What?! The Young Lady Was Kidnapped?!

The Kumogakure ninja noticed someone watching them. When they turned their heads, whoa! Weren't they members of the Hyuga Clan?

Thinking about what they were going to do over the next few days made them want to laugh.

But they had undergone strict professional training.

They generally would not laugh unless they could not hold it in.

And at a glance, they were Branch Family members. Useless to them.

After taking a look, they held back their laughter, turned away, and continued ordering food without a care.

But Ning Xue found their suppressed laughter utterly baffling.

Were they sick?

Did they find looking at them funny?

Was there something on his face?

Ning Xue carefully examined himself again. He was wearing an ordinary kimono, and aside from the bandages on his forehead and his conspicuous white hair and Byakugan, there did not seem to be anything particularly funny about him.

So he came to a conclusion.

They were sick. A bunch of lunatics.

"Don't keep staring at people. It's rude."

At that moment, Hyuga Ning gently patted Ning Xue's little head and reminded him in a low voice.

Ning Xue withdrew his gaze, but he was still muttering to himself inwardly.

How strange. Were Kumogakure people's standards for humor really that low?

Meanwhile, those muscular brutes were plotting how to sneak into the Hyuga Main House under cover of night and kidnap the Hyuga Clan's young lady, Hyuga Hinata.

The laughter they could barely suppress actually came from imagining their plan succeeding and mocking the Hyuga Clan's seemingly airtight yet exploitable defenses.

The barbecue feast drew to a close amid a slightly awkward atmosphere.

After Hyuga Ning paid the bill, the family of three left the bustling barbecue restaurant.

Night had fallen, and Konoha's lights came on one after another, presenting a thriving scene. The evening breeze carried a hint of chill and dispersed the scent of barbecue clinging to them.

Ning Xue was held in his father's arms. The drowsiness after a full meal gradually overtook him, and his head kept bobbing.

It could not be helped. This body was still that of a three-year-old child, and his consciousness could not defeat sleepiness.

Leaning against his father's broad shoulder, his eyelids began fighting each other. Beside him, Hyuga Yuki gently straightened Ning Xue's wind-tousled collar, her eyes full of affection.

There were fewer people on the streets than during the day, but ninja patrol squads could still be seen.

Hyuga Ning carried his son while walking home shoulder to shoulder with his wife, enjoying this rare peace and warmth.

They chatted about everyday matters and discussed where they could go strolling on their next day off, as though the small incident with the Kumogakure ninja had never happened.

Upon returning to the Hyuga Clan Compound, the surroundings were noticeably quieter and more solemn.

After gently laying the deeply sleeping Ning Xue in his little bed and tucking him in, Hyuga Ning and Yuki quietly left the room.

"Did you have fun today?" Hyuga Ning asked his wife softly.

"Yes, I did. Especially seeing Ning Xue smile so happily."

Hyuga Yuki nodded with a smile, but a trace of worry soon appeared on her face.

"It's just... those people from Kumogakure..."

"Don't worry." Hyuga Ning put an arm around his wife's shoulders. "The village will handle it. We should just go out less during this time."

Anyone paying attention to the news these days could tell that Kumogakure had come to these negotiations with ill intentions.

And did this even look like negotiations?

In any case, the Hyuga Clan would not be involved in matters like negotiations and alliances.

Because the next day was the Hyuga Clan young lady's birthday.

The entire clan would attend. Naturally, Ning Xue's family could only sit far away.

The next day—

After the family attended the event, they went home, but something happened that night.

"Enemy attack! The young lady has been kidnapped!!!"

That shout woke many people. Once they learned someone had infiltrated the Hyuga Clan and abducted the young lady, everyone panicked and hurriedly scattered in all directions to search for the enemy.

And they all shared the same thought. This was a disgrace—an absolute disgrace!

Just as everyone was preparing to set out and search, they were informed that the young lady had already been found and the enemy had been killed. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Naturally, such a disturbance also woke Ning Xue from his dreams.

