"Whew…"
Hyuga Hinata let out a long breath, got dressed, and stepped out of the bathroom.
Almost three months had passed without her noticing, and the Life Simulator's cooldown would finally end tonight.
She opened the notebook, selected Designated Simulation, and began manually adjusting the simulation's direction.
A new simulation began.
[———]
[Year 60 of Konoha. In the silence before the storm arrives, I use the hidden passage from the study to sneak into Father Hiashi's secret room, and there I find what I came for—a scroll recording the Caged Bird technique.]
[Just as I'm about to act, I notice another scroll placed beside the Caged Bird scroll. It looks older, its surface covered in the traces of time. There are no markings on it. But for some reason, a powerful impulse rises in my heart, as if it's calling to me.]
[After hesitating for a moment, I decide to take both scrolls.]
[After returning to my room, driven by that strange feeling, I decide to examine the second scroll first.]
[The scroll contains scattered information about the origins of the Hyuga clan. Much of the writing is blurred, but I can faintly make out words like "Sage of Six Paths" — "Moon" — "Kin" — "Byakugan" — "Evolution" — "Caged Bird" — and so on.]
[I put this scroll away, then open the scroll that records the Caged Bird curse seal and begin studying it carefully.]
Suddenly, the notebook's text stopped. It didn't give options like it usually did.
[Please manually correct the simulation direction. Note: each correction will greatly increase the cooldown time.]
[Question: What will you do?]
Hinata took a deep breath, picked up her pen, and wrote her answer in the input box provided.
[Continue simulation.]
[I open the scroll and study it carefully, trying to find a method to undo the Caged Bird technique, but the scroll contains no such method. In that case, I can only use another approach.]
[I copy down the information about the Caged Bird curse seal, then restore the two scrolls and return them to the secret room.]
[Year 61 of Konoha. After making thorough preparations, I kneel before a mirror and personally carve the Caged Bird curse seal into my own forehead—]
At this point, the text suddenly flickered twice, then stabilized again after a moment.
"Whew…"
Hinata let out a breath of relief.
She knew this would probably fail, so in the earlier input box she'd added the condition "the engraving must succeed." She hadn't expected it to actually work.
[My insane act shocks the entire Hyuga clan.]
[Father Hiashi is furious. He cannot understand why his daughter would do something so outrageous, but once the Caged Bird is carved it cannot be removed. I prove with my own body that the technique truly has no solution.]
[The main family holds an emergency meeting to discuss how to handle this unprecedented situation. In the end, the decision is made: I become branch family, and my younger sister Hyuga Hanabi inherits the position of main-family young lady.]
[However, in the eyes of the branch family, I am still "Young Lady." I promise them I will find a way to change the Hyuga clan, and I beg them to believe in me and give me more time.]
[The branch family is shocked by my actions, and also stunned that I somehow know their plan. But this time, they are willing to believe me.]
[And so the Hyuga clan welcomes the New Year. Everything is peaceful, and no one dies.]
[Year 62 of Konoha. Tsunade-sama returns to the village. Uchiha Shisui of the Uchiha clan replaces her and becomes the overall commander of the border force.]
[Year 63 of Konoha. I graduate from the Ninja Academy. At my strong insistence, I do not enter a standard genin squad, but instead join the border force.]
[After arriving at the border, Uchiha Shisui looks at me deeply, with a trace of appreciation in his eyes. "I'll assign you to Border Seventh Platoon. Your captain is Hyuga Toneri. In the unit, obey your captain's orders at all times."]
[Then he leads me to the Seventh Platoon's camp. "Hyuga Hayate, your new teammate has arrived."]
[Hyuga Hayate is a branch-family member around thirty. When he sees me, surprise flashes across his face. "Young Lady?"]
[Besides me, the Seventh Platoon has two other new members. The three of us are assigned to different squads and carry out missions under the guidance of senior teammates.]
[The border is not as conflict-heavy as I imagined. In the first month, most of our time is spent on patrols, survival drills, and training. Through these missions, we newcomers quickly adapt, learning many practical skills and knowledge.]
