Naruto: Limit Breaker

Chapter 124: Graduating Early Again

Is this… a fight?

Ryosuke froze in place just as he stepped through the door, retracting his foot as if the threshold were a trap.

He leaned silently against the wall by the entrance, arms crossed, gaze sharp as he observed the rare sight unfolding in the main house.

Hinata and Hyūga Hiashi… arguing.

Not debating. Not gently disagreeing.

An argument. Real, serious confrontation.

Ryosuke had never seen anything like it since arriving in this world. No matter how much Hinata's personality had grown and evolved, no matter how many battles she had faced, she always maintained a deep reverence—a quiet fear—toward her father.

She was careful. Always deferential.

But now?

That reverence was gone.

She faced him without hesitation, head held high, eyes burning with conviction.

Hanabi was still at the training grounds, and aside from a few servants, the house was quiet. Just father and daughter, seated across from each other in the formal room.

"Even if you're the current head of the family," Hinata said firmly, "I'm the future head. That means I do have the right—and the responsibility—to change everything that's wrong with this system. I'm asking for your help, Father."

Her voice didn't tremble. Her back didn't bend.

"Hanabi is your daughter too. She's my sister. She's not some outsider to be treated like a branch tool. I refuse to let our relationship become what yours was with Uncle Hizashi."

Hiashi's expression darkened.

"I've told you already," he said coldly, "this is a thousand-year-old family structure. You can't dismantle it just because you feel differently."

He exhaled through his nose, voice tinged with old frustration. "What we can do is ease the tension between the main family and the branch family—not destroy the system outright."

"Our clan has endured for generations because of this structure. Mutual protection, mutual restraint. The Caged Bird Seal ensures that no enemy can steal our secrets—not without consequences."

Hinata's words had struck something. When she brought up Hizashi, a flicker of pain crossed Hiashi's face. A wound not fully healed.

Once—long ago—he and Hizashi had dreamed of changing the clan together. One as the head of the main family, the other as the leader of the branch. But time, politics, and pain had shattered that hope.

Still, watching his daughter challenge him like this…

Something stirred.

Her fire. Her conviction. It reminded him of himself, once upon a time.

His expression softened, if only slightly.

"Even if Hanabi bears the seal," he said slowly, "as long as trust exists between you, you'll be able to overcome it. The bond between sisters doesn't vanish so easily."

"The system may not change—but the way we treat each other can."

"No."

Hinata leaned forward, gaze unwavering. "That's not enough."

"She's still a child. And once she steps outside our home, no matter how she feels in her heart, the world will teach her something different. The system will teach her she's lesser."

Her voice lowered but gained weight.

"And it's not just about Hanabi. The entire system is broken. I'm not saying abolish it completely. But it must change."

"We can still protect the bloodline. We can even keep the distinction between main and branch families if we must. But we must remove the ability to control lives."

"No more death seals. No more control rituals. If we need protection, we can use seals that prevent bloodline theft—without destroying autonomy."

Hiashi frowned.

"You're too idealistic, Hinata. I've told you, that kind of reform doesn't work."

"The seal is what keeps obedience. Without it, the branch families might rise up. Rebellion isn't just a fear—it's a possibility."

"That's exactly the problem."

Hinata's voice dropped into stillness, like the calm before a storm.

All that tension, all that fire—she channeled it into sharp, deliberate calm.

She met her father's gaze squarely.

"The main family is afraid of losing control."

She didn't shout. She didn't accuse. She named the truth.

"You're afraid they'll rebel, because you know they don't truly follow us out of loyalty. They follow because they're forced to."

"And deep down, you know why."

"The branch families don't want to be ruled by people who are weak, or incompetent, or who hide behind old traditions. Uncle Hizashi didn't want me to become heir—not because I was from the main family, but because I was useless."

"That's why things broke between you two."

Hiashi's face tightened.

Hinata didn't stop.

"If the main family were truly strong—like Ryosuke—there would be no need for a seal. No need for fear."

"No one would resist someone they could respect."

She didn't say it to hurt him.

She said it because it was true.

Hiashi instinctively wanted to shut her down, to remind her who held authority in this room.

But he couldn't.

He looked at his daughter—the girl he once saw as timid, hesitant, unworthy of the clan's future—and realized he was now sitting across from someone entirely different.

Strong. Clear. Unafraid.

She had inherited his will—and taken it further.

"Rule comes through conviction," Hinata continued, her voice steady and solemn. "Through example. Through earning loyalty."

"If you have to control someone with a seal, then they're not truly yours. You've just enslaved them."

"And that resentment? It'll grow. One day it will explode. And when it does…"

"There won't be a Hyūga clan left to save."

The room was silent.

Hiashi didn't speak.

So Hinata pressed forward, words crisp with purpose.

"I propose this—remove the part of the seal that controls life and death. Keep only what's necessary to protect the Byakugan."

"Let the clan remain divided if it must, but make leadership merit-based."

"If someone from the branch family is more capable than the main family, let them lead. If someone from the main family is strong and wise, let them rule."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes. "And if the branch family takes power… how will they protect the main family?"

There was a pause.

Then Hinata answered, her voice low, but laced with the fire of victory.

"…Face."

Hiashi blinked.

Ryosuke, still leaning quietly by the door, blinked too.

"We, the main family, have always represented the face of the Hyūga clan," Hinata said steadily. "We can entrust real power to the branch family, but the transcendent status brought by pure bloodline—that can't be erased."

"As an extension of that system, any chosen clan head will never be a fool. The head represents the clan's dignity. Even if no one in a generation is particularly outstanding, the bloodline itself still carries weight and cannot be ignored."

