Hinata, Stop Pretending

Hanabi had already been surrounded by more than a dozen people and naturally did not see Hinata leave in silence. Perhaps some of the others had noticed, but in their eyes, Hinata had already lost her value and was no longer worth investing in.

So there was naturally no need to pay her any more attention. Was it cruel? It was. Was it realistic? It certainly was. In this dog-eat-dog world, the weak had no right to choose.

However, one person noticed Hinata's departure: her father, Hyuga Hiashi. He had quietly watched Hinata rise to her feet and leave.

During that time, Hinata had naturally noticed Hyuga Hiashi's undisguised gaze, but she said nothing. Her eyes were filled with complicated emotions, though Hinata could tell that more than half of those emotions were anger.

Hinata groaned inwardly. Sigh, it looks like Hyuga Hiashi noticed that I held back at the end. As she saw it, there were more than a dozen main-family elders present.

Naturally, they could not shamelessly activate their Byakugan to watch the younger generation fight. Though they were all experts with keen battle instincts, with dust flying everywhere, some distance between them, blind spots in their viewing angles, and various other factors—

What they saw would be Hinata losing the match by the narrowest of margins. Even if Hinata lost, it would sound better when word got out. It might even be exaggerated into an earth-shattering battle.

Yet she had never expected that Hyuga Hiashi would see it all without even activating his Byakugan.

Don't ask how Hinata knew. Well, she could tell from their exchange of looks just now. They were father and daughter, after all. If a father and daughter did not have some kind of spiritual connection, could they still be called father and daughter?

So she knew she was in trouble. After turning to leave, the moment her last foot stepped outside, she immediately curled her lip in disdain. Hmph, so this is how it ends. That little bit of warmth you showed earlier really was worthless. It was all nothing but passing clouds.

But then again, Hinata felt that she had underestimated the people of the world. She had never imagined that Hyuga Hiashi would notice such a tiny little move.

As expected of Hinata's father—the Hyuga Clan Head, the strongest of the Hyuga Clan!

After seeing Hinata's little move, Hyuga Hiashi naturally felt angry, and there was more than one reason for that anger.

First was, naturally, his anger at the move itself. On the smaller scale, was this little girl looking down on him by playing such unnecessary tricks right in front of him?

On the larger scale, this match was meant to choose the next Clan Head of the Hyuga Clan. Yet at a time like this, she had yielded. What exactly did she take the position of Hyuga Clan Head for?

Then he remembered his deceased younger brother, Hizashi Hyuga. What angered him was that he and Hizashi Hyuga had once fought a battle much like this one for the position of main-family heir.

Of course, that had been a battle with absolutely no holding back, one that had been truly satisfying. But later, because of that unbearable incident from the past, Hizashi Hyuga had been willing to sacrifice himself to protect him.

Today, seeing his eldest daughter Hinata willingly lose the match for some unknown reason, willing to have the Caged Bird Seal placed upon herself and practically hand the heir's position over to Hanabi—

There would have been nothing wrong with that on its own. But when everything was connected together, Hinata's actions seemed almost like she was teaching Hyuga Hiashi a lesson for not understanding true feelings!

Normally, the older sibling always protected the younger one. Yet when it came to Hyuga Hiashi, it had been reversed. How could that not anger him? Of course, he also knew that Hinata had definitely not acted this way for that reason.

So he felt some regret. If he had known that something like this would happen in the future, would he have held back in that match back then? Perhaps that could have prevented the tragedy.

The third source of his anger was a twisted kind of anger, born from disappointment so deep that it had turned into rage.

He had always worried about Hinata's personality. As had been said before, if Hinata had not possessed such a weak character, there would never have been this match in the first place.

Hinata... this really wasn't my fault. I'll tell you a secret: you were frightened into being this way by your nephew, Neji Hyuga.

But this was still a family matter. They could settle it behind closed doors themselves; there was no need to make it known to everyone.

Thus, he temporarily suppressed the mixed emotions in his heart and began discussing matters related to Hanabi's inheritance with the main-family elders.

They planned to choose an auspicious day, worship heaven and honor their ancestors, and formally confirm Hanabi's status as heir.

Hanabi silently listened from the side. After what she had just seen and heard, she felt as though none of this had anything to do with her. She was still thinking about what had happened earlier.

After Hyuga Hiashi and the elders finished discussing everything, the elders departed one after another. Only after everyone had left did she notice that her sister seemed to have left as well.

She looked to Hyuga Hiashi with a pleading gaze, hoping that the father she had always respected most could offer her some advice. Though this father had seemingly disappointed her several times today.