Hokage's Office
Uchiha Nan took out a prepared manuscript from his drawer.
" Lu Yuan, Toma, make sure this article spreads to every street and alley in Konoha before sunset today!"
<The Death of Hyuga Neji Hyuga Branch Family!>
Toma Senju, Nara Luyuan, Uchiha Tomita's attention was immediately drawn to the article.
This huge title
Quite impactful!
It makes you want to keep reading.
[In the 24th year of Konoha, I received news of the death of my fellow Ninja Academy student Hyuga Neji.]
[When he died, he had become a Jonin of Konoha and had over a million ryo in his bank account, but he still preferred to wear cheap training clothes costing 1,500 ryo.]
[From receiving news of his death to deciding to write this article, and finally to you reading it today, it took me half a month.]
[I picked up my pen five times, put it down five times, unable to continue. I knew full well that this article, even if written, would likely be unable to be published due to strong opposition within the village, making it a futile effort. But in the end, I still chose to write it.]
[The following text refers to myself, but it is actually based on my personal experience. Please listen to my story of pursuing freedom!]
sharp!
Nara Luyuan couldn't help but admire him. In just a few lines, he had drawn a simple and frugal image of the Hyuga Branch Family in his mind, instantly boosting his favorability!
The inclusion of phrases like "enormous obstacles" further piqued the reader's interest, and the use of a first-person perspective enhanced the story's realism.
To be blunt, I have very little contact with Hyuga Neji; the bond we built up at the Ninja Academy has almost completely worn away.
But because of his departure, I almost fell into a state of depression.
[I'm writing down everything about him today, not just out of guilt and a desire for redemption as a friend, but because his departure has made me rethink my life over the past few years, my relationship with Konoha, and whether everything I did for the Will of Fire was truly meaningful.]
Having read this far...
Nara Luyuan's body involuntarily shuddered.
Is this already the start of labeling?
Lord Hokage, you're really ruthless!
To be honest, I don't remember much about him anymore. I'm sorry, but it's the truth.
[What I can still remember clearly are some blurry figures. He wasn't tall, about 160 cm, had acne on his face, spoke with a heavy accent, and looked like he wasn't very bright.]
[But this is purely my prejudice, and I must apologize to Hyuga Neji for judging him by his appearance.]
But he was a genius, a true genius!
[Our ninja code class started with specialized learning, studying one part at a time, followed by in-class quizzes on each topic. The questions were incredibly difficult, and the worst part was that we hadn't even had time to digest the information after listening to them, so everyone complained.]
[However, starting from the third specialized test, Hyuga Neji firmly held the top spot in the class's secret language class, and never relinquished it until after the graduation exam. Not only that, he was also the top student in our year's graduation exam!]
[Later, we gradually became acquainted, and I learned more about Hyuga Neji. He came from the Hyuga Branch Family, and his eyes always shone brightly when he talked about the glorious history of the Hyuga Clan. (P. S. At the time, I was unaware of the darkness within the Hyuga Clan, so now I must distinguish between the Hyuga Branch Family and the Hyuga Clan Head Family.)]
[At the time, he only spent 3,000 ryo a week, including all food and expenses. He had a younger sister, Hinata Hyuga, who was three years younger than him and would be attending the Ninja Academy in a few years; she was also very intelligent.]
[His tuition for the Ninja Academy was all raised for his family by members of the Hyuga Branch Family family; they all say he is the pride of their Hyuga Branch Family.]
[I find it hard to imagine that after the Lord Third led Konoha through so many years of hard work, a ninja from a prestigious clan could live in such dire straits, especially since I heard that his father was a ninja who was severely wounded during a mission and died shortly after returning to Konoha. According to Konoha's regulations, Hyuga Neji should receive a large sum of compensation and pension. What exactly happened in between?]
[Even now, this question is still on my mind.]
[Our Ninja Academy gives all students free milk every morning. I never drink milk, so I just throw it in the trash. Once, he saw me and was startled. He said, "Don't waste things! You can't sell it to me, but can you give me a discount?" I asked him, "Don't you have some too?" He smiled and said, "I can bring some for my sister."]
[I'll hand it to him; I won't take the money. You can just lose to me next time you practice Taijutsu.]
