Naruto: SSS-Rank Romance System

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"Goodbye, Naruto-kun."

Hinata stood under the gate of the Hyuga residence, reluctantly waving goodbye to Naruto. Her small figure gave a sense of fragility.

Naruto guessed it might be connected to the secrets of the Hyuga main family, but he didn't think deeply. To him, the present moment was reality.

Hinata, vibrant and warm, wasn't just a character on paper. Naruto could sense the tension and gloom behind her smile, like a girl dancing with shackles on her feet.

"Goodbye, Hinata," Naruto waved back.

Hinata nodded, took a couple of steps into the darkness, and looked back, saying, "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I had a great time today."

"So did I."

Before dawn the next day, Naruto woke up, opened his system panel, and began updating his "Diary of the Ninja God." Yesterday's events were already behind him, and he felt refreshed.

"August 16th: The desire to destroy the ninja world grew stronger by a fraction today, and it was yet another day without seeing long legs. The Caged Bird Seal of the Hyuga clan is the most disgusting slavery system I've ever seen—it turns family into slaves. It's been developing for millennia. Shouldn't the seal have been improved by now? Its original purpose to protect the weaker branch family has clearly changed."

After sending the update, Naruto shook his head, his eyes still hazy, and lay back down to sleep.

Above Konoha.

After a few seconds of silence, a collective scream erupted!

The entire village of Konoha was thrown into chaos by this daily Ninja God diary. If yesterday's message had some of the village's top officials on edge, now they were mentally overwhelmed.

A bedside lamp turned on. Just three hours after the last meeting ended at 2 a.m., Inoichi Yamanaka had to get up again.

"Inoichi, do you really have to go? I'm worried," whispered his wife, Yamanaka Rei, her face weary.

"It's fine." Inoichi reassured his wife as he got dressed. "For meetings, usually only Shikaku represents our trio. But this time, the message that appeared in everyone's mind is too strange. Our Yamanaka clan specializes in mind control jutsu, so it would raise suspicion if I didn't go."

"Well, take care," Rei said softly.

After a pause, Rei asked as she got out of bed, "Inoichi, are the things the Ninja God said true?"

Inoichi sighed, not knowing how to answer. "Probably not. How could such a thing exist? Someone must be behind it. The village will investigate and give everyone an explanation."

"Go be with our daughter. Ino must be terrified," he said, turning back as he opened the door to leave.

"Yes, be careful," she replied, closing the door behind him.

As Inoichi walked through the streets, he saw that Konoha was in complete disarray. Villagers were out, discussing the Ninja God's diary with fearful expressions.

"Does the Ninja God really exist? It's been two days, so it doesn't seem fake," one villager said.

"No word from the Hokage yet either, and he hasn't shown himself to say anything," another villager sighed.

"Do you think the Ninja God's words are true?" one asked quietly, hinting at secrets about the Hyuga clan.

"Watch your mouth! You don't want to be overheard by the Anbu and taken away," said another with a frightened look.

Inoichi overheard the conversation, his face growing more solemn. He had heard of the Hyuga clan's enslavement system before, a grim jutsu that turned relatives into slaves. It was a topic people avoided.

This was the Caged Bird curse—a taboo that everyone in Konoha seemed to have silently agreed to ignore, although some who had survived the Third Shinobi War knew the truth.

The curse allowed the main family to control the branch family's every action, even to the point of life and death.

And yet, oddly, in Hiashi Hyuga's generation, neither his eldest daughter became the main family, nor his second daughter was assigned to the branch family. Inoichi had heard about this but didn't understand why.

All he could do was try to capture the self-proclaimed Ninja God and restore peace to the village—or at least, the appearance of it.

The atmosphere around the Hyuga estate was oppressive, shrouded in an eerie silence.

At dawn, Neji Hyuga sat before a mirror, staring calmly at the Caged Bird seal on his forehead.

...

"Such a good sleep!" Naruto yawned, stretching on his bed in bear pajamas, and scratched his head lazily as he began his morning routine. Looking at his bedhead in the mirror, he yawned again and muttered, "Still fourteen D-rank missions left. I guess I'll pick one up today so I don't get caught for hiring someone to do them."

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