[In the second month, the Seventh Platoon begins operating with other platoons, sometimes holding opposition drills, sometimes carrying out joint combat missions, sometimes participating in squad tournaments—]
[Captain Toneri is unquestionably competent. After each mission, he carefully reviews what happened, summarizes strengths and weaknesses, and gives patient guidance based on each person's performance. When disagreements arise, he listens seriously to all sides before making a judgment.]
[When he does his work, his whole being shines with something called "confidence." Without question, he enjoys this feeling.]
Reading this, Hinata couldn't help freezing for a moment.
She felt like she was starting to understand why, in that earlier simulation, Uncle Hizashi had volunteered to go back to the border.
[During a routine patrol, we discover an enemy trap. Then I use the Byakugan to find five hidden enemies. They are hiding one kilometer away—beyond the visual range of most Hyuga, but I can see farther.]
[Captain Hayate quickly forms a plan and issues orders. In the end, Seventh Platoon wins with zero casualties and captures one enemy.]
[After the battle, Captain Toneri praises everyone's performance—especially praising me in front of everyone. In that moment, an unprecedented sense of achievement wells up from the bottom of my heart.]
[He notices my change. After we return to camp, he seeks me out alone and says with emotion, "Young Lady—do you know what the greatest achievement is for the branch family… mm, for the former branch family?"]
[I shake my head.]
[He says, "It's hearing 'Good. You successfully protected the main family and upheld the Hyuga clan's honor.'"]
[Year 62 of Konoha. The branch family tells me they don't want to wait any longer.]
The notebook's text stopped again, and another input box appeared.
[Please manually correct the simulation direction. Note: each correction will greatly increase the cooldown time.]
[Question: What will you do?]
"What a… heavy trust."
Hinata couldn't help murmuring as she stopped to think seriously.
In truth, once things reached this point, her choices were very few.
Either she followed the branch family's plan—killing every main-family member.
But—after knowing all this, how could she possibly stand by and watch her father, her family, be killed?
How could she do such a thing?!
Even if it was for changing the clan, for the branch family's freedom, for breaking a curse that had lasted hundreds of years—she still couldn't.
The other choice was to carve the Caged Bird seal onto every main-family member.
In a sense, that was also a way to "eliminate" the main family. But the key issue wasn't the seal itself—it was who possessed the method to activate it.
If she chose this path, then the branch would also need to know the secret technique to activate the seal. Only when both sides held the same weapon—able to check and balance each other—could true equality become possible.
In theory, it was perfect. But the world wasn't made of the Hyuga alone.
If even one Hyuga were captured by an enemy, the technique to activate the seal could be stolen from their mind—and then the entire Hyuga clan would be finished.
Then what about selecting only a few branch members to know it?
With only a little thought, Hinata immediately rejected it.
The more people who knew a secret, the greater the risk. And who could guarantee they would keep it absolutely… or that they wouldn't become a new "main family" themselves?
Unless—
Every main-family member except her, including Father, carved the seal—and she became the one who backed the branch.
The instant the thought appeared, Hinata startled herself.
But the more she thought about it, the more it seemed… possible.
It would need verification, of course—but she happened to have the capital to trial-and-error.
"End the simulation."
This simulation had reached a dead end. Continuing would be meaningless. Better to end it now, reduce cooldown, and test her idea in the next run.
[This simulation ends here.]
[Evaluation: A true master does not act by the rules.]
[Based on the overall evaluation of this simulation, the host may choose one of the following two rewards.]
[Option 1: Slightly increase Byakugan range.]
[Option 2: Slightly increase Byakugan evolution potential.]
[Please choose carefully. Only one reward may be selected per simulation.]
"Byakugan evolution potential?!"
Hinata's eyes widened sharply—she almost thought she was seeing things.
If the Byakugan could truly evolve… why had she never heard of it? In the Hyuga's long history there had never been such a precedent, not even a single mention that "the Byakugan can evolve."
She immediately thought of the second scroll that had appeared in the simulation and hurriedly flipped through the notebook to find the corresponding section.
"Byakugan… evolution… Caged Bird…"
"Could it be that the Caged Bird seal limits the Byakugan's ability to evolve?"
~~~
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!