Will You Come with Me?

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

Before he even went upstairs, Granny Mianfu from next door—also a 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 holding a clan meeting?" she asked excitedly.

Just as the Uchiha Clan had ordinary people who could not awaken the Sharingan, while the Byakugan was easier to awaken than the Sharingan, it still had certain requirements. Not everyone could awaken it at will.

Like Granny Mianfu before him. Though Hyuga blood ran through her veins, she was indeed an ordinary person who could not even sense chakra. Her son had successfully awakened the Byakugan and become a ninja, but 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 brutal ninja world.

"I saw it. What about it?"

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

"It's a whole-clan meeting. Does that mean all of us can attend?" Granny Mianfu was visibly excited, the green curse mark on her forehead squeezed into lines by the wrinkles gathering there.

The Hyuga Clan's Caged Bird System established the distinction between the Branch Family and the Main Family. The Main Family were the true heirs of the Hyuga clan, entrusted with protecting and carrying forward the clan, while the Branch Family were the spear and shield in the Main Family's hands, responsible for protecting the Hyuga Main Family.

In fact, after the Hyuga clan's proliferation over hundreds and thousands of years and the dilution of its bloodline, there was another group of Hyuga clansmen. They bore the Caged Bird mark and were Branch Family in name, yet because they were too weak, they did not need to shoulder the duties of spear and shield. Instead, they were ordinary people mainly responsible for managing the Hyuga clan's various public businesses. Granny 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 festering disease was, to these ordinary Branch Family members, an undisguised symbol of their noble Hyuga identity.

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

But the Main Family residence required even its gate guards to be at least Genin. No matter how eager ordinary people were, they were not looked upon highly. During the usual Hyuga clan festivals, these ordinary Hyuga clansmen who were not ninja could not enter the ancestral shrine either. They could only watch from far away.

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

Thinking of all the flatbreads Granny Mianfu had sent his household in the years since Hizashi's death, Ning Qi pursed his lips and gently advised, "Probably not. The main purpose of this clan meeting is to discuss how to deal with the outside enemies who have recently been attacking our Hyuga Branch Family."

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

"That makes sense."

Ning Qi said no more. It was his first time issuing a notice, so he had lacked experience and focused only on catching everyone in one net. He had not expected the Hyuga clan to have a group of people with dark eyes. He planned to use Hiashi's name to issue a patch later. There would not be enough room at the clan meeting for so many ordinary people from whom no Byakugan Essence could be extracted.

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

"Tokuma is gone, and Xiaoyue is gone too. Everyone in the Branch Family has been worried about something happening to our clansmen lately. Little Ning Qi, you have to take good care of yourself too," Granny Mianfu said, holding Ning Qi's hand.

Ning Qi could only nod.

After Granny Mianfu went back inside, Ning Qi said to Changfu, "Don't go to the clan meeting that day."

Changfu froze slightly. The awkward 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 right... you can't order me around!" Changfu said angrily.

Take care of my mother?

Do I need you to tell me that?!

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

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

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

When the time came, he would simply bestow upon him the glory the Hyuga clan deserved.

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

Ning Qi returned to his small attic.

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

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

"Ah, how many times do I have to tell you? Your footwork has to move with you!"

"Yes, that stance is good. Just like that—come on, hit me!"

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

Hearing Neji's angry roars and Hanabi's constant tearful apologies coming from the room, Ning Qi raised an eyebrow. He did not disturb 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 her Gentle Fist stance. He only stopped reluctantly when Ning Qi truly could not stand watching anymore.

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

"You're lecturing again, Brother." Neji shook his head repeatedly.

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

The brothers had depended on each other for so long that they had long formed an exceptionally deep bond... well, at least that was true for Neji. He had never considered that Ning Qi might suddenly betray him. He only asked, "Are you going on another mission?"

"Yes, a very long-term mission." Ning Qi placed some food in 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 stance 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 started learning the Gentle Fist."

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

Come to think of it, the current Neji was just a little brat in Ning Qi's eyes as well. Once he defected from Konoha, Neji would not be implicated, but his circumstances would surely become quite difficult. At most, he would have it a little better than Naruto, whom everyone despised.

Ning Qi tapped his index finger against the table. After thinking for a moment, he stared at Neji and suddenly asked, "Will you come with me?"