In the underground chamber beneath the mountains behind the Hokage Monument, Tobirama Senju and Orochimaru stood inside a laboratory encased in iron walls on all sides.
Kneeling before them was a death row inmate, bound tightly in chains, hands secured behind his back. His mouth was gagged, but his eyes were wide with panic, his body writhing in futile resistance.
"Don't worry, Lord Tobirama," Orochimaru said calmly. "This man is a condemned criminal from Konoha's prison. A rogue shinobi responsible for bloodshed across multiple villages in the Land of Fire. Even if the experiment fails… it won't matter."
Tobirama frowned, gaze fixed on the trembling prisoner whose eyes were flooded with fear. His silence stretched before he spoke.
"Does Tsunade know about this? With her personality, she'd never approve of such a thing."
Orochimaru's tone remained flat, as if commenting on livestock.
"That brings us to what Hiruzen-sensei and Danzo have done behind the scenes."
"If this were the Tsunade of old, yes—she would've opposed it without question."
"But after reading the Root's classified experiment logs and a sealed directive left by Hiruzen himself… she's changed."
"She even volunteered to transplant cells from Lord Hashirama to awaken Wood Release. She knew what it would take."
Tobirama fell into heavy silence. The words left him conflicted.
As the Second Hokage, he was proud that Tsunade had matured into someone capable of making sacrifices for the village. Sometimes, for the sake of Konoha, one had to give up more than just time or comfort—sometimes, it was one's principles… or even one's humanity.
But as her great-uncle, the realization saddened him. The sins of his generation had trickled down. Because they hadn't done enough… the next had to stain their hands.
Tsunade had always acted carefree on the surface, but inside—she was painfully sensitive.
She must be hurting…
"Lord Tobirama?" Orochimaru prompted, watching Tobirama's blank expression. "Is there a problem with the Pure Eye seal formula?"
"I understand," Tobirama said at last. "Let's begin."
He stepped forward, forming sixteen hand seals with flawless precision. When finished, he raised his left hand upright and placed the thumb and index finger of his right hand together, pressing them against the center of the prisoner's forehead.
"Curse Seal Technique: Caged Bird."
Where Tobirama's fingertips touched skin, green markings bloomed like coiling serpents, branching out across the prisoner's forehead with disturbing speed.
"Mmmph—!"
The man howled behind his gag, his body convulsing. Two minutes passed before the mark fully formed—an "X" of pale green chakra etched into his brow.
He collapsed with a thud, unconscious, eyes rolled back from the pain.
But it wasn't over yet.
Tobirama raised one hand and activated the curse.
The prisoner jolted upright, thrashing wildly, his forehead slamming into the ground again and again as he screamed from the agony burning through his brain.
The guttural cries were even more violent than during the sealing process.
Only when Tobirama canceled the jutsu did the man collapse in a limp heap, soaked in sweat and barely breathing.
Tobirama looked down at him with cold disgust.
"So this is the power of the Caged Bird Seal…"
"I can't imagine what the Hyuga Clan was thinking when they created such a thing."
"It's a miracle their branch and main families haven't turned on each other yet."
Orochimaru stepped forward wordlessly. He grabbed the man by the hair and yanked his head up, then covered his left eye with his palm.
Instantly, the prisoner began shrieking again, blood pouring down the left side of his face. His eye convulsed, the pupil turning from deep brown to a dead, lifeless gray.
Orochimaru's hand glowed with light green chakra as he attempted to use medical ninjutsu to heal the damage.
After several minutes, he frowned and let go.
"All the nerve tissue in the eye has gone necrotic—completely dead. A trace amount of residual chakra remains, likely the mechanism the Hyuga used to obscure the Byakugan's blind spot."
"The tissue around it has been carbonized."
"It's effective, I'll give them that… but it's clear the seal wasn't made just to protect the Byakugan."
"It was meant to ensure obedience—and prevent revolt."
He let the prisoner drop with a dull thud.
"An idea born with noble intentions, twisted over generations by those who followed," Tobirama murmured, shaking his head.
It was always the same. What began as protection would inevitably turn into chains. No one could expect future generations to carry the same sense of justice as the creators.
Perhaps the original Hyuga who devised the technique had been too idealistic… too naïve…
Orochimaru stemmed the bleeding, then stepped aside.
Tobirama approached again. This time, the prisoner didn't even resist. His body was limp, only his right eye gleaming with rage—burning with a hatred so deep it looked ready to consume.
He wanted to kill Tobirama. If he could, he would rip him apart with his bare hands.
Tobirama ignored the look. He inhaled, exhaled slowly, then began forming hand seals again.
Thirty-six in total. It took more than ten seconds—not because Tobirama was slow, but because this was delicate work. One mistake could be catastrophic.
As he completed the final sign, Tobirama struck three precise points: the Qingming acupoint, pressure point, and the prisoner's temples. Then, he pressed both palms flat onto the crown of the prisoner's skull.
" Byakugan Seal."
Pale blue chakra surged from Tobirama's hands and flowed into the man's scalp, wrapping around his brain like silk threads.
Through the chakra link, Tobirama could sense the complex layers of green and blue curse marks coiled around the cerebral cortex like venomous vines.
He began the slow process of unraveling them.
Minute by minute, his chakra wore away the seal. After fifteen minutes of grueling, uninterrupted focus, the tangled curse finally faded.
But there was more.
The chakra then flowed down the optic nerve into the man's right eye. The residual seal there began to unravel as well, disintegrating under the blue chakra.
In its place, delicate new lines formed—pale blue chakra etching itself into the nerves, creating a seal of his own design.
When it was done, Tobirama exhaled deeply, his body slick with sweat.
"This technique is far too chakra-intensive," he muttered. "It should only be attempted by someone with absolute chakra control or mastery over medical ninjutsu."
"A single misstep… and you'd cripple their nervous system beyond repair."
Without waiting for instruction, Orochimaru reached into the prisoner's socket and pulled out the right eye.
Before the man could even scream, Orochimaru snapped his neck with a cold twist.
He checked again with his chakra, confirming the death.
The room fell into silence.
Only the humming of the chakra storage units and the faint trickle of blood broke the stillness.
Tobirama and Orochimaru stood over the corpse, their expressions unreadable.
Their work was far from over.
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