The Scroll! The Hyuga Clan's Secret

"Hinata?"

Neji froze, never imagining he'd be matched against Hinata.

Was the original story about to unfold for real? But the Neji of this life would never lay a hand on his cousin, Hinata.

Even though Hinata was now undergoing special training under Kurenai Yuhi, she still wasn't quite ready to face him seriously.

"Yeah, Neji. You'll be fighting Hinata in this tournament. With your skills, winning shouldn't be difficult."

"Ah..."

Neji gave a noncommittal reply, but whether he could win wasn't what he really cared about.

"If it's Neji, he should be fine," Tenten said.

Ino: "What kind of joke is that? How could Neji lose to his own little sister?"

Shikamaru: "We've all trained this much. Whoever we fight, it'll be the same..."

Choji: "Neji, you've got this!"

Everyone's opinion of Neji had changed.

Now, each of them was convinced that Neji was strong enough to win.

They had seen how hard Neji worked and experienced it firsthand.

Aside from Asuma, who'd joined them halfway through, everyone else had slacked off quite a bit. Neji, however, had completed the entire training regimen without cutting corners. His perseverance alone was proof that he was no ordinary fighter.

"What about me? What about me?"

"The remaining matchups are Sasuke versus Temari, Ino versus Sakura, Shikamaru versus Shino, and Naruto versus Kankuro..."

"Huh? Why am I fighting Sakura?"

They launched into an animated discussion about the Chunin Exams twenty days away, while Neji sank into thought.

"Hinata, huh? I should tell her to forfeit."

That was what Neji thought.

"What?"

Neji's eyes widened as he stared at Hyuga Haru, whose face was clouded with sorrow.

Haru nodded and continued, "Young Master Neji, I believe you. But they insist on doing this. They're going to lock Lady Hinata up because they suspect you, and they're convinced that Hinata is the prime suspect..."

"Damn it!"

Neji stepped back, clenching his fists.

"Where's Hyuga Hiashi? Where is Hiashi?"

Neji's fury startled Haru.

"The clan head... didn't say anything."

Neji turned and, with a whoosh, leaped out of the courtyard.

"That child..." Haru's eyes filled with worry. She suddenly regretted telling Neji what had happened.

But what could Neji, a child, do? She was no more than a servant who couldn't change anything, either.

Those of the Branch Family had to accept their fate.

"Crash!"

The door flew open, slamming into the wall from the force.

"People from the Branch Family have no manners. It seems I haven't been managing things well." Hyuga Tenshu, the sly-looking elder of the Branch Family, walked slowly toward Neji, who was seething with anger.

Behind him stood Hiashi, looking somewhat surprised.

"Neji, what are you doing here?"

Hiashi was surprised, and Neji hadn't expected to find the two of them having a private discussion at a time like this.

But Neji couldn't care less about that now.

"Why are you locking Hinata up? If you suspect me, then come after me directly! Is this how the Main Branch does things?"

Though Neji had come to understand the Main Branch better, he still couldn't help referring to them and the Branch Family that way. All things considered, he now found the Branch Family elder to be the more detestable source of the clan's corruption.

"Why are you getting so worked up, child? Hinata is only being kept safe. Hiashi is her father. Would he really stand by and let his daughter be put in danger?"

As Tenshu spoke, he stroked the small tuft of hair under his chin.

After hesitating for a moment, Hiashi nodded slightly.

"That's right, Neji. This has nothing to do with you. Don't let the rumors in the clan mislead you."

Neji had no response.

There was so little he could change right now.

But as Hiashi had said, no matter how heartless they were, Hiashi wouldn't do anything to harm his own daughter.

Neji admitted he'd acted on impulse, then turned and left.

In the end, wasn't it because he was too weak?

That night, Neji trained until late, continuing until rain began to fall.

"..." As the rain grew heavier, Neji packed up and quickly left the training ground.

A figure had been standing behind a large tree the whole time. Beside his Byakugan, bulging veins pulsed with chakra. He was a middle-aged man who looked about thirty-five.

Early the next morning, Neji was back at the training ground.

After a round of training, Neji collapsed onto the ground, exhausted, and the system displayed a notification.

Ding! Congratulations, host! Your Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms proficiency has reached 30,000, breaking through into the Initial Mastery realm! Reward: Byakugan purity +1%!

Host: Hyuga Neji

Age: 13

Basic Ninja Skills (including throwing techniques and all other basic skills) proficiency progress: 94.8% (Reach 100% to complete the beginner stage and activate the proficiency consumption system!)

Rank: Konoha Genin

Ninjutsu: Wind Release: Gale Palm (12959/30000)

Taijutsu: Gentle Fist: Tenketsu Strike (73979/100000), Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin (47703/100000), Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms (30834/30000), Eight Trigrams: Air Palm (21729/30000), Eight Trigrams Body Strike (16911/30000)

Genjutsu: None

Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (45990/100000)

Byakugan purity: 13%

Basic items: Explosive Tags*10, Crow Fern Special Herbs*2

Advanced items: None

Special items: None

"Well, if it isn't Neji, the Hyuga Clan genius who's about to become a Chunin?"

It was Hyuga Aota's voice.

Neji sprang to his feet. He saw that, unusually, Aota hadn't brought anyone with him today.

"Don't bother looking. Gintoki was arrested for questioning Hinata without permission. The clan elders were wary of the Main Branch, so he went on his own."

"What did you say?"

Neji's eyes widened, and his fists clenched.

"Don't worry, he didn't do anything to Hinata. The elders caught him in the end. I think you—"

With a thud, Aota's brows knitted as he flew backward, a spray of saliva bursting from his mouth.

Neji had held back. If he'd hit Aota squarely in the chest, the man would have spat blood.

Neji's face was grim.

"You!"

Neji glared at him, and Aota fell silent in fright.

Aota had seen Neji overpower Hyuga Gintoki that day.

Gintoki was one of the most talented people of his generation in the clan, yet Neji had already surpassed him completely.

The gap between them was so absurd that Aota couldn't believe Neji had grown stronger on his own.

"Hyuga Neji, your teacher said, is the scroll in your possession?"

"The scroll?"

Neji turned around. He'd thought he wouldn't get any useful information, but now he was interested.

"Don't play dumb! The scroll my grandfather's been searching for, the one passed down from generation to generation—did the clan head secretly give it to you? Or did your father steal it? Right... your father must have taken it secretly! Otherwise, why would the scroll have vanished in the generation of the current Main Branch?"

"Ugh!"

Neji had already rushed over and seized Aota by the collar.

"You..."

"If you don't watch your mouth, I'll kill you."

His gaze was fierce and icy.

Neji meant every word.

Fear appeared in Aota's eyes. The good-for-nothing they'd bullied day in and day out had changed completely. His first thought was that he had to save his own skin.

"What do you know about the scroll?"

Neji's question made Aota think he'd stumbled upon a secret he shouldn't have discovered.

If he didn't answer carefully, Neji would kill him to keep him quiet.

"I-I only know that the scroll was handed down by our ancestors. For hundreds, even thousands of years, only Hyuga Tenin, the genius from two generations ago, learned everything in it... By this generation, the scroll had disappeared."