When he learned someone had kidnapped the Hyuga Clan's young lady, he was dumbfounded.

Seriously? Our Hyuga Clan has the Byakugan, an ability that can see through things, and someone still managed to infiltrate us?

Even more absurdly, they had fucking succeeded in kidnapping the young lady.

Was our security staff just sitting around eating... wait, we don't seem to have security staff. What about the Konoha Military Police Force? Were they just sitting around eating for free?

No! Maybe they never imagined someone could infiltrate the Hyuga Clan either?

Seriously, how did they get in? At least give me a tutorial.

The next day, an oppressive atmosphere blanketed the entire Hyuga Clan Compound. The better-informed adults all wore unusually grim expressions. From his parents' low-voiced conversations that abruptly stopped whenever he approached, Ning Xue vaguely caught words like—

"Kumogakure," "negotiations," "corpse," and "explanation."

Hyuga Ning's expression was particularly ugly. His lips were pressed tightly together, and his eyes were filled with anger and a deep sense of helplessness.

Sure enough, not long after, emissaries from Konoha's upper ranks went directly to the Hyuga Main House estate. Led by the Hokage Advisors, Konoha's leadership took a hard-line stance.

Using the discovery of their leader's corpse within Konoha's territory as leverage, Kumogakure stirred up trouble. They flatly denied the kidnapping, instead accusing Konoha of sabotaging the peace talks, and put forward extremely harsh demands.

Konoha's position was firm, but in order to calm the situation and prevent the war from reigniting, the Hyuga Clan had to voluntarily hand over the culprit and give Kumogakure an explanation.

In the end, all the pressure came crashing down on the Hyuga Clan.

The Main Branch elders urgently convened a meeting. As a Branch Family member, Hyuga Ning could not participate in the core decision-making, but his increasingly heavy expression said it all.

Ning Xue saw his father hesitate to speak several times, only for it all to end in silent sighs. He sensed that something terribly bad was about to happen.

At the meeting, the elders argued fiercely, but in the end, reality overrode everything.

To preserve the Main Branch's absolute safety and the overall interests of the Hyuga Clan, while also satisfying Kumogakure's leadership, a cruel decision was made.

Someone had to take responsibility for killing Kumogakure's leader.

And that person absolutely could not be from the Main Branch.

"Lord Hiashi is the Main Branch clan head. Nothing can happen to him." The Great Elder's voice was cold and resolute.

"The Branch Family's duty is to protect the Main Branch, even at the cost of their lives. Now is precisely the time for someone to fulfill that duty."

The news quickly spread in private.

The Hyuga Clan had decided to hand over the culprit to quell Kumogakure's anger. And the chosen person was almost self-evident.

It was Hizashi Hyuga, Neji's father.

And also the clan head's twin younger brother...

Ning Xue and his father stood at the entrance to the Main House, watching Hizashi Hyuga follow the people who had come for him toward the Main House. Hizashi's face was expressionless, carrying even a trace of determination and calm.

The surrounding Branch Family members all lowered their heads. Silent grief, indignation, and immense humiliation filled the air.

This was also the first time he had seen Hyuga Neji, the genius youth his friend had said should not have died.

Only then did he learn that Hizashi Hyuga was Neji's father. That man who had always been friendly to the Main Branch's family had ended up like this.

He did not understand. Kumogakure had clearly struck first.

Yet in the end... why was the victim the one who had to pay with his life? Why Uncle Hizashi?

He looked at his father Hyuga Ning's tightly clenched fists and the tears silently sliding from his eyes.

An icy chill spread from the depths of his heart, more piercing than any exhaustion after training.

He finally understood what his friend had meant when he said—

Caged Bird! A Cursed Seal that controlled life and death, forever bound freedom, and turned every Branch Family member into a servant of the Main Branch. It was the inevitable fate of the Branch Family.