In the Hyuga Clan's courtyard, the crisp sound of bamboo tubes striking the stone platform echoed in the night. Hyuga Hiashi knelt by the edge, his white eyes gazing at the dry landscape garden in the courtyard, the moonlight reflecting off the sand patterns like flowing water.
"Father, tea."
Hinata approached quietly and placed the teacup beside her father. Her movements were much more composed than before, but her fingertips still trembled slightly—ever since the scene of her confessing to Naruto was played on the Heavenly Screen, she couldn't help but feel nervous every time she faced her father.
Hiashi picked up his teacup, his gaze sweeping over his eldest daughter's lowered profile. How long ago was it that this daughter, who had always been timid and withdrawn, now bore the marks of determination in her eyes?
Sit.
The brief command made Hinata tremble, but she still obediently knelt beside her father. Moonlight shone on her snow-white kimono, and her white eyes, just like her father's, reflected the scenery of the courtyard.
Did the trip to the Land of Snow yield any gains?
"Yes." Hinata's voice was soft but clear. "Having witnessed Ninjutsu system different from the Land of Fire, I... and I understand even more the importance of my comrades."
She subconsciously touched the ninja tool pouch at her waist—it contained the Kunai Naruto had given her, its rough handle wrapped with bandages to prevent slipping.
Hiashi took a sip of tea, the steam rising in the cold night. His gaze fell on the new calluses on his daughter's fingers—marks left when the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist reached a certain level.
"The scene in the Heavenly Screen..." Hiashi suddenly spoke, "If what happened inside really happened, and you were asked to rush towards Pain again, would you hesitate?"
Hinata's body visibly stiffened for a moment.
She recalled the terrifying scene in the Heavenly Screen: Naruto pinned to the ground by Black Rods, Pain's Rinnegan looking down upon all living beings like a god.
And she—a member of the Hyuga Main Family who would faint from nervousness even Chunin Ninja Exams —rushed towards that monster without hesitation.
"No." Surprisingly, her answer was unusually firm. "Because Naruto-kun... is protecting everyone. So if that situation really happens, I'll rush to protect him."
Hiashi paused slightly in his Hiashi. He recalled the image of his daughter standing stubbornly in the Heavenly Screen, covered in blood—an aura he had never seen in Hinata before.
"Foolish." Hiashi put down his teacup, his voice lacking its usual sternness. "The duty of the Hyuga Main Family is to pass on the Byakugan, not to act rashly."
Hinata's fingers tightened around the hem of her clothes, but this time she didn't lower her head. "Father taught me that the Byakugan is 'eyes that can see through everything.' But... I saw something more important than the rules of the Main Family."
A night breeze rustled the bamboo leaves. Hiashi gazed at his eldest daughter's straight back and suddenly realized that the girl who had always been timid had grown up.
"Hmph." He snorted lightly, subtly changing the subject, "That Naruto Uzumaki... the Fourth's son, he's actually doing quite well now."
Hinata's face flushed crimson to her ears, her fingers unconsciously twirling a strand of hair. "Naruto-kun... he's always been so outstanding..."
Hiashi's eye twitched. As a father, seeing his daughter like this was a complex mix of emotions—he was relieved that she had finally found the courage to persevere, but also furious that the loser had somehow abducted the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Main Family.
"The Hyuga Clan has survived from the Warring States period to the present day not because of romantic love," Hiashi's tone turned cold, "But because of their wisdom in assessing the situation."
He rose and walked towards the inner room, his wide sleeves unfurling like crane wings in the moonlight. "Starting tomorrow, you will learn the Eight Trigrams 128 Palms from me. As the heir of the Main Family, you must at least be able to survive on the battlefield."
Hinata's eyes widened; this was the first time her father had explicitly acknowledged her as his heir!
"Yes, Father!" She bowed deeply, her forehead almost touching the wooden corridor.
Hiashi's figure paused before the paper door. "As for that Uzumaki kid... if he really can become a hero of Konoha as the Heavenly Screen suggests..."
