Investigation

Neji limped back to the Household.

His eyes felt as if sulfur had been poured into them, burning with pain, but fortunately, he could see again.

He locked the door, took off his torn pants, washed the bloodstains from his body, and changed into loose clothes large enough to conceal his wounds.

Then he went to the mirror, turned around once, and, seeing that they were more or less hidden, let out a slight breath of relief.

His gaze shifted to the blue curse mark on his forehead, which had already returned to normal. Neji could not help clenching his fists.

His nails dug into his flesh.

"Have your brother send that taijutsu technique to the Lineage's secret vault! Otherwise, come back tomorrow and keep taking your punishment!"

Hyuga Ling's warning before leaving pierced Neji's heart like a needle, echoing endlessly through his body with the circulation of his blood.

That was a taijutsu technique my brother created. I will never teach it to you...

Yet when he recalled the agony of the curse mark activating just now, a sense of helplessness suddenly rose within Neji. The excruciating pain, like being slowly carved apart, still throbbed faintly between his brows.

This was the second time Neji had experienced such a feeling. The first time had been four years ago, when his father, Hizashi, took his own life. After learning the truth, Neji had immediately wanted to seek out Hyuga Hiashi and fight him to the death.

But before he could even meet the clan head, the elders of the Hyuga Main Family had taught him what "the price of offending one's elders" meant.

They simply could not resist the power of the Caged Bird.

His father had been like this. His brother had been like this. So was he.

It had been this way in the past, and it was this way now.

In the foreseeable future, it would still be this way.

Their children and grandchildren would also bear the brand of this slave's mark. Once they resisted, they could only end up like Neji had just now, collapsing to their knees like servants when the curse mark activated.

They would be mocked and ridiculed by Hyuga Ling, without even the slightest chance to resist...

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone knocked on the door. It should have been his brother, Ning Qi, returning.

Neji's fists gradually loosened. The rage and hatred filling his chest could only turn into a helpless sigh.

As he wrapped the wounds his nails had gouged into his palms with bandages, he lowered his head and examined himself in the mirror for a second time.

Then he forced a smile onto his face and went to open the door.

When the door opened, it was not his brother Ning Qi, but a white-haired ANBU.

"Has Hyuga Ning Qi returned?" The man glanced inside the Household.

Wasn't my brother on an ANBU mission? If he had returned or not, wouldn't you know?

Neji suppressed the doubt in his heart, but still answered, "Not yet. He has been coming back very late lately."

"What is your relationship with Ning Qi?"

"My name is Neji. I'm Ning Qi's younger brother."

"Do you know Hyuga Tokuma?"

"I don't."

"What about Hyuga Tsuki?"

"She's an older sister from a branch family. She lives in the bakery up ahead," Neji said.

He also knew that Hyuga Tsuki liked his brother Ning Qi very much. As Ning Qi's younger brother, he often received bread from her.

"When was the last time you saw Hyuga Tsuki?"

The last time he had seen her...?

Neji suddenly hesitated. He carefully recalled the questions he had just been asked. Why did this feel like an investigation into a suspect?

"Did something happen to my brother...?" he asked cautiously.

"It's just a routine investigation. Don't worry," the ANBU said casually, though his eyes behind the mask remained fixed tightly on Neji. "If you believe your brother has done nothing wrong, then the more accurate you are, the sooner he can clear his name."

Neji did not notice the grave expression of the ANBU before him. Instead, he hurriedly stated that he would cooperate seriously with the investigation.

"So, when was the last time you saw Hyuga Tsuki?"

"Probably around noon two days ago... Did something happen to Sister Tsuki?" As soon as Neji finished speaking, he noticed that the ANBU's hand, which had been writing notes, suddenly froze.

"You said you saw her how long ago?" The man's breathing had clearly become rushed.

This only made Neji lose confidence. After hesitating for a while, he still answered truthfully, "Two days ago. In the eastern forest, I saw her planting trees..."

"Wait—what did you see her doing there?" the ANBU hurriedly pressed.

