Do You Want to Come with Me?

That evening, after changing shifts with another Root squad, Ning Qi returned to the clan compound.

Before he could even go upstairs, Grandma Mianfu from next door—a fellow member of the Hyuga Branch Family who ran a flatbread shop—pulled him over.

"Little Ning Qi, did you see the notice that the clan head is calling a clan meeting?" she asked excitedly.

Just as the Uchiha Clan had ordinary people who could not awaken the Sharingan, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan, while easier to awaken than the Sharingan, still had a certain threshold. Not everyone could awaken it at will.

Take Grandma Mianfu in front of him. Though Hyuga blood flowed through her veins, she truly was an ordinary person who could not even sense chakra. Her son had successfully awakened the Byakugan and become a ninja, but even now, at nearly thirty, he was still just an ordinary Genin.

Ning Qi was already preparing to be nominated for Jonin this year. That was the weight talent carried in this cruel ninja world.

"I saw it. What about it?"

The pigeon-delivered notice from the Hyuga clan head's residence had been copied out and posted on the bulletin board. Ning Qi had noticed it on his way back.

"It's a meeting for the entire clan. Does that mean all of us can attend?" Grandma Mianfu was extremely excited. The blue curse mark on her forehead had been squeezed into lines by her wrinkled skin.

The Hyuga clan's Caged Bird System established the distinction between the Branch Family and the Main Family. The Main Family were the true inheritors of the Hyuga clan, bearing the responsibility of protecting and carrying it forward, while the Branch Family served as the Main Family's spear and shield, responsible for protecting the Hyuga Main Family.

In truth, after the Hyuga clan's reproduction over countless generations and the dilution of its bloodline, there was another group of Hyuga clansmen. They were Branch Family members in name, bearing the Caged Bird mark, but because they were too weak, they did not need to fulfill the duties of "spear and shield." Instead, they were ordinary people mainly responsible for managing the Hyuga clan's various public businesses. Grandma Mianfu was one such person. There were not many of them, but they did exist.

In the end, this was a world where ordinary people made up the majority.

The Caged Bird that Neji, Ning Qi, and the others regarded as a chronic ill was, to these ordinary Branch Family members, a symbol of their noble Hyuga clan identity—one that required no concealment.

They supported tradition, and they supported the Main Family. As for the current clan head, Hyuga Hiashi, they revered him almost as they would a father, because the Hyuga blood in their bodies had indeed brought them treatment and benefits superior to those of Konoha's other ordinary people.

Yet it was also true that even the guards at the Main Family residence needed to be at least Genin. No matter how eager ordinary people were, the Main Family did not think much of them. During the usual Hyuga clan festivals, these ordinary Hyuga clansmen who were not ninjas could not enter the ancestral shrine either; they could only watch from far away.

But the notice issued by the Hyuga clan head now delighted these ordinary people, who normally had no presence at all. A clan meeting, a meeting for the entire clan—didn't that mean every member of the Hyuga clan could attend?

Thinking of the flatbreads Grandma Mianfu had always sent to his home in the years after Hizashi's death, Ning Qi pursed his lips and tactfully advised her.

"Probably not. The main purpose of this clan meeting is to discuss how to deal with the enemies who have recently been attacking our Hyuga Branch Family."

"Aren't I part of the Hyuga Branch Family?" The old woman's dark eyes shone brightly. "I haven't seen Lord Hiashi's real face in so long. I wonder if he's gained weight or lost it, whether he's been eating properly..."

"Fair point."

Ning Qi said nothing more. It was his first time issuing a notice, so he lacked experience and had only thought about catching everyone in one net. He had not expected the Hyuga clan to have a group of black-eyed people like this. He planned to borrow Hiashi's name later and issue a patch notice. There would not be enough room at the clan meeting for so many ordinary people who could not yield Byakugan Essence.

After escorting Grandma Mianfu back to the flatbread shop, her son Changfu, still only a Genin, stood at the entrance and bowed awkwardly to Ning Qi.

"Tokuma is gone, and Xiaoyue is gone too. Recently, everyone in the Branch Family has been worried that something will happen to our clansmen. Little Ning Qi, you must take good care of yourself too," Grandma Mianfu said, holding Ning Qi's hand.

Ning Qi could only nod.

After Grandma Mianfu went back inside, Ning Qi said to Changfu.

"Don't go to the clan meeting that day."

Changfu was briefly stunned. The uneasy expression on his face slowly faded, and he gathered his courage to ask.

"Why?"

"Taking care of your mother is more important," Ning Qi said.

"You don't need to teach me that. I'm not just my mother's son—I'm also a member of the Hyuga Branch Family. You don't have the qual... You can't order me around!" Changfu said angrily.

Take care of my mother?

Like I need you to tell me that?!

It's just a clan meeting. What could possibly happen?!

Because of his poor aptitude, Changfu was rarely summoned by the Main Family, so he treasured this opportunity all the more.

"Fine." Since the other party insisted so firmly, what else could Ning Qi say?

When the time came, he would simply grant Changfu the honor that was due to a member of the Hyuga clan.

Though the purity of Changfu's Byakugan was low, even a mosquito's leg was still meat.

Ning Qi returned to his little loft.

"I saw that! You put your hand on your thigh again!"

"That's not how you use Gentle Fist!"

"Honestly, how many times have I told you? Your feet need to move with you!"

"Yes, that posture isn't bad. Just like that—come on, hit me!"

"What kind of punch was that? It's soft and weak!"

Listening to Neji's furious roars and Hanabi's tearful, repeated apologies coming from the room, Ning Qi raised a brow. He did not interrupt them, merely began making dinner on his own. Only after dinner was ready twenty minutes later did he knock on the door.

At the dining table, Neji was still instructing Hanabi on Gentle Fist stances. He only stopped reluctantly when Ning Qi truly could not stand watching any longer.

"You should know what you ought to be doing at any given time."

"There you go lecturing again, Brother." Neji shook his head repeatedly.

"You're even complaining about it? Hmph. In a few days, you won't have the chance to listen even if you want to." Ning Qi clicked his tongue disdainfully.

The two brothers had relied on one another for so long that they had formed an exceptionally deep bond... well, at least that was how Neji saw it. He had never considered that Ning Qi might suddenly defect, merely asking.

"Are you going on another mission?"

"Yes, a very long-term mission." Ning Qi placed some food into Neji's bowl. "When the time comes, Hanabi will be in your care alone."

"She's too stupid. She can't even get the Gentle Fist stances right," Neji said unhappily.

After gnawing on a chicken drumstick, Hanabi lowered her head sadly.

Ning Qi shook his head. "When you were two, you were still crawling after me in split-crotch pants... Hanabi is very talented, no worse than you. She's only just begun learning Gentle Fist."

Hearing that, Hanabi lifted her face and glared at Ning Qi, her eyes sparkling like stars.

Come to think of it, Neji was just a little brat in Ning Qi's eyes now. Once he defected from Konoha, Neji would not be implicated by association, but his circumstances would surely become rather difficult. At best, he would have it slightly better than Naruto, whom everyone despised.

Ning Qi tapped the tabletop with his index finger. After thinking for a moment, he stared at Neji and suddenly asked.

"Do you want to come with me?"