HGBW: Ch. 112

After finalizing the cooperation, Setsuna got up to take his leave.

Whether it was the marriage between Tanaka and Mikoto or the alliance between the Hyūga and Uchiha clans for mutual defense and offense, these were matters of great importance to the inheritance and prosperity of both families.

Naturally, he needed to bring the news back to the Uchiha clan as soon as possible and ensure that everything was properly settled.

As for Mikoto, she did not return to the Uchiha clan with him but remained in the Hyūga household.

Hizashi also did not stay in place but went to gather the clan elders to announce the marriage alliance with the Uchiha clan.

With the two of them leaving one after another, only Tanaka and Mikoto remained in the room.

"Let's take a walk outside, Mikoto-nee."

Tanaka glanced at Mikoto, especially noting her favorability score, which was only at 70.

Since entering the room, regardless of whether it was Setsuna proposing the marriage or forming an alliance, she had displayed a submissive attitude. But people could lie, and love could be faked.

Only favorability couldn't be disguised.

So, in his interactions with others, he never cared about what they did or said—he only trusted the favorability score.

"Alright."

Mikoto nodded slightly and stood up to follow Tanaka.

Not long after stepping out of the room, a spacious training ground came into view.

A training ground like this was nothing special.

The Uchiha clan had several of them as well.

However, the sight of five identical figures training inside made her stop in her tracks.

"What's wrong?"

Tanaka walked while thinking about how to increase Mikoto's favorability score.

The power of the three-tomoe Sharingan would be incredibly useful if he traveled to the One Piece world.

Whether it was hypnosis, replication, or genjutsu, these were all abilities the Byakugan could never achieve.

But all of this depended on her favorability reaching 90; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to use the Void Walker's Gate.

"Is this how you usually train?"

Mikoto's eyes widened slightly in surprise as she watched the five training shadow clones. She hadn't expected that even while discussing marriage and alliances, Tanaka had been using shadow clones to train.

"Yes."

Tanaka nodded. If he didn't make use of shadow clones, how could he become Hokage?

Haki, ninjutsu techniques—everything was waiting in line for him to master.

"No wonder you've achieved such incredible results at this age."

Hearing this, Mikoto's gaze toward Tanaka subtly changed.

During her father's imprisonment, she had trained this way as well, but she had only used two shadow clones. Even so, the daily exhaustion had pushed her to her limits.

Yet Tanaka was using five shadow clones.

How could she not be moved by this?

"I'm merely striving to be a bird in flight."

He reached up and touched his forehead.

"The Caged Bird?"

Mikoto noticed his gesture and felt a stirring in her heart.

The boy in front of her had first made a name for himself in Konoha by breaking the Caged Bird. Then, she thought about herself.

Training with shadow clones, awakening the three-tomoe Sharingan, becoming a jonin of Konoha—wasn't all of this an effort to control her own fate?

Yet she had failed.

Even with her father released from prison, she still couldn't determine her own destiny.

At most, she had simply been transferred from the Uchiha clan to the Hyūga clan—just changing one birdcage for another.

In contrast, Tanaka had not only fulfilled his wish and become a free bird, but he had also enabled every member of the Hyūga branch house to soar.

Looking once more at the five shadow clones training in the field, Mikoto came to an understanding.

"Can you tell me more about yourself?"

Thinking of this, Mikoto couldn't help but ask.

"What do you want to know?"

Leaning against the corridor railing, Tanaka turned his head to look at Mikoto.

"Of course, I want to hear about your night of fame."

Mikoto mimicked Tanaka's posture, leaning against the railing with her arms crossed.

Whether it was competing with Orochimaru for a sword or defeating Shinnosuke in battle, Setsuna had used his Sharingan's genjutsu to let her witness it all as if she were there.

The only thing she had only learned through intelligence reports was the night the main house was wiped out.

"Then I'll have to start from the Main House Crush Plan."

Upon hearing her request, Tanaka recounted everything to Mikoto, from being branded with the Caged Bird to persuading his teacher, and finally sending the main house to their end.

He left out the part about the power of the Op-Op Fruit but told the rest in full detail.

His tone was calm, without any dramatic highs and lows, but the gripping twists of the story made Mikoto feel as if she were living through it herself.

"Your single night was more thrilling than all my years combined." After listening to the story of the main house's crush, Mikoto was slightly moved.

"In the future, you will have your own thrilling story too."

"Mikoto-nee."

"Even if we are born as caged birds, once we tear down the roof, a caged bird can be free and mighty."

Tanaka looked at Mikoto.

Good, the story wasn't told in vain—her favorability had increased by 2 points, from 70 to 72.

"I'm starting to realize… you're quite good at this, aren't you?" Mikoto's lips curved into a slight smile.

She was a jonin, her chakra and the power of her three-tomoe Sharingan weren't just handed to her by fate. At first, she might not have noticed, but as their conversation went on, how could she not? Every word Tanaka spoke, every topic he led her toward, was carefully tailored for her.

"I just want to tell you something. The Hyūga clan doesn't have to be just another cage. Taking the first step on this land might just be the beginning of tearing down the roof."

Meeting Mikoto's gaze, Tanaka showed no hesitation.

He understood the Uchiha clan far too well. Every evolution of the Sharingan, every additional tomoe, was tied to intense emotional stimulation. Since Mikoto possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan, that meant she had already endured three major emotional shocks.

No matter how strong a ninja's will, no matter how gentle and kind Mikoto's nature, as the daughter of Setsuna, she had been ostracized by her clan since childhood, always fearing retribution from Konoha. Deep down, she must have longed for security.

For Mikoto, who had now become nothing more than a political marriage pawn between two clans, personal gain wasn't necessarily the most important thing—emotional value and a sense of security were.

Tanaka and Mikoto were neither close nor related. In fact, due to their political marriage, it was already fortunate that she didn't dislike him. So love was out of the question.

But before she became a tool for political marriage, he could at least fill her with a sense of security.

"Tearing down the roof, huh?"

Mikoto unconsciously lifted her head to look upward. There was no roof—only a vast blue sky. She had seen the sky over Konoha countless times since childhood.

But stepping out of the Uchiha compound, standing in the Hyūga household, looking up at the sky from here—it was as if, within the blue sky and white clouds, she saw freedom.

Even though she knew every word Tanaka said was deliberately meant for her, she found herself accepting it.

Because she needed it.

A sense of security.

Emotional value.

These were things the Uchiha clan couldn't give her. Her father couldn't give them to her either. And yet, the boy standing before her could.

How strange.