"Hyuga Yuu."
"This name… bodes ill."
"One of your two teammates was severely injured and forced into retirement. The other died during the Chunin Exams, leaving only you."
"Moreover, you should already understand this yourself—with your level of talent, you are not suited to continue as a ninja."
The sun was setting in the west.
A draft from outside the courtyard lifted the hair from the forehead of the young man standing at the end of the long corridor, revealing a pair of slightly hesitant white eyes.
"Yes."
Hyuga Yuu, who had lived in this world for thirteen years, nodded dully. His body bent slightly as he forced himself into a humble bow toward the elder before him—a gesture he still had not grown accustomed to.
"However, according to the rules of the Hyuga clan, I will still employ you."
"Take a look."
The elder seated on the veranda platform pushed a document forward.
Hyuga Yuu already knew what was written on it.
**Hyuga Clan Ninja Lifetime Appointment Letter**
A job contract meant for mediocre ninjas of the Hyuga clan.
Work six days, rest one. Food and lodging provided. If important figures of the main family were pleased, they might occasionally bestow some small but valuable items.
The total monthly salary was thirty thousand ryo.
Equivalent to three hundred thousand Japanese yen—about fifteen thousand RMB.
The duties were simple: serving tea and water, running errands, and occasionally pruning flowers and plants in the vast estate of the main family. Trivial work, even by ninja standards.
To be honest, it was a lucrative position—one that outsiders would scramble for.
Hyuga Yuu had no obvious reason to refuse.
He was a Genin.
A Genin who had lost his teammates in last year's Chunin Exams.
He had failed to advance in what was arguably the simplest Chunin Exam held in Konoha Year 48, and had even suffered a crushing defeat against someone like Uchiha Obito, a dead last.
His ninja career was, for all intents and purposes, set in stone.
Hyuga Yuu had no talent as a ninja.
Continuing to serve as a ninja in Konoha Year 49 meant that the risks far outweighed the benefits.
At this time, the Third Great Ninja War was in its third year.
A stalemate had formed in the Land of Rain between Iwagakure, Konoha, and Sunagakure.
Meanwhile, Kirigakure—under the command of the Third Mizukage—was expanding westward, invading small countries such as the Land of Waves, and preparing for a large-scale invasion of the eastern coast of the Land of Fire.
Konoha's main forces were already spread thin across the long fronts of the Lands of Rivers, Rain, and Grass.
With Kirigakure's looming offensive, the eastern coast of the Land of Fire was in desperate need of manpower.
It was only a matter of time before Konoha issued orders requiring clan ninjas—led by the Uchiha and Hyuga—to reinforce the eastern front.
Hyuga Yuu vaguely remembered that during this war, the Hyuga clan suffered heavy losses due to the leakage of the Byakugan.
If he continued as a ninja at such a critical juncture, it would not be long before he was thrown into that meat grinder of a battlefield.
And Hyuga Yuu was only a Genin.
Even with the Hyuga name, he would amount to little more than qualified cannon fodder.
Yet—
Looking at the contract laid out clearly before him, one that would effectively buy out his entire life—
Hyuga Yuu hesitated.
"Hyuga Yuu, did you not hear what I said?"
"Yes, Elder. I am listening."
The elder on the platform fell silent for a moment, then spoke flatly.
"Sign it quickly. Afterward, take this appointment letter to the main family. Once you return, work peacefully for them."
"And fix that habit of yours—your inability to bend your back."
"Your parents once saved my life, so I won't pursue this further. But if you dare show such disrespect in front of the main family again, do you want to taste the pain of the Caged Bird once more?"
Hyuga Yuu suddenly pushed the appointment letter back.
After a long silence, he spoke.
"Sorry, Elder. How about I don't sign it after all?"
"Not satisfied with the terms?"
"No."
The elder froze briefly, then frowned deeply.
"Then what do you mean?"
"Nothing," Hyuga Yuu replied calmly. "I just feel that I might not be able to bend my back. Or kneel."
As Hyuga Yuu began to straighten his posture, the elder finally lost his last shred of patience. His expression darkened as he rebuked him sharply.
"Do you understand what you are refusing?!"
"Hyuga Yuu, you have no talent as a ninja!"
"Even if you did—even if you became a Chunin, a Jonin, or an elite Jonin—your fate would not change in the slightest!"
"As a member of the branch family, for the sake of the clan's continuation, you are born to bow to the main family, to kneel before the main family, and to die for the main family—"
"Just like your parents!"
Hyuga Yuu pressed his lips together.
Then he retorted.
"What about a Kage?"
"What if I became Hokage?"
The elder burst out laughing—a laugh filled with pure exasperation.
He looked at Hyuga Yuu as though he were nothing more than a ridiculous joke. Slowly, he raised his hand and formed an incomplete hand seal.
The next instant—
A violent pain exploded across Hyuga Yuu's forehead.
It felt as though his skull were about to burst apart, red and white splattering everywhere.
Drowned in agony, Hyuga Yuu instantly lost the ability to resist.
He clutched his head, his entire body trembling. He clenched his teeth so hard that blood seeped from the corners of his mouth.
Yet even then, he did not scream.
He stood there stubbornly, like a nailed post, staring at the elder through gritted teeth. With a twisted expression, trembling violently, he forced out the words—
"El…der… what if… I become Hokage?"
The elder fell silent.
Then, with visible disinterest, he closed his eyes, released the seal, and sneered.
"You won't."
"Even if you train your entire life, you will never be more than an ordinary Genin."
"You know that better than I do."
"If you want to die, then go ahead and try."
With that, the old man turned his back. He waved his hand dismissively and left behind one final, desolate remark.
"Don't say I didn't warn you."
"That old man Hyuga Shusuke is looking for clan members who can use medical ninjutsu."
The pain of the Caged Bird faded quickly.
More importantly, the lonely old man—whom Hyuga Yuu had served for ten years, living and eating under the same roof—had never intended to take his life.
Hyuga Yuu's face was pale as he staggered slightly, staring at the elder's retreating back.
He remained silent.
He knew the other party had helped him in the end.
But after enduring such humiliation—treated like a pig or dog with a rope around its neck—words of thanks were impossible to utter.
Finally, he turned around and walked out of the luxurious mansion.
Like a bird breaking free from its cage, he crossed the long corridor, passed through the courtyard, and strode out of the prison where he had lived for thirteen years.
The old man was not wrong.
Hyuga Yuu understood this with exceptional clarity.
He had no talent as a ninja.
He had no golden finger.
Nor did he possess a noble or exalted status.
From the moment of his birth, it was as though he had been destined to serve the main family—no more than a sparrow protected by a cage.
Yet—
Even among sparrows trapped in cages, there are those unwilling to spend their entire lives pecking at rice with their heads lowered.
And Hyuga Yuu—
was one such anomaly.