Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 259 Hinata's Revolution! [3rd Update, 8K Words]

Inside the Konoha Ninja School.

The classroom was bathed in the morning sunlight of spring, with fine dust floating in the air, mixed with the scent of ink from books and the unique vitality of the boys and girls.

Naruto was loudly chasing and playing around with Kiba Inuzuka and Choji Akimichi among the desks, which made Akamaru bark loudly.

Sakura and Ino sat together, talking in hushed tones, occasionally letting out light laughter.

It seems that because of Uchiha Sasuke's temporary "departure", the small gap between the two caused by their competition has disappeared, and they have become close friends again.

When Menma and Hinata Hyuga entered the classroom one after the other, they still had that lazy look on their faces, showing little interest in anything. Menma yawned and went straight to their seats.

Hinata seemed somewhat absent-minded, a hint of worry lingering on her fair face as she sat quietly next to Menma.

The school bell rang crisply, and Iruka, carrying a stack of textbooks, was about to walk into the classroom.

Just then, a figure appeared at the classroom door, completely unexpected by everyone.

It's Uchiha Sasuke!

He was still wearing that dark blue turtleneck short-sleeved shirt with the Uchiha clan crest of a fan printed on the back, but his face had an extremely unnatural expression that was a mixture of embarrassment and forced indifference.

Under the surprised, curious, and puzzled gazes of the entire class, he almost braced himself, quickly walked across the aisle, plopped down in the previously empty seat at the back of the classroom, and immediately placed his hands in front of him with his fingers interlaced, striking a cool pose that said "keep away."

"Huh?! Sasuke?!" Naruto was the first to exclaim, running over to Sasuke with an incredulous look on his face. "Why are you back at school? Didn't you say you had already..."

"Shut up, you loser!" Sasuke suddenly turned his head and glared fiercely at Naruto, his dark eyes even showing faint bloodshot veins: "If you can't speak, then don't speak. Nobody thinks you're mute!"

Naruto was startled by Sasuke's sudden fierceness, shrank back, and muttered, "Fine, don't talk then, why are you being so fierce..."

He returned to his seat dejectedly, but couldn't help looking back at Sasuke with curiosity.

At that moment, Iruka-sensei walked up to the podium, his gaze lingering on Sasuke for a moment, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes, but he didn't ask any questions, he just coughed lightly to quiet the classroom.

"Alright, students, let's begin the lesson." Iruka's voice was as gentle as ever: "Today, we'll continue with the refinement and basic application of chakra. This is the foundation of all ninjutsu, and it's extremely important..."

For Sasuke, who had already mastered chakra extraction and even awakened the Sharingan, these basic courses seemed particularly tedious and childish.

He forced himself to listen impatiently for a while, his gaze involuntarily wandering around the classroom.

Then he remembered his "undercover" mission.

After hesitating for a moment, he took out a palm-sized, seemingly ordinary personal notebook and a pen from his ninja tool bag.

He took a deep breath and began to observe his classmates with the scrutinizing eye of a target, attempting to take notes in his notebook:

[Naruto Uzumaki: Impulsive, carefree, and with extremely poor concentration; his chakra control is terrible, resulting in numerous failed attempts at the Shadow Clone Technique; however, he seems to have exceptionally high stamina. He has simple interpersonal relationships, and aside from occasional interactions with classmates like Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi, he usually keeps to himself. Threat level: Extremely low. Note: It is necessary to observe whether he is hiding other traits.]

[Nara Shikamaru: Appears lethargic, shows little interest in class, and often stares at the sky or dozes off. However, he excels in theoretical assessments and is quick-witted; he has been seen solving complex chess puzzles in an instant. He seems to have a talent for strategic analysis. Danger level: Low, but be aware of the potential unpredictable changes that his intelligence might bring.]

[Akimichi Choji: Good-natured, spends most of his time snacking, and is... well-endowed. His classroom performance is mediocre, but his family's secret techniques are unknown. He is emotionally stable and easily satisfied. Threat level: Low.]

