Naruto: Unlocking Kaido Template

A joyful celebration ended on a sour note with the arrival of that young man. Left speechless by Zixu, the boy rolled his eyes and quickly ran off in a panic.

"Thank you," Hyuga Chinano, now calmer, exhaled softly, expressing her gratitude to Zixu. However, her expression soon returned to its usual coldness.

Aburame Hatsuizumi and Zixu exchanged glances but remained silent. Judging from the boy's words, this was clearly an internal issue within the Hyuga clan, something neither of them had any business prying into.

"Let's just leave it at that for today. We're all full, let's go home and get some rest," Zixu said with a casual wave of his hand, signaling that there was no need to dwell on the matter. Since Chinano wasn't planning on explaining, he had no intention of pressing the issue.

Hatsuizumi noticed the tense atmosphere gradually dissipating. Letting out a relieved sigh, he quickly went to settle the bill.

The three parted ways at the entrance of the barbecue restaurant.

---

On the way home, Zixu found himself contemplating the contradictions within Konoha.

"The Main House and the Branch House... The conflict between these two factions seems severe. The Main House is definitely in a position of absolute power. If a dangerous situation were to arise, would the Branch House members be expected to sacrifice themselves to protect them? And even within the Branch House, there are different factions..." Zixu speculated, recalling the exchange between Chinano and that boy.

"But weren't the Hyuga the first clan to align with Konoha during the First Hokage's era? Was this Main and Branch system already in place back then? Or did it only emerge under the Third Hokage's rule?"

The deeper he thought, the more he felt like he was touching on the dark underbelly of Konoha's history. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Shaking his head, Zixu decided to put these thoughts aside. "No point overthinking it now."

"For now, I need to focus on mastering the Clone Jutsu. Even if I understand these things, I'm still too weak to do anything about them. But once I learn the Clone Jutsu, I'll have a bit more confidence..."

Clearing his thoughts, Zixu shifted his focus to training.

A bold idea had struck him earlier. The system's prize pool contained several Devil Fruits he'd never even heard of before. What if he could use his clones to consume different Devil Fruits? Would he, in a way, be able to wield multiple abilities at once?

If that idea actually worked, he could develop different personas, or "vests," allowing him to accomplish far more than he ever could alone.

Unfortunately, the Clone Jutsu he currently had wasn't suited for such an experiment. He needed to confirm with the system first—he wasn't about to risk exploding into pieces over a bad gamble.

"Maybe it has something to do with chakra flow? I need to investigate further."

---

Sitting cross-legged in his room, Zixu focused on the chakra flowing through his body.

"The trajectory of my chakra flow is correct. Now for the hand seals."

His fingers moved smoothly through the sequence before he softly whispered:

"Clone Jutsu!"

A puff of white smoke erupted beside him. When it cleared, a figure identical to him stood there, wearing the same clothes, mimicking his posture.

Zixu examined the clone carefully. It looked exactly like him—but something felt off. It lacked depth. There was no real presence behind it. It felt hollow, incomplete—a fake.

Without hesitation, Zixu threw a punch at his own clone. It shattered into a puff of smoke on impact.

Flexing his hand, he sighed. "As expected... the standard Clone Jutsu is just an illusion. It has no substance. It's only useful for deception and minor distractions... Hell, it's barely even good for reconnaissance."

He had heard from both Chinano and Hatsuizumi that Konoha had superior techniques, such as the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu, developed by the Second Hokage. Unlike the standard Clone Jutsu, Shadow Clones were fully tangible and improved alongside the user's strength.

"Compared to Shadow Clones, this is just a glorified illusion."

Zixu clenched his fists. "I need to learn Shadow Clone Jutsu. That's my next goal."

His thoughts briefly wandered back to Chinano.

"Maybe... this is why she rejects the so-called Will of Fire."

With renewed determination, he continued training. Recently, he had discovered that enduring physical strikes helped improve his fusion rate with Kaido's body. The progress was slow—but progress was progress. Bit by bit, he was getting stronger.

---

The next morning, Zixu and Hatsuizumi arrived at the academy as usual.

However, something felt off.

Hyuga Chinano—who had never missed a day of class—was absent.

Gouda Takeshi, their instructor, confirmed that Chinano had taken a leave of absence.

That news immediately sparked curiosity among Hatsuizumi and the others.

"Hatsuizumi, do you think it's right for Konoha to have a system like the Hyuga Clan's, where the main family and branch family are in constant conflict?"

