Flying Bird at the Hour of the Snake

"To become a lion, you must first bow your head as a camel..."

This was a line Hyuga Yu had heard in his past life.

Nietzsche had said it.

He said that humanity's most fundamental will is the will to survive and the will to power.

On this foundation, all social discipline, moral dilemmas, and the oppression suffered by slaves are false—and if one wishes to see through this falsehood and break free from this predicament, then first, you must become a camel.

You must learn, master all kinds of knowledge, especially knowledge that helps you survive and grow strong.

But this knowledge is all wrapped in slave morality, telling you what you should do.

And at this moment, you are nothing but a pitiful camel, a slave to knowledge. This knowledge is loaded onto your back, yet you cannot wield it—instead, it becomes your shackles.

Hyuga Yu had been a camel for thirteen years now.

So long that he had nearly forgotten what kind of life he had envisioned when he first opened his eyes in this world thirteen years ago.

Was it to race freely across the vast, open lands as a shinobi?

Was it to uphold his own ninja way, to speak his mind and keep his word in this world of hot-blooded manga?

Or was it simply that he had grown sick of bending his back in his past life, groveling before round-bellied beer guts, tired of bowing and scraping day after day?

But fate had played a joke on Hyuga Yu.

In that hazy moment between drunken stupor and waking dream, he had arrived in this world full of passion, friendship, and bonds—

only to become a member of the least passionate Hyuga Branch Family.

"Lion-kun, hey~, Lion-kun, what are you thinking about?"

Hyuga Yu was jolted awake by a crisp voice. Through the haze, he saw a very pretty little girl, around twelve or thirteen years old.

She wore a neat gray kimono, overlaid with a pure white Maid Outfit, its shoulder straps adorned with petal-like frills.

At that moment, her fair, smooth little hand waved in front of Hyuga Yu's face. Past that hand, his gaze landed on her face.

A delicate nose bridge, moist thin lips, slender and curled eyelashes, and a pair of white eyes carrying a gentle smile.

"Oh, it's Natsu."

Hyuga Natsu.

She was a year younger than Hyuga Yu, but in the same year and class as him at the Ninja Academy, also a member of the Hyuga Branch Family.

Unlike Hyuga Yu, her talent was excellent. Her progress in the three core Hyuga techniques—Gentle Fist, Byakugan, and Eight Trigrams Palms—was remarkably fast. Last year, she had been promoted to Chunin alongside Uchiha Obito, Might Guy, and others.

After that, she joined the Main House's guard unit as a maid and bodyguard, enjoying a monthly allowance of three hundred thousand ryo.

Incidentally, she would later become the personal bodyguard of Hyuga Hanabi, the future heir of the Main House. Based on the clan's requirements for a Main House heir's personal guard, Hyuga Yu roughly estimated that by then, this Branch Family prodigy would already be at least a Jonin.

Looking at this Branch Family genius girl, whose circumstances were completely different from his own, Hyuga Yu gave a helpless smile and corrected her:

"Haven't I told you? Don't call me Lion-kun like that. My name is spelled yuu—it means dusk, the setting sun."

He paused, recalling the meaning the Main Family elder had mentioned earlier, and his gaze darkened.

"The one of ill omen."

"Not at all—"

Hyuga Natsu puffed out her cheeks, shook her head like a rattle drum, and flashed him a bright smile, cutting him off immediately:

"Yu-kun, in my eyes, you've always been full of courage. And that nickname suits you perfectly."

"Back at the Ninja Academy, you shone just like a lion."

Hyuga Yu knew she was referring to the time he had trained in a green jumpsuit alongside Might Guy at the Academy. The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

"Give me a break, Natsu. How did things go with what I asked you about?"

Hyuga Natsu nodded.

"No problem. Young Master Genko is also curious about you. And when it comes to Medical Ninjutsu, no one your age in the clan is better than you."

Hyuga Genko.

This man was a member of the Hyuga Main House's collateral branch. His father was Hyuga Sousuke, whom the elder had mentioned, and his cousins were Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga of the Main House's direct line.

Hyuga Yu had come here to join this Main House young master's guard unit as a Medical Ninja.

If he refused the Main Family elder's letter of appointment, as a registered Konoha shinobi and a clan ninja of the Hyuga Clan, barring any surprises, Hyuga Yu would soon receive a transfer order to join the Reconnaissance Unit and be deployed to the Third Shinobi World War.

Of course, even as cannon fodder, the way you got fed into the grinder made a difference.

At this critical moment, the front lines in the River, Rain, and Grass Country directions were already soaked in blood. Every side was fighting tooth and nail, ready to bash each other's brains out. For a cannon fodder Genin like Hyuga Yu, the monthly survival rate after being transferred there was less than ten percent.

In contrast, the Mist front, where clan ninjas were about to be summoned, had only just begun its war, so the overall intensity of the fighting was not very high.

Moreover, as long as the crisis of the Byakugan's leakage was overcome, the Mist's main force—the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist—would later run into Might Duy, who had ignited himself by opening the Gate of Death. The Mist's offensive would be further thwarted and slowed until the war ended.

On this battlefield, Hyuga Yu needed to watch for three key points:

The first point: avoid the enemy's targeted hunting of the Hyuga Main Family.

The second point: steer clear of the Mist's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

The third point: after the Kusagakure Incident erupted, be careful not to get caught up in the plot node where Kakashi stabbed Nohara Rin to death and Uchiha Obito turned dark.

Then, based on the total military merit calculated from his time surviving on the battlefield, After the war ended, Hyuga Yu would be awarded the rank of Chunin.

Becoming a Chunin meant Hyuga Yu was qualified to form a squad and take on missions independently, enter the Ninja Academy system as a teacher, or serve in institutions like Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Force or Reconnaissance Unit.

Though nominally he still had to obey the Main Family's orders, at least by keeping some distance he wouldn't have to bow and scrape, kneeling and kowtowing every day.

How to put it—distance creates beauty, something like that.

And as long as he joined Hyuga Genko's guard detail, through that connection, Hyuga Yu could avoid the direct assignment to the frontline Reconnaissance Unit and stay behind at the Rear Camp as a Medical Ninja, coasting by.

That was a win-win.

Hyuga Genko gained a clan Medical Ninja always stationed at the Rear Camp, And Hyuga Yu himself gained a chance to survive on the chaotic battlefield.

As for the rest...

Whether this Main Family young master, targeted by Mist pursuers, lived or died, Whether Might Duy, who would run into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, lived or died, Whether his schoolmate Nohara Rin lived or died, Uchiha Obito's descent into darkness...

Hyuga Yu felt his own strength was too meager—he could barely keep his own life safe, let alone change these major events stuck at key plot nodes.

And just as Hyuga Yu was pondering these things, Hyuga Natsu looked at him with some frustration, watching his thoughts drift off again as he ignored her.

She didn't quite understand why, ever since failing the Chunin Exam, Hyuga Yu had been so preoccupied like this.

But seeing him so troubled, she couldn't help clenching her fists.

Then, She lifted her fair little face, fixing her gentle white eyes on Hyuga Yu, gathered her courage, and spoke seriously:

"This time, I've also been assigned to Young Master Genko's guard detail. I'll go to the battlefield with you."

"Yu-kun, I'll protect you!"

Startled out of his daze by these words, Hyuga Yu felt as if a heavy hammer had slammed into his skull, snapping him awake.

He couldn't help widening his eyes at the girl before him, his throat suddenly feeling unbearably dry.

"Wait, Natsu, you... what did you say!?"

"I will definitely protect you!"