His pen moved swiftly, recording his initial impressions of Kiba Inuzuka's impulsiveness and competitiveness, Sakura Haruno's excellent theoretical grades and precise chakra control, Ino Yamanaka's cheerful personality and ability to communicate with others, and the fact that her family's secret techniques seemed to be related to the mind.

When his gaze fell upon Hinata Hyuga, his pen paused: [Hinata Hyuga: Daughter of the Hyuga main family, introverted and shy, easily flustered and blushing, average performance in class, solid taijutsu foundation but lacks confidence. Closely related to Menma. Threat level: Low. Note: However, attention should be paid to whether her main family status carries hidden intelligence value.]

Finally, his gaze fell on Menma, who was in the front row, propping his chin up with one hand and nodding his head as if he were about to fall asleep at any moment.

Sasuke frowned deeply, and his pen stopped moving.

This guy……

He always looked like he hadn't woken up yet, but whether it was a theoretical exam or a practical exercise, his scores were always one step ahead of his own. His nonchalant attitude made him feel a strange sense of irritation and resentment.

He took a deep breath and wrote forcefully in his notebook:

Menma: His abilities far surpass those of his peers; a typical genius. He's lazy in class, but consistently ranks at the top of his class in all assessments. His behavior is unpredictable, and he has a special relationship with Hinata Hyuga. Danger level: High. Requires close observation. Note: I will definitely surpass him!

After writing the last sentence, he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, as if he had made a new vow to himself. Only then did he close the notebook and continue to endure the "infiltration" course that was so agonizing for him.

Iruka, standing on the platform, took in all the little actions from the audience, especially Sasuke's obvious absent-mindedness and even his secret note-taking. Iruka sighed inwardly, but could only pretend not to see it and continue to explain the techniques of chakra flow seriously.

The day's classes finally came to an end.

As soon as the school bell rang, Sasuke sprang up from his seat almost instantly. Before the other students could react, he nimbly flipped over and leaped out of the classroom window. His figure disappeared beyond the school wall in a few bounds, eliciting gasps and chatter from the students in the classroom.

"Wow! Sasuke-kun is so handsome!" These were Sakura and Ino's starry-eyed expressions.

"What's going on? Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated?" This was Ya's discontented grumbling.

"This is such a hassle..." This was Shikamaru's complaint.

Menma slowly got up, looking thoughtfully in the direction Sasuke had disappeared.

He naturally noticed Sasuke's constant, fidgety note-taking during class.

'It seems the trajectory of fate has indeed taken some interesting turns. That old man's move was quite intriguing,' Menma thought to himself.

He walked out of the school gate with Hinata, Naruto, Choji, Kiba, and other friends.

And so, another day at the Ninja Academy came to an end.

Along the way, Naruto kept speculating about what was wrong with Sasuke, while Hinata still seemed preoccupied.

Just as they reached a street corner, Hinata's demeanor suddenly changed!
She was no longer the shy girl with her head down; instead, she stood upright with her hands on her hips, her white eyes gleaming with sharpness and confidence, even a hint of wildness.

"Mianma!" she said, her voice clear and affectionate. "Come with me for a moment, I have something to tell you!"

Naruto and the others were startled and stared in surprise at Hinata's sudden "transformation".

Menma seemed used to this and waved to Naruto and the others, saying, "You guys go back first."

Then he followed Hinata, the eldest sister, and walked towards the banks of the Naka River.

Arriving at a secluded riverbank, the water flowed gently, and the setting sun cast long shadows of the two of them.

"What's wrong?" Menma asked, sensing that the boss's appearance suggested something important.

Hinata, the eldest sister, turned around with an unusually serious expression: "The situation in the clan is getting worse and worse. Ever since Uncle Hizashi and the others left, the entire Hyuga clan territory has been like a powder keg about to explode."

"Those old fogies in the main family are terrified and are desperately trying to squeeze the branch family dry, while the branch family members are both angry and afraid, harboring deep resentment in private. If this continues, something terrible is bound to happen sooner or later! I feel that I can't just stand by and watch anymore; I have to do something!"

