"Could it be that by the time we meet again, we'll both already be adults?"
Neji found Naruto's train of thought rather peculiar. "Not necessarily. It's not like I can never come out. It won't affect our friendship."
Hinata and Xin stood nearby, listening to the two boys talk.
Xin tugged at Hinata's sleeve. "Sister Hinata, will you be like that too in the future?"
Hinata did not really want to admit it, but she figured she probably would be. Like a bird trapped in a cage.
"Probably. Father is still very strict with me, though he said today that he'd give me time to rest. I don't know whether that's true or not."
Xin did not ask anything else after hearing that. She was still too young to understand Hinata's feelings.
Some of Naruto and Neji's casual conversation reached Hiashi and Hizashi's ears.
It gave both men pause. Was it really right to make children shoulder such pressure at such a young age?
"Even children can sense the expectations you place on them. Those expectations are a little too heavy."
"Isn't a father supposed to work hard and make money so his children can live better lives? Yet you're making their lives worse instead."
There was nothing wrong with those words when applied to ordinary families, but they were a great clan.
They needed outstanding heirs, which was why they valued these two children so highly.
Still, there was some truth to it. The pressure they had put on the children was indeed too great.
"We'll appropriately ease the pressure on these two children. Really, Hizashi and I will discuss it. At the very least, we won't leave them unable to make even a single friend."
"But we can't promise anything more than that. The clan needs outstanding heirs,