Summons Order

After the Hyuga Guard Squad instructor and Neji finished their morning sparring, he said, "That's enough for today, Neji."

"Yes."

"Um, I won't be eating at the clan grounds this noon. I have plans with my classmates."

Now that he was attending school, that was perfectly normal. Neji's grades were good too, so there was no reason to make things difficult for him.

"Go on. Get along well with your classmates."

"Yes."

After showering and changing, Neji was about to head out when Naruto's loud shout rang out from beyond the Hyuga estate gates.

"Neji! Neji! Are you ready? Everyone's waiting for you!~"

That was no small commotion within the rule-bound Hyuga Clan.

Scrutinizing gazes shot toward Naruto from courtyards in every direction, even through the walls.

It was not just the Jinchuriki who had come. There were also several little hangers-on of the Hokage.

On this early summer morning, the surroundings were clearly nothing but neat rows of white walls, yet a bone-chilling, nerve-racking feeling suddenly welled up inside Naruto.

Naruto even felt that the Hyuga Clan Grounds were more tangibly eerie than the area around Sasuke's home. Thinking of how Sasuke had said generations of dead Uchiha clan members were buried in the Uchiha Clan Grounds, the Hyuga Clan looked plenty grand too. Could there be graves in every direction around him?

Ancestor guardian spirits and stuff... Seriously, seriously, great clans were terrifying.

(The Hyuga used Glare × N. Naruto's defense dropped sharply.)

Those who did not know the situation thought: How had Neji gotten mixed up with the Nine-Tails brat?

Those who did know thought: Neji was not even in the same grade as him, so how had they gotten mixed up?

The adults of the Hyuga Clan mostly had one of those two thoughts.

Of course, there was also Hinata. The instant she heard the commotion, she followed the sound to the front gate and peeked through the crack, hoping to catch a glimpse of the little boy she admired.

Anyone training to become a ninja had at least some Chakra, and the attention drawn by Hinata's actions was second only to Naruto's shouting.

Before long, a Hyuga Clan Ninja came over, intending to ask Hinata to leave.

"Lady Hinata, please do not get too close to Naruto."

"You always say that, but why? Naruto is clearly a pretty good person."

The Clan Ninja fell silent. That was not a question within his authority to answer. He said nothing further and merely stood quietly to one side, remaining alert at all times.

Afraid Naruto would keep loudly calling his name while doing something else impolite, Neji hurriedly dried himself, changed clothes, and headed out with his hair still wet.

Seeing Hinata at the gate, he bowed slightly in greeting.

"Lady Hinata, excuse me."

Then he pushed the gate open a little and prepared to leave.

The moment the gate opened, whether Hinata did it on purpose or simply failed to react in time, her entire delicate figure was exposed to Naruto's view.

"Neji, you're so slow. Ah, Hinata! Are you coming too?"

In Naruto's eyes, Neji and Hinata both had white eyes, lived together, and were about the same age. They probably shared their daily lives with each other, so Neji inviting Hinata along today was only natural.

Besides, Hinata had appeared at the gate with Neji, looking eager and flushed with excitement...

With Naruto's brain capacity, he could not come up with any other reasonable explanation.

The Clan Ninja wanted to step in and stop them, but times had changed.

Back when they had not started school, Naruto and Lady Hinata were not close, so stopping them was no big deal. But now, for some reason, Naruto and Hinata had been assigned to the same class. They spent no less time together than they did at home. The adults above really should have arranged something.

Just as the Clan Ninja hesitated, the leader of the Byakugan peeping army, Hyuga Hiashi, appeared at the gate.

"Clan Head!" ×2

"Father."

"Does Hinata want to go play too?"

Hinata nodded hesitantly.

Hyuga Hiashi said no more. Turning to Neji, he said sternly, "Neji, remember your mission at all times."

Neji's face hardened as well, and he answered coldly, "I will protect Lady Hinata."

"Come see me when you return."

"Yes."

After instructing Neji, Hyuga Hiashi glanced at Naruto and vanished without exchanging a word.

Seeing that the troublesome adult had left, Naruto went over to speak with the two of them.

"Neji, that fierce-looking uncle was the Hyuga Clan Head? He even has to interfere when you come out to play. Great clans are such a pain."

"Naruto, be more polite. The Clan Head is also Lady Hinata's father, so naturally he had to ask about it."

"Huh? Didn't you tell him beforehand? Adults are so naggy."

"No, Naruto-kun..."

Hinata wanted to explain, but her voice was so hesitant and soft it was like a kitten's meow. Naruto cut her off directly.

"Neji, we still need you to lead the way to Rock Lee. Let's get going already!~"

The two found Rock Lee at one of the training grounds, still warming up for the gathering, then met up with the Great Clans and Kiba at the school gates.

The group of little kids marched grandly to the entrance of the Uchiha Clan Grounds. They were no longer as small as they had been last year, so there was no need to climb the wall at that height. With a ninja leap, they flipped over and entered the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

The Hyuga siblings watched the people ahead use Water Splash to hop inside, then looked at the old seal-covered gate beside them... Was that too rude? But opening the gate and tearing off the seals did not seem right either.

Then a voice urged them from the other side. "Hinata, Neji, hurry up and catch up!"

It did not seem right to keep hesitating, so they followed the others into the Uchiha Clan Grounds, rudely enough.

As the two disappeared, two more figures wearing training uniforms appeared. They had been sent by Hiashi to protect the young lady.

Just as they were about to follow them in, four or five masked figures surrounded them.

"The Uchiha Clan Grounds are off-limits. Members of the Hyuga Clan, please do not enter at will."

Their tone was calm, though it was not hard to hear a trace of embarrassment in their words.

Everyone knew a group of children had just gone in.

They simply treated it as government workers cooperating with each other.

"As long as I don't go inside, it's fine, right? Can I stay outside?"

One of the Anbu nodded silently. Once they had confirmed that this Hyuga did not intend to force his way in, the five vanished and concealed themselves again.

The Hyuga who had spoken looked at his companion and ordered him to report the situation to the Clan Head. He himself found a high spot near the edge of the Uchiha Clan Grounds and settled there.

Seeing the many taller buildings nearby that would have been far more convenient, he could not help feeling a sense of shared sorrow for the Uchiha.

Well, well: Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Kiba, and Rock Lee.

Sasuke had thought today was supposed to be a boys' party. They had actually brought along two girls?

Fine. More than half of the Konoha 12 had gathered at once. What kind of universal law of gravitation was this?

He would have to prepare two more sets of tableware and such.

After the two groups had met for the first time and exchanged names, this cross-class social gathering was just...

"It's blazing hot, and you two actually trained before coming here! You're covered in stinky sweat. Go take a bath!"

"You don't even know how to leave a good first impression on your juniors and classmates."

With that, he summoned a Shadow Clone and led Rock Lee and Neji toward the bathroom.

Neji wanted to explain that only his hair was still wet, that he did not smell sweaty, and that Rock Lee was the only one who did—but Naruto had interrupted him, and he really had not washed thoroughly...

"Neji, let's go! Let this gathering of friendship begin with a hot-blooded bath!"

Unable to refuse, Neji followed along. But somehow, something did not seem right?