Mianma raised an eyebrow: "Oh? What do you want to do?"

Menma had naturally considered what might happen to the Hyuga clan after taking Hyuga Hizashi and the others away, even the possibility of a repeat of the war between the Otsutsuki main family and branch family on the moon.

After all, the caged birds that had been kept in captivity for hundreds of years had developed a crack that was invisible to the naked eye, and countless birds were trying to break free.

"I want to eradicate this damned system of the main family and branch families!" the eldest sister said resolutely, her eyes flashing with determination. "This ridiculous system of enslaving the clan and maintaining the ridiculous authority of the main family by 'caged birds' should have been swept into the dustbin of history long ago!"

Menma frowned: "The idea is good, but it's difficult. Unless you can release all the members of the branch family from the 'Caged Bird' trap,' but you know I'm not going to waste my eye power on the Hyuga branch family of Konoha right now."

His tone was realistic; the Land of Stars and Konoha remained enemies.

Hinata, the leader, smirked, revealing a confident, even arrogant, smile: "Who said anything about lifting the 'Caged Bird's Cage'? That's so boring. My idea is, the other way around!"

"The other way around?" Mianma was stunned for a moment, not understanding what she meant.

But soon, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he instantly understood the key!

With the Hyuga main family now having lost three elders in succession, and Hiashi himself injured, their strength and prestige are at an all-time low...

He looked up in surprise at the girl before him, whose eyes were burning with passion and who seemed utterly audacious: "Could it be that you intend to...?"

“That’s right!” Hinata, the eldest sister, chimed in, her smile becoming even more flamboyant: “Since the branch family considers the ‘Caged Bird’ a symbol of imprisonment and shame, then what if… we let the high and mighty main family also experience what it’s like to have the ‘Caged Bird’ mark carved on them? If everyone has it, then it’s the same as no one having it at all, isn’t that what true ‘equality’ is all about!”

This idea was groundbreaking, even outrageous!
But when Menma looked at the unwavering light in the girl's eyes, he suddenly felt that this might be the most crazy, yet most likely effective, drastic measure to break the centuries-old stalemate of the Hyuga clan!
……

Sungai tribe.

Since the head of the branch family, Hyuga Hizashi, led a group of elite clan members in a defection, this ancient family has been shrouded in an invisible, heavy, and suffocating dark cloud.

The streets within the clan's territory were sparsely populated. Even when members of a branch clan occasionally walked by, they kept their heads down, walked hurriedly, dared not show any extra expression, and dared not make eye contact with any member of the main clan.

Repression, fear, suspicion, resentment...

Various negative emotions are surging and fermenting beneath the seemingly calm surface.

Privately, the members of the branch families curse Hyuga Hizashi for his "betrayal," saying it had implicated everyone and made their current situation even more difficult. But deep down, a secret envy would inevitably arise in some corner of their hearts...

I envy them for breaking free from their cages and gaining unimaginable freedom.

Why……

Why didn't you take me with you then?

In the study of the ancestral home in the center of the clan's territory.

Hiashi Hyuga sat alone at his desk, his brow furrowed, his face etched with weariness and deep worry.

In just a few days, he seemed to have aged considerably.

His brother's betrayal, the tragic death of the clan elder, his own injuries, and the precarious situation within the clan were like several mountains pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

The myth that the "caged bird" cannot be broken was completely shattered with the successful defection of Hizashi and others.

This undoubtedly shook the very foundation of the clan's authority.

Now, every member of the branch family looks at him with a gaze that seems to conceal inquiry, suspicion, and even a hint of budding ambition.

If we cannot find a way to stabilize the situation and ease tensions as soon as possible, the next upheaval may not just be a defection, but a more intense and bloody internal conflict!

But what to do?
Strengthen control?

This will only further escalate the conflict.

Grant more rights?

Although only one elder of the main branch is still recovering from injury, the other three branches also have adult heirs, and they will never agree to this.

