stop. One glass after another, his hands shaking and his heart trembling. Now was his chance, a chance to escape the caged bird.

There is only one patriarch, but there are many main families.

At first, it was to prevent the outflow of contempt, but gradually it became a tool to enslave the branch families, so that the people of the main family did not have to go to the battlefield.

The bird in the cage will automatically destroy the white eyes of the dead branch family, and the main family will take the initiative to release the brain nerves that can destroy the evil-minded branch family, the evil-minded... slaves.

There is a huge gap in the treatment of people in the main family and the branch family. Without the permission of the main family, the branch family cannot access higher-level ninjutsu or obtain better resources.

Hinata Hiashi told himself to be patient and wait for the opportunity to come.

.......

At this moment, Naruto was already humming a little tune on his way home. He was in a very good mood. He had caught a wild Neji. He had long disliked Hinata.

Hinata always deals with internal affairs. Can he let his father-in-law succeed?

In any case, Hanabi and Hinata will not become branch families. As for who will inherit the position of head of the family, no one is more suitable than Neji, the genius of the Hyuga family.

With the caged bird gone, Neji can only keep moving forward. The main family will hate him, and the branch families will resent him, unless more branch families like Neji appear.

Then... become the head of the family, Hyuga Neji.

This is actually a vicious circle. Once you enter it, there is no turning back. There are no real beneficiaries. Everyone gains something and loses something at the same time.

He certainly had his concerns about seizing power from his elders, but at least his fate was changed. The history of the Hyuga clan's division was changed, cutting through the Gordian knot.

The Hyuga Hiashi will lose his position as the main family, but there will be no main family in the future. The reshuffle of the Hyuga clan will definitely have an impact on a large clan like the Hyuga clan.

Without destruction, there is no construction. Either there is rebirth or there is decline. The Uchiha clan is almost extinct, so it is unreasonable for the Hyuga clan to be safe and sound.

This is something that will happen sooner or later. It depends on what Neji chooses. If he wants to, things will be much easier.

Back home, Naruto changed his shoes and walked into the living room as usual. Suddenly, he saw the two girls, each of them had finished their baths, wrapped in bath towels and sitting on the sofa watching TV. He was a little uncomfortable for a moment.

It took him a moment to realize that the two were still in his house. Coincidentally, the two girls turned to look at him. Naruto felt a little embarrassed, so he simply pretended to yawn and went back to his room to get his clothes and wash up.

Hydrangea turned around on the sofa and looked at the confused Kurama Yakumo with a sly smile on her face.

"Did you notice, he... No, the master seemed shy just now."

"I didn't notice." Kurama Yakumo shook her head. She didn't quite understand that kind of thing. "Maybe he just didn't want to look at us? Or maybe he saw us wrongly."

"How is that possible?" Hydrangea raised her legs and said unconvincedly, "I don't believe he didn't feel anything, it's just that I don't dare to gamble, otherwise I'll be thrown in again."

"Then what did you say?" Kurama Yakumo continued watching TV, enjoying this rare break.

Naruto came out of the room with clothes, without even looking at them. After quickly washing and drying his hair, he went straight to the room to sleep.

In the middle of the night, he suddenly woke up. He walked to the living room and saw that the two women were indeed asleep on the sofa. Naruto threw a blanket on them and went back to sleep.

The next day.

Naruto shamelessly approached Tsunade again, not really about anything, but just to stay there. In Konoha, Tsunade was the only one who could keep things under control.

Kakashi hadn't even taken the reins yet, and his team wasn't stable. Uzuki Yugao's little Karami was nothing compared to the magnanimous Tsunade, the big boss.

If you want to do big things, you have to find Tsunade to rely on, hehehe, Princess Senju.

Tsunade was too lazy to pay attention to him. She would just slack off and drink. She would just dawdle and chat with Naruto occasionally when she was bored.

Everyone is now waiting for the results of Danzo's investigation, but regardless, the era of Konoha's F4 has come to an end. The Kakashi era has arrived, and Konoha will soon enter the Sixth Hokage era.

For the next half month, Naruto stayed at Tsunade's place like he was punching a clock in for work. He stayed there day after day, day after day, until Tsunade finally gave in.

"You come here all day, don't you have anything to do?"

Of course, there was work to do. Every few days, Naruto would review the progress of the communicator project and visit Sakura. Occasionally, he'd even see Hinata. If he had nothing else to do, he'd visit Anko. His time management was quite strict.

He just wanted to know the approximate time when Tsunade would leave. Before Tsunade left, he had to ignite the fire of the Hyuga clan in time.

Chapter 379: Seeing each other again after years is hard to accept, but she is already an old aunt

"It's not like I have nothing to do..." Naruto said awkwardly, "It's just that I'm unsure about something recently, and I want Tsunade-sama to give me some advice."

Hearing this, Tsunade raised her eyelids and glanced at him lazily with her autumn-water eyes. Perhaps she guessed what was going on, and her expression was a little complicated.

"Is it related to Hinata?"

"Ah... yes."

"Why are you targeting the Hyuga clan?" Tsunade's tone seemed a little helpless, and she swayed slightly. She knocked on the table and frowned as she thought.

"To be honest, if you're doing this for Hinata, there's no need to go to such great lengths. The Hyuga clan is in a period of transition and is very weak."

"If you want to, just ask directly. They won't refuse."

Tsunade hadn't said anything about rushing them, but this was too much trouble. Naruto knew with a flick of his toes what the Hyuga clan was planning. If they did ask for it, it would definitely be a one-stop marriage, with the child born within two years.

Then a traditional family, it is simply like entering a wealthy family. It can be imagined that in the future, there will be rules and meetings everywhere, so he is too lazy to take over the entire Hyuga.

He wanted Hinata, but he didn't want a dowry from the rotten, outdated Hyuga clan. Besides, he still had Neji, with whom he had shared life and death, and he didn't want him to end up like a caged bird until his death.

No matter how beautifully a lie is dressed up, it's still a lie. If the caged bird was only used to protect vulnerable tribesmen from being abducted during wartime, it should have been taken out by now.

What's the matter with Ningji?

Hinata also does quests, so does the main family not become ninjas and not go on quests? There are also many Byakugans wandering around, who knows how many there are?

After careful consideration, Naruto suddenly realized that messing with Hinata would be the most profitable. As long as the main family was no longer the main family, or in other words, Neji was the head of the family... he could...