The Slumbering Slave

"Hinata, goodbye!"

Ino Yamanaka and Sakura Haruno turned back to wave.

"Goodbye."

Hinata Hyuga responded softly, a complex emotion she had never felt before surging in her heart. Only when their figures had completely vanished at the end of the street did she turn around and begin the walk home with Hyuga Kiyonari.

She clutched the fashion magazine Ino had given her, reflecting on everything that had happened today as she walked. Shopping together, chatting, laughing... we should, I suppose, count as friends now.

Thinking this, she arrived back at the Hyuga Clan Grounds before she knew it.

The streets within the clan grounds were orderly and quiet, with clan members occasionally walking by at a steady, unhurried pace; everything appeared as methodical and unchanged as it had always been.

Yet this time, Hinata felt an inexplicable sense of oppression.

A young branch family member brushed past her, but upon seeing Hinata, he immediately stopped and bowed. "Young Mistress."

Hinata nodded in response, and only then did the clan member straighten up and continue on his way.

That was right; here, she was not "Hinata," but the "Young Mistress."

Hinata looked down at the brightly colored magazine cover in her arms; it seemed so out of place in this environment, and a sense of guilt quietly crept into her heart.

"Kiyonari," she asked suddenly, "I wasted my training today, indulging in these meaningless things. When there are so many people expecting so much from me, tell me... am I being selfish?"

Kiyonari thought for a moment. Instead of answering her directly, he said, "Do you know? According to scientific calculations, a person needs to drink eight glasses of water a day—250 milliliters per glass, two thousand milliliters a day, 730 liters a year. If you live for sixty years, that's 43,800 liters."

"So... your life is just 43,800 liters of water, plus 65,700 meals, plus 21,900 days. Along with grades, missions, work, meaning, value, IQ... is that it?"

Hinata pursed her lips, a slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "How cunning. You're just shifting the goalposts."

"Then you tell me, what is life?"

"It is..." She paused, but did not continue. The closer they got to the main house, the more silent she became.

Finally, she bid Kiyonari farewell and pushed open the door to the main house.

"Hinata."

As soon as she entered the main hall, she saw Hyuga Hiashi sitting upright in his chair, his hands folded across his chest, his face devoid of any expression.

"Your training volume will be doubled tomorrow to make up for the session you skipped today."

He did not ask where Hinata had gone or what she had done; he simply announced his decision in a flat tone.

She had snuck out of the house early that morning not without a desire to test the waters. Now that she had her answer, though it was within her expectations, a trace of grievance inexplicably welled up in her heart.

But Hinata dared not argue, and could only respond in a low voice, "Yes."

Hinata turned to leave, but after two steps, she stopped and looked back at Hiashi. Summoning her courage, she tentatively asked, "Father... after the situation at the border stabilizes, if it is possible, could you take me to see it?"

Hiashi's expression suddenly turned even colder. "No!"

The two simple words left no room for negotiation.

But this time, Hinata did not lower her head in her usual submissive manner. Instead, she lifted her face, looked directly into her father's eyes, and posed her question in a voice that was faint yet exceptionally clear.

"Why?"

"With your current strength, what could you possibly do at the border?"

"It's just that..." Hinata bit her lip.

"There is no 'just that'," Hiashi interrupted her. "Your strength is far from sufficient; going to the border would only make you a burden."

Is it really because I am too weak?

A bitter curve blossomed at the corners of her lips. "Or is it because... I am of the main house, and therefore must never be placed in any danger?"

The moment the words left her lips, Hinata herself was stunned.

She had never defied her father like this, nor had she ever questioned the rules of the clan so bluntly.

Hinata subconsciously took a half-step back, almost ready to turn and run, but ultimately remained rooted to the spot, anxiously awaiting the expected reprimand. Yet, the anticipated storm did not arrive; instead, the hall fell into a suffocating, deathly silence.

Is this the calm before the storm?

After a long while, Hinata carefully raised her head and stole a glance at Hiashi.

Hiashi's gaze was deep and unreadable; there was no anger, no harshness, he simply sat there in silence.

After a long silence, Hiashi finally spoke, his voice much lower than before. "I will never allow you to leave Konoha."

Hinata bit her lower lip tightly, saying nothing.

"Also," Hiashi paused slightly, "I have notified Neji. Starting tomorrow, he will guide your training. Do not disappoint me."

Hinata's eyes widened in shock.

"That is all. Return to your room." After Hiashi finished speaking, he rose and left.

Notified... what a light, dismissive word to use.

Hinata walked through the corridor as the twilight deepened. The lanterns in the mansion were lit one by one by the maids, their dim, yellow halos flickering in the deepening night.

As they passed her and bowed in greeting, Hinata couldn't help but wonder:

Did they truly want to be maids? Did they feel their lives had meaning? Did they occasionally fantasize about a different kind of life?

Back in her room, alone, the images from just moments ago resurfaced in her mind:

What was Father thinking when I defied him, and why did he look at me that way?

As she opened the black notebook and stared at the bold characters of the Life Simulator, she couldn't help but question herself:

"At the very beginning, I only wanted to prevent Father's death. How did I... become so greedy now?"

When to wake, when to train, when to rest—her life had always been scheduled with seamless precision. It wasn't until the Life Simulator arrived that a small gap was finally pried open in that tightly packed itinerary.

Before that day, she had never had the chance to say "no," nor had she even entertained the thought of doing so.

Likewise, the members of the branch family were just like her; they had no opportunity to say "no," and perhaps they lacked the very notion of it, for they... had not waited for their own "Life Simulator."

How could those who could not see a future ever abandon a life that, while rigid and conventional, at least offered immediate stability?

Within the Hyuga Clan, she had never heard a single clansman dream of becoming Hokage, yet outside the clan, every child could smile and say, "I want to become Hokage."

Whether it was Ino or Sakura, at least they were all free to speak their hearts' desires.

Even an ordinary person who had just moved to Konoha and wasn't even a ninja yet, after a few words of guidance from Kiyonari, possessed the right and the courage to change their own life.

But in the Hyuga Clan, Uncle Hizashi didn't even have the right to choose his own life or death, Brother Neji lacked the freedom to decide whether or not to teach me, and I lacked the courage to even choose to rest for the day...

From the moment of birth, the fate of the vast majority of the Hyuga was already set in stone. They neither took action to change their destiny nor possessed the courage to accept it; they were simply slumbering.

This is the Caged Bird.

Here, everyone is a bird in a cage.