In Konoha, This Naruto Has Decided To Take It Easy

To say Naruto was bold would be an understatement. The Hyuga Clan was in turmoil, with Hiashi busy like a dog trying to manage the crisis, yet Naruto took advantage of the chaos to secretly arrange a meeting with Hinata, the Hyuga Princess.

At home, he still had the cat lady Yugito. Though their relationship was purely professional as superior and subordinate, and she only occasionally cooked for him, it was hard to explain such things clearly. So Naruto decided it was better to avoid any misunderstandings.

"I've missed you so much." Naruto said, pulling Hinata into a tight embrace and planting a deep kiss on her. Distance does make the heart grow fonder, and this principle applied to love as well.

Hinata smiled softly, clearly just as happy.

"I've missed you too, but..."

"Well, let's not talk about that." Naruto interrupted, expertly shifting the conversation. He didn't need to hear to know that Hiashi was likely behind whatever obstacle was being put between them, trying to keep them apart.

Though he said he didn't want to talk about it, his hands were still wandering around Hinata's waist. With things almost official between them, Naruto had no reason to pretend to be a gentleman.

Legally affectionate… so why miss the opportunity?

"Na-Naruto-kun~" Hinata's voice came out in a soft moan. With a hesitant look on her face, she bit her lip and said, "I'm a little worried… about my clan."

"Did something happen?" Naruto released her, putting on a perfectly innocent expression, his acting flawless.

"A sister from a branch family… the Caged Bird imprint on her forehead has disappeared." Hinata said with a pale face and some concern, "The elders in the main family are having a meeting about it right now."

"Oh, isn't that a good thing?" Naruto pulled his hand away.

"I-I don't know. I'm not sure if it's good or bad." Hinata replied, standing under the bamboo trees, which happened to be the place where Naruto removed the Caged Bird for the people from the branch family.

"Is she the only one whose Caged Bird disappeared?" Naruto asked.

"I'm not sure. I was trying to find out more, but you called me out before I could." Hinata looked confused and blinked her eyes innocently.

"Maybe the Caged Bird has reached its expiration date and has completely lost its effectiveness." Naruto lied with a straight face. "I think it's a good sign. Starting something new is always difficult at first."

"Perhaps this could be the opportunity to finally solve the issue of the Caged Bird, don't you think, Hinata?"

"Mm." She obviously didn't have the confidence.

The Caged Bird has a long history, and only Hyuga Clan has such a master-servant hierarchy. Although they were an ancient family, in truth, they were stuck in the past.

The only thing the Hyuga Clan had left was their heritage. They hadn't produced any truly influential figures for a long time, and internal conflicts constantly tore them apart.

The geniuses of this generation had emerged from the branch family, while the two daughters of the main family, though they had strong bloodlines, were not exceptional fighters. In other words, they were ideal marriage material.

As an ancient clan, they naturally understood the importance of improving the purity of their bloodline. Even if they didn't fully understand the science behind it, they knew the benefits of doing so.

The purer the bloodline, the stronger the innate power it brought.

In Naruto's opinion, it was as if hybrids sought to secure stronger powers for the next generation by mating with women of pure bloodlines to purify the blood.

Meanwhile, pure-blooded members of the Otsutsuki Clan sought to increase their power through mutual devouring… those with higher bloodlines devoured those with lower ones, evolving themselves.

Perhaps future generations of the main family would produce a few notable figures, but in Naruto's opinion, it would be better if he took on the burden himself.

Hiashi clearly noticed Naruto's intentions toward Hinata and didn't want him to be reduced to a mere breeding tool for the Hyuga Clan, which was why he kept causing trouble.

He had probably preached some nonsense about propriety and honor to Hinata, forbidding her from seeing Naruto. Truly, the Hyuga Clan were a traditional clan, watching jealously as others found happiness.

'A triangle is the most harmonious shape. So what's wrong with those who are capable doing more work? Setting aside the facts, was father-in-law entirely in the right? Was the Hyuga Clan entirely without fault?'

Naruto was fuming with frustration, but Hiashi remained blissfully unaware that he had become the object of such scorn. At that moment, he had no time to deal with Naruto, as he's being fully occupied with the issue of the branch family's disappearing Caged Bird.

In the Hyuga Clan's territory, the atmosphere was tense. Around a low table sat over ten members of the main house, their foreheads smooth and unmarked. Kneeling outside the low table were important members of the branch family.

The absence of seats for the branch family members indicated just how hastily this meeting had been called. But the content of the meeting was even more suffocating.

The branch family's Caged Bird had mysteriously disappeared? It was more unbelievable than seeing a ghost.

A frail girl from the branch family knelt on the tatami mat, her forehead pressed to the ground. Her whole body trembled, and she wept quietly, too afraid to lift her head.

The eyes of those present lingered on the girl, scrutinizing her. They couldn't see her face or her forehead, but the fact that she wasn't wearing any bandages around her forehead shocked them deeply.

The main branch of the Hyuga Clan was filled with a mix of emotions… anger tinged with fear. Was it an accident that there was a flaw in the means of gaining privileges? If so, they felt it would be best to fix it immediately.

The branch family's members, kneeling behind, glanced at the trembling girl in front with complicated expressions. A bird freed from its cage… who wouldn't want to be that exception?

