Hyuga Hinata sat at her desk, lightly propping her cheeks with both hands. Her gaze rested on the bright moonlight outside the window, and she unconsciously hummed an off-key little tune.
The black notebook spread open before her showed that the [Life Simulator] cooldown was about to end.
In these last moments of waiting, everything that happened in the movie theater refused to leave her mind.
In Father's eyes, she should first be a qualified heir of the main family. Even with Neji-nii, she should first be the main family's young lady before she could be a "younger sister." As for the rest of the clan… it went without saying.
But in Hyuga Kiyonari's eyes alone, a friend was a friend—Hinata was simply Hinata.
"How can you… say you're not special?"
Hinata let out a soft sigh and activated the Life Simulator in front of her.
[Life Simulator activating…]
[Year 54 of Konoha.]
[Under Father Hiashi's strict requirements, I continue training hard. Over this year, my progress is very noticeable, and Father grows more and more satisfied with my performance. I try to ask around about Kumogakure and the border, but I never manage to obtain any useful information.]
[Year 55 of Konoha.]
[Scattered news of minor clashes comes from the border. Kumogakure refuses to back down and also masses troops at the border. It's said they've had some small skirmishes with Lady Tsunade's forces, but overall the situation is still within control.]
[At year's end, the first group of branch-family members who went to the border return to the clan grounds. After the New Year, the second group departs little by little. This news doesn't cause much of a stir inside the Hyuga clan. Father only glances at the casualty statistics before setting them aside.]
[The next day, Father takes me to visit Uncle Hizashi, who has just returned to the village. During our brief time together, I faintly sense Uncle Hizashi has changed in some way. The way he looks at Neji, the way he looks at me, grows increasingly complicated.]
[Year 56 of Konoha.]
[Father tells me I will soon have a younger sister or brother. At the same time, next year I will enter the Ninja Academy to study.]
[At year's end, the second group of clan members stationed at the border also return, and the third group is about to depart. Unexpectedly, Uncle Hizashi—who wasn't on the list this time—volunteers to go to the border. Father refuses. The two argue fiercely and part on bad terms.]
[I notice more and more clan members are changing. Unease rises inside me. I can vaguely feel that something big is about to happen.]
[Now, I have three options.]
[1. Go find Kiyonari-kun and investigate in private.]
[2. Inform Father and launch an open, thorough investigation.]
[3. Go find Neji-nii and ask him face to face.]
Up to this point, the first three years in the simulator were exactly the same as what she'd seen in her last simulation.
"So… it still doesn't work." Hinata sighed, a note of frustration in it.
On the way back from the movie theater, she'd tried asking Kiyonari about border news, but even he knew very little and couldn't provide any useful intel.
Actions at that level still weren't enough to make new options appear in the simulator.
By now, Hinata clearly understood: the "Caged Bird" system hanging over the branch family was completely unjust. And the chasm that split the main and branch families into two kinds of people hadn't formed overnight.
The conflict had long existed. It was just that for so long, the clan had slept inside this unreasonable "order." No one had truly tried to shake it, to change it.
In the previous phase of simulations, it was Kumogakure's infiltration attempt that woke the sleeping clan members.
At that time, with the simulator's guidance and her own actions, she had successfully thwarted Kumogakure's plot and buried that fuse—one that had almost ignited—back underground.
But now, the new fuse was hidden far away on the border, and with her own strength, she couldn't investigate it at all.
"I can only choose the second option."
Hinata murmured to herself. She could only hope that in the simulator she could bring everything into the open and borrow Father's power to learn what was really happening at the border.
Only by understanding the cause could she find a way to solve the problem.
[I decide to tell Father about my discoveries and my unease. Father seems concerned, and soon finds time to privately summon Uncle Hizashi.]
[However, Uncle Hizashi avoids Father's scrutinizing gaze and brushes it off with vague words like "everything is normal." Father is doubtful, but seeing Hizashi unwilling to talk, he does not press further.]
[After that, I bring it up with Father several more times, trying to obtain information about the border from more clan members. But without exception, nearly all branch-family members remain silent and refuse to speak. This abnormal pattern finally catches Father's attention, and he begins investigating.]
[Perhaps because they noticed the main family's attention, the branch family's previously restless mood suddenly quiets. A suffocating silence spreads through the clan grounds.]
[Year 57 of Konoha. Another year passes. When the third batch of branch-family members stationed at the border returns, the contradictions that had brewed in silence for so long finally erupt like a volcano reaching its limit.]
[But this time, Father seems to have anticipated it and prepared. The moment the branch family begins to raise their voices, Father does not hesitate. Together with all main-family members, he activates the Caged Bird technique. Countless branch-family members—including Neji-nii—collapse in pain, their screams echoing above the clan grounds for a long time. Only Kiyonari-kun is spared thanks to Lady Tsunade's protection, but after that, he moves away from the Hyuga compound.]
[Then, in order to placate the branch family, Father announces that the restriction on learning Rotation—the "main family secret art"—is lifted, and he improves the branch family's待遇 in many ways. The loud questioning gradually quiets, and the Hyuga clan seems to return to the former orderly state.]
[Then my younger sister is born. Father names her Hyuga Hanabi.]
[I enter the Ninja Academy to study, but Kiyonari-kun leaves Konoha with Lady Tsunade and is stationed at the border.]
[Year 61 of Konoha. I die. All main-family members die. In one night.]
[This simulation ends here.]
[Evaluation: If you do not erupt in silence, then you will perish in silence.]
[Based on the overall evaluation of this simulation, the host may choose one of the following two rewards.]
[Option 1: Obtain your full understanding of Gentle Fist from seven years later in the simulation.]
[Option 2: Inherit your training progress in Gentle Fist from seven years later in the simulation.]
[Please choose carefully. Only one reward may be selected per simulation.]
"I… died?!"
~~~
Patreon.com/Weze_
— You can read more Chapters in my Patreon Page! please vote, comment, share this, or visit my Patreon Page and join the Free Membership!