Malphegor
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HGBW: Ch. 15
🕑 Added 2025-03-01 02:41:44 +0000 UTCBeneath the moon's gentle glow, a lone figure appeared ghostly, as if emerging from the shadows.
If anyone had been watching, they might have been under the illusion that this figure had been standing in the forest atop the Hokage Rock all along.
"I'm back."
The moment he returned to the Naruto world, Tanaka activated his Byakugan.
Familiar Hokage Rock.
Familiar streets.
Every scene within a three-kilometer radius unfolded clearly before his eyes.
After returning to Konoha, he did not rush back to the Hyūga clan.
After all, no one would be keeping an eye on him, let alone seeking him out.
The main house wouldn't.
The Third Hokage certainly wouldn't.
Even the ever-scheming Danzō wouldn't.
In the eyes of Konoha's higher-ups, as long as someone belonged to the Hyūga branch house, no matter how talented they were, no matter how extraordinary their potential, the moment they were branded with the Caged Bird, they lost any value worth noticing.
After all, who would waste their thoughts and resources on a mere servant of the main house?
Whoosh—
His figure flickered as he leaped gracefully onto a tall tree like a swift bird.
His gaze swept across the vast expanse of Konoha's endless lights, locking onto one particular glow—the one belonging to the Hyūga main house.
It was there.
There, he had been branded with the Caged Bird, tasting the same despair and helplessness as Neji.
There, he had experienced the agony of having his fate controlled by others, the torment of a life not his own.
That feeling could only be described as unforgettable, branded into his soul.
If not for the awakening of his past life's memories;
If not for the Void Walker's Gate;
If not for obtaining the Op-Op Fruit;
He would have ended up just like Neji and the many branch house members before him.
Only in death could they temporarily break free from the curse of the Caged Bird.
Just wait. Tanaka whispered in his heart, then closed his eyes, recalling everything he had experienced after traveling to the One Piece world.
Seizing the Op-Op Fruit ahead of time.
Changing the fate of Rosinante.
Curing Law of Amber Lead Syndrome.
And playing a deadly game against Doflamingo and the Donquixote Family.
Scene after scene flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern.
"Hah..." Tanaka let out a deep breath.
After resting for a moment, he bathed in the silver moonlight, washing away the fatigue brought by his journey through the pirate world.
Only then did he open his Byakugan once more.
There, he had broken open Doflamingo's despair-inducing Birdcage for Law and Rosinante.
Now, it was time to shatter the Caged Bird that bound him.
"ROOM."
With a flick of his fingers, an invisible space, like a surgical operating room, spread out, encompassing his entire being.
With his chakra replenished, he activated his Byakugan again.
The perception granted by ROOM;
The insight of the Byakuga, together;
They allowed Tanaka to see the full structure of the Caged Bird Seal from two different dimensions.
That grotesque, repulsive green seal... It seemed to be imprinted on the forehead, but in reality, it was connected to the eyes, brain, and even the chakra network.
And because of this, once branded with the Caged Bird, a branch house member could only free themselves through death.
Even if they were resurrected—whether through Edo Tensei or Rinne Tensei—the very moment they returned to life, the Caged Bird would still remain imprinted on their foreheads.
Just like Hizashi, when he was revived during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
"So that means… simply using ROOM to remove the seal from my eyes and brain isn't enough. I need to sever the part connected to my chakra as well."
"Then, let's test whether the Op-Op Fruit can cut chakra."
Tanaka studied the Caged Bird for a moment before forming a hand seal and creating a shadow clone.
"Try using Revolving Heaven!"
Without hesitation, the shadow clone followed the command, spinning in place as chakra erupted from its tenketsu, forming a brilliant blue sphere around it.
Upon seeing this, Tanaka casually pulled out a kunai and swung it gently.
Clang!
The rapidly spinning, ground-tearing, all-defending chakra sphere—along with the shadow clone inside—was sliced cleanly in half.
However, because of ROOM's influence, the severed shadow clone did not disappear. Even the chakra sphere continued to rotate slowly within the spatial field of the Op-Op Fruit.
"As expected, if I can cut through Haki, which counters Devil Fruit abilities… Then chakra is no exception."
A flash of excitement flickered in his eyes.
With this, he didn't need to seek out Kuma anymore.
With his Op-Op Fruit, the Caged Bird that Hiashi had carved into his forehead that very morning—he could completely sever it by nightfall.
"That works too." Tanaka murmured to himself.
This hideous Caged Bird—he couldn't tolerate it for even a single day.
Likewise, the corrupt, suffocating main house—he wouldn't endure it for another day either.
"But to be cautious, let's practice on my shadow clone first."
He turned his gaze toward the severed shadow clone.
He raised his left hand, fingers curling into a fist.
In the next second, the clone, previously split in half, was seamlessly reassembled.
ROOM not only ignored hardness, material, and distance when cutting through objects but also allowed for instant manipulation, swapping, and reattachment of matter at will.
For example—reattaching a foot to the shoulder, or a hand to the knee—without causing any discomfort whatsoever.
There was no post-operative rejection. No biological incompatibility. No concern for anatomical structures.
Even attaching an animal's limb to a human—or swapping two people's bodies—would feel as if they had been born that way.
After successfully reattaching the shadow clone, Tanaka deactivated ROOM.
Despite having been sliced—along with the Revolving Heaven—the reassembled clone remained intact, even outside ROOM's influence. It did not disperse into white mist.
"Next step—removing the Caged Bird from my shadow clone."
He looked at his clone, reopened ROOM, and enveloped it in his surgical domain.
Both his Byakugan and ROOM's perception ability allowed him to see it clearly—His clone's eyes, brain, and chakra system were all imprinted with that vile green seal.
This was the Caged Bird, a mark that had driven countless branch house members to despair.
Absolute oppression.
Once imprinted, both the original body and its clones were bound by its power.
"Alright, let's do this," the shadow clone spoke calmly, sitting cross-legged.
"As your clone, I am created from your chakra. I am also bound by the Caged Bird. And since clones disperse after taking a certain amount of damage…"
"If you can cut off and separate the seal—and I remain intact without disappearing—then the procedure to remove the seal is already halfway successful."
"Once you dispel me afterward, you'll receive all the sensations and experience from the removal process."
The shadow clone sat firmly.
