Naruto Birdcage

When Makoto returned to his residence, he found Hyuga Ayari lazily lying on the sofa, with a pure white pet dog nestled in her arms.

She was much older than Makoto, already an adult.

Her appearance was very similar to Hyuga Ayano, with about seventy to eighty percent resemblance, but her demeanor was more calm and gentle.

Makoto walked over and poured himself a glass of water, then sat down on the opposite side of the sofa.

"I remember locking the door," he remarked.

"Are you not welcoming me?"

Ayari glanced at him with a neutral expression, one hand continuing to gently stroke the soft fur of the dog.

The white dog had originally been raised by Makoto, and Ayari often came over to play with it because she liked it so much.

Before heading to the battlefield, Makoto had given Ayari a key to his home, intending for her to help clean his room occasionally.

In his memories, the two had been quite close, and their homes were next to each other.

Makoto had once harbored many feelings of admiration for this beautiful older sister.

But it was only admiration, as Ayari, like her sister, was already betrothed.

Her fiancé was Hyuga Hiashi's younger brother.

It was normal for a young man to harbor admiration for an older and more accomplished woman.

Perhaps Ayari had already noticed this, but she never took it seriously.

There was a significant age gap between them, and in a few years, Ayari might have children, while Makoto would still be an inexperienced little kid.

"Spi."

Hearing Makoto's call, the dog that had been lying in Ayari's arms immediately got up and ran over to him, affectionately rubbing against his legs.

Makoto picked it up with one hand and placed it on his lap.

Seeing the dog being called away, Ayari couldn't help but show a helpless expression.

She slowly sat up, casually tossing her shoulder-length hair behind her, watching Makoto quietly petting the dog.

Her gaze became somewhat complicated.

Her little neighbor, who had returned from the battlefield, suddenly seemed like a completely different person.

He now gave off a vibe that was entirely unlike his usual self—silent and withdrawn.

In the past, he would often come to her, whether there was something to talk about or not, sometimes even becoming a bit of a bother.

But after returning, he never actively sought her out again.

They hardly spoke, and he never shared anything about the battlefield with her.

From the clan, Ayari learned that all of his teammates had perished in a mission, with him being the only survivor.

Worse yet, his eyes had been destroyed.

Had the blow been that heavy? Ayari felt a pang of sympathy.

War was brutal, and there was nothing that could be done about it.

She took the initiative to start a conversation.

"Did you meet Lord Minato?"

"Mm."

"How is he?"

"Just like the rumors say."

"I've heard that he's very likely to be the next Hokage."

"I've heard that too."

"…Is Lord Minato easy to get along with?"

"He's quite friendly."

The conversation was about to end after just a few brief exchanges.

With Minato's current prominence in Konoha, most people would excitedly recount his heroic deeds, but Makoto seemed uninterested in continuing the discussion.

Ayari felt helpless inside, wondering whether she should leave now, but just then, Makoto unexpectedly asked, "Are there many Byakugan left in the clan?"

The sudden change in topic caught Ayari off guard, and she took a moment to respond.

"I suppose there are quite a few..."

After giving it some thought, she added.

"When the head of the family passes away, they leave behind their Byakugan in perfect condition.

Some of our branch family members who are particularly skilled also have their Byakugan taken by the clan leader before they die.

These Byakugan are sealed using special methods, and over the generations, the number has certainly accumulated."

"Where are these eyes kept?" Makoto asked again.

"I wouldn't know that. Only Lord Hiashi and the people in charge of managing them would know," Ayari said with a smile.

Then, feeling a bit puzzled, she asked, "Why are you asking about this?"

Although it was rare for a Hyuga to need a Byakugan replacement, there had been many cases in the past where a clan member's eyes were injured in battle or affected by some eye disease.

In those cases, the clan would prepare a replacement for them.

Therefore, there had never been a blind person in the Hyuga clan.

However, the situation with Makoto's Byakugan being destroyed due to the Caged Bird Seal was unprecedented.

Makoto spoke with a calm expression, "It's nothing. I'll be getting new eyes soon, but I don't know whose eyes I'll be using, so it's making me feel strange. I was wondering if I could observe those eyes before the replacement."

Ayari found it a bit amusing and replied, "What's so interesting about them? They're just human eyeballs. They'll probably be pretty scary."

After saying that, she felt it might not be appropriate, considering Makoto's current situation.

It seemed understandable that he would be concerned about such things.

After a moment of hesitation, Ayari added, "You'd probably need Lord Hiashi's approval for something like that."

She thought that Makoto was worried about his eyes, which he indeed was, but his concerns were entirely different from what Ayari assumed.

As a prestigious family of Konoha, the Hyuga clan's symbol was their unique bloodline doujutsu, the Byakugan.

For the Hyuga clan, this was a source of pride.

But Makoto wanted to escape it.

The Hyuga clan intended to replace his Byakugan in order to reapply the Caged Bird Seal and place the shackles on him once again.

After all, how else could a branch family member with mediocre strength and talent warrant such an effort from Hyuga Hiashi to convene a clan meeting to discuss his situation?

How could he avoid all of this...?

Right now, relying solely on his own power, he could never stand up against the entire Hyuga clan.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the kind of system where simply lying with women would make him stronger, like in third-rate novels.

His only advantage was his knowledge of this world and its historical trajectory.

If he couldn't break free from this fate, what was the point of becoming stronger if he would just be controlled?

"Makoto?"

Makoto lifted his head and met Ayari's gaze.

Her translucent white eyes were as gentle as water, staring at him without a word.

"What are you worried about?" she asked.

What was he worried about?

With so many Byakugan left in the clan, there would certainly be one suitable for him.

Moreover, the clan was paying so much attention to his situation—what was there to worry about?

Shouldn't he feel honored by all of this?

Ayari couldn't understand.

She looked at Makoto's pitch-black eyes—was it because they didn't belong to him that the gaze felt so unfamiliar?

The dog, Spi, resting on Makoto's lap, looked up at the two of them for a moment before lowering its head again, returning to enjoy Makoto's caresses.

The room was silent, save for the ticking of the wall clock, its hands clicking away: tick-tock, tick-tock.

Makoto let out a soft sigh in his heart. "Ayari-nee."

Ayari was slightly stunned upon hearing this.

Since Makoto returned, she hadn't heard him call her that in a while.

"I just... don't know what the future will be like," Makoto said calmly.

Ayari fell silent, looking at the troubled young man.

After a long pause, she said, "Don't worry, there will definitely be a Byakugan that suits you... If you want to see them, I'll ask Hizashi to help and pay more attention."

"Thank you, Ayari-nee."

Ayari only smiled faintly.

"Don't overthink it. Just focus on resting and recovering during this time."

End of chapter

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