Unreasonable

At first light, Neji packed his things and waited quietly for Tsunade and the others to arrive. Today was the day he had agreed to leave the village with Tsunade. Yet before Tsunade arrived, an order came for all Branch House members to assemble.

A sudden unease stirred in Neji's heart. He hurriedly summoned Xiao Xi and gave her a few instructions. Watching her receding figure, he felt slightly relieved before joining the other Branch House members on their way to the ancestral hall.

The air inside the ancestral hall had solidified like lead. Dozens of gazes, poisonous as stingers, swept back and forth over Neji and the other Branch House members standing below.

Before long, Neji watched clan members repeatedly step forward to make contact with the inspection stone slab and understood what the Main House was doing—checking the match between the Branch House members' chakra and the chakra records left by entries and exits through the barrier. So the barrier disturbance from last night had been discovered. Although the barrier had not been damaged, its abnormal activation had drawn the Grand Elder's attention, revealing that someone had entered and left the ancestral hall.

This was no small matter. With Xiao Jie's disappearance, the Main House's already taut nerves had tightened another notch. Even Hiashi Hyuga, who had been taking things easy these past days, could no longer remain still. The ancestral hall had been infiltrated; as clan head, he could not escape blame. That was why today's scene had come to pass.

The Main House members had already been screened. The intruder was not from the Main House, and there was no reason for them to do such a thing. Though they knew it could not possibly have been someone from the Branch House, based on their confidence in the Caged Bird, what if it was? That was why every Branch House member had to undergo testing. Neji's heart leaped into his throat. He could not quite remember whether he had released any chakra last night.

The clan crest hanging high above reflected a cold gleam beneath the candlelight, as though countless Main House eyes were watching from the darkness. Hiashi Hyuga sat in the seat of honor, his face dark as water. The Grand Elder's cloudy Byakugan swept across the room, then suddenly locked onto Neji. That gaze seemed steeped in venom, as if it wished to flay him inch by inch.

Neji's hand clenched tightly within his sleeve, his nails nearly digging into his palm. The Breath Concealment Art flowed ceaselessly through his meridians, forcing every fluctuation of chakra deep into his dantian. His Inner Qi moved soundlessly like an undercurrent beneath ice. But his heartbeat pounded against his eardrums like war drums—the ancestral hall barrier's bizarrely prolonged scan was like a scrutiny that skinned and dismembered him, nearly crushing his feigned composure.

"Next, Hyuga Neji!" the presiding elder called coldly.

Neji took a deep breath and stepped forward. His footsteps fell upon the mirror-smooth black stone floor with faint echoes, every step like treading on knife points. He stopped before the barrier stone platform, where the ancient stone mirror faced the Caged Bird curse mark on his forehead.

Buzz—

The stone mirror lit up with a ghostly blue radiance, brighter and longer-lasting than any previous scan. Like a living thing, the beam licked repeatedly over the curse mark before sweeping through every meridian in his body. Neji felt a cold, sticky probing force trying to burrow beneath his skin. The Primordial Bagua Diagram within his dantian suddenly trembled, green light flowing as it silently dissolved that invasive force.

Time seemed to stretch without end. Cold sweat slid down Neji's temples and splashed onto the icy floor. He could clearly hear the restrained breathing of the Branch House members behind him, and he could feel the Grand Elder's serpent-like stare nearly piercing through him.

At last, the stone mirror's glow vanished, releasing a short, crisp hum—passed!

The taut string suddenly loosened. His clothes beneath his back were already soaked with cold sweat. Neji retreated a step without revealing anything and was about to bow and take his leave—

"Hold it!"

The Grand Elder's withered voice scraped like sandpaper, carrying unquestionable malice. Leaning on his serpent-headed cane, he descended step by step from the raised seat of honor. His aged body was wrapped in broad elder's robes, yet he radiated a suffocating pressure.

"When the barrier inspected you just now, why was your breathing abnormal? Your body trembled, and your eyes darted!" The Grand Elder stopped before Neji, his cloudy Byakugan nearly pressed against Neji's face. His hawk-claw-like hand shot out like lightning, reaching for Neji's wrist. "I will personally inspect your meridians! Let's see what tricks you little bastard are playing!"

That clawed hand carried a sharp whistle of wind. A faint, poison-like glow of chakra even flickered around its fingertips!

"Stop!"

Neji abruptly retreated, moving like a ghost as he barely avoided the withered claw. His spine stood straight as a spear, and his voice suddenly rose, clear and sharp with the edge of someone driven into a corner, ringing through the deathly silent ancestral hall:

"My breathing was abnormal? Facing the pressure of the clan head and all the elders, is it a crime for a mere Branch House member like me to feel fear? But you, Grand Elder!" His blazing gaze stabbed directly at the Grand Elder. "The barrier stone platform has already rendered its verdict! Yet you now wish to overstep the clan rules and commit such an act! Could it be that your grandson vanished without a trace, and you want to use this chance to pull some trick and forcibly pin this dirty accusation on me? So you can give yourself, and the Main House elders present, an 'explanation'?!"

Every word struck at the heart; every sentence cut like a blade!

"Insolence!" Hiashi Hyuga finally shouted from the seat of honor, his face so dark it seemed ready to drip water. Neji's words were like a resounding slap across the face of the clan head—the Grand Elder's actions were undoubtedly trampling on his authority!

"Grand Elder!" Hiashi Hyuga's voice was icy. "The ancestral hall barrier was established by our ancestors and has its own judgment! With this action, where do you place the clan rules? And where do you place me, the clan head?"

