A look of immense struggle appeared on Hyuga Neji's face.
He was still small, and it hadn't been long since he was bound by the Caged Bird seal.
Although he felt the humiliation, the pain, and the lack of freedom brought by this thing...
He was not yet completely bound by fatalism. Beneath his sorrowful exterior, within his body and heart, there was a fiery desire to break through the rotten dogmas.
It was just that his strength was too weak—too weak to support the flame in his heart to continue burning vigorously.
His hatred could not allow him to break his limits or allow the flame of resistance in his heart to survive.
Until later, the longer he was bound by the Caged Bird, the more painful and numb he would become. Eventually, he would stop resisting and obediently become a caged bird that had thoroughly lost its freedom under that ugly mark on his forehead.
"I..."
Can I resist fate?
Even my father, Hyuga Hizashi, became a scapegoat because of this damnable fate, becoming someone the clan had to sacrifice.
If even Father couldn't resist fate, can I, Hyuga Neji, do it?
A faint sorrow emerged on Hyuga Neji's face as he looked at Uzumaki Naruto in front of him, looking at the mocking smile on his face.
Anger surged from the bottom of his heart, making him want to punch this detestable guy in the face.
Hyuga Shiro was a ninja of the same generation as his father, Hyuga Hizashi, and a distant relative of his. She was a ninja who was quite talked about even within the Hyuga Branch House.
"Uzumaki Naruto, you have no idea what she is facing or enduring! You getting close to her will only make her..."
"Make Sister Shiro smile more happily, more sincerely, and more lively."
Hearing Uzumaki Naruto interrupt him, Hyuga Neji became even angrier.
The more Hyuga Shiro violated the strict traditional rules of the Hyuga Clan and the various constraints of the family, and the happier she smiled now, the more painful it would be later!
This guy simply doesn't know what she, as a member of the Branch House, and I, Hyuga Neji, are facing—things that make it impossible to breathe.
This guy understands nothing of her pain or the pain of our Hyuga Branch House, yet he dares to say such things with a grin!
Hyuga Shiro dared to do all sorts of rebellious things within the Hyuga Clan, and Hyuga Neji actually admired her quite a bit.
"You bastard!"
Hyuga Neji couldn't hold back anymore and punched toward Naruto's face.
He was just a second-year child, a child whose heart was mixed with a massive amount of anger and sorrow over his fate. That anger was so easily triggered by Naruto that he could no longer stop it.
Naruto watched Hyuga Neji's fist enlarging before his eyes. Keeping his cool, he leaned back in his seat, his body lying steadily on the chair.
Hyuga Neji's fist, however, lost its power in mid-air due to the distance issue relative to Naruto's head.
At this moment, the principle that "an inch longer is an inch stronger" manifested its logic.
Hyuga Neji was one grade higher than Naruto, but he wasn't particularly tall or large. His arm couldn't possibly be longer than Naruto's leg!
Leaning back on the stool, Naruto kicked upward forcefully with one leg, aiming right between Neji's legs.
However, Hyuga Neji was indeed a genius of the Hyuga Clan. having trained in the Gentle Fist since childhood. He was hailed within the Hyuga Clan as a genius far stronger than the eldest miss of the Main House, Hyuga Hinata!
He clamped his legs together, blocking Naruto's kick to the groin, and raised his palm again, intending to strike down on Naruto's leg.
Now that his arm couldn't reach Naruto's head while he was lying down, couldn't it reach Naruto's leg?
"Hey!"
At this moment, a figure suddenly appeared beside Hyuga Neji. He keenly reached out a hand and grabbed Hyuga Neji's wrist.
"As a second-year senior, bullying a first-year newcomer is a bit too much, isn't it!"
"Ah! Sasuke-kun!"
Sasuke appeared dashingly beside Hyuga Neji. aside from the hand grabbing Hyuga Neji to stop his attack, his other hand was in his pocket.
His entire being, from the inside out, radiated a massive aura that made people want to scream.
Sure enough, almost all the other girls in the entire class screamed because of Sasuke's incomparably dashing appearance as he stopped Hyuga Neji so casually.
Hyuga Neji looked at Sasuke, looked at Sasuke's eyes, and then looked at the Uchiha Clan clothes he was wearing.
"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?"
At this moment, the belated Iruka rushed into the classroom.
"What are you guys doing?"
He looked at the few people in front of him with a headache. School had only been open for two days, and such a thing had already happened.
"You two... and you, Uzumaki Naruto, all of you come to the office!"
The headache-stricken Iruka, after naming Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji, quickly changed his expression, becoming cold as he looked at Uzumaki Naruto.
He had originally wanted to ignore Naruto's existence, to downplay this guy's presence as much as possible, and to try not to be affected by his every word and deed.
But today, he felt angry.
"Alright, you two go back first. Remember, such things are not allowed to happen in the Ninja Academy in the future. You are students of the same school, and in the future, you will be ninjas of the same village, possibly comrades fighting side by side. Do you understand?"
In the office, after questioning Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Neji, Iruka let the two leave.
Then, finally, he looked coldly at Uzumaki Naruto. That manner made Naruto feel a vague sense of foreboding in his heart.
"Speak, what happened? What did you do? Why did you provoke Hyuga Neji?!"
In an instant, Naruto felt as if his heart was being clenched tight, making it hard to breathe.
He looked up in astonishment, only to see the impatience and cold expression on Iruka's face.
Clearly, it was that guy Hyuga Neji who told me to stay away from Sister Shiro. Clearly, it was that guy Hyuga Neji who couldn't hold back and swung his fist at me first. I, Uzumaki Naruto, was only acting in self-defense.
But now, I, Uzumaki Naruto, have become the one who causes the most trouble in your mouth?
You guy... you ignored me before, rejected me, and wanted to treat me as if I didn't exist!
Iruka... the Iruka who knew in his heart that his parents died at the hands of the Nine-Tails and that it actually had nothing to do with Uzumaki Naruto.
The Iruka who, after being persuaded by Sarutobi Hiruzen, would slowly change his attitude toward Uzumaki Naruto.
Even so, right now, he could not treat me, Uzumaki Naruto, correctly!
One could imagine how others would view this matter and these conflicts in the end.
Why? Why must I, Uzumaki Naruto, endure such malice and grievance?!
Naruto took a deep breath. Impatience in small matters ruins great plans.
Enduring now was to buy time and accumulate strength.
"I'm sorry, Iruka... sensei."