To Endure Is to Keep an Open Mind and Stand Firm

"Enduring doesn't mean admitting defeat. It means having faith, holding on to your convictions."

"To endure is to keep an open mind and stand firm."

Those were words Hyuga Qinglan had heard in his first life.

Back then, he'd been holed up in his rented room, slurping instant noodles and scrolling on his phone. He'd thought the words sounded nice, but hadn't taken them to heart.

Who would've thought they could apply to the Shinobi World, too?

He believed he'd lived up to every meaning those words carried in this life.

From standing guard for the Main Branch, to sparring with them, to taking on all kinds of difficult missions arranged by the clan.

He'd endured it all.

All so that one day he could be freed from the Caged Bird and swim out into the open sea.

But when he heard once again that the young lady of the Main Branch—the one who couldn't even perform the Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms properly—wanted to drag him along to die on the Mist Battlefield,

He finally couldn't take it anymore.

"Lady Yumi, you're joking again."

Hyuga Qinglan forced himself to soften his tone, speaking lightly, as though soothing a child.

"I'm not joking."

Hyuga Yumi's expression turned cold, and her gaze swept calmly over his face.

"Hyuga Qinglan, understand your place."

"Don't think that just because Grandpa assigned you to guard me, you can stand in the way of what I want."

"You may offer advice on my training, but don't presume to tell me what to do."

"And have I ever told you what would happen if you refused me a third time?"

As she spoke, she suddenly raised her hand and formed the Unseal.

The pain struck without warning, and in an instant Hyuga Qinglan lost the ability to stand, collapsing face-first to the ground.

It felt as if a blunt knife were turning over and over inside his skull, the red and white matter on the verge of spraying out.

"I could let it go when you brushed me off once or twice."

"Do you really think I'm that nice?"

Hyuga Yumi looked down at him, her voice as cold as ice.

"If Grandpa Tianyun hadn't kept saying you had exceptional talent and had figured out the Sixty-Four Palms on your own, I wouldn't have taken you to the Mist Battlefield."

Hyuga Qinglan clutched his forehead and writhed, yet still didn't say a word. Cold sweat had soaked through his back. Blood gradually welled from the corner of his mouth, but he pressed his lips together and swallowed it back.

"Remember this lesson..."

"Next time, it won't be so simple."

Hyuga Yumi lowered her hand and stared coldly at him for a moment before turning away.

At the doorway, she tossed out a final remark in an indifferent voice:

"I'm going to the battlefield, no matter what. As for you?"

"If you don't want Grandpa Tianyun to punish you, then do as you're told."

Her footsteps gradually faded, leaving him alone on the ground.

Hyuga Qinglan's face was deathly pale as he shakily pushed himself upright, watching her figure recede into the distance.

Scene after scene flashed through his mind: humiliating, suffocating moments that had made him grit his teeth and swallow his pain.

"..."

He could endure.

But that didn't mean he was some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.

Fate had never given him anything, and he'd never believed in fate.

He'd survived in the perilous Shinobi World, making his way this far through his own efforts alone.

"I just didn't expect to have to hand over the scroll I'd only just found..."

Hyuga Qinglan clutched his forehead as he slowly got to his feet. His eyes flickered with uncertainty before he finally left the training ground of the luxurious estate.

"Qinglan, is this what your squad found on the Rock Battlefield?"

Inside a luxurious estate at the very center of the clan grounds, Hyuga Hiashi sat across from Hyuga Qinglan.

He picked up the ancient scroll from the table. The more he read, the more astonished he became.

He'd learned about the scroll long ago, but Qinglan had still been on the battlefield at the time and hadn't been able to hand it over.

He'd assumed it was just ordinary research material prepared by another shinobi village to steal the Byakugan, full of the same old information at best.

But who could have expected...

It recorded the origins of the Hyuga Clan.

What's more, its contents closely matched some incomplete records in the Main Branch's secret archives. Even the names of past prodigies, known only to the Main Branch, appeared one after another.

Judging by the signs that the scroll had been opened and by Qinglan's behavior, he probably hadn't read it.

That was for the best... It wouldn't do for someone from the Branch Family to know too much.

If the scroll was genuine...

"Clan Leader, I planned to bring it to you this morning, but Lady Yumi called me over to spar with her, so I was delayed."

Hyuga Hiashi came back to himself. He took a deep breath and gestured for his wife beside him to pour Hyuga Qinglan a cup of tea.

Then he lowered his voice and asked one last time, "Does the Hokage... or Jiraiya know about this scroll?"

Hyuga Qinglan shook his head, then nodded slightly to thank Hyuga Ayano beside him before answering, "Clan Leader, as soon as I saw the Hyuga Clan's symbol on the cover, I hid the scroll."

"Neither the Hokage nor Lord Jiraiya knows. The other members of my squad don't know about it, either."

"Good... Good..."

Hyuga Hiashi breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile finally spread across his face.

He looked over the scroll's contents once more, and this time his heart raced even faster.

Because...

"The Byakugan can evolve to the next level, just like the Sharingan..."

"So the ancestors weren't lying after all..."

Hyuga Hiashi thought to himself.

Whenever he remembered how the elders of the Main Branch had always told him, when he was young, how glorious the Hyuga Clan had once been, and how he had to lead it to become Konoha's foremost clan, the burden on his shoulders felt all the heavier.

But who would have thought...

Who would have thought the elders had been telling the truth?

The Hyuga Clan really had been that powerful.

After a moment of silence, he smiled warmly.

"Qinglan, you may go. You've worked hard lately. The clan will be holding a celebration soon, so get some rest... As for your reward, the Main Branch will discuss it and then give it to you."

"Yes!"

Hyuga Qinglan drained his cup. The tea had gone cold, but he didn't mind.

He stood and bowed, and was just about to leave when Hyuga Hiashi added, "Hyuga Yumi can be rather willful, just like her grandfather.

"Qinglan, I know you're a good boy. Please be patient with your little sister."

Hyuga Qinglan paused, then turned and bowed.

"I understand, Clan Leader."

Hyuga Hiashi nodded in satisfaction. Only after Qinglan's figure had completely disappeared from the room did he burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha..."

His laughter echoed through the spacious hall, ringing with the unrestrained delight of finally having his moment.

"Why are you laughing, dear?"

"The Hyuga Clan is finally going to surpass the Uchiha and stand at the pinnacle of Konoha."

Hyuga Hiashi smiled faintly and walked with the light steps of a child, leaving only an order behind.

"Notify all Main Branch members. We'll discuss an important matter in the meeting room."

"Yes."

Though Hyuga Ayano didn't understand why her husband was laughing, he didn't want to explain, so she didn't press him.

As a married woman, she naturally understood these things.

Still...

Her gaze fell once more on the teacup Hyuga Qinglan had used. Traces of him still seemed to linger on its rim.

"Throw out this tea set and replace it with a new one."

Her voice was calm, as if she were giving the most ordinary instruction.

"Yes, ma'am."