The Truth??

At the Hyuga Clan compound, Hyuga Hiashi sat upright in the main hall, coldly watching the Main Family clansman kneeling on one knee before him.

"Are you certain that person was Akira Kurama?" Hyuga Hiashi asked slowly. No matter how he thought about it, he could not believe that the daughter he had gone to such lengths to protect had been lured away so easily! The clansman before him still looked indignant, and there was even a hint of blame toward his daughter in his tone. Did this brat not want to live anymore?!

"This subordinate... this subordinate confirms it!" The clansman thought back carefully. By now, he had actually calmed down. At the same time, he realized just how serious a mistake he had made. But when he thought of how a genius like him had been assigned to guard a little girl, he simply could not accept it. That was why he had never taken his duty seriously. The clan's princess had been taken away right in front of him, yet he had returned unscathed, and his first instinct had been to shift the blame onto someone else.

Hyuga Hiashi looked deeply disappointed. Such trash was actually a member of the Main Family. In his eyes, someone as untalented as Hinata would sooner or later be assigned to the Branch Family, so this man had been so careless with his duty! How was he any better than Hizashi? Was he worthy of Hizashi's sacrifice? Was he worthy of making the dignified clan head suffer such humiliation before everyone?!

The Hyuga Clan's system dividing the Main Family and Branch Family needed to change as well!

Hyuga Hiashi's gaze became resolute. He did not want the tragedy that had happened to him to continue repeating itself in later generations. After casting a disgusted glance at the trash kneeling before him, Hyuga Hiashi stood and headed outside. "Go to the detention room and reflect for seven days! If you still cannot figure out what you did wrong, then go to the Branch Family!"

"Yes..." The clansman lowered his head deeply, deeply. He had always taken pride in his Main Family status; being sent to the Branch Family was more terrifying to him than death. But faced with the clan head's order, he could only obey.

Hyuga Hiashi quietly arrived at the Kurama Clan, only to find Tsukishiro Yuexi already waiting for him at the entrance. Yuexi cupped her hands in greeting and said, "Welcome, Clan Head Hyuga, to the Kurama Clan. Young Master has been waiting for you for quite some time. Please follow me."

"Lead the way." Hyuga Hiashi nodded and followed behind Tsukishiro Yuexi. He was not surprised that Ming Jing had guessed he would come. After all, little Hinata was his beloved daughter!

The two silently passed around the rock garden and arrived at the dining hall, where they found Ming Jing smiling as he told something to Hinata and another little girl. Hyuga Hiashi did not enter immediately. Looking at Hinata's smile, he could not help recalling the happiness this child had brought him. Unfortunately, after she began training in the Gentle Fist, Hinata smiled less and less in front of him.

This child would likely marry into the Kurama Clan someday. Was there really still a need to teach her the Gentle Fist?

Hyuga Hiashi fell into deep thought.

After a while, seeing that Hyuga Hiashi had made no move, Tsukishiro Yuexi stepped into a slightly more noticeable position. Ming Jing spotted her at once and naturally realized that Hyuga Hiashi had arrived. He walked out and said apologetically, "Mr. Hiashi, my apologies for keeping you waiting."

"No, I was merely thinking." Hyuga Hiashi's gaze toward Ming Jing softened somewhat. He could see that Ming Jing's affection for Hinata came from the bottom of his heart.

"Mr. Hiashi, please." Ming Jing smiled and personally led the way.

"F-Father..." When Hinata saw her father enter, her little face went pale. She quickly lowered her head, stood where she was, and whispered, "I-I'm sorry, Father..."

"What are you apologizing for?" Hyuga Hiashi asked as he looked at Hinata.

"I'm sorry... I-I'm sorry..." Hinata panicked, and her mind became a mess. She did not even know what she was saying.

Seeing Hinata's helpless appearance, Ming Jing could not help explaining, "Mr. Hiashi, I was the one who brought Hinata here on my own initiative. Please do not make things difficult for her."

"You took away the Hyuga Clan Main Family's Miss... Ming Jing, what do you take my Hyuga Clan for?!" Hyuga Hiashi turned to look at Ming Jing, his gaze sharp as an eagle's.

"Allies." Meeting Hyuga Hiashi's gaze, Ming Jing calmly spoke the two words.

"Allies??" Hyuga Hiashi sneered. "I've never seen an ally who sneaks off with their ally's most precious descendant!"

"Indeed not," Ming Jing nodded. "But shouldn't allies protect their comrades' descendants before the enemy arrives?"

Uh...

Hyuga Hiashi froze. After all, the Cloud Ninja were still in Konoha. If they discovered that a Hyuga Clan member had gone missing, even a ghost knew what they would do. In a sense, Hyuga Hiashi really should thank Ming Jing. It was just that a father-in-law could be thin-skinned...