She laid out her reasoning piece by piece, calm and composed. It was clear she had thought it through long before stepping into this room.

Even Hiashi—usually unflappable—was gradually rendered silent by her logic.

And Ryosuke, who had remained quietly at the door, found himself… surprised.

I didn't expect her to have grown this much.

The once-timid girl who barely dared to raise her voice had matured into someone who could stand toe-to-toe with the clan head—and make sense while doing it.

If not for her age and still-developing strength, she might already be qualified to take the mantle of leadership.

Ryosuke felt a strange anticipation rising inside him.

Judging by her composed attitude, and the subtle tension he'd sensed between her and Hiashi since returning, this wasn't the first time they'd had this conversation. Perhaps that was why their relationship had felt colder lately.

The structure Hinata proposed was… oddly familiar. It resembled the dynamic between a symbolic emperor and a prime minister in the island nations of his previous life. The figurehead held prestige but not political power. A protected relic, rather than a ruler.

Of course, no system is flawless. Even the most brilliant governance could be undone by selfish ambition or unforeseen cracks. Still, what Hinata proposed—while imperfect—was far more progressive, flexible, and empowering than the current one. It didn't just preserve strength—it cultivated it.

Under the old system, branch family members rarely rose to prominence. Most had long internalized the idea that their lives were simply extensions of the main family. That kind of thinking shackled ambition at the root.

But under Hinata's proposed model?

Suddenly, there was a reason to strive. A future to fight for.

Ryosuke could already imagine it: an entire generation of Hyūga aiming higher, sharpening their skills not for servitude, but for legacy.

Still… there's one more hurdle.

"I can see you've given this a lot of serious thought," Hiashi finally said, tone unreadable. "Far better than your earlier arguments."

He didn't refute her reasoning.

Not this time.

"But have you considered the implementation?"

He exhaled, shoulders heavier than before.

"Even if I agree with you, that doesn't mean it'll happen. The Hyūga clan isn't ruled by me alone. I may be the head, but I don't have unchecked authority."

"Every major decision—especially those involving the Caged Bird Seal—requires consensus among the elder council."

"Many of those elders… are from the branch family. Yet they are some of the most traditional, most stubborn people we have. Victims of the seal, yes—but also its fiercest defenders."

Hiashi's jaw tightened.

"They were shaped by the system. For them, tradition is safety. Change is chaos."

His words struck like a hammer.

Hinata, who had spoken with such confidence moments ago, faltered.

She hadn't considered this.

She had believed that if she and her father were united in purpose, then reform was inevitable.

But now… she saw the bigger picture.

"Even if you find the right path," Hiashi said, more gently now, "getting there is another challenge entirely."

Ryosuke sighed inwardly. Still, not bad. This was a solid first step.

If Hinata truly wanted to protect Hanabi—and reshape the clan—then she would need to confront this next wall herself.

And Ryosuke, watching from the sidelines, was looking forward to how she'd climb it.

"Ryosuke? Why are you—?"

A small, tired voice called out.

Hanabi had returned from training, sweat clinging to her brow, her tiny frame sagging with fatigue. Normally, at her age, she would still be homeschooled. But she insisted on training like the rest.

When she saw Ryosuke, her face lit up with confusion and curiosity.

He raised a finger to his lips and gave her a quiet wave.

"Shh… Father's still speaking with Hinata. We'll go in later."

Hanabi blinked. Then her expression darkened.

She walked over slowly and leaned against the wall beside him, her shoulders small but tense.

"Are Father and Sister… fighting because of me again?" she asked in a low, tremulous voice.

Her lips trembled, and she tried to suppress it—but the emotion had already surged too high.

"If… if leaving would make them stop fighting… I'll leave. I don't want them to argue because of me."

Tears fell like rain.

"…What are you even saying?"

Caught off guard, Ryosuke crouched beside her and wiped her cheeks with a gentle hand.

"This family isn't complete without you. And they're not fighting. They just… disagree."

"Disagree?"

Hanabi sniffled, blinking up at him.

"They're just talking," he explained softly. "Trying to figure out the best way forward."

She didn't fully understand. Not yet. But his words soothed her.

And just like that, the tears stopped.

This kid's like a switch, Ryosuke thought. Cry on command. Stop just as fast.

He chuckled quietly and straightened up.

"They're probably done by now. Go on in."

"Eh…?" Hanabi hesitated.

But Ryosuke's gaze had shifted—his eyes narrowing toward the main house.

A new figure had appeared at the far end of the path, walking with quiet confidence.

A young man, serious and sharp-eyed, with features strikingly similar to Hiashi.

"Master Ryosuke," he said respectfully as he approached.

Hyūga Neji.

But the cold, aloof air Neji had once carried was gone.

Something had changed.

Maybe it was what he'd heard from Hizashi. Or perhaps he'd done his own research.

Either way, he was no longer looking at Ryosuke like an outsider.

Hanabi, spotting the unfamiliar figure, slipped quietly into the house. She hadn't seen Neji before. Not once in her short life.

Not surprising. He'd been kept at a distance.

"I'm here to ask the clan head for permission," Neji said. "I'd like to apply for early graduation from the Academy."

He spoke plainly, but his tone was resolute.

"I want to become a ninja. Like Uchiha Sasuke."

Ryosuke raised an eyebrow.

"Early graduation, huh…"

His expression twitched.

Don't tell me… Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura, Neji—all the prodigies have graduated early, and I, the time-traveling cheat code, am still stuck in school.

If Kaguya gets sealed before I even pass the final exam, I'm going to throw something.

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