Chapter 371: Chapter 369 : Persuading Toshi!!
Underground Laboratory...
"Genya, why did you bring so many people again? And they’re all from the Hyuga clan?"
"No, wait. There are people from the Hyuga main branch here too!"
At the critical moment when Toshi was researching the Curse Seal, he suddenly saw Genya appear, bringing several barely breathing people.
What was more surprising was,
Each of these people had Byakugan, and some didn’t even have the Caged Bird seal mark on their foreheads!
This—
They were from the Hyuga main family.
"Isn’t this perfect? I heard you’ve hit a bottleneck in researching the Caged Bird curse seal recently. These people can be used for further study!" Genya said with a teasing tone, watching Toshi’s stunned expression.
"No, these are Hyuga clan members. How dare you—" Toshi tried to speak, but Genya suddenly vanished!
In the blink of an eye, he appeared again, this time with two Hyuga clan members by his side.
Then he disappeared again!
Three times in a row!
The third time he appeared, it was Hyuga Neji!
"Toshi-san!" Neji greeted Toshi respectfully as soon as he saw him.
Neji deeply respected Toshi because Toshi tirelessly researched every day for the sake of the Hyuga clan.
Whether it was for the curse seal or for freeing the Hyuga branch family members, as long as it benefited their branch family, he was respected.
Neji even began to hope that Toshi’s research would succeed this time—
To break the Caged Bird curse seal!
If that happened, their Hyuga branch family would finally be freed.
And then, it would be time to claim what was owed from the Hyuga main family.
How they bullied his family, forcing his father to commit suicide and torturing his mother—
These scenes replayed over and over in Neji’s mind.
He had been waiting for this day for a long time.
"Neji, you’re here too!" Toshi said as he saw Neji, and the tight frown on his face relaxed a bit.
To Toshi, Neji was a well-behaved kid.
And also a poor kid, growing up tormented like a bird trapped in a cage, yet with a firm will!
But as he thought about it, Toshi’s brows twitched slightly.
"Neji... this time, you’re not involved in capturing members of the Hyuga clan, are you? Listen, the Hyuga main family is very petty. Once they find out some of their clan members have gone missing, they’ll definitely search for them. If they discover you’re involved, they will target you even more!"
Toshi was worried. He didn’t understand how Genya had brought so many Hyuga people, but his first thought was Neji’s safety.
As for Genya? He wasn’t worried!
In recent years, he had come into contact with Genya more often and realized Genya was always the one pulling the strings.
Even his own mind wasn’t a match for Genya’s. And strength? That was even more unfathomable!
Plus, the Uchiha clan was growing stronger and stronger!
Even if things got exposed, Genya wouldn’t be in any danger!
But, Neji Hyuga was different.
Neji’s strength was impressive, even surpassing most jonin in Toshi’s eyes. But his one fatal flaw was the cage bird curse seal!
As long as the cage bird curse remained, Neji would never truly become himself!
"Toshi, what are you thinking!" Genya glanced at Toshi with some helplessness and said, "These people were chasing Neji. If I hadn’t arrived in time, Neji probably would have died at their hands!"
Sure! Here’s the cleaned-up, simple English translation of your Naruto fanfiction excerpt, keeping the original essence, cultural accuracy, and character voices intact, formatted like a novel with spaces between lines:
Chasing to Kill?
Toshi’s brow furrowed even deeper when he heard Genya’s words. Neji was being hunted?
Looking down at the barely breathing Hyuga clan member on the ground, he finally spoke, "That can’t be right. You’re all from the Hyuga clan—why would they want to kill Neji so cruelly?"
"Because his son blocked Neji, but was crippled by Neji!" Genya explained Neji’s ordeal carefully and seriously.
Toshi frowned deeply as he listened, his eyes filled with disgust when he glanced at Hyuga Nagare lying on the ground.
"Wait... Neji suffered the backlash of the Caged Bird Curse Seal twice in such a short time?" Toshi suddenly caught the key point. He stepped forward and firmly grabbed Neji’s wrist.
A thread of spiritual energy mixed with chakra entered Neji’s body to check his condition.
"Damn it. These Hyuga clan members are truly cruel!" Toshi cursed angrily, then slowly looked at Neji. "Neji, your spiritual power and soul have been damaged. For the time being, you need to rest well and train in the Spirit Transformation Technique to strengthen your spiritual power and soul."
"I understand," Neji said, feeling touched. Ever since following Genya, he had constantly felt warmth and family affection.
These people—each one of them—were stronger than the Hyuga clan!
"Genya, what do you plan to do with these people?" After checking Neji’s condition, he finally asked, "Are you really going to use these Hyuga clan members for the Caged Bird experiments?"
Actually, ever since Genya brought these people back, Toshi had already decided they must not leave.
These people had already learned about their base laboratory, and it was Genya who had injured them!
Letting them go now would be like releasing a tiger back into the wild.
But using Konoha villagers as test subjects made Toshi a little uneasy.
"If we didn’t use them for experiments, they would have already disappeared from the ninja world!" Genya shot a glare at Toshi.
If they didn’t keep these people for experiments, they would have been devoured by the Black Flame long ago!
However, seeing Toshi hesitate, Genya continued, "Toshi, you’re not having second thoughts, are you? These people were going to kill Neji. They were the real criminals. But because of me, they’ve become the prey instead!"
Genya kept persuading Toshi, giving him a clear conscience.
All Toshi needed was a reason to believe in.
Of course, Genya wasn’t wrong. If he hadn’t appeared just in time, Neji would have died on the spot.
If Neji died, his mother’s fate would have been even more tragic.
"Fine... The main branch owes the Hyuga branch a debt that must be repaid," Toshi seemed convinced, nodding his head.
The Hyuga main family had indeed been harsh to the branch family over the years.
"Toshi, you are Konoha’s top medical ninja. I didn’t expect you to take part in activities like this with the Uchiha clan!" Hyuga Chōru felt annoyed listening to Genya and Toshi discussing like they were bargaining over an object.
He and the Hyuga clan members were being treated like property!
"Shut up. I’ve never liked you Hyuga main family people!" Toshi kicked Hyuga Chōru’s body and shouted angrily, "You were the one who activated the Caged Bird Curse Seal, weren’t you? Do you even know how much pain Neji suffered when the curse seal was triggered? No, you don’t understand!"
"That pain from the soul and mind is something you can’t comprehend!"
"You people just look down on the branch family from above, despising them, recklessly using the Caged Bird Seal to control the branch members."
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