Simulation, Start!

Hinata Hyuga took a deep breath, raised her small hands into a Gentle Fist stance, and charged at Hiashi Hyuga.

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Hiashi merely shifted to the side, easily dodging Hinata's attack. Then he extended a finger and tapped her wrist, stopping her follow-up move.

"Smack!"

The crisp sound rang out again and again.

Day after day, the same scene played out in the dojo.

She attacked, got blocked, and was effortlessly subdued. In the past, after three or five exchanges, Hinata's movements would gradually fall apart, and she would run out of strength.

But today, something was different.

After her attack was blocked, Hinata didn't retreat as usual and switch to a cautious approach. Instead, she pushed off hard against the tatami, using the momentum to steady herself, then struck at Hiashi's lower body with her other hand from a slightly awkward angle.

Hiashi's eyebrows lifted slightly, but he immediately countered and once again deflected her attack with ease. His movements were still unhurried, but his hands followed her like a shadow, aiming for several of the vital points on her body.

Hinata looked somewhat clumsy as she retreated and dodged under her father's relentless offense. But Hiashi could see clearly that, unlike before, her eyes weren't fixed solely on his hands. She was also watching his waist and abdomen.

She was looking for an opening.

More accurately, she was looking for a chance to attack!

Good!

Hiashi cheered silently, though his face remained impassive. If anything, his hands moved even faster.

He wanted to see how far Hinata could go this time.

Sweat soon soaked Hinata's bangs, and her breathing grew heavy and ragged. She was nearly out of strength.

"Haah!"

She suddenly let out a shout and charged forward into the gust of her father's descending palm, throwing a punch with all her might.

A flash of surprise crossed Hiashi's eyes. He turned his wrist, and with an apparently casual push, precisely stopped her momentum.

Hinata felt a soft force travel along the path of her punch. Her body tipped backward against her will, and she landed hard on the cold floor.

Their sparring match was over.

Hinata lowered her head, her small fists clenched tight as she waited for the inevitable scolding. Because... she still hadn't managed to do anything.

The dojo was utterly silent, broken only by her own labored breathing. It felt like a very long time passed before Hiashi's voice finally came from above her.

"Get up."

Hinata pushed herself upright and stood again, her head bowed as she braced herself for criticism.

But what she heard was completely unexpected.

"Today... you did well."

Hinata jerked her head up, unable to believe her ears. Shock filled her pale eyes.

Her father's face still wore its usual, unchanging stern expression. But he hadn't said, "You're still not good enough," or, "You're too slow." He hadn't responded with silent disappointment, either. He had praised her.

It was the first time she could remember receiving praise from her father.

The door gently closed behind her with a crisp click, as if shutting out everything beyond it and sealing it away in another world.

Hinata leaned against the door and stood there in a daze for a few seconds, her pale eyes wandering over the familiar furnishings in the room.

"I really can do it."

She murmured the words under her breath, as if answering a promise she had made to someone.

Hinata took the black notebook from her drawer and opened it. As soon as the Life Simulator's cooldown reached zero, she immediately chose [Begin Simulation].

The previous simulation's results faded away. New words appeared on the page, starting from the beginning.

[Year 54 of Konoha. A delegation from Kumogakure arrived, and Father became even busier. I found another chance to sneak out of the estate, planning to look for my cousin Neji.]

[But just beyond the wall, I spotted a suspicious figure. The person had dark skin and looked a lot like someone from the Land of Lightning.]

[Now I have three choices.]

[1. Shout that there's a spy from an enemy village here.]

[2. Ignore him and continue looking for Neji.]

[3. Do nothing and return to my room.]

"Huh?"

Hinata was a little surprised. The conditions were the same as in the previous simulation, but this time there was an extra choice.

Should she pick this one?

She subconsciously pinched her fingers. Although Kumogakure had expressed its willingness to negotiate, it would still take some time for their envoy to cross the distance between the two countries and reach Konoha.

Never mind. She'd stick with what she'd planned before.

Having made up her mind, Hinata chose the first option.

[This time, I shouted loudly. The Kumogakure ninja immediately turned to look at me.]

[His figure rapidly grew larger in my field of vision. Just then, Father, who had already gone to bed, rushed over and struck the Kumogakure ninja in the chest with his palm. The man died before he could even make a sound.]

[He was dead.]

[But Kumogakure's counterattack caught us off guard. They twisted the truth, claiming that Konoha had betrayed them, broken off negotiations, and cruelly murdered their envoy. They demanded that Konoha hand over the killer as an explanation. Otherwise, they would answer with war.]

[If one person's life could bring an end to the war, the bargain seemed incredibly worthwhile.]

[Not only did the others in the village begin to waver; even Father did. Before long, the killer's corpse was handed over.]

[Standing beside Father, I looked at the corpse with the exact same face as his. At last, I understood.]

[The "killer" was Uncle Hizashi.]

"How could this happen?!"

Young Hinata had never seen the dark side of the world, much less understood its complicated machinations. The cruel truth pierced her innocent heart.

Just then, a line of text slowly appeared on the page.

[The worldline has been anchored. Would you like to view the results of this simulation?]

Hinata took a deep breath and managed to steady her trembling voice. "View them."

[Kumogakure got its explanation. Konoha got its peace. The Hyuga clan got its clan head. And all it cost was the life of a member of the Branch Family.]

[But how could those accustomed to looking down on others ever lower their noble heads to see Neji Hyuga lose his father, to see a child lose his entire world?]

[Year 58 of Konoha. The Uchiha clan was wiped out overnight, leaving only one survivor. The incident had a huge impact and seemed to give someone an idea.]

[Year 63 of Konoha. Orochimaru planned the Konoha Crush Plan. Neji Hyuga seized the opportunity to kill every member of the Main Family except you in an extremely short time, then defected.]

["My foolish little sister, if you want to kill me, then hate me, curse me, and live on in misery."]

[This simulation has ended.]

[Evaluation: You can fool the Branch Family with some things, but don't fool yourself.]