Uchiha Ao's Shadow Clone soon arrived at the familiar training ground where he and Hinata had trained the day before.
But all he saw was an empty training ground, eerily quiet. He couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Uchiha Ao's Shadow Clone scratched his head and scanned the area, muttering under his breath, "That's strange. Why isn't Hinata here today? Did something happen?"
Meanwhile, at the Hyuga family estate.
"Hinata, are you going to see that Uchiha again?" Hyuga Hiashi blocked Hinata as she was about to leave. His voice was cold and forceful, his gaze full of unquestionable authority.
Hinata stopped short, as if frozen in place. Instinctively, she lowered her head as she always did, her soft hair falling just so to hide the panic in her eyes. "F-Father, Ao-kun and I agreed to train together. I can't break my promise."
Hyuga Hiashi knitted his brows, his displeasure growing more obvious.
He seethed inwardly. That girl has really grown bold. She doesn't even listen to me anymore!
He gave a cold snort. "Spending time with an Uchiha? What kind of behavior is that? You're the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan, and you carry the family's honor and responsibilities. How can you spend every day hanging around with him?"
Hinata bit down on her lower lip, her teeth nearly sinking into the tender flesh. Her hands clenched the hem of her clothes until her knuckles turned white.
Still, she mustered her courage and retorted, "Ao-kun is a good person. He's taught me a lot of ninjutsu techniques. We're just friends, training together and helping each other improve."
"Friends?" Hyuga Hiashi fell silent for a moment, then said sternly, "From today onward, you're not to leave the Hyuga estate without my permission."
He wanted to see what kind of spell that Uchiha had cast over his daughter to make her so attached to him.
Then he waved his hand, and two guards immediately stepped forward to block Hinata's way.
Hinata gazed at the two guards, her eyes gradually reddening. She knew she couldn't force her way out right now.
But the thought that Uchiha Ao might still be waiting for her at the training ground filled her with guilt and helplessness.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Ao's Shadow Clone waited agonizingly at the training ground for a long time, his eyes fixed on the path leading there, but Hinata still didn't appear. A troubling suspicion rose in his heart.
Hinata had always been someone who kept her promises. There were only two possible explanations for what was happening.
First, something had delayed Hinata and she couldn't make it. But given her personality, she would surely have found a way to send word instead of disappearing without a trace. Second, she had probably run into some kind of obstacle—she might even have been confined.
Thinking it over, in Konoha, aside from that terrible kidnapping incident, the only person with the power to restrict Hinata's freedom was probably her father, Hyuga Hiashi.
Realizing this, Uchiha Ao's Shadow Clone furrowed his brows into a deep frown.
If that old geezer Hyuga Hiashi kept Hinata confined, he'd have no way to progress with his main quest.
Old geezer, consider this your warning: watch out for a blond!
Uchiha Ao's Shadow Clone was in a terrible mood. He paced back and forth across the training ground, the hurried scrape of his soles against the ground—"shff, shff"—a reflection of his anxiety.
"If Hinata really has been confined, forcing my way into the Hyuga Clan isn't realistic." Uchiha Ao's Shadow Clone calmed himself and thought through his options.
"Wait, I'm still being held back by the ideas I had in my previous life. This is a world with supernatural powers. Maybe I can look at things from another angle." Uchiha Ao's Shadow Clone's eyes suddenly lit up as a bold idea came to him. If Hinata herself was being confined, why not have her come to meet him with a Shadow Clone?
With that, Uchiha Ao's Shadow Clone acted immediately. Without a moment's hesitation, he dispelled himself and passed the idea on to his original body.
"Summoning Technique!" A billowing cloud of smoke filled Uchiha Ao's room, and a snow-white Ninja Cat with a distinctive black tip on each ear appeared before him.
"Xiaoxue, I need to ask you a favor." Uchiha Ao crouched down and gently scratched beneath Xiaoxue's chin. "Sneak into the Hyuga Clan and find Hinata. Give this to her."
With that, Uchiha Ao quickly took out a spare scroll and channeled his chakra. Using it as ink, he briskly wrote down his idea.
Thanks to the Otsutsuki Bloodline flowing through his body, controlling his chakra with such precision was effortless.
Xiaoxue obediently nodded her fluffy little head. Then a soft, adorable voice came from her throat, sounding almost like she was pleading. "Ao, once it's done, I want three dried fish! Not one less!"
Uchiha Ao smiled and nodded, never stopping his scratching beneath Xiaoxue's chin. He even gave her nose a gentle flick. "I knew you were a little glutton. I'll have five dried fish ready for you! But you have to handle this mission properly. If you get caught, you won't get any dried fish, and you'll get a scolding too. Got it?"
Xiaoxue closed her eyes in contentment, purring as her tail swished merrily behind her. But at his last words, she opened her eyes and rubbed her head against Uchiha Ao's hand. "Ao, you promised! I get five dried fish when it's done!"
Uchiha Ao nodded. Xiaoxue saw him do so, picked up the scroll in her mouth, and disappeared from the spot.
"I hope Hinata gets it." Uchiha Ao sighed.
As everyone knew, the Uchiha Clan's summons were usually Ninja Cats, and his father was no exception.
Xiaoxue was the offspring of his father's summoning beast. She and Uchiha Ao had been together since he was very young.
When he was three, he learned the Summoning Technique from some scrolls his father had left behind.
After that, Xiaoxue officially became his summoning beast.
Aside from Sister Izumi's family, Xiaoxue was the one closest to him.
Xiaoxue wasn't very big, and she didn't have much chakra.
So even if she snuck into the Hyuga estate, people would only take her for an ordinary cat.
And that was exactly the effect Uchiha Ao wanted.
That was why Uchiha Ao trusted Xiaoxue completely with this mission.
Before you continue