Abolish caged birds?
That's pure fantasy; that's the very foundation upon which the Hyuga clan survives... at least it was in the past.

Rizu rubbed his aching temples, racking his brains for days, but still couldn't find a feasible plan to smoothly weather this crisis.

For the first time, he felt that the position of clan leader was so heavy and difficult.

at this time--

"Bang!" A loud noise!
The heavy wooden door to the study was kicked open with extreme force!

The loud noise of the impact startled Hiashi, who was deep in thought.

He looked up in shock and anger, only to see his eldest daughter, Hinata, standing at the door!
But at this moment, Hinata's eyes were sharp, her posture was arrogant, and she exuded an aura of fearlessness. She was the "second personality" that was giving him a headache.

"Old Deng!" Hinata greeted him with a disrespectful address, striding into the study and demanding without any politeness, "How many days has it been? The clan grounds are deathly still, like a graveyard! Have you come up with a solution yet?!"

Hiashi was so enraged by the sudden intrusion and questioning that his face turned pale. He slammed his hand on the table, trying to assert his fatherly authority: "Hinata! How dare you! Who gave you permission to barge in like this? What kind of behavior is this!"

"Rules of conduct? Is this the time to be thinking about those stupid rules?" Hinata glared back without fear, hands on her hips: "I'll ask you one more time, do you, old man, have any ideas about resolving this stupid rule between the Hyuga main family and the branch family?"

Looking at his daughter's unwavering gaze, Hiashi felt his anger suddenly deflate like a punctured balloon, replaced by a deep sense of powerlessness.

He slumped back into his chair and sighed, "I am well aware of the tense atmosphere within the clan. But... a caged bird can live for hundreds of years, and a single move can affect the whole thing... Alas, it's easier said than done."

Almost instinctively, Hiashi saw his daughter as someone he could confide in: "What are your thoughts?"

He didn't really expect his daughter to have any good ideas; he was just tired of hearing different opinions.

However, Hinata's next words were like a thunderclap, exploding in his ears!

"Hmph, if you can't do it, then just give me the position of clan leader and I'll crush the Caged Bird!" Hinata snorted lightly, as if she were talking about something perfectly ordinary: "Since the branch family thinks the 'Caged Bird' is a shackle that imprisons them and a disgrace imposed by the main family, isn't the solution obvious?"

She stepped forward, her gaze fixed intently on her father, and said, word by word:

"Why not just carve 'Caged Bird' on the entire main family too?!"

"Wh...what?!"

Hiashi Hyuga suddenly jumped up from his chair, his eyes wide open, his face filled with extreme shock and disbelief, as if he had heard the most absurd and horrifying words in the world!
To carve the main family's... caged bird image too?! This... this is simply...

------

A few days later, an unusual silence enveloped the Hyuga clan's territory in Konoha.

Unlike the usual peaceful atmosphere, a tense yet expectant atmosphere silently spread through the residential area of ​​the divided family members.

In the evening, an emergency clan assembly order issued in the name of clan head Hyuga Hiashi was delivered to every Hyuga family, requiring each household to send at least one representative to the main family's spacious but usually intimidating indoor training ground.

As night deepened, the representatives of the branch family, filled with complex and unspeakable emotions, silently passed through the solemn gate of the main family compound.

Most of them had solemn expressions, walked hesitantly, and their eyes were filled with unease, doubt, and a faint expectation that had been suppressed for a long time.

No one knew what the sudden clan meeting was about, but at this sensitive time when the clan leader had defected and the prestige of the main family had plummeted, any slight disturbance was enough to make them tremble with fear.

The indoor practice area was brightly lit.

As is customary, the representatives of the branch family knelt respectfully and silently on the cushions below, their heads bowed and eyes lowered, not daring to look directly upwards.

On the platform opposite them, which was one step higher, the members of the main family were already seated.

The fourth elder, who had been severely injured and blinded on the night of the turmoil, sat at the head of the elders' seat, his face ashen, supported by a servant.

