Continue the Punishment, Don't Stop

Neji pondered this for a moment, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.

Ten years ago, Hinata had been abducted by ninjas from the Land of Lightning; she was rescued, but in the end, it was his father who had died.

If Hinata were to face danger again today, even if she were rescued, he—who bore the responsibility of protecting her—would likely suffer the same fate as his father.

Neji left the training hall with a tense expression, heading toward Hinata's room. A guard standing nearby suddenly spoke up, "Young Master Neji, do not worry. Lady Hinata is quite safe; she is currently receiving a distinguished guest."

Receiving a distinguished guest?

Hearing this, Neji felt a wave of relief.

Since Hinata was still within the Hyuga Clan Mansion, she was safe.

But as he thought about it further, something felt wrong.

The distinguished guests who usually visited the mansion were either renowned ninjas, high-ranking officials from the village, or wealthy and powerful dignitaries.

Typically, the Clan Head would receive them personally.

Since when was it Hinata's turn to host?

Although Hinata was the young lady of the Hyuga clan, she had yet to graduate from the Ninja Academy and was not even a ninja yet. Furthermore, the Clan Head had never taught her the social graces required for hosting; how could she rashly receive a distinguished guest?

Neji thought it over and felt something was amiss. "Is the Clan Head with Hinata, receiving the guest?"

"No, it is only Lady Hinata alone."

"This is utter nonsense!"

Neji was confused. "Are you sure you didn't see wrong?"

"I am certain. Not long ago, the young lady specifically arranged for someone to go out and buy food, packing it to bring into the guest room for the guest to dine."

That sounded plausible enough.

But why go out to buy it?

The mansion had elegant dining rooms and a kitchen fully stocked with ingredients; they could have easily had their highly-paid chefs prepare a delicious meal for the guest. Why was there any need to go out and buy takeout?

The guard continued, "They bought several dozen skewers."

Receiving a distinguished guest with skewers? And takeout at that?

Neji's expression darkened, and he felt a sense of inexplicable absurdity. "It really is nonsense! There is no logic in receiving a guest this way. If the Clan Head finds out, he will be furious. Since the guest came here, they naturally have important matters to discuss with the Clan Head. Hinata's actions are clearly a slight."

Neji realized the gravity of the situation. "Go and report this to the Clan Head immediately. I will go to the Guest Reception Room to soothe the guest's mood."

With that said.

Neji walked toward the reception room with a grim face.

The trouble Hinata had caused would, as expected, fall to him to clean up.

If he didn't handle it well, he would be the only one punished.

Neji couldn't help but lament the unfairness of fate once again.

Despite this, he tried his best to adjust his emotions. Arriving before the door of the Guest Reception Room, he took a deep breath and pushed the door open cautiously.

Neji had already organized a series of apologies for the guest in his mind, but the scene before him made his gaze freeze.

A distinguished guest?

Where was the guest?

There was clearly no guest in the Guest Reception Room.

Furthermore, what puzzled Neji was why Takasaki, the dead-last of their class, was in the Hyuga Clan's Guest Reception Room.

Neji frowned deeply. Having trained diligently since childhood and being hailed as a genius, he felt a strong aversion toward slackers like Takasaki.

Hinata and Takasaki were both focused on their own tasks, failing to notice Neji's arrival.

Takasaki was observing the control panel that only he could see.

He had just finished listening to Hinata explain the chakra flow points, speed, and direction for performing the Transformation Technique. He grasped it quickly, then opened his control panel to check if the attribute entries for the Transformation Technique had changed.

Sure enough.

There was a change.

It was originally [Level 1 Transformation Technique (6 points of chakra)].

Now it was [Level 1 Transformation Technique (4 points of chakra)].

Just like the Substitution Technique and the Clone Technique, the chakra consumption had decreased by one-third. In the future, the efficiency of grinding for proficiency would naturally improve significantly.

His distracted state, as seen by Hinata, truly infuriated her.

"Takasaki-kun, you clearly promised me you would focus, so why are you spacing out again?"

Hinata knelt before Takasaki, looking up with her cheeks puffed out in anger.

It was Takasaki who had come to her, asking for instruction.

He had promised her twice, yet now he was distracted again; to her, this was a genuine offense.

This was already the third time.

She really wanted to just brush Takasaki off.

She was certain to pass her graduation exam anyway, and as for whether Takasaki could pass or not, she didn't care!

Yet, a strong sense of responsibility ultimately made Hinata hold back.

Exasperated by Takasaki, she once again extended her index finger and poked him lightly on the cheek.

The next second.

Takasaki snapped back to reality.

He lowered his head, looking at Hinata in front of him and the finger she had poked into his cheek that she hadn't yet retracted, and asked in confusion, "What are you doing?"

"I..."

Meeting Takasaki's gaze, Hinata felt her cheeks heat up instinctively.

But she still gathered her courage: "I'm hitting you! This is your punishment for spacing out for the third time."

Hinata deliberately spoke in a fierce tone: "We agreed before that if you spaced out again, I would poke your face with my finger. So, what I'm doing isn't an offense to you; I hope you can understand!"

Listen to that—is that how someone speaks when they are angry and trying to be fierce?

Who, when angry and scolding someone, hopes that the other person will understand?

Who, when angry enough to hit someone, just lightly pokes them on the cheek with a finger?

Takasaki wasn't intentionally favoring Hinata; it was just that in his eyes, her actions didn't look like anger at all. Instead, she looked like a little kitten trying to act cute.

Even her anger was so shy and adorable that Takasaki was already beginning to look forward to what it would feel like when he eventually married her and brought her home.

"Sorry, I couldn't help but space out again."

Takasaki reached out and gently gripped Hinata's wrist; her fair skin felt incredibly smooth and soft to the touch: "As a punishment, you can poke me harder so that I'll remember this lesson."

As soon as he finished speaking.

Feeling the touch on her wrist, Hinata let out an instinctive "Eh," and then, as if realizing something, her face flushed bright red, and she retracted her hand like lightning.

She lowered her head, the fierce expression on her face completely gone, replaced by an uncontrollable bashfulness as she muttered softly: "Since you've realized your mistake, once is enough for the punishment; there's no need to continue."

Is the punishment already over so soon?

Takasaki really wanted her to continue, not to stop.

This young lady from a prestigious clan, who grew shy at the slightest tease and blushed at the slightest touch, was truly charmingly proud.

"Takasaki-kun, I'm going to continue teaching you, so you must listen carefully," Hinata reminded him. "I will do my best to teach you the Three Body Technique. This concerns whether or not you can pass your graduation exam; it's very important."

At this moment.

Neji, standing at the doorway, finally saw the situation clearly.

The guest Hinata was hosting was actually Takasaki!

It was one thing for Hinata to personally teach Takasaki the Three Body Technique, but she had even arranged for someone to pack dozens of skewers of barbecue for him, letting him eat and drink his fill while listening to the lesson in comfort.

This was absolute nonsense!

What right did a dead-last student like Takasaki have to be a guest of the Hyuga Clan and be hosted by Hinata in the Guest Reception Room?

If not for Hinata's status, Takasaki would have found it difficult even to enter the Hyuga Clan Mansion.

In truth, Neji hadn't wanted to meddle at first; after all, this was Hinata's own choice.

But when he saw that Takasaki was being repeatedly favored by Hinata yet didn't cherish it, still ungratefully failing to listen to her lessons, Neji simply couldn't hold back anymore.

He stepped into the Guest Reception Room, his gaze sweeping over Takasaki before he looked at Hinata with a serious and earnest expression: "Hinata, don't waste your effort."