I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 744 The word "freedom" may be full of rules and regulations, but there's always a way to break free.

"Is this alright?"

"I think it's about time. Should we try starting it right away?"

Neji, shirtless, had his entire face, neck, shoulders, and chest covered in spells, starting from his eyes. Tatsuma stopped drawing the spells and looked at Tobirama, who nodded in agreement.

Both of them felt that they had almost cracked the Caged Bird Seal. The next step was to conduct a physical experiment. As long as they activated these spells, they could make the Caged Bird Seal misidentify the eyes and attack as if the spells were the eyes.

At the same time, the chakra transport within Neji's body will be cut off, so that the Caged Bird will perish together with this technique in the process of fighting against it or rejecting it.

If all goes well, once the technique is activated, the Caged Bird Seal, which has bound the Hyuga clan's branch family for hundreds of years, will be broken within just a few seconds.

But Neji, upon hearing their words, looked somewhat terrified and said, "Second Hokage, Fourth Hokage, could you please... reconsider?"

For the two of them, this was an experiment, but for Neji, it was his eyes and even his life. The worst-case scenario was that the cursed seal, along with the technique, his eyes, and his life would end together.

Even if it's not that bad, and it's just an attack on his eyes, his strength will be greatly reduced, and he might not even see a way out in the future.

For such a risky operation, Tatsuma's "should" and Tobirama's "feeling" were enough to justify trying it. Isn't that a huge disrespect for Neji's rights?!

"Don't worry, if something really goes wrong, I'll have Orochimaru perform the Reanimation Jutsu on you. At most, you'll just lose your Byakugan ability. And even if it fails, you'll be freed from the Caged Bird Seal."

Tatsuma said with a relaxed expression, but Neji not only didn't relax at all, he became even more nervous. This was the first time he had ever seen someone who didn't value human life so much.

Before Neji could struggle or say anything more, Tobirama Senju had already formed hand seals and activated the technique. Neji's vision went black, and it seemed that he had completely lost his sight.

"Oh no, my eye roll is gone."

Neji instinctively felt that there must be something wrong with the two's technique, otherwise how could he have gone blind?

But the fear in his heart only lasted a few seconds before he suddenly felt the light return to his eyes. He incredulously checked his surroundings and found that his vision seemed unchanged.

"Try activating the Byakugan."

Tatsuma's voice came through, and Neji instinctively activated his Byakugan upon hearing it. This time, there was no longer that 1° blind spot behind his head.

"Did it work?"

Neji touched a spot on the back of his head, a place he could never see before, but now he could clearly see his finger pressing on that blind spot.

"What's so surprising about that? It's just a Caged Bird Seal. It's only worth making a big deal out of its failure."

Tatsuma waved his hand and said that there might be problems in this world that he, Sakamoto Tatsuma, Senju Tobirama, and Orochimaru could not solve, but if any two of these three were to team up, there would be almost no problems they could not solve.

Even if it exists, it only requires three people to work together. The rest is just a matter of how long it will take to overcome it and how many resources will be needed to do so.

"Put it on. We can't announce it yet. After the war, there won't be any branch family Neji or main family Neji. There will only be Hyuga Neji."

Tatsuma took out the headband that Neji had taken off at the beginning and said to him with a smile. Neji took it, still a little dazed. The problem that had troubled him for more than ten years was solved just like that.

He did almost nothing. Even the so-called "tuition fees" were paid by Hyuga Hiashitsu. This feeling of getting something for nothing made Neji suddenly feel a little empty.

Moreover, he seemed to have lost his fighting spirit. After all, his fighting spirit came from breaking free of the cage, but after the cage collapsed, he was somewhat lost.

Even the upcoming Fourth Shinobi World War, a major event that had previously caused him constant anxiety, now held little interest for him.

He hesitated for a long time before finally sharing his feelings with Tatsuma. Tatsuma smiled and said, "Have you ever heard the story of the frog in the well?"

Neji nodded. This story about prenatal education was something that almost everyone had heard of.

Tatsuma smiled and said, "You're like a frog in a well, just like the name of the cursed seal, 'Caged Bird.' You only see the cage that imprisons your freedom of mind."

In reality, people are like the objects hidden inside a matryoshka doll; once one cage is opened, another cage will be opened.

Even your current feeling of breaking free from the cage and your mind being no longer controlled is just an illusion. True freedom of the mind has never been just about disobeying a small Hyuga clan.

After all, the Hyuga clan is very weak.

The Hyuga clan is weak. In today's ninja world, this would probably be ridiculed by most people. After all, with the Senju clan disbanded and the Uchiha clan destroyed, the Hyuga clan naturally became the most powerful ninja clan.

Not only in Konoha, but throughout the entire ninja world, the "united" Hyuga clan will be a shining example.

However, when Tatsuma said that the Hyuga clan was weak, it didn't feel out of place at all, because for Tatsuma, perhaps the Hyuga clan really was weak.

After all, the guy named Pain, whom the entire Hyuga clan, and even the entire Hidden Leaf Village combined, could not resist, was nothing more than a defeated and repeatedly retreating subordinate under Tatsuma's command.

Neji was in a daze for a moment, then suddenly snapped back to reality and looked at Tatsuma, asking, "Fourth Hokage, what then is true freedom of the mind?"

"This problem is difficult to answer. In comparison, breaking the Caged Bird Seal is as simple as one plus one equals two."

Tatsuma stroked his chin and then said, "Freedom of mind is not about having random thoughts, cursing someone, or being obsessed with something."

It's not about doing whatever you want under the guidance of your heart; that's called lawlessness, not freedom of the mind.

I believe that true freedom of the mind, even within the constraints of rules, still has a chance to shine, just like the word "freedom" itself—constrained by rules and regulations, yet always finding a way out.

Freedom of mind means having the courage to break a rule when you don't want to follow it or think it's unreasonable, but it doesn't mean there are no rules.

On the contrary, a truly free person should understand the rules better and swim freely within them, just like a fish swimming in water, occasionally breaking out of the water to breathe or splashing a wave. That is freedom.

This is probably what it means to do whatever you want without overstepping the bounds.

Of course, courage alone is not enough. Just like you in the past, you were powerless to break the caged bird curse, a cage that was so fragile it couldn't be any stronger.

Is what you lack courage? No, it's strength. If you want to achieve true spiritual freedom, you first need sufficient strength, an unwavering original aspiration, eyes that can see the true nature of the rules, and...

The courage to go even if there are thousands of people against me.

That's also my goal, but even I feel I'm still far from it. Do you think you should stop now?

Neji was stunned for a long time before smiling and saying, "Fourth Hokage, I want to become stronger."

"That's ambitious!"

Tatsuma chuckled and patted Neji on the shoulder, then pulled out a book and said, "Take three days to thoroughly understand this book, then come and study with me."

Neji took it with high spirits, but the weight in his hand made him feel something was wrong. He looked down and saw three big characters.

"anatomy"

He looked up, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Fourth Hokage, I am not a medical ninja."

"The same."

"Okay, after I finish studying this book, can I learn even more powerful physical techniques from you?"

"No."

Chenma shook his head, then took out another piece of paper and said, "This is your reading list for the next period of time, and also your course schedule."

"Anatomy, the Inner Canon of Medicine, the Golden Chamber, Internal Medicine, and Diagnostics."

Neji remained silent for a moment, then spoke again, repeating, "Fourth Hokage, I am not a medical ninja."

"The same."

Tatsuma's response was exactly the same as before.

(End of this chapter)