"Clan head!" An eagle-nosed elder behind the Grand Elder immediately stepped forward and said in a mocking tone, "Young Master Xiao Jie has vanished, and now some petty thief has infiltrated the ancestral hall. This concerns the Main House's very foundation! The Grand Elder has the clan's interests at heart. What is wrong with being more cautious? On the other hand, certain Branch House youths are reacting so fiercely that they seem rather guilty!"

"Exactly! Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures! Neji, if you have nothing to hide, why are you afraid to let the Grand Elder examine you?" Another Main House elder immediately echoed him.

"Enough!" Hiashi Hyuga slammed his palm against the armrest, shattering the hardwood at once. "In the Hyuga Clan, it is not your place to lecture this clan head on the clan rules!"

The ancestral hall instantly erupted into chaos. Elders from the clan head's faction and the Grand Elder's Main House confidants traded barbs and accusations. The formerly solemn ancestral hall was reduced in moments to a marketplace-like quarrel. The Branch House members remained silent as cicadas in winter, watching the lofty Main House members tear off their masks. Their hearts were filled with mixed emotions.

Just as the chaos reached its peak—

"You sharp-tongued little bastard! You dare defy an elder!"

A violent roar exploded like thunder! Behind the Grand Elder, Yuumu Hyuga, the Main House Jonin who had remained silent like a shadow, moved!

He moved so fast that only an afterimage remained. Violent chakra erupted from his body, stirring the air within the ancestral hall! No hand seals, no flashy techniques—just a slap filled with immense chakra, carrying a shriek that tore through the air as it smashed viciously toward Neji's cheek!

This strike was born of rage! Before the palm wind even arrived, its terrifying pressure had compressed the air around Neji into solid stillness! Yuumu Hyuga intended to smash this Branch House wretch, who had repeatedly challenged the Main House's authority and embarrassed his master, into the ancestral hall floor like a fly!

"Yuumu! How dare you!" Hiashi Hyuga shot to his feet, both shocked and enraged. The two Jonin confidants beside him also lunged forward at once, charging straight toward Yuumu Hyuga!

"Stop them!" A vicious glint flashed through the Grand Elder's eyes as he slammed his serpent-headed cane against the floor. Several Main House experts behind him erupted with chakra simultaneously and fearlessly met the clan head faction's Jonin head-on!

Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several Jonin-level chakra forces collided violently. Shockwaves rolled through the hall, tearing the white banners hanging within until they snapped and fluttered wildly. The candle flames swayed madly, flickering in and out! The raging energy currents tossed the nearby Branch House youths about in every direction.

At the very center of the storm, Neji's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints! The scent of death, like an icy venomous serpent, instantly coiled around his heart!

There was nowhere to evade!

"Roar—!"

At the critical moment, Neji's throat erupted with an utterly suppressed growl, like the furious cry of a dying young dragon! Within his dantian, Inner Qi spun madly at an unprecedented speed. Vast energy surged like a burst dam, crashing into every limb and bone!

Wandering Dragon: Threefold Mountain-Breaking Waves!

Buzz!

Pale golden force burst from his body, instantly condensing into three chakra dragon phantoms that chased one another head to tail, roaring and churning around him! The dragon phantoms were not illusory. Their scales, claws, and fangs were clearly visible, carrying the domineering intent to shatter mountains and split stone as they circled him, protecting him firmly at the center!

Bang—!!!

Yuumu Hyuga's massive palm, powerful enough to shatter rock, smashed viciously into the outermost dragon phantom!

A piercing crack exploded! The outermost dragon phantom burst apart, scattering into golden points of light! The second dragon phantom shook violently, cracks spreading across it! Neji felt as if a heavy hammer had struck him in the chest. His chest tightened, and the hard black stone tiles beneath his feet cracked with a crunch into spiderweb fractures. Both feet sank half an inch into the floor! A trace of crimson spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Hm?!" A flash of surprise crossed Yuumu Hyuga's eyes. His rage-filled strike had actually been blocked head-on by a mere Branch House brat? Though only one layer of defense had shattered, it was enough to make him lose all face!

"You little bastard! You have some skill! Let's see how many blows you can take!" Humiliation and fury instantly transformed into even more violent killing intent. The veins around Yuumu Hyuga's Byakugan bulged hideously as both hands struck out like lightning.

Gentle Fist Technique: Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

In an instant, his palms became a blur of afterimages! Dense as torrential rain and sharp as steel needles, chakra finger strikes tore through the air with piercing shrieks! One hundred twenty-eight pale blue beams of chakra wove into a devastating net of death, completely sealing every avenue of escape around Neji! The palm winds whipped his hair wildly and pressed his clothes tightly against his body!

This was a Jonin's true killing move! The moment he attacked, it was the ultimate art of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist—a lethal strike!

"Brother Neji!" Soshi Hyuga, standing among the crowd, cried out in horror, his eyes splitting wide. Countless Branch House youths turned pale, unable to bear watching any longer.

He could not evade! He could not block!

Bloodshot veins filled Neji's eyes, yet an almost mad calm burned in the depths of his pupils. Inner Qi burned and transformed at an unprecedented speed. His hands traced mysterious paths before his chest as the liquefied sea of qi within his dantian rapidly drained!

Wandering Dragon: Sea-Covering! His left palm thrust forward, and the deep blue vortex gathered in his palm exploded, transforming into a roaring dark blue water dragon that crashed fiercely into the sky-filling palm shadows with a vortex force that could devour everything!

Dragon Battles in the Wilds! His right palm followed immediately after. Dense, earthen-yellow force surged forth, condensing into a massive ochre dragon coiling around his body. Its scales were heavy as mountains, guarding him tightly! Two dragons emerged together, their roars faintly echoing!

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—!!!