[Being an ordinary ninja might not be a bad thing for Hinata.]
[She never liked the oppressive atmosphere of her clan, and compared to that, the atmosphere at the ninja school is much more relaxed.]
[Besides, Naruto, the person she likes the most, is here too.]
[Compared to the feudal clan that openly writes "cannibalism," maybe the equality in school suits her better.]
"This girl, she's really kind."
"Yeah, she seems almost too kind."
Everyone has a good impression of Hinata. After all, kind people are liked everywhere.
Of course, excluding the "Saint" type.
But everyone still has their own opinion on Hinata's kindness.
Sakumo and his son think that with Hinata's personality, she's not really fit to be a ninja.
Unfortunately, being in the Hyuga clan, she doesn't have a choice but to be a ninja.
From this point, the Uchiha clan is more humane.
The Uchiha also have many people who aren't suitable to be ninjas, but the clan doesn't force them. Instead, they give them some money to run a business.
The Hyuga clan is different, because of the Byakugan, which activates automatically at a certain age, they are naturally destined to be ninjas.
"I think there's nothing wrong with Hinata's personality. She's kind, but not weak."
Clearly, Kushina doesn't agree with Sakumo and his son's view.
Nearby, Kurenai Yūhi also nodded and said, "Yes, Hinata isn't weak, and I believe she has a resilient and determined personality. She'd make a great ninja."
As Hinata's instructor, Kurenai spoke up.
What could Sakumo and Kakashi say? They could only shrug or shake their heads, choosing to skip over the topic.
[After graduating from the Ninja Academy, Hinata, Kiba, and Shino formed Team 8.]
[Her Byakugan, Kiba's sense of smell, and Shino's insects were all excellent tracking abilities, so Team 8 was also known as the Tracking Team.]
[Their teacher was the kind and beautiful genjutsu master, Kurenai Yuhi. Every day, she trained them in groups of three and they went on missions. Life was pretty enjoyable for them.]
[That was, until the Chunin Exams came.]
[In the first written exam, Hinata sat next to Naruto.
[She gathered up the courage to greet him, but Naruto's inner thoughts were: When did she get here? I didn't even notice. She's so invisible.
Shino: Is she more invisible than me?
[During the exam, Hinata noticed that Naruto was doing nothing but scratching his head and looking clueless, so she decided to let him copy her answers.
[But Naruto's thoughts were: Why is she doing this? Is it some kind of strategy? Is she trying to trick me?
"I'm telling you, son..."
Under the screen, Kushina placed one hand over her face and the other on Naruto's head, saying, "Are you really this clueless?"
"Huh?"
Naruto was stunned, not understanding why his mother was saying that.
"Hinata's being so proactive. Why can't you see that? You actually think she's trying to harm you?"
"Well... I was just really nervous at the time, didn't think much about it."
"Sigh"
Kushina sighed, pointing at Minato, who was also embarrassed by Naruto's actions, and said, "If only you had half of your dad's talent…"
"Uh, Kushina, you're talking about our son, why bring me into this?"
Kushina rolled her eyes at Minato and replied, "Did I say anything wrong? Don't think I don't know. From the first day I came to the ninja school, you were already eyeing me."
"Well…"
Minato sweatdropped. He did have feelings for this red-haired girl the first time he laid eyes on Kushina. Kushina wasn't wrong in saying that.
"You really need to teach your son your skills with girls. With how clueless he is, I don't even know when we'll have a grandkid."
"Naruto's not even fifteen yet. Isn't that a bit too early?"
"Too early? When we were together, you weren't even fourteen. Why didn't you say that back then?"
"Alright, alright, I'll do my best."
Seeing Naruto clueless as ever, Minato felt like it was time for a serious lesson.
Having Hinata always be the one to take the lead wasn't a good idea either.
[Second Exam: The Forest of Death, Team 8, with Hinata, passed successfully.]
[Along the way, a small incident happened.]
[Three kids witnessed Gaara's brutal killing spree, nearly turning them into ashes.]
[The third exam is divided into two parts. The first part is a 1v1 indoor match.]
[In this match, Kiba from Team 8 faced off against Naruto. Hinata was torn between cheering for Kiba, her teammate, and supporting Naruto, making it a difficult situation for her.]
[After the match, Hinata brought medicine to Naruto, only to be rewarded with a "good person" card.]
[Naruto: "Thank you, you're such a good person, Hinata!"]
"Slap~"
Kushina couldn't hold it in anymore and slapped Naruto hard on the head.
"Ah~ Mom, what are you doing?"
"My hand itched, do you have a problem with that?"
"…."
Naruto was speechless, looking at Minato with tears in his eyes.
Minato shrugged, showing he was powerless to help.
[In comparison, Kiba's actions were much warmer. Despite his injuries, he struggled to remind Hinata: "You have to be careful of the people behind you. If you face that Sand ninja or Neji, just forfeit. They're too strong for you, you'll end up badly hurt."]
[Kiba's words were like magic, and the next match happened to be Hinata vs. Neji.]
[Neji had always resented his branch family status. He was like a caged bird, unable to gain freedom, and his Byakugan abilities were restricted. His father had died for the main family, and Neji hated the main family and especially Hinata, the main family's daughter.]
[The match started, and Neji launched an attack with words first: "You should forfeit. I think you're not suited to be a ninja. You're too kind, always trying to please others. Someone like you should just be a Genin."]
[After his verbal attack, Hinata's morale dropped significantly. She wanted to argue, to explain that she wanted to change, but Neji poured cold water on her effort.]
[Neji: "A failure is always a failure. People can't change. Just like how I'm from the branch family, and you're from the main family. That can't be changed."]
In the office, Tsunade, who had been quiet up to this point, couldn't help but mutter.
"Neji's personality is so harsh."
Jiraiya, hearing this, replied, "There's nothing that can be done. There's a reason for it."
"True. He was branded a caged bird, witnessed his father's death, and as a branch family member, he couldn't fight back against the main family. It's not surprising he's become like this. I'm curious though, how did Neji's father, Hizashi, die?"
"Well, for that, you'll need to ask the old man."
*********
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