"Who's making a racket on Hyuga Clan territory?" someone shouted.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
With two whooshes, two Hyuga Clan guards appeared before Neji. Seeing him bruised, battered, and utterly disheveled, they were alarmed. The visitor clearly meant trouble, and they immediately began forming hand seals to attack.
"It's me," Neji said resentfully.
Hearing that familiar voice, the guards froze. "Young Master Neji, how did you end up like this?"
At that, Neji's nose stung, and tears began falling again despite himself.
The two guards were stunned. They had never seen Young Master Neji looking so wronged before. "Young Master Neji... you..."
Neji waved a hand, clearly unwilling to say more. Ignoring the two family guards, he staggered toward the Hyuga Clan compound, muttering, "I just wanted to come home for a meal..." He looked as though his entire worldview had collapsed.
Watching Young Master Neji's dejected back, one of the guards sighed. "Young Master Neji must be really close to Lord Hokage. Otherwise, his face wouldn't be swollen like that."
After saying that, he shuddered.
The other guard looked envious. "If I were that close to Lord Hokage too, I wouldn't have to stand here guarding the gate."
His companion gave him a strange look. "What, do you want to end up looking like Young Master Neji too?"
Reminded of that, the guard shuddered and waved his hands. "Then I'd better keep guarding the gate. I don't want to end up looking so bad even my mother wouldn't recognize me."
Neji entered the Hyuga Clan compound. Hinata Izumi was in the courtyard soothing Longxue. When she looked up and saw Neji, bruised, battered, and disheveled, her lovely brows furrowed slightly. "Excuse me, are you looking for Neji?"
Looking at his aunt, Neji suddenly began trembling all over. Overwhelmed by sorrow, tears