Neji: The Thought of Defection Opens Up the World

"Wuwu..."

Tears flooded Hinata's eyes, uncontrollable.

Neji was a bit at a loss. Why was she crying even harder?

He didn't know how to comfort children!

"Young Lady Hinata."

A flustered voice suddenly rang out.

A young boy wearing a Konoha forehead protector ran over in a panic.

Hyuga Tokuma, the servant taking care of Hinata.

"Young Lady, it's time to go back. The Patriarch will worry."

Hinata stopped sobbing, looked up at Neji, and timidly said, "Brother Neji, can I come find you tomorrow?"

Neji subtly glanced at Tokuma, whose expression was normal, and let out a sigh of relief. With a smile, he stroked Hinata's forehead.

"Young Lady Hinata, I'll be there whenever you call."

"It's a deal."

A mansion in the very center of the Hyuga clan compound.

A cold wind howled past, and the dry branches creaked, like a dying old man groaning in pain.

"Father, why?"

The veins on Hyuga Hiashi's temples slowly receded. He turned to look at the old man sitting in the main hall, his words heavy with confusion.

Hyuga Gensuke took a sip of tea and calmly explained, "Neji is too outstanding. We need to focus on cultivating him. Isn't it a good thing to let him build a bond with Hinata from a young age?"

"Then, the Caged Bird..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hyuga Hiashi saw his old father's expression turn stern. The words caught in his throat.

"The Ancestral Law cannot be changed."

"Hiashi, put away those unrealistic fantasies."

Hyuga Gensuke's tone was calm, but the coldness in his Tenseigan made Hyuga Hiashi's scalp tingle.

He slowly lowered his head.

In the distant Warring States Period, the Hyuga clan's power was on par with the Senju and Uchiha.

But over the past few hundred years, the clan's influence had declined, and it was no longer what it used to be.

The root of the problem lay in the Main and Branch Family System.

The descendants of the main family would always be of the main family, bearing the responsibility of developing the Hyuga clan, while the descendants of the branch family would always be of the branch family, bearing the responsibility of protecting the Hyuga main family.

This, in Hyuga Hiashi's opinion, was completely detrimental to the clan's development.

Mediocre individuals were placed in the main family, wasting resources.

Geniuses were placed in the branch family, burying their talents.

Hiashi intended to reform the clan, differentiating between the main and branch families based on talent.

Geniuses like Neji should be given main family status and bear the important responsibility of inheriting the clan.

Children with poor talent would be placed in the branch family, imprinted with the Caged Bird Seal, and receive the clan's protection.

That's right!

The Caged Bird Seal was not a cage for all weak Hyuga clan members, but rather a form of protection. Because of the Caged Bird's existence, weaker clan members avoided the covetous gaze of many ill-intentioned individuals.

Hiashi believed this philosophy could restore the clan's glory and make the Hyuga clan great again.

But to his surprise, he received no support from anyone in the main family, not even his own father agreed.

The main family cared not about the clan's interests, but their own.

Throughout history, there have been individuals who betrayed their interests, but never a class that betrayed its interests.

A bitter smile appeared on Hyuga Hiashi's lips.

A Patriarch must obey the will of the clan, otherwise, he would be abandoned by all.

Uchiha Madara back then was the best example.

Uchiha Madara defied his clan's will and was eventually abandoned by all, leaving Konohagakure alone like a stray dog.

Changing a clan was by no means something one or two people could accomplish.

If he insisted on implementing his philosophy, his fate would be ten times worse than Uchiha Madara's. He would probably be "stabbed eight times in the back and commit suicide" within a few days.

Hyuga Gensuke nodded with satisfaction and said, "Allowing Neji another year of freedom is already the greatest tolerance the main family can show to a genius. On Hinata's birthday, imprint Neji with the Caged Bird!"

"Hiashi understands!"

"Look, the Kumogakure delegation is here."

"The war is over."

"Long live the Hokage!"

As several Cloud ninja, led by Konohagakure ninja, stepped through the gates of Konohagakure, the villagers gathered nearby erupted in cheers. Many villagers spontaneously took to the streets, showing goodwill towards the Cloud ninja.

The villagers hated the Cloud ninja, but they hated war even more.

Now that the war, which had lasted for nearly eight years, was finally coming to an end, every villager felt genuine joy, smiling brightly.

Neji watched this scene, but he couldn't bring himself to smile.

Human joys and sorrows are not the same; he only found it noisy.

Blazing oil, blooming flowers!

The happier those villagers were now, the more miserable they would be in the future.

The Kumogakure delegation, under the guise of signing a peace treaty, intended to steal Hinata. When their plot was exposed, the Kumogakure envoy was killed on the spot by Hyuga Hiashi. Who would have thought that Kumogakure would bite back, demanding that Konohagakure hand over Hyuga Hiashi's body, resulting in Hizashi Hyuga being pushed out as a scapegoat.

Hizashi was dead, and Neji's own life would only get worse.

"Huh?"

Neji suddenly thought of something, his body trembling slightly with excitement.

"If the Cloud ninja had stolen me instead of Hinata... there's always a way out, there's always a way out!"

Kumogakure valued strength above all else. The successive Raikage possessed the vision and courage of a Kage, but they also resorted to underhanded tactics when necessary.

Anything that could increase the village's strength would be seized if they could win, or stolen if they couldn't.

First Uzumaki Kushina, then Hyuga Hinata.

Kumogakure was the best village to live in the ninja world, bar none.

There were no reports of the Raikage mistreating or assassinating jinchuriki, no reports of the Raikage's disciples carrying out terrorist attacks, no reports of the Raikage implementing cruel policies to suppress kekkei genkai clans, and no reports of any rogue ninja emerging from Kumogakure.

As for the two beams of light from Kumogakure who assassinated the Second Raikage, that was merely a coup d'état.

If it failed, it was a coup; if it succeeded, it was a revolution.

Hoo!

With a plan in mind, Neji felt an immense sense of relief.

If he were stolen and taken to Kumogakure, the worst that could happen would be being forced to become a breeder.

Thinking of blonde bombshells and sexy dark-skinned beauties, Neji felt it wasn't entirely unacceptable.

Branch family members were severely oppressed by the main family, completely losing their will to fight, but Neji was different. He would rather be a breeder than a Caged Bird.

For the sake of freedom, all else can be cast aside!

"Is this the strongest ninja village in the ninja world, Konohagakure?!"

Samui walked down the long street, looking around with curiosity, her beautiful eyes filled with emotion.

Kumogakure was located on mountain peaks and plateaus, with vast land and sparse population, and extremely scarce resources.

Ninjutsu, Secret Techniques, even food and drink had to be stolen.

Konohagakure was situated in a hilly region with a mild climate, vast fertile land, and a developed economy, making it the village with the most abundant resources in the ninja world.

Although called a "village," its land area and population were not inferior to the Land of Fire's capital.

The purple-haired man beside her had a stern expression and said slowly, "The last time I visited Konohagakure was more than twenty years ago."

Samui smiled, "I hope it won't be another twenty years before I visit again."

The purple-haired man's gaze was firm, "It definitely won't be."

As they rounded a corner, a hurried child bumped into Samui's leg.

"Ouch!"

With a cry, the child fell backward onto the ground.

"Where did this brat come from, not watching where you're going!" the accompanying Konohagakure ninja said angrily.

With Konohagakure and Kumogakure on the verge of signing a peace treaty, it would be bad if any trouble arose from offending a female ninja.

"I hate sweets the most."

Samui felt her legs were sticky and uncomfortable, as if she had touched something unclean. Looking at the three-colored dango that had fallen on the ground, she realized it was saccharin.