The courtyard of the Hyuga estate lay under the deep darkness of night.
Hinata sat alone in her room, gazing at the moon outside her window as she hummed a cheerful tune.
Three days had passed since she last used the simulator. Its cooldown was about to end.
Hinata pinched the corner of her notebook and took a deep breath.
Her last simulation still felt like it had happened only moments ago. But now, the Kumogakure delegation had left, Konoha had given them a firm response, and Uncle Hizashi had managed to avoid the Main Branch Elder.
So this time... what would she see in the new future?
She opened the notebook to the title page and started the simulation.
[Life Simulator starting...]
[Konoha Year 54.]
[Under my father Hiashi's strict demands, I continued training hard. My progress over the past year was remarkable, and Father was increasingly pleased with my performance. I tried to find out about Hidden Cloud and the border, but I never managed to get any useful information.]
[Konoha Year 55.]
[Scattered reports of clashes came from the border. Kumogakure refused to back down and stationed troops there as well. They were said to have had a few minor skirmishes with Lady Tsunade's forces, but the overall situation remained under control.]
[At the end of the year, the first group of branch family members sent to guard the border returned to the clan grounds. The second group set out gradually after the new year. This news caused little stir within the Hyuga Clan. Father merely glanced at the casualty report before setting it aside.]
[The next day, Father took me to visit Uncle Hizashi, who had just returned to the village. During our brief time together, I sensed that something about him had changed. His gaze toward Neji and me had grown increasingly complicated.]
[Konoha Year 56.]
[Father told me that I would soon have a younger sister or brother. He also said that I would start attending the Ninja Academy next year.]
[At the end of the year, the second group of clan members assigned to guard the border returned, and the third group was about to depart. Unexpectedly, Uncle Hizashi, whose name wasn't on the list, took the initiative and asked Father to let him go to the border. Father refused, and the two of them got into an argument. They parted on bad terms.]
[I noticed that more and more clan members were changing, and unease welled up inside me. I had a vague feeling that something big was about to happen.]
[Now, I have two options.]
[1. Find Kiyonari and investigate privately.]
[2. Tell Father and launch an open investigation.]
[3. Find my big brother Neji and ask him in person.]
Hinata looked up and blinked in confusion. "What exactly happened?"
Since the changes had started after they returned from the border, the most important thing was to find out what had happened there.
[I decided to find my big brother Neji and ask him to take me to see Uncle Hizashi, so I could ask him directly]
[Big brother Neji was surprised by my sudden visit, but he didn't turn me away. Uncle Hizashi looked as he always had, as if nothing had happened, but I could clearly see the weariness that lingered between his brows.]
[I gathered my courage and asked him what had happened at the border. Why was he so determined to go back, even to the point of getting into a huge argument with Father?]
[He looked at me and stayed silent for a long time. Many complicated emotions flickered in his eyes: deep exhaustion, suppressed anger, and helplessness... In the end, they all gave way to a long, heavy sigh.]
["A bird that has experienced the freedom of flight can never again grow used to life in a cage."]
[He wouldn't say anything more. He left me with only those words.]
[Konoha Year 57.]
[My younger sister was born, and Father named her Hanabi Hyuga. I also started attending the Ninja Academy that year. Happily, Kiyonari and I were placed in the same class.]
[At the end of the year, the third group of branch family members sent to guard the border returned to the clan grounds. This time, the Main Family finally noticed the obvious changes in the branch family members. They began investigating, even directly questioning the Third about what had happened at the border.]
[At the same time, the branch family members stopped showing the Main Family the same unquestioning respect as before. For the first time, they voiced their discontent in public and began questioning the Main Family.]
[The Main Family elders were furious. The Main Family decided the continuation of the Hyuga Clan, while the branch family protected them. This was an order that the Hyuga had upheld for hundreds of years. The branch family's actions were undoubtedly a challenge to that order.]
[Father was caught in an unprecedented dilemma. As both clan head and older brother, he understood the branch family's anger, but he also bore the responsibility of maintaining the family's stability and traditions. He regretted realizing what was happening too late. For a time, he didn't know what choice he could make to quell the turmoil.]
[The spark that finally ignited the conflict was the Hyuga Clan's proud secret technique—the Gentle Fist Technique: Rotation.]
[The branch family demanded that the restrictions on learning Rotation be lifted, allowing its members to master this Main Family secret technique. As expected, the Main Family flatly rejected the proposal.]
[But the branch family's anger would no longer be silenced. Rotation was said to be the Hyuga Clan's absolute defense, yet it was held by a group that never went to the battlefield and only used it to flaunt their Main Family status and claim superiority!]
["We're members of the Hyuga Clan too! We have the Byakugan too! Why should we be treated so differently?" The branch family members' cries rang across the entire clan grounds.]
[Faced with the branch family's unprecedented defiance, the Main Family split among themselves. Some argued that they should use the Caged Bird Seal's punishment function to make the branch family understand their "place." Others began to waver, thinking that perhaps the restrictions on Rotation could be loosened to some extent.]
[I didn't know exactly what clashes and compromises took place during that time. But in the end, under immense pressure, Father lifted the ban on the branch family learning Rotation.]
[The branch family's protests quieted for the moment. But I knew this was only a brief calm before the storm.]
[One day, their anger would erupt again. Without the "Main Family secret technique" to serve as a buffer, what would happen then?]
[This simulation has ended]
[Evaluation: What killed the Hyuga Clan's future?]
Hinata was drenched in cold sweat, her heart pounding violently. The angry voices seemed to break free from the pages and leap into her ears.
"The Caged Bird..." she murmured, then shook her head hard. "No. It's the system of the Main Family and branch family, the system that tears the Hyuga Clan apart and forces its members into two different kinds of people."
"Even without Kumogakure, even without Rotation, there'll be another spark. The Hyuga Clan is destined to meet that end!"
Even though the simulator hadn't clearly revealed the final outcome, the suffocating feeling that a storm was coming was enough to let her glimpse what lay ahead!
"The branch family... Father... the border... Lady Tsunade..."
Her chaotic thoughts tangled together, then all pointed toward the figure who had shown her the way through countless moments of confusion—the person she most wanted to reach for now, the only "lifeline" who could offer a sliver of hope.
"Kiyonari, where are you?"
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