Questioning at the Main House

The embers of the funeral had yet to fade when Neji was summoned to the Main House's main hall.

Hiashi Hyuga sat upright in the seat of honor, the veins around his Byakugan faintly throbbing. The child in black knelt below him, small and thin, yet straight as a pine.

Sandalwood incense curled through the air. Amid the drifting smoke, Hiashi Hyuga stared at the child kneeling below.

Neji's snowy lashes hung low, casting fan-shaped shadows beneath his eyes. From this angle, he looked remarkably like Hizashi when he had knelt in the Main House Shrine all those years ago.

His heart trembled briefly before settling. Hiashi spoke his first words since they had met.

"Neji, do you know the duty of the Branch House?"

"To protect the Main House!"

Neji raised his head and looked calmly at Hiashi, answering as though reciting a formula.

"Protect it? Do you possess the resolve to do so?"

"I do. My resolve is to protect it even at the cost of my life! Just like Father..."

Suppressing his nausea, Neji forced out a string of words!

At that, Hiashi Hyuga's Byakugan narrowed slightly. He saw that the chakra flowing through Neji's body was unusually steady, and his heart stirred once more. These were hardly words a four-year-old could speak. Many adult clansmen did not possess such resolve.

Hiashi had weathered the brutal Ninja World for many years and seen all kinds of people. Naturally, he could tell how mature the soul beneath Neji's frail body was.

The foolish Uchiha Clan, the numb Hyuga Clan, and the hot-blooded civilian ninja treated as cannon fodder—in this Ninja World filled with schemes and chaos, anyone capable of thinking rationally was among the elite.

Hiashi was gratified by his nephew's mature mind, though he sighed inwardly. The power of the Caged Bird is beyond anything you can imagine at your age. Still, since you possess such a mind, I will see that you grow up safely. At least then I will not have failed my brother Hizashi.

The Hyuga Clan had endured for a thousand years. Hiashi had heard of and seen countless geniuses, all of whom had fallen beneath the Caged Bird curse seal. To him, Neji's maturity and rationality were nothing remarkable. Once Neji saw his peers far surpass him in strength yet found himself powerless to do anything, he would understand how unbreakable fate truly was.

As these thoughts turned in his mind, the formal questioning still had to continue.

"Do you hate the Main House?"

Neji fell silent for a moment, then slightly parted his lips.

"There is no such thing as hatred. Is this not simply the fate we all bear?"

"Oh?"

"The clan's interests come first. Sacrifices are unavoidable. Besides, this was Father's own choice!"

"You... are very good."

Hiashi had been numbed by shock at Neji's words.

After a brief silence, Hiashi said, "From now on, come train with Hinata every first, third, and fifth day. Arrange the rest of your time as you wish. That will be all for today. You may leave."

"Yes!"

Neji rose, bowed, and turned to leave.

"What do you think?"

Hiashi watched Neji's back disappear past the doorway before suddenly asking.

"He has a little cleverness, but nothing worth worrying about. The clan has endured for a thousand years. One thing he said was right: the clan's interests come first."

As he spoke, an old man emerged from behind the screen. He was the Main House's Second Elder, from the clan head's line.

"Then train him by the usual standards. Let us see how far he can go."

Hiashi sighed.

"Put away that weak expression. You are the head of the Hyuga Clan. How can you put on such a sentimental display?"

The Main House elder barked.

"How far can he go? At most, he will become a Jonin. What else can he achieve? In consideration of his father's merits, teach him the Sixty-Four Palms."

With that, he strode away.

Hiashi said nothing and quietly watched the elder's figure vanish within the hall.

"Hinata... Hanabi... Yes, there must always be sacrifices!" After a long while, a faint murmur dispersed into the wind.

There must be sacrifices, yes—but I must be the one willing to sacrifice myself, not someone sacrificed for the greater good. Why should I be the sacrifice instead of you? Besides, it began with sacrificing for the clan, yet somehow it has become sacrificing for the Main House!

After leaving the Main House estate, Neji walked through a secluded alley, his expression carrying a trace of amusement.

They are always talking about preserving this greater good or that greater good, yet I have never seen any of those greater goods truly collapse. Hmph! Absolute power breeds absolute corruption. The Main House ceased to be what it once was long ago!

Neji made his way home at an unhurried pace, having resolved to break free from this tedious clan.

He now possessed the Primordial Bagua Diagram that had crossed over with him. Even its rudimentary use could shake the Caged Bird. The day he completely broke free was not far off.

Still, Neji had no desire to become a rogue ninja. Only after gaining absolute strength and the right to speak would he have the power to overturn the table. For now, all he needed to do was grow normally, then settle the accounts...

Thinking of what he had gained last night, a smile rose uncontrollably to Neji's face. His cool expression softened slightly, like spring sunlight scattering shimmering ripples over a frozen lake.

Passing Hyuga clansmen stopped one after another to look at the handsome child. Captivated by Neji's warm expression, they momentarily forgot to wonder how he could possibly be smiling.

Neji indeed had reason to be happy. Yesterday, when he first condensed chakra, he had rejoiced at obtaining power beyond that of ordinary people. At the same time, he had discovered that the Daoist knowledge he had learned in his previous life could further refine chakra.

Through a Macrocosmic Orbit circulation along the body's twelve primary meridians and eight extraordinary meridians, he had gathered a thread of warm, gentle energy within his Dantian.

Yesterday, after Neji's mind entered an ethereal state, he sensed the chakra inside him flowing slowly through his meridians like trickling streams.

Then, after guiding the chakra through the already-opened Ren and Du meridians and avoiding several fatal and sensitive acupoints, that thread of chakra became somewhat colorless and transparent.

The originally restless chakra began to grow gentle, as though purified by some mysterious force.

When it passed through the Dantian, there was a boom. The once-silent Dantian suddenly lit up and expanded as though heaven and earth had just been created. The converted chakra slowly flowed into it, and Neji felt a heartfelt fullness rise from his lower abdomen.

A completely new energy was born within the Dantian. Pure and powerful, unlike chakra's violent nature, this force was filled with vibrant, life-giving warmth.

Guided out from the Dantian, it slowly flowed along the path of the Macrocosmic Orbit. Every time it passed through a meridian, he could feel it nourishing and strengthening it. Every cell in Neji's body rejoiced as though reborn.

Under Neji's perception, the cells damaged by extracting chakra too early regained their vitality. Without even activating his Byakugan, he could sense the tiny injuries in his meridians slowly healing as well.

After circulating throughout the night, much of that thread of energy had been consumed. To strengthen it, he would need to refine more chakra and guide it anew. Even so, Neji was overjoyed beyond measure.

After cultivating without pause through the night, Neji's brilliance was now restrained within. Every movement carried a weight absent before. Though his physique had not changed, he could remain calm even before a powerful figure like Hiashi.

He could even clearly sense the blazing, sunlike chakra behind the screen in the Main House's main hall without activating his Byakugan.

It seems this was merely a routine inquiry by the Main House.

Neji returned to his small courtyard, thinking to himself.

Great clans have their own rules for doing things. With the way I currently appear, I will not draw much attention at all. I should make the most of my time and cultivate!

With that thought, Neji lowered his body slightly, stepped forward, and raised both hands into the stance of the Eight Trigrams Palm.