Speaking Freely Is a Right!

The park at the center of Konoha could be called the playground of children who had not yet entered the Ninja Academy.

At their age, they had plenty of free time, and coming to the park to play with children their own age was what they looked forward to most every day.

There were not only children from civilian families here. Even children from some of the village's clans, such as the Akimichi, Yamanaka, and Nara Clans, came here to play.

Perhaps only the Uchiha Clan held themselves too high and mighty; not a single child from their clan came here to mingle with them.

At that moment, there were many small groups scattered throughout the park.

But the most noticeable was a little group of four in the very center.

That was because two girls in the group were sitting atop a statue of the Third Hokage, behaving with complete impunity.

"Shikamaru! Find something to do, this is so boring..."

Sitting on the statue's left shoulder, Ino Yamanaka sounded thoroughly irritated. "I finally don't have to help Mom at the flower shop. I don't want to just sit around all afternoon."

Beside her, Shikamaru Nara lay on the grass and yawned. "Have Sakura keep you company. I really don't know what girls like to play."

"Lazybones. You just want to lie there." Ino rolled her eyes, then looked at the pink-haired girl sitting on the statue's other shoulder. "Sakura, let's find something to do."

"But... I don't know what to play either."

Sakura Haruno lowered her head uneasily. Sitting on the Third Hokage's statue was something only bad kids would do, and she found it... thrilling.

But she could not let her inner thoughts show. Her mother had said that only well-behaved girls would be liked.

Just then, Choji, who sat beside the reclining Shikamaru and silently crunched on potato chips, suddenly spoke. "That girl is here again."

"Which girl?"

Shikamaru sat up and followed his gaze.

At once, his expression turned strange.

The young lady of the Hyuga Clan—the girl who was often bullied in this park—was slowly approaching the group that bullied her.

Ino, still sitting on the statue, narrowed her eyes and asked Shikamaru, "Should I go help her?"

Beside her, Sakura Haruno's gaze held the same question, along with a trace of sympathy.

She too had once often been bullied by that group, all because of her looks—because of her broad forehead.

If Ino had not saved her later and brought her into this little group, she might have continued being bullied and perhaps never come to this park again.

"No need."

Shikamaru shook his head. "I've said it before. She's the young lady of the Hyuga Clan. Too much contact with her could affect us."

This was not Hinata's first time at this park, nor was it their first time seeing her bullied.

But unlike Sakura Haruno, the three of them represented the future Ino-Shika-Cho.

And Hinata Hyuga was the future heir of the Hyuga Clan.

As one of Konoha's few major clans, their contact could very well affect certain matters.

Shikamaru was still young. Though he had been smart since childhood, his limited knowledge only allowed him to realize there might be trouble; he could not guess what the specific consequences would be.

"Looks like she got smarter this time and brought two guards with her."

He saw two members of the Hyuga Clan enter through the park entrance. They were probably Hinata's guards.

However...

Shikamaru followed the direction from which they had entered and spotted another member of the Hyuga Clan.

This person was probably not a guard. Judging by his height, he seemed to be around Hinata's age.

The distance was too great for Shikamaru to see his face clearly, but the other boy seemed to be observing their side as well. He nodded at him in a friendly manner.

After a brief pause, Shikamaru politely nodded back.

Ino-Shika-Cho...

Seeing Shikamaru nod at him, Hyuga Ryosuke's smile grew even brighter.

Though he had not activated his Byakugan, his vision easily allowed him to see the four people in the central area clearly and recognize them.

The Nara Clan, the Akimichi Clan, the Yamanaka Clan, and... Sakura Haruno.

Unfortunately, the blond boy was not there.

Ryosuke felt a slight sense of regret, though only slight.

For Hinata's performance later, having the three members of Ino-Shika-Cho there to witness it would already be enough.

With that thought, Ryosuke turned his gaze toward the small figure in the distance.

"Hello."

Her voice was steady, seemingly devoid of emotion as it left her lips.

Bathed in sunlight, Hinata looked calmly at the three people before her and spoke politely.

She did not know when she had lost the ability to face others so calmly.

Perhaps it had been when she first faced her father's disappointed gaze, or perhaps amid all the times she had yielded and retreated.

Ryosuke's voice echoed in her mind. Since earlier, his hand had seemed pressed against her back, giving her warmth and courage, allowing her to once again feel what kind of attitude a normal person should have when interacting with others.

A normal person? At the very least, they shouldn't keep their head lowered and act so timid.

It was as if a voice in her heart kept reminding her to lift her head and look directly at the three people in front of her.

The three children, who had been playing football, were interrupted and turned around angrily to glare at Hinata.

Among them was the child she had encountered at the Restaurant at noon.

"Hey, you Byakugan freak..."

The moment he opened his mouth, he used that familiar name.

But before the child could finish his insulting words, he noticed that Hinata was no longer alone as she had been before. Two guards stood behind her.

Immediately, he swallowed the rest of his words and instinctively took a step back. Nervously, he looked at the two people behind her. "Y-you... what do you want? You two adults aren't going to bully children, are you?"

More than half the children in the park turned to watch the commotion.

They were very familiar with these three children who often bullied others. Many of them had been bullied by them before.

They were even more familiar with Hinata Hyuga, because they had once been among those who bullied her. They were only doing better now because they had formed groups of their own.

"Apologize."

Standing in front of the two guards, Hinata spoke seriously. "They won't attack you without reason. They're only here to ensure my safety."

"What I need... is for you to apologize to me. The things you said to me before had a great impact on me."

"Ap-apologize?"

The three children exchanged looks. But upon hearing that the two adults would not make a move, the tension in their hearts immediately eased.

Then the child she had met at the Restaurant could not help laughing. "We were just telling the truth. You are ugly."

"Yeah, yeah. Ugly freak, don't tell me you think bringing two people here to scare us means you can force us to take it back?" another child beside him chimed in.

"Everyone is free to express their opinions. You're not the Hokage, so what right do you have to make us apologize?"

Relying on their greater height and age, they looked down at Hinata.

Behind Hinata, Souji Hyuga and Seisai Hyuga's faces darkened at those words.

Yet they did not intervene. As they had said, as long as the children did not take the initiative to physically bully Hinata, they could not casually make a move either.

Bullying children was shameful, and the Hyuga Clan could not afford that disgrace.

"Interesting... The children of this world seem more mature and tougher than I imagined."

Outside the park, Ryosuke watched with interest as the three children became brazen again after learning that Souji and Seisai would not act.

The two guards did not seem capable of putting much psychological pressure on them.

The world was different, and so were the Rules.

But everything was still within his expectations. If he wanted Hinata to begin changing how the rest of the village saw her starting today, then it had to start today. Not even a day later would do.