[After their first winter break from the Ninja Academy, everyone gathered together for a lively chat. It's always like this in school; the first day back from winter break is always a tea party. Everyone's different after the break; everyone's wearing new clothes and shoes, and some even have new hairstyles.]
[ Hyuga Neji was the same; that day, a green mark appeared on his forehead, making his head stand out.]
[When class ended, a few boys walked over and said, half-jokingly and half-teasingly, " Neji, that mark of yours is really trendy. You've even learned how to be cool over winter break."]
[Those sitting next to him tried hard to hold back their laughter, but some couldn't help it and burst out laughing.]
I didn't say anything, pretending to be engrossed in my book. After everyone had walked away, he secretly passed me a note that read, "Is the mark on my head really that ugly?"
I replied that it didn't look very good, and the next day, he wore a headscarf to cover the green mark.
[I was puzzled at the time. Since the mark was unsightly, why not erase it? I hesitated several times, wanting to ask him. But highly intelligent people have excellent eyesight; he clearly noticed my hesitation and, during morning reading, told me, "This is the mark of the Hyuga Branch Family, called the Caged Bird. The purpose of the branch family is to dedicate ourselves to protecting the Main Family and repaying the kindness of the ancestral Main Family towards the branch family."]
[My father shielded the Main Family Main Family from a fatal blow during that failed mission, and in the subsequent investigation, he voluntarily took responsibility for the Main Family and bore the blame.]
[I think that was the first time Hyuga Neji spoke about his family background in person. There was no sob, no unnecessary words; he simply spoke to me in a tone so calm it was almost imperceptible.]
[Neither humble nor arrogant.]
[From a young age, I studied the Will of Fire at school, which led me to believe everything Konoha promoted—that Konoha was an incredibly free, egalitarian, and humanitarian ninja village!]
So when I heard him talk about these things, my first reaction was disbelief. That such a horrifying system still existed in Konoha, that they could disregard Konoha's laws, distort the truth, and treat Konoha Ninja as slaves and tools!
Nara Luyuan suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe.
Lord Hokage!
How many hats is this now?
[It's not just Hyuga Neji; most of my memories of the entire Ninja Academy are blurry. But every time I talk about it, there's always one part I can't skip. Our Konoha was probably one of the few Ninja world that truly promoted holistic education. We could choose subjects like math, physics, and chemistry as electives, there were real club activities, many courses that encouraged critical thinking, and every afternoon each class would watch the < Konoha News> in their classrooms.]
[At a class meeting two months before graduation, our homeroom Iruka-sensei, swiftly wrote the two large characters "ideal" on the blackboard.]
[There aren't many people I truly admire in my life, but my Ninja Academy teacher is one of them. He was in his thirties when he taught us Shuriken throwing. He was a pure, kind-hearted person at heart, never showing favoritism or prejudice, and never using any excuse to ask parents for bribes. He was generally fair to all students, even the most mischievous student in the class, Naruto Uzumaki, who dared to scribble on the Hokage Rock, could be taught with a gentle and kind demeanor.]
That day, he told us, "You are the best students in the Ninja world Academy. You have received the best education since childhood, and most of you will enter the ranks of Konoha's combat ninjas in the future. But I want you to remember, no matter how many missions you complete or how much money you earn, I will never think highly of you."
Remember the responsibilities you bear. If this Ninja world and Konoha are destined to need great people, why can't it be you?
"You've all got access to the best educational resources, yet none of you have the dream to change the world. Who else do you expect to have it?" Then he had each of us tear off a sheet of A4 paper and write our ideals on it, the number of words didn't matter.
If you can't think of an ideal right now, write down what kind of person you hope to become in 10 years.
[At that time, the classroom was filled with teenagers, full of youthful vigor and high spirits, their hearts brimming with passion and their eyes shining brightly. Under the enthusiastic guidance of our homeroom teacher, we quickly entered into the atmosphere, earnestly falling into deep thought. Every word we uttered was cautious and firm, as if we were making a solemn pledge.]
[Next, everyone stood up one by one to share their dreams. Some wanted to become Hokage, some wanted to join the Konoha Research Department—a world-changing institution—some wanted to develop a cure for bloodline diseases, some wanted to join the Anbu, and some wanted to become Shadow Guard Squad. I didn't dare to be careless either, so I wrote on a piece of paper: "I want to be a reporter, diligent and upright, speaking only for the sake of Konoha."]
