Class

Uchiha Yuan initially had no idea why his childhood friend had changed so much.

It wasn't until Upper Ninja School that Uchiha Yuan saw Hyuga Asana trailing half a step behind a girl who looked even younger than her, with a submissive attitude, that he realized what had happened to Hyuga Asana.

The Uchiha Clan valued bonds more than any other family, and seeing his only friend become part of the Hyuga Branch Family, branded with the Caged Bird, and even turned into a maidservant and guard for another girl, made Uchiha Yuan feel extremely displeased.

What's more, this Main Family Young Lady was far inferior to Hyuga Asana; her scores in every subject were worse than even Uchiha Yuan's, let alone Hyuga Asana's.

So, to vent for Hyuga Asana, Uchiha Yuan deliberately picked fights with that Main Family Young Lady a few times in practical combat class, but Hyuga Asana showed no joy at all as she watched Uchiha Yuan beat the Main Family girl black and blue.

Uchiha Yuan thought she was just constrained by her Branch Family status, afraid to show her emotions, but was actually happy inside.

But soon, Uchiha Yuan realized he was wrong.

That day, as usual, he thrashed the Main Family Young Lady in practical combat class.

When Hyuga Asana went to help the Main Family Young Lady up, she glanced at Uchiha Yuan in a way that seemed deliberate.

Uchiha Yuan thought it was encouragement from Hyuga Asana, and after school, he walked on air.

But halfway home, Uchiha Yuan suddenly remembered he'd left something in the classroom. When he ran back to get it, he saw a scene he would never forget.

Hyuga Asana was kneeling on the floor, her face deathly pale, sweat on her forehead soaking the entire bandage.

The Main Family Young Lady stood with her arms crossed, expressionlessly watching Hyuga Asana.

At that moment, Uchiha Yuan understood—the look Hyuga Asana had given him wasn't encouragement.

Probably every time he thrashed the Main Family Young Lady, Hyuga Asana was tortured like this.

And Hyuga Asana had never told him, just to keep him feeling better, silently bearing it all herself.

At that time, Uchiha Yuan felt immense regret. His actions, which he thought were standing up for his friend, had only brought her greater pain.

From that day on, Uchiha Yuan never picked a fight with that Main Family Young Lady again.

"Hey! Uchiha Yuan, what are you spacing out for? Are you listening to me?" Hyuga Asana's voice snapped Uchiha Yuan out of his thoughts.

He scratched his head and said, "Sorry, I was thinking about some old stuff."

Hearing this, a flicker of worry passed through Hyuga Asana's usually calm eyes. She knew from her father that Uchiha Yuan had just lost his most important family member.

But due to the strained relations between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, Hyuga Asana couldn't visit Uchiha Yuan.

Seeing him come to school today, Hyuga Asana finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Still, Uchiha Yuan's distracted demeanor worried her. She glanced at the Main Family Young Lady sitting in front and said, "Meet me at the old place after school today."

"I'm fine, you don't have to go begging for me—"

"It's settled." With that, Hyuga Asana turned her head and ignored Uchiha Yuan.

After school, Uchiha Yuan went alone to a small river not far from the Forest of Death.

This was the spot where Uchiha Yuan and Hyuga Asana often met. Because it was close to the Forest of Death, few people came here. Hyuga Asana had found it last year, and since then, they'd made it their meeting place.

Uchiha Yuan waited by the river for about half an hour before Hyuga Asana finally hurried over.

"Why so long? Did she give you trouble?" Uchiha Yuan looked her over and asked.

"It's impossible not to have trouble, but I managed to get through it," Hyuga Asana said.

"I'm actually fine, you don't need to—"

"Are you misunderstanding something? Do you think I'd waste time comforting you?

I'm telling you, you should start working hard. In a little over two months, we'll be promoted to fifth grade. If nothing unexpected happens, we'll graduate early and be sent to the battlefield.

From what I know, the survival rate for last year's graduating genin was less than 10%. If you're still wallowing in grief, you might die on the battlefield." Hyuga Asana said expressionlessly.

Hearing this, Uchiha Yuan stole a glance at her. Her slightly chubby little face was tense, trying hard to put on a serious expression, but it didn't look serious at all—it was actually kind of cute.

The only eyesore was the white bandage on her forehead.

Noticing Uchiha Yuan's gaze, Hyuga Asana instinctively touched the bandage on her head.

She would never forget the day of her fourth birthday—the day she was branded with the Caged Bird, the day her life changed.

From that day on, many of her former friends stopped playing with her, and one of them became her "master."

It hadn't been like this before.

They had all been friends once.

Why did it turn out this way?

This question had lingered in Hyuga Asana's mind for years, ever since the first time her friends rejected her, and she sat silently on her bed, hugging her knees, crying all night.

Just because of the Caged Bird curse mark, had everything from the past changed?

Even now, Hyuga Asana couldn't figure it out.

In truth, for someone born and raised in the Hyuga Family, long accustomed to the Main Family and Branch Family system, an answer was impossible to find.

The saying "the player is blind to the game" fit perfectly.

And Uchiha Yuan, seeing the confusion in Hyuga Asana's eyes, felt a pang of discomfort. He hesitated, then gritted his teeth and said, "Hey! Asana, have you ever thought about why a curse mark changed your life?"

Hyuga Asana was stunned. Uchiha Yuan had asked the very question she'd been pondering all along.

"You're from the Hyūga Clan, so you might not understand this reasoning, but it's actually very simple—it all comes down to a difference in class.

Think about it, your Hyūga Clan's Caged Bird, in a sense, is a system where the lives of one group are placed entirely in the hands of another.

When one group holds the power of life and death over another, that group naturally comes to see themselves as nobler than the other, and thus two classes are born.

Class brings oppression everywhere. Although your Hyūga Clan has always preached that the Caged Bird is meant to protect the branch family, the truth is that the main family uses the Caged Bird to treat the branch family as nothing more than servants."

After hearing Uchiha Yuan's words, Hyuga Asana felt a sudden clarity, but then a hint of doubt arose in her heart: "When did Uchiha Yuan start thinking about things like this? Isn't he like most of the Uchiha Clan—simple-minded, hot-tempered, and not fond of thinking?"

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