Hinata, Stop Pretending

What kind of clan meeting was this? Who had ever heard of a clan meeting being called so early in the morning? Fine, call one if they wanted—but what did it have to do with her, a child of only a few years old?

Although children in the world of Naruto generally matured precociously, to an unbelievable degree, understanding romance by the age of eleven or twelve, Kakashi had become a ninja at just five years old and gone to the battlefield to fight and kill enemies.

And he was hardly the only precedent. While Kakashi had broken the record for becoming a ninja at the youngest age, Itachi Uchiha, who had been born into the Uchiha Clan, was no less impressive.

"But how old was Itachi Uchiha when he became a ninja again? I seem to have forgotten," she murmured softly.

Though she was extremely dissatisfied, her movements did not stop. She had already dressed simply and began tidying her hair.

After hearing movement from within the room, the person outside stopped knocking and waited quietly beside the door. Hinata was fairly quick; less than ten minutes had passed from the moment she was awakened to when she had dressed and washed up.

Outside stood a Hyuga clansman in his thirties, dressed in a kimono. His eyes were the white Byakugan unique to the Hyuga Clan, and he was rather handsome.

A memory immediately surfaced in Hinata's mind: Toyo Hyuga, one of the Hyuga Clan's jonin. He acted decisively and never dragged his feet.

He could be considered Hyuga Hiashi's right-hand man within the Hyuga Clan. Hinata politely said, "Lord Toyo."

Toyo Hyuga merely nodded and gave a quiet grunt. "Young Miss Hinata, hurry over."

Hinata nodded shyly. Then, under Toyo Hyuga's lead, she passed through several courtyards and walked along several corridors before arriving at an imposing-looking building.

As the door was gently pushed open, the room within was illuminated by candles filling every corner. Many Hyuga clansmen were already seated cross-legged in the spacious chamber.

Though there were many of them, they were all exceedingly quiet, displaying the refinement that only a truly great clan possessed.

Seated at the head was Hinata's father, Hyuga Hiashi.

When the door opened, everyone's gazes fell in unison upon Hinata and Toyo Hyuga, all of them watching with their Byakugan.

Hinata did not know how Toyo Hyuga felt, but she felt awful, as if she were standing naked before this group and every secret she had was exposed in an instant.

Still, Hinata hesitated only slightly before stepping into the room. After timidly bowing to everyone present, she walked straight to a cushion beside Hyuga Hiashi and knelt down.

On Hyuga Hiashi's other side sat Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi Hyuga. Hanabi wore a serious expression, looking every bit like a little adult.

Hinata sighed inwardly. Perhaps this was the remaining hope Hyuga Hiashi had after becoming disappointed in his eldest daughter.

And if Hinata failed to show any outstanding qualities in the coming period, then once Hyuga Hiashi made up his mind to choose Hanabi Hyuga as the heir of the Main Family—

Hinata would certainly be branded with the Caged Bird Seal and become a member of the Branch Family. From then on, her freedom would be controlled by those of the Main Family. This was absolutely not something Hinata wanted to see.

Though she currently disappointed Hyuga Hiashi, she was still his daughter. Before an heir had been decided, her status as Young Miss Hinata was fully deserved and could not be shaken in the slightest.

Thus, where she sat represented her current standing within the Hyuga Clan. In a sense, she truly could be considered second only to one, above all others.

But whether it was Hinata or the person who had learned about Naruto through anime, both knew very well that this was a world ruled entirely by strength.

No matter how high one's status or how great one's family fortune, without strength, everything one possessed was like duckweed without roots—an illusory dream, a fleeting bubble.

Once Hinata Hyuga had taken her seat, Hyuga Hiashi swept his eyes over her, cleared his throat, and said, "My apologies for disturbing everyone's rest at this hour."

No one present spoke, displaying the sort of restraint expected of a great clan. Hinata had really wanted to snark, If you know that, why disturb us anyway? You clearly don't have good intentions.

But naturally, Hinata did not say it aloud. She put on a solemn expression and listened quietly.

Hyuga Hiashi continued, "However, an incident shocking enough to shake the ninja world occurred tonight."

He raised his voice slightly. "According to the intelligence we received, the Uchiha Clan was exterminated tonight. The culprit was Fugaku Uchiha's son, Itachi Uchiha."