Hiashi's Approval

[Name: Uchiha Ao]

[Age: Nine to ten]

"Nine years have passed in this world before I knew it." The autumn wind swept past the hem of Uchiha Ao's clothes, carrying ginkgo leaves with it. He stared at the flickering numbers on his interface, feeling a sense of melancholy.

Bonds are truly miraculous things. When he first arrived in this world and learned he was a member of the Uchiha Clan, with the night of the massacre looming not far ahead, Uchiha Ao had considered simply running away.

However, after Sister Izumi's family took him in, those cold-hearted plans for escape were slowly thawed by the rising steam from the kitchen stove.

The little tunes Izumi's Mother hummed while kneading dough, the rhythmic thud-thud of a knife against a cutting board, and Sister Izumi hanging off him like a koala every single day—these trivial warmth-filled moments were like fine silk, trapping him in a cocoon called "home," yet he found the confinement sweet.

"Little brother, what are you daydreaming about? It's time for you to make a wish!"

Following the voice, Sister Izumi stood on her tiptoes and pushed a red bean paste cake covered in lit candles toward him, the candlelight making her eyes sparkle.

Izumi's Mother stood by the stove in her floral apron, a wooden spoon stained with flour still in her hand, watching him with a radiant smile.

Today was his tenth birthday. The room was filled with the sweet scent of cream and red bean paste, and the ginkgo leaves outside the window had been strung into a wreath, swaying gently as they hung from the doorframe.

I hope... Uchiha Ao whispered in his heart.

His greatest wish now was for his family to remain safe and sound.

And in this world, only strength could ensure that this tenderness would last.

Early morning, abandoned training ground.

"Hinata, you've learned just about everything; there's only one final step left." Morning light pierced through the mottled leaves of the training ground, casting dappled shadows over Uchiha Ao and Hinata.

"Prove yourself in front of your father!" Uchiha Ao continued.

Hinata nodded vigorously.

She was no longer as cowardly and evasive as she had been in the past; her once-downcast gaze had become resolute and bright.

Hinata took a deep breath, a pale blue aura of chakra blooming around her. The veins of her Byakugan stood out clearly in the morning light, revealing an unexpectedly sharp and fierce aura.

"Ao-kun, I'm ready!" Her voice no longer trembled, carrying the courage of one breaking free from a cocoon.

"I believe in you, Hinata." Uchiha Ao met her gaze.

The fledgling bird had grown up; all it lacked now was the chance to spread its wings bravely.

Hyuga Clan estate.

"Hinata, is there a reason you called me here?" Hyuga Hiashi looked at Hinata, whose eyes were filled with determination, feeling a hint of emotion.

He had witnessed Hinata's changes over these past few days; she was increasingly carrying the air of a true heir.

He realized he had underestimated that Uchiha brat.

It seemed that boy was better suited to teaching Hinata than he was.

Hinata took a deep breath and straightened her back, her Byakugan glowing with a faint blue luster. "Father, I wish to demonstrate the results of my training during this period."

Though her voice still trembled slightly, the resolution in her words was as firm as metal.

Hyuga Hiashi raised an eyebrow, his peripheral vision catching sight of Neji Hyuga standing in the corner of the courtyard.

"Very well. If you can defeat Neji, I will recognize your qualifications as the heir to the Hyuga house." Hyuga Hiashi paused before continuing, "In the future, whatever you wish to do, so long as it does not harm the interests of the clan, I shall turn a blind eye."

Hinata nodded in agreement.

"Neji, you heard that, didn't you? Come here," Hyuga Hiashi said in a deep voice.

Neji stepped forward, the cursed seal on his forehead rising and falling slightly with his breath.

Facing Hinata, Neji's feelings were complex.

On one hand, she was his cousin, a relative bound by blood; on the other, as a member of the branch family shackled by the cursed seal, he harbored hatred for the main house.

"My Lady, I will not hold back," Neji Hyuga said in a cold tone.

"Neji-niisan, I understand," Hinata replied, folding her hands over her chest and meeting the cold intensity in Neji's eyes head-on.

As the words fell, Neji adopted a gesture of invitation.

"My Lady, for the sake of fairness, you may strike first."

He was very confident in his own strength.

Hinata took a deep breath, stomped her feet against the ground, and sent pale blue chakra surging through her body, her hands moving like the fluttering wings of a butterfly.

"Neji-niisan, be careful."

Hinata assumed the classic starting stance of the Eight Trigrams Palms, her palms held one in front of the other, elbows slightly bent as if embracing a circle.

