A Hyūga's Gate Between Worlds

"Thank you for your efforts, Natsu."

With a single move after swapping the minds and bodies of the little dog and Hiashi, Tanaka felt the resentment, rage, and suffocating oppression that had haunted him since the Caged Bird was branded on him finally erupt in full force.

Waves of negative emotions surged, only to melt away like ice meeting a blazing fire.

An indescribable sense of relief washed over him.

A satisfaction beyond words.

"Tanaka-sama, you're overpraising me. This is merely my duty. Besides, being able to help you is my greatest honor."

Natsu harbored genuine admiration and gratitude toward Tanaka, who was younger than her.

She once believed her life was over—destined to serve the main house that had branded the Caged Bird on her, nothing more than a beast of burden.

She had already resigned herself to this fate.

But just when she thought there was no hope, Tanaka descended like a godsent warrior.

With a mere flick of his fingers, he shattered the Caged Bird and broke the chains of destiny.

From that moment on, she silently swore in her heart that she would repay this young clansman who had changed her fate.

Not to mention—he had now turned the once-supreme, arrogant head of the main house into a mere dog.

Supervising and taking care of the little dog? Was this a mission?

No.

This was a divine blessing.

"Woof! Woof!"

Hiashi bared his teeth and snarled, his canine face brimming with hatred and fury, poised as if to pounce at Tanaka.

"Behave yourself. Understood, Hiashi?"

Natsu activated her Byakugan, seeing through the little dog's body entirely. She extended a single finger, stabbing forward like an unsheathed blade, striking Hiashi's tiny body.

Having transformed from human to dog, Hiashi had lost his ninja physique, his Byakugan, and his chakra. Now, he was merely a palm-sized puppy. Even if he retained some Gentle Fist skills, the disparity in physical strength left him utterly defenseless against her.

With just one strike, Natsu rendered him immobile.

"Tanaka, the issue with the main house's clan head has been resolved."

"What's next?"

Hizashi forced himself to ignore the pitiful sight of the little dog.

Compared to the generations of suffering endured by branch house members, Hiashi's fate was nothing.

Besides, before stepping into this room, he had already steeled his resolve.

He would overturn the oppressive mountain that was the main house—for the sake of the branch house.

And the only person capable of turning the impossible into reality, was none other than Tanaka.

Thus, he refused to be a burden.

Not to Tanaka.

Not to the branch house.

At the end of the day, he was not just Tanaka's teacher.

He was also the leader of the branch house.

In the face of such a monumental cause, he knew his priorities.

"Excluding the clan leader, the main house has a total of 35 members."

"Among them, 13 are jonin. Another 15 possess the strength of special jonin or chunin."

"The rest are either genin or still children."

Hizashi was intimately familiar with the main house's power structure.

Although their numbers seemed small, far fewer than the neighboring Uchiha clan, their strength was anything but simple.

With just 35 members, the main house alone boasted 13 jonin. If they were to unite with the numerous members of the branch house, their power would be unimaginable.

If not for the Caged Bird dividing the Hyūga clan into two factions, pitting them against one another in endless conflict and control, they could have rivaled the Uchiha clan in sheer might.

Had the Hyūga clan been structured like the Uchiha clan—divided only by strength rather than status—the clan would have been indisputably the most powerful in Konoha.

Before Shisui and Itachi awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, the Hyūga clan undoubtedly possessed power equal to the Uchiha.

This was also why the duo of the Third Hokage and Danzō spent their lifetimes relentlessly suppressing and weakening Konoha's ninja clans.

Compared to civilian-born ninjas, the power of the great ninja clans was simply too overwhelming.

"So, that means there are at least 28 main house members capable of activating the Caged Bird on the branch house?"

Tanaka's expression grew contemplative.

Ever since awakening the memories of his past life, his understanding of the Caged Bird had evolved from mere fragmented recollections into complete mastery.

The true terror of the Caged Bird—the reason why it drove the branch house into utter despair and forced them into submission for life—was that as long as even a single main house member retained control over the technique, they could dominate the entire branch house.

For instance, while it was Hiashi, who had originally branded the seal onto him, any other main house member who knew the technique could still, with a single thought, seal his Byakugan or destroy his nervous system.

In other words, any main house member who mastered the Caged Bird could, at any moment, exterminate all branch house members who bore the seal.

For the branch house, this was nothing short of suffocating—an absolute nightmare.

"That's right."

Hizashi's expression turned grave.

Currently, among the entire branch house, the only ones free from the Caged Bird's control were newborns under the age of three, and three individuals: himself, Tanaka, and Natsu.

To him, there were only two paths to liberate the branch house: Before the main house realized what was happening, eliminate every single member who controlled the Caged Bird, or remove the Caged Bird from all branch house members.

However, no matter which path they chose, execution would not be easy.

Given a ninja's natural vigilance, even if the main house had grown complacent from their long-standing dominance—never imagining that a branch house member could break the Caged Bird—there was always the risk of information leaking over time.

And that risk was substantial.

If word spread to the ANBU, Root, or other ninjas, the situation would become even more unpredictable.

"Tanaka-sama, there's something I must report to you."

"Hiashi has a habit—every morning, he gathers the main house elders for a meeting."

At that moment, Natsu suddenly spoke.

Lying on the tatami, paralyzed like a dead dog, Hiashi's dim eyes suddenly flickered with a glimmer of hope.

So what if he had been defeated?

As soon as dawn arrived, everything that had happened in this room would be exposed to the entire main house.

In fact, he didn't even have to wait until dawn—his wife might grow suspicious if he failed to return soon enough.

"There are four hours until sunrise. Tanaka, should I gather the branch house?"

"Every single one that we can—before sunrise, we should free as many from the Caged Bird as possible."

Hizashi gazed out at the starry night sky, his face reflecting both urgency and deep contemplation.

To him, this was the best course of action.

Hiashi had already been turned into a dog—surely, Tanaka's resentment from being branded with the Caged Bird had been vented.

Right now, the priority was damage control.

Even if they could only free one branch house member, that would still be progress.

"Four hours, huh?"

Tanaka felt his strength returning—his stamina fully replenished after using the Op-Op Fruit to dissect Hiashi and swap his mind with the dog's.

"That's more than enough."

He made a mental calculation, then spoke.

"Enough for what?"

Hizashi momentarily struggled to follow his student's train of thought.

Tanaka's voice dropped to a chilling whisper, his words dripping with an unrelenting, unquenchable killing intent—one even the flames of Amaterasu could not burn away.

"Four hours is more than enough… to get rid of the entire main house."

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