True Identity: Hyuga Hiashi

In the official lore of the Hokage, the Hyuga Clan are the descendants of Otsutsuki Hamura and one of the founding families that joined the Hidden Leaf Village during the early days of the Land of Fire.

Much like the Uchiha Clan, they are considered one of the oldest families within the Hidden Leaf.

The members of the clan, just like the Uchiha, inherit a unique dōjutsu kekkei genkai—the Byakugan.

It could be said that to a certain extent, the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha Clan share many similarities.

The only difference is...

The two families' attitudes toward the Hidden Leaf's political power.

The Uchiha Clan is relatively more radical, hoping to safeguard their status within the Hidden Leaf through formidable military might.

The Hyuga Clan, however, is different...

The Hyuga Clan once faced the same experiences as the Uchiha Clan.

They were also once held under high suspicion.

It is just that the Hyuga Clan's method of handling it was very simple.

They do not participate in the Hidden Leaf's political power.

They simply focus on developing steadily within the Hidden Leaf, and the clan's conduct is exceptionally low-profile...

This has resulted in the Hyuga Clan maintaining a strong influence within the Hidden Leaf without ever drawing the attention of the village's upper echelons...

In contrast, the Uchiha Clan has had a somewhat miserable time...

"The Uchiha Clan..."

After a few breaths, Hyuga Hiashi repeated Yun Xi's words, a flash of sharp light crossing his eyes.

After observing him for a long while, Hyuga Hiashi asked in a grave tone, "Are you a member of the Uchiha Clan?"

"No..."

Yun Xi shook his head and spoke indifferently, "Just a commoner of the Hidden Leaf."

"However..."

"However what?"

Seeing Yun Xi hesitate, Hyuga Hiashi immediately pressed him.

"However, I want to help him this time..."

After Yun Xi finished speaking, he smiled...

"Help him?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a look of shock instantly flashed across Hyuga Hiashi's face.

When he first saw the guy in front of him, Hyuga Hiashi had merely assumed he was some child who wanted to sneak into the Hyuga Clan.

But as this sentence left Yun Xi's mouth, Hyuga Hiashi realized at once that this guy must know something...

Although Hyuga Hiashi does not participate in the Hidden Leaf's political power.

As an elite Jonin of the Hidden Leaf and the current head of the Hyuga Clan, he certainly knows about the events that have occurred recently.

Following the unexpected death of Uchiha Shisui, the youngest genius of the Uchiha Clan, the entire Hidden Leaf Village was instantly plunged into a strange atmosphere.

One could smell the gunpowder between the Uchiha Clan and the Hidden Leaf's upper echelons from every faction in the village.

Even...

Hyuga Hiashi had heard some rumors...

Namely...

That the Uchiha Clan was planning a rebellion...

Whether true or false, this rumor made the atmosphere in the Hidden Leaf even more oppressive...

Yet, Hyuga Hiashi truly did not expect that.

At such a tense time, a little guy claiming to be a commoner would want to help "him."

This "him" was quite intriguing...

Was it the Uchiha Clan...

Or someone within the Uchiha Clan...

In an instant.

Hyuga Hiashi became interested in the youth before him, whose face still bore traces of immaturity.

"Little guy, you should know that if others heard what you just said, you might not live through the night..."

Not long after the atmosphere between Yun Xi and Hyuga Hiashi fell into silence, Hyuga Hiashi spoke first, then slowly walked up to Yun Xi.

Suddenly!

He extended a broad palm and struck out toward Yun Xi!

"Thwack!"

A dull, heavy sound instantly shattered the surrounding silence.

"Lord Patriarch, stop..."

"Bad uncle, you can't bully Brother Yun Xi!"

The moment this scene unfolded, Tenten and Neji, standing in the distance, spoke in unison, their faces etched with conflict and surprise.

Tenten, immediately after speaking, reached into the bag at her side and pulled out two black-and-white secret scrolls.

Tenten actually had these when she was this young?!

These two scrolls in Tenten's hands were the very same ninja tool scrolls she had used during the Chunin Exams when she fought Temari!

Seeing this, a bead of cold sweat instantly appeared on Yun Xi's forehead.

Although Tenten only possessed a minuscule amount of chakra at this age, she would have absolutely no trouble opening these two scrolls.

And if the massive quantity of ninja tools inside were to erupt at such close range...

Even Yun Xi would find it quite troublesome...

Thinking of this, Yun Xi had no time to mind Hyuga Hiashi standing beside him and hurriedly spoke up: "Tenten, put those away. Brother is fine!"

"But I want to..." Seeing that Yun Xi was unharmed, Tenten gripped the scrolls, unsure of what to do.

"Brother is really fine..."

After swatting Hyuga Hiashi's hand away from his body, Yun Xi immediately walked over to Tenten. As he tucked the scrolls back into her bag, he said, "Who gave these to you? You can't just take them out whenever you want, you know?"

"Mom gave them to me. She said if there's a bad guy, I should open them."

These parents...

After hearing the origin of the ninja tool scrolls, a flash of helplessness crossed Yun Xi's eyes. Once he had completely secured the scrolls, he returned to Hyuga Hiashi and smiled. "Mister, bullying the young isn't a very honorable thing to do."

"Hmph, in the ninja world, there is no such thing as age!"

Seeing that Yun Xi showed no signs of abnormality, a look of shock appeared on Hyuga Hiashi's face.

Although his previous strike against Yun Xi had been merely a test...

It...

That attack was definitely not simple.

Not only had he utilized the Gentle Fist, but Hyuga Hiashi had also injected his own chakra into Yun Xi's body.

He had intended to give this arrogant little brat a warning...

Yet, to Hyuga Hiashi's surprise.

Yun Xi was completely unscathed...

"Byakugan, activate!"

Seeing Yun Xi so perfectly normal, Hyuga Hiashi could no longer remain calm. He activated his Byakugan and stared at Yun Xi with total concentration.

But this look was all it took.

It left Hyuga Hiashi even more shocked!

As the bloodline limit of the Hyuga Clan, the Byakugan's abilities were naturally formidable.

It was not only useful for reconnaissance and support, but it also granted a 360-degree field of vision, allowing the user to see the flow of chakra in the surrounding environment.

Furthermore, depending on the specific ability, the Byakugan could be categorized into the Telescopic Eye, which could perceive great distances, and the Insight Eye, which could see through objects.

In terms of reconnaissance, the Byakugan's abilities even surpassed the Sharingan, the premier ocular jutsu of the Hokage!

And the Byakugan that Hyuga Hiashi was using at this moment was the Insight Eye, capable of seeing through objects.

As the Byakugan pierced through Yun Xi's body...

Hyuga Hiashi was stunned...