In the time that followed, Hyuga Shin continued to give intensive training to the remaining clanspeople whenever he could.
Hizashi Hyuga was among them.
He was also one of the seeds Hyuga Shin planned to scatter across the Shinobi World.
To Hyuga Shin, someone who dared to cry out against an unjust fate had at least some value.
After all, the evils of the Shinobi World were deeply ingrained in people's hearts.
Most shinobi were like mayflies, drifting with the current. They had no stance of their own and no firm convictions. They needed leaders to step forward and guide them.
Hyuga Shin's goal was to find such people, guide them, and gradually help them understand the truth about the Shinobi World!
Then they would set out on the path of resistance.
He would keep elevating their ideals and nurturing their courage to fight against an unjust fate!
So during training, besides continuing to teach each person according to their abilities, Hyuga Shin also drew on his combat experience from the Warring States Period and used it as teaching material.
This made the young clan members intensely curious about the Warring States Period.
He also subtly encouraged them to speak freely, urging them to voice their confusion and questions. He would answer them all.
When teaching a group of shinobi whose minds were practically all warped, directly drilling ideas into them wouldn't work.
You couldn't force a cow to drink.
People never cherished things they got too easily. Hyuga Shin had learned that during the Warring States Period.
So he would let these leek seedlings raise questions themselves. He would provide answers, but wouldn't influence their judgments.
They would only value the thoughts and ideals they came up with and refined on their own.
Today's training ended an hour early, and the clan members had all gained a great deal.
Even Hizashi, the clan leader's son, had picked up plenty of experience and learned many little tricks for escaping with his life on the battlefield.
For example, how to escape when surrounded.
And how to ease an injury in a short time.
Little tricks for stealth and concealment, and so on.
This made everyone respect Hyuga Shin even more. What a great, selfless old man he was!
With the remaining time, Hyuga Shin began answering their questions and guiding them toward the questions about the ideas and ideals he wanted to instill.
But after several questions, they were still asking about training. Hyuga Shin cursed the bunch of useless fools inwardly.
It was like trying to force water down a cow's throat.
It was a while before a Chunin named Hinata Seien asked a question that got things moving. Otherwise, Hyuga Shin had even considered using Genjutsu to manipulate someone into asking a leading question.
"Elder Shin, may I ask something? Did the Hyuga Clan have a distinction between the Main Family and Branch Family during the Warring States Period?" Hinata Seien asked curiously.
The other clan members were interested in the question too. Even Hizashi perked up.
Pairs of Byakugan fixed on Hyuga Shin, eager to hear the answer from this living fossil.
"No! During the Warring States Period, the Hyuga Clan was united as one! Even if anyone had such an idea, they wouldn't have dared put it into practice." Hyuga Shin's reply rang out with conviction.
His words set off a storm. Every Branch Family member became instantly agitated.
"Elder Shin! I want to ask—"
"Elder Shin! May I ask..."
All the clan members who had joined the training grew excited, rising to their feet to ask questions.
"Quiet! One at a time! Ono, you go first." Hyuga Shin pointed to a clansman in his twenties.
"Elder Shin, if there was no distinction between the Main Family and Branch Family during the Warring States Period, then how do you explain the Caged Bird? Historical records say it already existed back then! Isn't that the strongest evidence that the Main Family and Branch Family were different?" Ono asked excitedly, his face alight with curiosity.
"The Caged Bird did exist long ago. I won't deny that."
"But the Caged Bird wasn't originally a marker separating the Main Family and Branch Family."
"Your understanding of the Warring States Period is far too one-sided!"
"What was the Warring States Period? It was an age of chaos! Human lives were worth less than grass!"
"The Caged Bird was originally created to protect the Byakugan bloodline from being stolen, and thereby reduce casualties among the clan."
"You don't know that in the early Warring States Period, because of its immense strategic value and relatively minor drawbacks, the Byakugan drew the covetous attention of almost every powerful clan."
