Not Wanting to Let Others Down

"Father, if you don't trust others, others won't trust us either!"

Hinata shrugged, saying with a hint of helplessness, "Obito seems to be targeting me all along, he even stole Sasuke away!"

After thinking for a moment, Hinata added, "Actually, Black Zetsu is relatively easy to talk to. As things stand, my interests are aligned with Black Zetsu's. At least until Kaguya Otsutsuki is resurrected, there won't be any conflict between our Hyuga Clan and Black Zetsu."

"However, one should always be wary of others. Black Zetsu has tried to use tricks before, but it didn't have much of an impact."

Black Zetsu has little power; unless he uses the Akatsuki and Obito, none of Black Zetsu's schemes will work on Hinata.

However, with Hinata's current strength, even if all the members of Akatsuki attacked together, they would be helpless against Hinata.

Unless Black Zetsu wants to completely break ties with Hinata, he has no choice but to cooperate with Hinata.

After all, it concerns the resurrection of Kaguya Otsutsuki, Black Zetsu make a foolish decision on such a matter. Black Zetsu is a cunning old fox.

On the contrary, it's Obito Uchiha some trouble!

Obito has now developed the mentality of an "overpowered protagonist," perhaps because he has been playing the role of Madara Uchiha for so long that his personality has become somewhat similar to that of the Uchiha Madara.

However, while learning from Madara Uchiha's personality, Obito also developed some of Black Zetsu's cunning mindset.

In short, Obito is a rather troublesome person.

Especially now that Hinata and Obito are practically collaborators, Hinata still gets furious when she thinks about how Obito called himself "Madara Uchiha" at the Hinata Kage Summit in the Original Story, publicly announced the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan, and even issued a declaration of war.

You've been lying low for half your life, can't you just keep lying low? Do you have to show off to feel good?

(Obito: What's the difference between a person who doesn't show off and a salted fish?)

If Obito hadn't been so arrogant and had instead continued to secretly sow discord among the five Five Great Shinobi Villages, it would have been strange if they had been able to join forces.

Hyuga Hiashi nodded slightly.

Among the various forces behind the Akatsuki, Hinata and Black Zetsu share the same goal, while Obito is merely a pawn of Black Zetsu.

However, Obito's importance is self-evident. Only Obito, who called himself "Madara Uchiha," could control the Akatsuki. Neither Black Zetsu nor Hinata could do this.

You handle these matters.

Hyuga Hiashi looked at Hinata and said with a pleased tone, "You're fourteen now, it's time for you to learn to handle complex interpersonal relationships independently."

"Okay!"

Hinata gave a perfunctory reply.

The peaceful days passed quickly, and Konoha maintained a facade of peace. Tsunade held absolute power in the village, and unless something major happened, the two Hokage Advisor, Hyuga Hiashi and Shikaku Nara, almost never interfered in the village's affairs.

However, as one of the few highly intelligent individuals in Konoha, Shikaku Nara would occasionally be summoned by Tsunade to discuss matters.

From this perspective, all those in power actually share the same mentality.

Take the ancient emperors from Hinata's previous life as an example. They all knew very well that sooner or later they would pass the Crown Prince to the crown prince, but they would never tolerate the Crown Prince seizing the throne by force.

At the same time, the emperor would not give important positions to ministers who were "too meritorious to overshadow the emperor".

Hinata's strength now far surpasses Tsunade's, and in a sense, she has already overshadowed her. Even though Tsunade is magnanimous and wouldn't be jealous of Hinata because of this, Tsunade still has to consider the village's well-being.

The Sixth Hokage must be personally selected by Tsunade, who will personally hand over the Hokage Position to the next Hokage, rather than anyone else obtaining the Hokage Position through force.

However, the conflicts among the village's higher-ups will never affect the ninjas and villagers at the bottom.

For Konoha right now, the biggest event is undoubtedly the upcoming Joint Chunin Exam.

Hinata and Shikamaru walked side by side along Konoha Street toward the Hokage Building. As they passed the training grounds, Hinata saw many Genin teams training enthusiastically.

Seeing them reminds me of ourselves two years ago.

Shikamaru said with some emotion, "Looking back, we might have been a bit naive, but back then I treated the Chunin Ninja Exams as something that would affect my whole life!"

"You?"

Hinata glanced at Shikamaru, her face full of disdain, and said, "I could believe it if it were Ino, but you're just a lazy bum with no ideals. Do you really think the Chunin Ninja Exams are important?"

You don't understand!

Shikamaru pouted and sighed, "You're so strong, so naturally you find the Chunin Ninja Exams easy and stress-free. As for me, although I'm too lazy to take the exams, since I've already taken them, the expectations of my parents, Asuma, Choji, Ino, and others will all become my pressure."

"I don't want to let everyone down!"

Hinata: "..."

Indeed, the greatest pain for struggling students is not actually their poor academic performance, but rather the pressure they face from family, teachers, and classmates.

Since we're classmates, there will inevitably be comparisons.

The expectations our relatives and friends have for us are often the greatest pressure.

Hinata can actually feel this pressure now, especially when Hyuga Hiashi chose to lead the Hyuga Clan away from Konoha, her emotions became a source of pressure for Hinata.

I don't want to let others down...

However, Hyuga Hiashi also comforted Hinata about this matter.

While this pressure isn't a driving force, it proves that Hinata is still a living, breathing person. If Hinata could leave Konoha without any psychological burden, Hyuga Hiashi would actually fear Hinata.

Some say that gods are actually powerful beings.

Hinata, however, did not think so.

Both humans and gods can become powerful, but the difference between them is that humans have emotions, while gods do not.

"And now?"

Hinata looked around a few times, then quietly said to Shikamaru, "Speaking of which, when Neji took the Chunin Ninja Exams for the second time, I was thinking of applying to be an examiner to make things difficult for him."

Hinata was also somewhat disappointed at this point.

"I was just held up by other things at the time and missed the opportunity!"

"Thankfully, there are still Hanabi!"

Hinata then said with great enthusiasm, "When Hanabi takes the Chunin Ninja Exams, I'm definitely going to be the examiner and show Hanabi what despair is!"

Shikamaru: Luckily I don't have an older brother...

"We'll be heading to Sunagakure in a few days, Hinata, you should start preparing too..."

Shikamaru put his hands behind his head, looked up at the sky, and spoke in a somewhat inexplicable tone.

With just over ten days until the Chunin Ninja Exams, Tsunade sent Hinata and Shikamaru to Sunagakure ahead, citing "guarding against a conspiracy by Kumogakure." However, Shikamaru, being intelligent, naturally sensed that the village seemed intent on diverting Hinata away.

"Okay!"

Hinata didn't feel anything. With her father Hyuga Hiashi's strength and shrewdness, he was capable of protecting the clan even if Hinata wasn't in the village.

As they spoke, Hinata and Shikamaru had already arrived at the Hokage Building.