But while they envied her, they also felt fear. After all, the first one to stand out always gets shot down. The Caged Bird has been in place for generations, so how could it be changed so easily?

Nobody wanted to be a slave, unless they had a masochistic streak.

"Everyone's here. Let's begin." Hiashi, seated at the head of the table, said.

"Have you found out the cause?" A senior elder of the main family asked, his aged yet dignified demeanor commanding attention.

"We couldn't get a clear answer. She only said it disappeared on its own." A branch family's member stepped forward, knelt down and bowed his head and said.

"What nonsense! Disappeared on its own?" Another elder, more hot-tempered, snapped and scolded the trembling girl in the middle of the room.

"Speak up! What method did you use to remove it? Are you colluding with outsiders, trying to overthrow the Hyuga Clan's foundation?"

'Foundation of the Hyuga Clan?!' Neji, who was kneeling with his head down nearby, suddenly recalled Naruto's words from that day, 'It seemed that everything Naruto said was proving true about the main family.'

"They only need obedient slaves, not equal members of the clan. If the slaves disappeared, how will the masters survive? They can't be expected to do their own laundry, can they?"

"If the Byakugan were truly so important, how come the Hyuga Clan is still stuck like this? They call themselves Konoha's greatest clan, but aside from having the largest number of slaves, what are they really first in?"

"This is straight-up manipulation. All that talk about the 'greater good'… what greater good? Konoha is full of clans, but which other clan treats its own members as slaves?"

Neji hadn't paid much attention to Naruto's rant back then, but now, for some reason, every word came rushing back to him. It was bizarre.

"I… I didn't!" The girl cried, raising her head to reveal her smooth forehead.

Sure enough, the Caged Bird was gone.

Neji could only see the girl's back, but her voice sounded very familiar. After thinking for a moment, he finally remembered that she is the innocent girl who had first been freed from the Caged Bird.

Hyuga Sachiko.

The number of children in the branch family is larger than that in the main family, after all, they are essentially servants. The names are also very casual, probably hastily given when they were born. (T/N: Sachiko is simple name in Japan.)

Neji remembered the look of both joy and fear in Sachiko's eyes when she first realized she was free of the seal, it is a heart-wrenching sight. It was as if the branch family was born inferior, and even hoping to become a normal person was already a luxury.

Meanwhile, back in the bamboo grove, Hinata's face flushed bright red as Naruto teased her. She was originally worried about her family, but Naruto's relentless distractions made it impossible for her to focus on anything else.

"I… I want to go back and check on them." Hinata suddenly said, "I don't want to wait here anymore. Even if I can only learn the outcome, it's better than waiting."

There was no way Naruto would let Hinata go back at a time like this. With sweet words and half-truths, he convinced her to stay.

After all, this was the moment he had been waiting for.

If the main family of the Hyuga Clan wasn't torn apart, how could I ever win Hinata over? If his father-in-law didn't take care of the situation properly, the Hyuga Clan would remain a traditional aristocratic clan.

But now, his father-in-law is preventing Hinata from meeting him, and he was also hoping that Hinata would marry within the clan, placing his hopes on the next generation. How could Naruto tolerate it?

Absolutely outrageous.

Fortunately, Hinata is a love-brained person, and after a few more sweet nothings, she was completely lost. As professional scumbag, Naruto played his cards like a seasoned manipulator, which left Hinata utterly stunned.

"Your father and the others will be fine. Don't worry, I'm here."

"But…"

"Although I am not a member of the Hyuga Clan, I like you, and we will be together eventually. In the future, our child will carry the Hyuga Clan's bloodline, and I will be the father of the Hyuga Clan."

"Oops, I misspoke." Naruto quickly corrected himself, "What I meant was… Hyuga Hiashi-sama will definitely resolve the issue. Besides, this Caged Bird incident might be an opportunity."

"An opportunity?"

"Yes, the Hyuga Clan can't continue like this forever. Sooner or later, clan members will turn against each other." Naruto said, "You have to trust Hiashi-sama, and you have to trust Neji."

"O-Okay," Hinata said, though she's still confused.

Before she could think it through, Naruto kissed her again. The soft, wet sensation made her lose all sense of reason. Any thoughts that formed in her mind quickly dispersed, morphing into various indistinct shapes.

Since they are out in the wilderness, Naruto didn't push things too far. He merely aimed to keep Hinata's attention elsewhere. Deep down, he was eager to see how this whole drama would play out.

'Now that the Caged Bird could no longer contain the branch family, what consequences would follow?'

Back in the Hyuga Clan, the emotions of the main family's members were running high. One by one, the main family members angrily accused the girl kneeling before them. Only Hiashi, who was seated at the head of the table, remained calm, frowning but saying nothing.

At the same time, he noticed something others hadn't.

Among the branch family members outside the courtyard, several of them were peeking at the situation. Even though they respectfully bowed their heads, their eyes occasionally darted up, glancing boldly at the proceedings.

It wasn't a secretive gaze, it was a concerned one.

It was understandable for the main house to behave this way, as their status gave them immense confidence. But the branch family had always been taught to be subservient, never to look where they shouldn't.

Their actions, combined with the sobbing girl, gave Hiashi the unsettling feeling that things were spiraling out of control.

It seemed that, without him realizing it, everything had begun to change.