The second half of her sentence dissipated in the night wind, but Hinata clearly saw her father's lips curl up almost imperceptibly for a moment.
After Hinata took her leave, Hiashi went to the shrine alone. The candlelight illuminated the memorial tablets of the past clan leaders, and the one on the left in the front row was particularly new— Hizashi Hyuga.
"Younger brother..."
Hiashi took out a roll of yellowed letters; these were two letters that Hizashi had left for himself before his death.
Some time ago, he gave Neji the letter that Hizashi had left for his son, thus resolving his nephew's long-standing inner conflict. But only Hiashi knew that the so-called "voluntary death" in the letter was nothing more than his younger brother paving a path to survival for his son in a desperate situation.
I looked at the letter my younger brother had left me again.
Elder brother:
When Neji sees that letter, he will likely be an adult. Please tell him that his father died protecting the honor of the Hyuga clan, not from oppression by the Main Family.
But brother, we both understand the truth— the Kumogakure's schemes, the Konoha's compromise, and the Hyuga's helplessness. In this chaotic world, sometimes living requires more courage than dying.
I only hope that Neji will not repeat the same mistake.
"Hizashi's masterpiece"
His fingertips traced the dried blood on the scroll—his brother's last words, written after biting his finger.
The Nine-Tails' Attack had just occurred, leaving Konoha severely weakened. If war were to break out again due to the Hyuga incident, the consequences would be unimaginable. The Third even hinted that, if necessary, the Hyuga Clan leader could be sacrificed to quell the anger of Kumogakure.
"If you can live... who wants to die..."
Hiashi closed his eyes and sighed deeply. He still remembered the night before his brother's death, the two of them drinking together in the shrine until dawn in silence. Hizashi didn't shed a single tear, but only repeatedly told him to take good care of Neji.
The candlelight suddenly flickered violently, and Hiashi opened his Byakugan alertly. In a small courtyard, Neji's figure, who was cultivating the Rotation alone, came into view—the boy who was once filled with hatred was now the most dazzling genius of the branch family.
"Hyuga Tennin..." Hiashi looked up at the portrait high up in the shrine.
Since Hyuga Tennin, the Hyuga Clan has not produced another Kage Level shinobi. The current Hyuga clan only maintains its superficial glory by submitting to the Hokage lineage, but Hiashi knows very well that in front of true powerhouses like Uchiha Itachi and Jiraiya, the Gentle Fist that the Hyuga Clan is so proud of is simply not worth mentioning.
Father?
The sound of Hanabi came from outside the door. The youngest daughter, clutching Ninjutsu scroll, looked at her father, still in the ancestral hall late at night, with a puzzled expression.
Hiashi quickly composed himself. "Why aren't you resting so late?"
"I want to preview tomorrow's training content," Hanabi answered obediently, her eyes curiously glancing at the scroll in her father's hand. "What's that?"
Hiashi didn't answer, but simply patted the little girl's head gently.
Back then, because of Hinata's weakness, he placed all his hopes on Hanabi. Now it seems that perhaps both of his daughters can shoulder the future of the Hyuga clan.
"Go to sleep." He put away the scroll. "Starting tomorrow, you and your sister will study the Main Family's secret techniques together."
Hanabi's eyes widened in surprise—this meant that her father had officially established Hinata's status as his successor.
"Yes!" The little girl bowed respectfully and skipped away.
Hiashi stood alone in the center of the ancestral hall, moonlight filtering through the window lattices and casting dappled shadows on him like the Caged Bird Seal.
" Family..."
He muttered to himself. The Hyuga Clan was able to become the most powerful clan in Konoha after the Uchiha Clan Massacre was wiped out precisely because of this wisdom of assessing the situation.
But in the future revealed by the Heavenly Screen, when monsters like Pain descend upon Konoha, the Hyuga Clan will have to rely on the solitary courage of the eldest daughter of the Main Family to save face...
Is this a disgrace to the Hyuga clan, or a harbinger of a new era?
Hiashi didn't know the answer. But he knew that when the storm of change came, the Hyuga, this great ship, had to find a new course.