Neji didn't pay it much mind; he merely narrowed his eyes, intending to take the blow head-on to let Hinata see the true gap between them.

As Hinata closed the distance, Neji crossed his arms over his chest, adopting a defensive posture.

He watched Hinata approach with cold eyes, but his pupils constricted the instant her palm wind touched his skin—hidden beneath the seemingly gentle palm strike was a fierce force capable of shattering blue stone.

"Bang!" Hinata's palm struck heavily against the arms Neji had crossed to shield his chest, and a shockwave exploded from the point of impact, sending gravel from the ground flying into the air.

Neji let out a muffled groan and stumbled back three steps before barely managing to steady himself, blood seeping from the web between his thumb and forefinger.

He stared at his cousin in disbelief; the Hinata who had once recoiled even when throwing a punch now had chakra surging around her with the sharpness of a physical blade.

"How... is this possible!" Gritting his teeth, Neji engaged again, attempting to counter with the Gentle Fist, only to find Hinata's footwork bizarre and unpredictable, every step landing precisely in his blind spots.

Pale blue chakra circulated through Hinata's meridians as her Eight Trigrams Palms surged like a tide; the seventh palm brushed past his ear, leaving a half-inch-deep print in the century-old locust tree behind him.

"Brother Neji, please take this seriously." Hinata looked at Neji, who seemed to have no strength left to resist, her tone tinged with dissatisfaction.

Neji gritted his teeth and let out a low growl, vanishing from his spot. He reappeared behind Hinata. "Naive!" His voice carried suppressed fury. "Do you think this level of power can change destiny?"

Before he could finish, Neji's hands flew, executing the opening stance of the Eight Trigrams Palms, pale green chakra condensing in his palms.

The instant their palm winds collided, the air emitted a sharp, piercing screech.

The stone slab beneath Hinata's feet cracked violently, but she used the force to launch herself into the air, spinning to deliver a kick.

Neji's pupils shrank, and he immediately crossed his arms before his chest, chakra flooding into them like a tide to form a layer of flowing green light on the surface of his skin.

The moment they made contact, Neji was knocked back several meters once again.

He knelt on one knee, gasping for air as fresh blood dripped from the corner of his mouth onto his lapel.

Hinata did not press her advantage; instead, she stood her ground, hands hanging at her sides, and said calmly, "Brother Neji, it's over."

I... lost?

Neji braced a hand against the ground, trying to stand, unwilling to accept this reality.

"Neji, you have lost." Hyuga Hiashi announced the final result of the duel from the side.

Neji's fingers dug deep into the ground, leaving claw marks on the stone slab.

He snapped his head up, his eyes bloodshot. "Impossible! How could I lose to..." His voice cut off abruptly. He looked at Hinata's upright back and suddenly recalled the image of his father on his deathbed—that man who had also lost to the main family, yet chose to silently accept his fate.

Neji's Adam's apple bobbed as he suddenly let out a shrill, wretched laugh, a laugh wrapped in the shackles of the curse mark he had carried for six years, ten years of hatred and resentment, causing the remaining locust leaves in the courtyard to fall in a rustling shower.

He touched the curse mark on his forehead with trembling fingers, his nails nearly breaking the skin. "To think that even a cowardly young mistress could step on my head..." His hoarse voice was filled with self-mockery. "What was I still clinging to?"

"Main family... branch family..." Neji stood up shakily, his frame looking even more hunched than before his defeat. "It is nothing but a joke."

He turned toward Hinata, but his gaze pierced through her, landing on something far more distant. "Young Mistress, congratulations. You won."

He seemed to have exhausted all his strength in those words, and as he finished, he stumbled backward, knocking over a stone lantern.

"Brother Neji..." Kind-hearted Hinata wanted to say something, but Hiashi stopped her.

"Someone, take Neji away for treatment."

Several ninjas from the Hyuga clan stepped forward to help the staggering Neji, but he brushed their hands away, dragging his heavy feet toward the corridor alone.

Hyuga Hiashi did not pay much mind to Neji's reaction; although he did indeed owe that child, this was the Hyuga clan, and there were many things he was powerless to change.

He looked at Hinata, his eyes filled with a touch of relief. "Hinata, you have grown up. I can rest easy leaving the future of the Hyuga in your hands. I will not go back on my previous promise."

Elsewhere, in the lodgings of Uchiha Ao.

"Congratulations to the host for completing the main mission: Caged Bird Longing for Freedom."

"Reward obtained: Hinata's Byakugan (Enhanced Version)"

"Ding, Otsutsuki Bloodline progress at ten percent."