Beside him were three other young members of the main family who had hastily inherited their positions after the death of the elder. Their faces still bore the arrogance of newly appointed power and the indifference they were accustomed to towards the "branch family members" below them.

A somber silence enveloped the entire area, broken only by the occasional crackling of burning torches.

The atmosphere was equally tense in a Japanese-style room next to the practice area, used for rest.

Hinata, the leader of the group, was carefully observing the gradually filling venue outside through the crack in the door.

Her white eyes gleamed with a determined, even somewhat excited, light, as if she were about to step onto the battlefield.

"Almost everyone has arrived," she murmured to herself.

A faint, almost imperceptible voice sounded behind her, like a gentle breeze: "Are you ready, Hinata?"

Menma's figure appeared in the shadows at some point, as if he had always been there.

His tone was calm, yet carried a cold decisiveness: "I support you in doing whatever you want. But if there are any signs of things getting out of control, any attempt to harm you... I will immediately eliminate everyone in the main family."

There was no joking in his words; they were a direct condemnation of the potential threat.

Feeling Menma's unconditional support and protection, Hinata blushed slightly, and a surge of courage and warmth welled up in her heart.

She turned her head and nodded vigorously at Mianma, her voice soft but unusually firm: "Don't worry! Those old fogies won't dare to do anything! They value their lives more than anyone else!"

Just then, the sliding door behind me was gently pushed open.

Hiashi Hyuga entered with his wife and youngest daughter, Hanabi.

The moment the door opened, Menma's figure vanished without a trace, as if he had never been there.

Looking at his eldest daughter, whose temperament was so different from his own, Hiashi's face was filled with complex emotions: worry, struggle, and a hint of barely perceptible expectation.

He took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, "Hinata, I'll ask you one last time. Are you... really determined to do this? It's not too late to back out now. But once you take this step, I can't predict what will happen."

Hinata turned around, meeting her father's gaze without fear, and asked in return, "Old Deng, now that things have come to this, do you have any other, better way to stabilize the Hyuga clan and break this deadlock that has lasted for hundreds of years?"

Japan remained silent.

He really didn't expect that.

He shook his head, but for the first time, his gaze towards Hinata completely shed the filter of seeing her as an "unruly child," and instead looked at her with a solemn gaze that was almost equal to that of a clan leader.

Hinata's mother stepped forward and gently hugged her daughter, her eyes filled with tears, but her tone was firm: "Hinata, whatever decision you make, your mother will support you. You are more courageous than your father."

Three-year-old Hanabi seemed to sense the special atmosphere, blinking her big, pure white eyes and looking at her older sister with curiosity.

Deep within Hinata's inner world, the timid little Hinata who always shyly lowered her head whispered, "Sister... your wish is magnificent. I... I support you too."

With the support of all the important people in her life, Hinata's last trace of hesitation vanished.

She took a deep breath and suddenly pulled open the sliding door leading to the main venue!

Swah——

Almost all eyes instantly focused on her!
The branch family members watched in astonishment as the seven-year-old young lady walked straight to the front of the hall, while the members of the main family frowned, looking puzzled.

What shocked them even more was that Hiashi didn't stop her, but instead silently followed behind her with his wife and daughter, and then...

He sat down in the second seat, which originally belonged to an important member of the family!
Hinata, without hesitation, stepped onto the highest point, the position of clan leader, which symbolized the highest authority of the Hyuga clan!

"Hinata! You..." A newly promoted young elder of the main family couldn't help but shout out, feeling that this was utterly absurd.

At that moment, Hiashi Hyuga stood up, his voice booming throughout the training ground: "Silence! I, Hiashi Hyuga, as the 32nd head of the Hyuga clan, hereby declare that, effective immediately, the position of head of the clan will be formally passed on to my eldest daughter—Hinata Hyuga!"

"what?!"

"The clan leader? She's only seven years old!"

"This...this is impossible?!"

The main family's seats immediately erupted in chaos!

The three young elders almost jumped up in protest!
Even the Fourth Elder, who had lost his eyes, suddenly raised his head, his empty eye sockets "looking" in the direction of Rizu, his withered lips moving, clearly also extremely shocked.