Amidst a sea of passionate and idealistic aspirations, Hyuga Neji's dream was. "I want to become Hokage." This was a common dream among the Ninja Academy students, but after shaking his head, he crossed it out and wrote on the paper again, "I want to spend my life searching for the meaning of life and pursuing true freedom."
We laughed at him, "You're being too perfunctory!" He laughed along, saying, "How can a swan understand the ambitions of a sparrow?" In the end, all the slips of paper with our ideals were collected by Iruka-sensei, who gave us a ten-year promise. He said that if anyone could still remember them ten years later, they could go back and ask him for them.
[Later, Hyuga Neji joined the Konoha Science and Technology Department and began to specialize in Sealing Jutsu. He studied day and night, and within a few years became a senior researcher in the department.]
[In that bottomless well, he clung to the tattered rope given to him by the Sage of Six Paths, countless times inviting him to take shortcuts.]
[If you send us some insider information, we'll have enough for a year's living expenses.]
[By slightly manipulating the research funding accounts, you can get a share of money you've never seen before in your life.]
[Even though he was eventually worn down and bloodied, he preferred to fall to his death rather than walk those roads.]
[But in the end Hyuga Neji still died, dying on the path of pursuing his ideal of freedom. He had always wanted to break free from the Caged Bird that had bound him since childhood, but ultimately he failed, and his secret research was discovered by the Hyuga Clan Head Family.]
[That day, Hyuga Neji went into the Main Family elder's room and never came out again. His usually free-spirited eyes seemed to have been destroyed by some kind of magic. His sister, Hinata Hyuga, cried terribly, her cries heartbreaking.]
[We, who have lived an easy life, are easily led astray by the slightest temptation, yet we constantly claim we were forced into prostitution. But Hyuga Neji, truly driven to the brink by the Caged Bird, never once complained.]
[When did Konoha ever pressure me? Or have I blamed Konoha for all the suffering I've endured because of my desires?]
I don't know the answer!
[After he left, I kept thinking about a strange question. Everyone has their own epitaph. The First Hokage's epitaph was, "As long as it's for the protection of Konoha, I will not let go of my brothers, friends, or family."]
The Second Hokage's epitaph reads, "This inherently evil Ninja world, I will utterly destroy it!"
[I've always wanted to write a suitable epitaph for him, one that sounds incredibly impressive, even more so than those other people, but I couldn't think of a suitable one until I remembered the ideal he made ten years ago.]
[So, this is probably the most suitable epitaph for him: "A bird broken from its cage!"]
Read the whole article
Uchiha Tomita, Nara Luyuan, Toma Senju all felt there was still more to say.
When their minds are detached from this article...
Uchiha Tomita, Toma Senju, and Nara Luyuan were all sweating profusely.
The Lord Hokage is trying to force the Hyuga Clan Head Family!
They desecrated the Will of Fire, embezzled compensation and pensions, distorted the truth, disregarded Konoha's laws, and resorted to vigilante justice.
Damn, this is for real!
All three of them are implicated and must bow and apologize at the Konoha high-level meeting.
" Lord Hokage, is everything in this article true?"
Uchiha Tomita swallowed hard, his voice trembling as an unspeakable rage brewed within him.
The internal affairs of your Hyuga Clan are none of my business, as an Uchiha.
But the Hyuga Clan Head Family has gone this far.
Such horrific things can happen during the reign of my Uchiha; it's as if they don't take the Uchiha seriously at all.
Uchiha Nan was very satisfied with Uchiha Tomita's performance.
This article, born in an era of information overload and having been exposed to countless public intellectuals and toxic motivational quotes, still resonated with countless Rabbit Country and eventually trended on social media.
Uchiha Nan could already imagine the public outrage this article would cause if it were published in Konoha.
Hyuga Clan Head Family
You could have lived a more dignified life.
What can be done?
The Death of a Top-Scoring Student from a Poor Family
This is the pinnacle of public intellectual writing; the entire piece is fabricated, but the writing style is quite good. Those interested can check it out.