"That's definitely not right, but the Hyuga Clan has been around since the First Hokage founded the village, so there must be a reason..." Hatsuizumi hesitated, feeling increasingly powerless the more he thought about it.

"Is that so? Does it align with the essence of the Will of Fire?" Zixu pressed on, his tone sharp.

"No... that's not right..." Hatsuizumi admitted weakly.

"If they can't even achieve equality and unity within their own family, how can they possibly bring equality and peace to the village—or the entire ninja world?" Zixu continued.

"The Hyuga Clan has always been like this since the village was founded. They've never changed..."

"They've never changed? And that's supposed to be okay?" That last sentence was the breaking point for Hatsuizumi. She had always been timid, submissive even, but now, for the first time, she was facing an uncomfortable truth—Konoha wasn't as perfect as she had believed.

"Hatsuizumi, the future of Konoha requires change. You don't want the Hyuga Clan to stay like this forever, do you? And if the Hyuga continue this way, who's to say other clans won't follow?" Zixu's words carried an almost sinister allure, like a devil whispering forbidden truths.

"...Huh? Chinano?" Hatsuizumi's attention was diverted, and she quickly spotted Hyuga Chinano approaching with her schoolbag. It was as if she had grabbed onto a lifeline, desperate to escape the weight of the conversation.

"Chino? Didn't Fat Tiger say you were on leave?" Zixu asked with a smirk, using their usual nickname for Gouda Takeshi.

"It's nothing, just a small matter. Here, take this." Chinano yawned and casually tossed a bag of medicinal herbs toward Zixu. He caught them and stashed them away in his sealing scroll.

"Chino, are you really okay? Do you need our help? We'll definitely back you up!" Hatsuizumi, still shaken by Zixu's words, felt a sudden urge to take action—anything to challenge the status quo.

Chinano crossed her arms and studied them both with an unreadable expression. Finally, she let out a small sigh, sounding tired.

"...Let's talk after school."

The Ninja Academy's curriculum was mostly routine at this point. Besides the occasional practical ninjutsu and taijutsu lessons, the rest of the coursework felt like subtle indoctrination. The day passed quickly, and as soon as class ended, the three of them headed to their usual training spot—a secluded hideout that only they knew about. Well, aside from the occasional watchful eye of the Anbu.

Chinano stood facing them, then slowly removed the dark red headband from her forehead. Beneath it was a fluorescent green mark—a curse seal. At the center of her forehead was a cross-like symbol, with two curved hooks extending outward on each side, resembling a butterfly caught in a spider's web.

"This is..."

"The Caged Bird Seal," Chinano said flatly. "A jutsu cast by the main family to restrict the power of the Byakugan. It won't disappear until the main branch dies. At the same time, the Hyuga main family can use it to destroy the brain tissue of any branch member at will..."

She exhaled slowly, as if she had been carrying this weight for too long.

"In other words, my life isn't under my control. If I do anything the main family deems a threat, they can kill me with just a thought." Her voice was steady, but her eyes burned with quiet defiance.

Once she started speaking, it was like a dam had broken. Years of frustration, anger, and resentment poured out as she explained the Hyuga Clan's system.

The so-called main family held absolute power. They were responsible for leading and maintaining the clan's prestige. The branch family, on the other hand, existed solely to serve and protect them.

In every generation, there could only be one heir to the main family. Any other children, no matter their potential, were demoted to the branch family. Over generations, this meant that while the main family remained small, the branch families grew in number—yet they remained bound in servitude.

Even within the branch family, there were factions: some who were loyal lapdogs to the main family, and others who sought independence.

All branch members were forcibly branded with the Caged Bird Seal when the main family heir turned three. This mark ensured that the main family had total control. The official justification was that it "protected" the Byakugan from falling into enemy hands by destroying the branch member's eyes and brain upon death. But in reality, it was a leash—one that guaranteed the branch family would sacrifice their lives for the main family, no matter their own will.

And if anything happened to a member of the main family, the branch members responsible for protecting them would die as well.

"...How... how could this be? This is..." Hatsuizumi clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief. She couldn't even finish the sentence, but Zixu did it for her.

"It's slavery."

Zixu looked at Chinano, noting the redness in her eyes, and for the first time, he felt a genuine chill toward Konoha. He had already seen through its hypocrisy long ago, but now... now it was different. Now he was angry.

"The Will of Fire, huh?" Zixu muttered, his lips curling into a bitter smirk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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