"Planting... planting trees. They were probably fruit trees or something. After all, that forest is also considered public property of the Hyuga clan..." Neji said haltingly, unable to understand what was strange about it.

The ANBU gripped his pen and remained silent for a long time.

Hyuga Tsuki's body had been found in the eastern forest.

Furthermore, the Intelligence Division's autopsy report had directly confirmed that Hyuga Tsuki had been beheaded by a mysterious killer in the eastern forest a week ago. How could she possibly have been planting trees there two days ago!??

Was the child before him lying?

Or who exactly had he seen two days ago?

The ANBU then named several more people, and Neji answered truthfully as well. On the surface, there did not seem to be anything abnormal.

He nodded slightly, then raised a critical question.

"Do you know what your brother has been busy with lately?"

"I don't." Neji shook his head.

"Then let me put it another way. Do you think your brother has been acting strangely lately?"

Acting strangely? Neji thought for a long time before slowly speaking.

"A few days ago, his eyes were not doing well. It seemed like he had been injured, and his eyesight had deteriorated badly. He had been staying with the Hyuga Main Family for treatment, and only officially returned to duty yesterday. I don't know whether that counts as strange..."

What Neji said was true, but he had used a small trick in his answer. Since Ning Qi's Byakugan had been injured, his strength would surely be greatly reduced.

How could Ning Qi, in that condition, possibly have done anything illegal?

Clearly, you had misunderstood!

The ANBU silently recorded the answer. Aside from the serious discrepancy between the information regarding Hyuga Tsuki and the actual circumstances, the rest of the answers would need to be compared with ANBU records before they could determine whether anything was abnormal.

"Thank you for your cooperation, I—"

"What are you doing?"

A voice suddenly rang out. The ANBU felt a shadow fall over him, and his heartbeat abruptly quickened.

One hand slipped into his waist pouch as he turned around with practiced naturalness and addressed the young man who had somehow appeared behind him, blocking his way.

"Captain Ning Qi, I am Takizawa Yamaaki. By order of the Lord Hokage, I am investigating the disappearance of Hyuga Tokuma and the others."

Ning Qi was very young, but Yamaaki knew all too well how dangerous he was. He was the one who could stand toe-to-toe with Captain Itachi Uchiha, known alongside him as one of Konoha's Twin Prodigies!

He was a genius who would soon be nominated for jonin!

Takizawa Yamaaki understood the gap between them. Though he was a few years older, he could not even withstand a single move from Itachi Uchiha.

Against Ning Qi, who was equally renowned as Itachi, the outcome would likely be the same.

Ning Qi remained silent, but his frost-cold eyes exerted tremendous pressure on Takizawa Yamaaki.

Yamaaki quietly gripped the kunai in his waist pouch.

"So, have you finished investigating?" Ning Qi's sudden question declared the end of the brief standoff.

Takizawa Yamaaki sighed in relief inwardly and hurriedly nodded.

"Yes, I've finished."

"Then leave." Ning Qi stepped aside.

Yamaaki quickly left the house that had made him vaguely uneasy.

"Why did those eyes feel different from other Byakugan...?"

He did not know whether it was an illusion, but Yamaaki felt that Ning Qi's eyes were veiled in a layer of gray mist, hazy enough to obscure his expression. They did not look injured at all.

"The eastern forest..." he muttered.

No matter what, the investigation had made a breakthrough. If everything Neji said was true, then there had to be other witnesses who had seen Hyuga Tsuki "planting trees" on the third day after her death!

After tying the information he had gathered to a pigeon's leg and watching it fly toward the Hokage Tower, Takizawa Yamaaki immediately decided to inspect the area around the eastern forest of Konoha Village, where Hyuga Tsuki's body had been discovered.

The Hyuga clan might not care about the lives of branch family members like Hyuga Tokuma, but their fellow ANBU could not simply ignore them.

Whether someone was deliberately creating a mystery, or Neji was simply lying, a trip to the eastern forest would reveal the truth.