Neji gave it some thought, and couldn't help feeling a little worried.
Ten years ago, ninjas from the Land of Lightning had kidnapped Hinata. She was rescued, but in the end, it was his father who died.
If Hinata were in danger again today, then even if she were rescued, he, as the one responsible for protecting her, might well meet the same fate as his father.
With a tense expression, Neji left the Training Room and headed for Hinata's room. A guard beside him suddenly spoke up. "Young Master Neji, there's no need to worry. Miss Hinata is perfectly safe. She's entertaining an honored guest."
Entertaining an honored guest?
At that, Neji felt relieved.
As long as Hinata was still at the Hyuga Clan Mansion, she was safe.
Then he thought it over and felt something was off.
The honored guests who usually visited the mansion were either renowned ninjas, high-ranking village officials, or wealthy and influential figures.
The clan head usually received them personally.
Since when had it been Hinata's place to entertain guests?
Although Hinata was the Hyuga Clan's young lady, she hadn't yet graduated from the Ninja Academy. She wasn't even a ninja. The clan head had never taught her the social graces needed to receive guests, so how could she be allowed to entertain an honored guest on a whim?
After thinking it over, Neji sensed something was wrong. "Is the clan head receiving the guest with Hinata?"
"No, Miss Hinata is there by herself."
"This is ridiculous!"
Neji frowned, confused. "Are you sure you saw that right?"
"I'm sure. A little while ago, Miss Hinata even sent someone out to buy food, then had it packed up and brought into the reception room for the guest."
That did sound rather proper.
But why buy food outside?
The mansion had elegant dining rooms and a fully stocked kitchen. They could have had one of the highly paid chefs prepare a delicious meal for the guest. Why go out and buy food to bring back?
The guard continued, "They bought dozens of skewers."
Receiving an honored guest with skewers? And takeout, at that?
Neji's expression darkened. The whole situation seemed absurd. "This is ridiculous! Who receives an honored guest like that? The clan head will be furious when he finds out. If an honored guest came here, they must have something important to discuss with the clan head. Hinata's behavior is obviously disrespectful."
Neji realized how serious this was. "Go report this to the clan head at once. I'll head to the Guest Reception Room first and calm the guest down."
With that,
Neji hurried toward the reception room, his face grim.
As expected, he had to clean up the mess Hinata had made.
If he didn't handle it well, he'd be the one punished.
Neji couldn't help lamenting the unfairness of fate once more.
Even so, he forced himself to calm down. He reached the VIP Reception Room, took a deep breath, and carefully pushed open the door.
Neji had already prepared a string of apologies to offer the honored guest, but the scene before him made his eyes narrow.
An honored guest?
Where was the honored guest?
There wasn't any honored guest in the VIP Reception Room.
What's more, Neji couldn't understand why Takasaki, the dead-last in his class, was in the Hyuga Clan's VIP Reception Room.
Neji frowned deeply. He had trained hard since childhood and was called a genius, so he despised slackers like Takasaki, who was always cutting corners.
Hinata and Takasaki were both focused on what they were doing and hadn't noticed Neji's arrival.
Takasaki was studying the Control Panel that only he could see.
He had just listened to Hinata explain the chakra flow points involved in performing the Transformation Technique, along with the flow's speed and direction. He'd quickly grasped the lesson, then opened the Control Panel to check whether the Transformation Technique's stats had changed.
Sure enough,
they had.
It had originally been [Level 1 Transformation Technique (6 chakra points)]
Now it was [Level 1 Transformation Technique (4 chakra points)]
Just like with the Substitution Technique and Clone Technique, the chakra cost had fallen by a third. Naturally, he'd be able to build up proficiency much faster from now on.
To Hinata, he looked as if he'd spaced out again, and it was driving her mad.
"Takasaki, you promised me you'd pay attention. Why are you spacing out again?"
Hinata knelt in front of Takasaki, looking up at him with puffed-out cheeks and an angry expression.
Takasaki had been the one to come to her and ask for lessons.
He'd promised her twice that he'd pay attention, yet he'd spaced out again. She found it deeply disrespectful.
This was already the third time.
She really wanted to just brush him off.
She was sure to pass the Graduation Exam anyway. Whether Takasaki passed or not was none of her concern!
But her strong sense of responsibility ultimately made Hinata hold back.
Fuming at Takasaki, she reached out her index finger again and gently poked his cheek.
The next second,
Takasaki snapped back to attention.
Looking down at Hinata in front of him, and at the finger she'd poked into his cheek but hadn't yet withdrawn, he asked, "What are you doing?"
"I..."
Meeting Takasaki's gaze, Hinata felt her cheeks grow warm despite herself.
But she still summoned her courage. "I'm hitting you! This is your punishment for spacing out for the third time."
Hinata put on a fierce act. "I told you before, if you spaced out again, I'd poke you in the face. So I'm not being disrespectful to you by doing this. I hope you understand!"
Really, was that how someone spoke when they were angrily scolding someone?
Who hoped the other person would understand when they were mad at them?
And who poked someone in the face with just a finger when they were supposedly angry enough to hit them?
Takasaki wasn't deliberately taking Hinata's side. It was just that, to him, Hinata didn't look angry at all. She looked more like a little kitten acting cute.
Even her angry expression was so shy and adorable. Takasaki was already looking forward to what it would feel like to marry Hinata and enjoy life with her.
"Sorry, I couldn't help spacing out again."
Takasaki reached out and gently took Hinata by the wrist. Her fair skin felt incredibly smooth. "As punishment, you can poke me a little harder so I remember this lesson."
As soon as he finished speaking,
Hinata felt his touch on her wrist and let out a startled "Eh?" Then, as if realizing what was happening, she flushed bright red and yanked her hand away like a bolt of lightning.
She lowered her head. The fierce look had vanished from her face, leaving only an uncontrollable blush. She murmured softly, "Since you've realized your mistake, one punishment is enough. There's no need to keep punishing me."
Was the punishment over already?
Takasaki really wanted to keep going. Don't stop.
This young lady from a prestigious family, who blushed whenever he touched her and got shy whenever he teased her, was just too adorably haughty.
"Takasaki, I'm going to continue teaching you now. You have to listen carefully," Hinata reminded him. "I'll do my very best to teach you the Three Body Technique. This is really important, because it could determine whether you pass the Graduation Exam."
At that moment,
Neji at the doorway finally understood what was going on.
The honored guest Hinata was entertaining was actually Takasaki!
Hinata was personally teaching Takasaki the Three Body Technique. On top of that, she'd even arranged for someone to buy dozens of skewers just for him, so he could eat his fill and enjoy himself while listening to the lesson.
This was ridiculous!
What right did Takasaki, the dead-last, have to be treated as an honored guest by the Hyuga Clan and entertained by Hinata in the VIP Reception Room?
If not for Hinata's status, Takasaki would have had a hard time even entering the Hyuga Clan Mansion.
Actually, Neji hadn't wanted to meddle in someone else's business. After all, it was Hinata's choice.
But then he saw that Hinata had repeatedly treated Takasaki well, while Takasaki didn't appreciate it and continued to act ungratefully by failing to pay attention to Hinata's lesson. Neji couldn't hold back any longer.
He strode into the reception room, glanced at Takasaki, then looked at Hinata with a stern, serious expression. "Hinata, don't waste your effort."
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