The branch family members below were completely silent. Everyone was stunned by this sudden change. They lowered their heads and didn't dare to breathe, for fear of becoming the target of the main family's wrath.

Are you questioning the clan leader's decision?

A cold, menacing voice suddenly rang out, drowning out all the noise!

Hinata Hyuga, who was sitting upright in the clan leader's seat, suddenly opened her eyes!
A sharp light seemed to shoot out from his pure white eyes!
The small body of hers no longer exuded the innocence of a child, but rather a sense of oppression that had been tempered by blood and fire!
That was the aura honed by Menma in the world of "Limited Tsukuyomi"!

The entire venue fell silent instantly, and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees.

The elders of the Zong family who wanted to retort were stunned by her sudden aura and murderous intent, and for a moment they were speechless.

They suddenly remembered that this young lady seemed to have another personality... a "troublemaker" personality that gave these old guys a headache!
Could it be that now is...?

Hinata, the eldest sister, swept her icy gaze across the main family seats, like a blade scraping across them, sending chills down the spines of the young elders.

She ignored them and turned to the silent members of the branch family below, her voice clear and powerful, resounding throughout the hall like a declaration:
"I, Hinata Hyuga, hereby declare in my capacity as the 33rd head of the Hyuga clan!"

"From this day forward, the Hyuga clan will no longer have a main family and a branch family!"

In short, it was earth-shattering!
All the branch family members below the stage suddenly raised their heads, their eyes filled with disbelief!
Hinata continued, each word striking a heavy blow to everyone's hearts: "All members of the clan who are seven years of age or older, regardless of their previous status, will be marked with the 'Caged Bird' seal!"

The faces of the people seated in the main family instantly turned ashen!

The family members who were splitting up were in an uproar, but this time the uproar was mixed with a strange, suppressed excitement.

"But!" Hinata's voice suddenly rose, silencing all the commotion: "From this day forward, all clan members under the age of seven, regardless of their parents' birth, shall never again be branded with the 'Caged Bird' design!"

"This shackle that has cursed the Hyuga clan for hundreds of years, I will spend a generation eradicating it from the Hyuga clan! Giving all Hyuga clan members true freedom!"

Dead silence.

Then came a series of violent gasps, like those before a volcanic eruption, coming from below!
The eyes of the family members who had split off were red, and their bodies trembled slightly with excitement!
Never print! Freedom for future generations!
This is something they wouldn't even dare to dream of!
"Absurd! Outrageous!" A young clan elder trembled with rage, pointing at Hinata. "This is absolutely impossible! We will never accept this! Clan leader, you must retract your decision and renegotiate!"

Hinata didn't even glance at him, but said calmly, with an undeniable air of authority, "This isn't an issue; I'm just informing you."

At this moment, Japan let out a sigh, as if a heavy burden had been lifted, or as if they had made a certain decision.

He picked up the crested ninja tool that had been prepared beforehand, symbolizing the clan leader's authority, and walked up to Hinata.

Under the shocked gaze of everyone, he personally and carefully carved the blue curse mark on his daughter's smooth forehead.

Caged bird.

The moment the curse seal was completed, a faint blue light appeared on Hinata's forehead.

Her body swayed almost imperceptibly, as if she could feel some kind of mental constraint and a slight loss of vision.

But she stubbornly straightened her spine, her gaze still sharp as a knife.

At this moment, many members of the branch family in the audience could no longer hold back their tears!

Those were not tears of sorrow, but tears of excitement and respect when one sees hope and when one sees that the leader is suffering the same hardships as oneself!
A young clan elder, his face ashen and a glint of ruthlessness in his eyes, whispered to his companion, "She's gone mad! Hiashi's gone mad too! We can't just sit here and wait to die, we might as well..."

"Shut up!" A hoarse yet unusually stern rebuke interrupted him. It was the Fourth Elder, who had lost his eyesight.