Seeing Hyuga Hiashi's expression, Ming Jing knew that he was not truly angry inside. He said sincerely, "This junior acted rashly this time. I hope that, considering my eagerness to protect Hinata, Mr. Hiashi will not make things difficult for her."

"Mm... We'll let it go this time!" Hyuga Hiashi gave Ming Jing a satisfied look. What a fine child—too bad he was not a member of the Hyuga Clan! Koji Kurama must have saved the galaxy in his previous life to gain such an intelligent successor!

"Since Mr. Hiashi and Hinata have come all the way to the Kurama Clan, it would be terribly rude not to let you try our cooking. Serve the dishes!" Seeing that Hyuga Hiashi had stopped sulking, Ming Jing instructed Yuexi to arrange the meal. As dish after dish of fragrant, colorful, delicious food was placed on the table, the attention of this father-daughter pair with pale eyes was drawn over as well.

"Mr. Hiashi, please take the seat of honor," Ming Jing said. Hyuga Hiashi did not stand on ceremony. In terms of status, he was the only person present qualified to sit there.

Looking at the dishes before him, each as exquisite as a work of art, Hyuga Hiashi could not help sighing. "Your Kurama Clan can be considered successful in business. To make dishes to such a level, how much effort have you put into it? If you had put that effort into ninjutsu, the Kurama Clan's achievements would have been far greater."

"Hehe, it isn't that we are unwilling, but that we lack the strength," Ming Jing said with a bitter smile. "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Mr. Hiashi. Countless Bloodline Limit shinobi of the Kurama Clan have died one after another on Konoha's battlefields. They often went to war as soon as they awakened, and in the beginning, they did not even have time to leave behind their own cultivation notes. Every generation of ours has repeated the same things, walking the path of exploration, unable to leave coordinates for those who came after before..." Ming Jing gave a bitter smile. The reason he read books was not to show off. He wanted to understand why the Kurama Clan had weakened to such a state.

"I have indeed heard some rumors," Hyuga Hiashi said after a moment of silence. "Since the end of the Second Shinobi War, the Kurama Clan has not produced a single clansman with an awakened Bloodline Limit. That is what caused your clan to decline. It is quite strange."

"Mr. Hiashi, who was our clan's opponent during the Second Shinobi War?" Ming Jing asked.

"You followed Lord Orochimaru in fighting the shinobi of the Land of Rain," Hyuga Hiashi answered.

"Orochimaru, the Land of Rain, Hanzō..." Ming Jing narrowed his eyes. Hanzō was probably already dead by now. Perhaps only Orochimaru knew what had happened back then that had left the Kurama Clan unable to awaken its Bloodline Limit!

Naturally, such heavy topics between two adults could not hold the attention of little girls. Guided by Yakumo, Hinata finally let herself eat her fill. Only now did Hinata realize that food could be this delicious. She looked at Yakumo with some envy. This girl got to eat such tasty food every day!

"Hehe... Delicious, right? Our home has even more tasty things! Hinata, come visit often from now on, and I'll take you to eat them! Okay?" Yakumo asked with a grin, tempting Hinata.

"B-But... my father won't agree..." Remembering the way her father had questioned her earlier, Hinata cautiously glanced at Hyuga Hiashi.

"Hehe, then let my brother convince your father! Don't worry! My brother is super amazing!" Yakumo said proudly. Then, without waiting for Hinata's reaction, she directly asked Ming Jing, "Brother, Hinata can still come to our home to play in the future, right?"

"Of course she can!" Ming Jing smiled apologetically at Hyuga Hiashi before answering Yakumo.

"But that scary-looking uncle won't let Hinata come play," Yakumo said, casting a somewhat resentful glance at Hyuga Hiashi.

Hyuga Hiashi was embarrassed. He had been called scary by another family's little girl. Yet he could not exactly argue back, leaving him even more awkward.

"Yakumo, don't be so rude. This is Hinata's father. When you see him in the future, call him Uncle, understand? My apologies, Mr. Hiashi. Children speak without thinking; please do not take it to heart." Ming Jing reprimanded Yakumo somewhat sternly before apologizing to Hyuga Hiashi.

"It's fine. It's rare for these two children to get along so well. I'll let Hinata come over to play in the future. You're Yakumo, right? You can also come to the Hyuga Clan to play with Hinata." Hyuga Hiashi waved it off and spoke kindly to Yakumo.

"Really? That's wonderful! Hinata, I can go see you and play with you from now on too! Hahaha..." Yakumo happily took Hinata's hand, her clear laughter filling the entire room.

Hinata was happy too. She smiled demurely, like a lily in bloom.