"Almost every powerful clan tried to seize Byakugan."
"The Uchiha, Senju, Yotsuki, Kaguya, Hozuki, Uzumaki, and others all possessed a certain number of Byakugan at one point!"
"Some smaller clans even stole Byakugan."
"Though the Hyuga were a powerful clan, they couldn't protect every clansman in such a chaotic age. The Caged Bird was created to protect their lives." Hyuga Shin slowly explained what the Caged Bird was originally meant to be.
"If it was a Sealing Technique to protect the clan, why did it have a punishment mechanism? Why were some people born to stand above others, while others were destined to have the Caged Bird placed on them?" A clansman demanded angrily, overcome with emotion.
"You're talking about the Hyuga of today, not the Hyuga of the Warring States Period. They were fundamentally different."
"The so-called punishment mechanism was actually a technique embedded in the seal to destroy the Byakugan, meant to prevent it from falling into enemy hands!"
"It wasn't abused back then. The punishment technique must have been added later."
"There was no distinction between high and low among clan members, only between the strong and the weak."
"During the Warring States Period, every child had to receive the Caged Bird before coming of age, no matter who their parents were!"
"No one was exempt. Even this old man had the Caged Bird placed on him!"
"As for going without the Caged Bird, that was a symbol of strength! The strong didn't need to be bound. They also had enough power to keep their bloodline from falling into enemy hands." Hyuga Shin spoke calmly, his voice old and measured.
"Elder Shin, are you telling us to accept the Caged Bird and our fate?" Hizashi struggled to accept Hyuga Shin's account of the Caged Bird, his face looking grim.
The other clan members also wore complicated expressions!
Hyuga Shin was a little baffled by Hizashi's line of thought. He was missing the point. Hyuga Shin would have to spell it out for him.
"What I mean is: the same thing can serve different purposes in different eras."
"In different environments, human nature can't withstand the temptation of power!"
"The past can't be undone. Act in the present, and the future can be changed!"
"There is no predestined future, only a self that isn't strong enough! Are you willing to accept your fate, Hizashi?" Hyuga Shin asked.
"You're afraid of change, yet you look forward to the future! But you keep going in circles, never daring to take that first step."
"The Caged Bird helped the Hyuga Clan thrive during the Warring States Period, but in the era of villages and nations, it became the culprit behind the clan's division!"
"The Caged Bird has been corrupted, and the great tree that is the Hyuga has withered."
"The Hyuga Branch Family has lost its dignity and courage. It's become a stagnant pool, without a ripple." Hyuga Shin spoke with deep meaning.
"The past can't be undone. Act in the present, and the future can be changed!"
"There is no predestined future, only a self that isn't strong enough!
"I'm afraid of change, yet I look forward to the future! But I keep going in circles, never daring to take that first step."
Those few short sentences rang through Hizashi's mind like the tolling of a great bell, echoing again and again.
The Hyuga clansmen all looked thoughtful, as though they had gained something.
Seeing that it was about time, Hyuga Shin said no more. That dose of inspiration would keep them digesting for a while.
He then dismissed them, bringing today's indoctrination session to an end.
"Hizashi Hyuga, you have to be clever!"
"The future I've planned for you is about fighting for the Shinobi World and for your ideals!"
"Only now are you beginning to fight for your clan. Your fate has only just begun!" Watching the figures leave, Hyuga Shin thought to himself.
For people who wanted to resist fate or believed in a predetermined destiny, all it took was the right guidance and support, along with a lofty ideal. Then they would follow the planned path on their journey to resist or pursue their fate!
The future Toad Sage Jiraiya was a believer in a predetermined destiny. The old Toad Head had bestowed on him the lofty ideal of taking on students and saving the world, and had completely fooled him.
"Sometimes, you think you're defying fate, when you don't realize that in another script, that is your fate!" Hyuga Shin's aged voice carried a chill and a ruthless edge.
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