Although he couldn't see, his keen "mind's eye" sensed the surging emotions below, like a volcano about to erupt, and the young elder's foolish killing intent.

He lowered his voice and said sternly, "If you dare to make a move now, I guarantee that none of us will leave this door alive! Take a good look down there! Take a look at the eyes of those people!"

The young elders instinctively activated their White Eyes and looked down.

In those pairs of white pupils, what burned now was no longer obedience and fear, but a kind of almost fanatical reverence and support concentrated in one person!
That power made them tremble from the bottom of their hearts!

"The birds of the Hyuga clan..." The Fourth Elder's voice carried a complex emotion, as if he had resigned himself to his fate, yet also as if he had seen a glimmer of new hope.

“We already have a true eagle leading the way.”

"From this moment on, her prestige will surpass that of all previous Hyuga clan leaders."

Upon hearing this, the three newly promoted elders of the clan trembled all over, some even looking around as if some death god was watching them from the shadows.

The rest of the process went surprisingly smoothly.

Under Hinata's exemplary conduct and absolute prestige, as well as the immense pressure exerted by the branch family members below, all the main family members, including the three young elders and their wives and children, were forced to accept the "Caged Bird" seal with ashen faces, except for the blind fourth elder who was unable to receive the seal.

Hiashi was the last head family member to be marked with the curse seal.

The moment he was marked by the four old men, he raised his hand and gently touched the unfamiliar mark on his forehead, a mark that stung slightly and felt restrictive. Feeling the loss of a degree of vision, he murmured to himself, "So... this is what it feels like to be a 'caged bird'... Hiashi..."

He looked up at his eldest daughter, who seemed to radiate light as she was surrounded by countless excited and tearful family members in the center.

Watching her personally smash the decaying birdcage that had existed for hundreds of years in the Hyuga clan, she gave all the birds trapped inside an unwavering promise of freedom.

At this moment, the blue pattern of the Caged Bird Seal is no longer a shameful "cage," but a symbol of treating everyone equally!

There was no more doubt or struggle in Riji's heart, only immense relief and peace of mind.

'She is indeed... more suitable to be the clan leader than I am.'

Hidden in the shadows, Mianma quietly watched all of this.

Looking at the straightforward, fiery, and fearless leader, the courage, responsibility, and wisdom she displayed at this moment stirred a strange feeling in my heart.

'It seems she's grown up too.' Then, the Mangekyou Sharingan beneath the white three-eyed fox mask turned, and the eye technique, Wheel Fear, was activated, erasing the connection between Hinata's Caged Bird Seal on her forehead and her brain nerves and Byakugan, turning it into a symbolic ornament.

After all, he couldn't be by Hinata's side all the time, and he couldn't leave Hinata with any potential dangers.

As for his initial instigation of Hizashi and others to defect, it was more of a spontaneous act, to cause some trouble for the Konoha leadership, to collect Byakugan bloodline limits for his own forces, and to watch the show along the way.

Now, Hinata has chosen to shoulder the burden of the Hyuga clan of Konoha with such great determination and wisdom, attempting to carry out a radical transformation from within.

He had no reason to stop it, and even... he was secretly looking forward to what kind of sparks would fly between the Hyuga clan of Konoha and the Hyuga clan of the Land of Stars after the changes in the Hyuga clan of Konoha.
It feels like a cyberpunk cricket fight.

As for the Hyuga clan of Konoha, it will take another generation for them to truly be free. Many people before this generation even died with shackles on their hands, while the Hyuga branch family of the Land of Stars has already completely broken free.

Menma didn't care about the difference, and he believed that Hizashi and the others wouldn't be envious either.

After all, one is a bird that has broken free of its cage and soars into the sky, while the other is a bird that has been released from its cage but is still "bound".

These are two completely different paths. Perhaps in the future, they will develop into two completely different new ninja clans?

Like the descendants of Asura and Indra.

[PS: I'll update 22,000 words for now, then go to sleep. I'll write some more during the day and try to reach 50,000 words.]

(End of this chapter)