A Date Already?

The next day.

In the courtyard of Hinata's home, Hyuga Hiashi paced back and forth with a deeply furrowed brow.

Kurenai Yuhi had just told him that Hinata and Neji had faced each other in the preliminary matches.

And when Kurenai learned that he had not known about it, she had refused to tell him the result, saying that since neither Neji nor Hinata had mentioned it, it would not be appropriate for her to say anything.

It tormented Hyuga Hiashi terribly.

Although he was certain Neji had won, for some reason, he could sense a faint note of anticipation in Kurenai's expression.

It was like buying a lottery ticket even when you knew you would not win—you still wanted to know the result.

After quite some time.

Hinata, who had only just woken up, washed up and came outside, rubbing her bleary eyes.

The moment she stepped out of the house, she saw Hyuga Hiashi pacing around the courtyard.

Father?

She asked in confusion, "Father, what are you doing?"

You're finally awake.

Hearing Hinata's voice, Hyuga Hiashi's brow relaxed slightly.

He had been lingering around for so long just waiting for Hinata to wake up.

He knew the Chunin Exams had surely exhausted her lately, and he could not bear to disturb his daughter's rest. Yet he was anxious, so he had simply kept pacing around.

Hyuga Hiashi calmed himself and walked over to Hinata.

"Hinata, I heard you encountered Neji in the preliminary matches?"

"So you already knew."

Hinata scratched her cheek.

Hearing Hinata speak in her usual tone, Hyuga Hiashi's heart immediately sank, and that tiny sliver of anticipation plunged to the bottom as well.

So Neji had indeed won, just as expected.

Then he thought of Neji's hatred for the Main House and Branch House system.

Hyuga Hiashi asked worriedly, "Neji did not hurt you, did he?"

Hinata shook her head.

"No. Brother Neji surrendered."

"Mm, that's good."

??

Hyuga Hiashi had just turned around when his eyes flew wide open, and he hurriedly turned back.

"What did you say? Neji surrendered? You mean you won your match?"

"Yes."

Hyuga Hiashi frowned tightly.

Whenever Hinata and Neji trained together in the past, he would watch from the sidelines, and Neji would occasionally reveal killing intent.

That alone showed how deeply he hated the Hyuga Clan's Main House and Branch House system.

This time, Neji had encountered an opportunity to prove before outsiders that, despite being from the Branch House, he could still defeat someone from the Main House—yet he had surrendered?

Could it be that he had finally accepted such a system?

Hyuga Hiashi's eyes grew somewhat despondent.

He had begun to waver over the Hyuga system when Hizashi died.

But such a deeply entrenched system was not something he could change alone. When it came to the survival of the Hyuga Clan, his authority as clan head was even less significant than that of the elders.

"Why did Neji surrender? Was he afraid of hurting you?"

Hinata lowered her eyes.

Even if I won, Father would instinctively assume Brother Neji had gone easy on me, wouldn't he?

After all, during all our previous sparring sessions, I was always the one who lost.

Father had never expected anything from me, had he?

But I wanted Father's recognition too, even if only once.

"Father, actually, Brother Neji did not go easy on me this time..."

Hinata raised her head and looked directly at her father, Hiashi. Tears seemed to swirl in her eyes.

The moment Hyuga Hiashi saw Hinata's reddened eyes, he understood what his daughter's brief words were trying to say.

His heart instantly softened.

Ever since he had shifted all his focus to raising Hanabi, it had been a long time since he had seen Hinata holding back tears.

Hyuga Hiashi slowly crouched down and wiped away the droplets Hinata had failed to hold back.

In a gentle voice, he said, "I was wondering why I had not seen my little crybaby in so long. Turns out she grew into a big crybaby."

For once, his ever-furrowed brow eased, and he revealed a kind smile.

Hinata could no longer hold back her emotions. She wrapped her arms around her father's neck and sobbed.

The father and daughter embraced for a long time before Hinata finally calmed down.

"Can you tell Father how you defeated Neji?"

Hinata nodded and wiped away the little bubble of snot.

She told Hyuga Hiashi about the battle and the conversation between her and Neji.

When he heard that, in the end, Hinata had used the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, even Hyuga Hiashi's hands resting on her shoulders began to tremble.

He asked excitedly, "You're saying you have already mastered the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm?"

"When did you master it? Show me!"

Hinata nodded.

"Byakugan."

She immediately activated her Byakugan and gathered chakra in her palm.

She struck toward a potted plant in the courtyard from afar.

A tremendous force immediately surged forth.

The branch struck by the high-intensity chakra mass snapped cleanly in two.

It really was the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm!

Hyuga Hiashi's eyes widened as he murmured,

"No wonder Neji surrendered."

The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist was powerful in close combat. By striking chakra points in conjunction with the Byakugan, it could seal an enemy's chakra.

But once combat shifted to long range, it lost its advantage.

Having the Byakugan's extraordinary range of vision but only being able to fight at close quarters was like using an eight-power scope to charge an enemy with a bayonet.

The Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm was a taijutsu developed to make up for the Hyuga Clan's lack of long-range attacks.

It gathered one's chakra in the palm and used it to strike with the Gentle Fist from a distance.

Hyuga Hiashi asked hesitantly, "Did you teach yourself as well?"

He did not remember ever teaching Hinata the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. She had not even mastered the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, so why would he have taught her the more difficult Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm?

"No, Father."

Hinata shook her head.

At her answer, Hyuga Hiashi's brow knitted together.

"Not self-taught? Then how did you learn of this technique?"

Neji Hyuga was called a Byakugan genius largely because he had taught himself both the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and the Revolving Heaven. Under the Hyuga Clan's system, members of the Branch House were not qualified to learn such techniques.

As a result, even though he belonged to the Branch House, once he had learned those two techniques, the clan elders had no way to do anything to him.

"It was Kanami. During training, Kanami taught me this move."

After some thought, Hinata decided to tell Hyuga Hiashi.

"What? Kanami knows the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm?!"

Hyuga Hiashi was shocked.

"Probably. I just have never seen Kanami use it..."

During their training, she had only heard Kanami explain the principles. She had never seen him demonstrate it himself.

Hyuga Hiashi fell into thought.

Although the Gentle Fist's Eight Trigrams Palm was an unpassed-down secret technique of the Hyuga Clan, it was not completely impossible to comprehend independently. After all, Neji had figured it out himself.

The Gentle Fist required the Hyuga Clan's unique Byakugan to reach its full potential.

Kanami was not from the Hyuga Clan. Even if he had comprehended the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, he would not be able to perform distant chakra-point strikes like a Hyuga clan member.

Still, Hyuga Hiashi solemnly instructed Hinata,

"Do not let anyone else know about this. If the clan elders ask, say that I taught you."

Seeing the solemn expression on her father's face, Hinata nodded in agreement.

Hyuga Hiashi believed his daughter had learned the Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm from Kanami, but what about the other clan members?

Especially those elders. If they found out, they would surely first suspect that Hinata had learned it and then passed it on to an outsider. They would certainly accuse her of leaking the Hyuga Clan's secret techniques.

"Are you going to train today?"

Hinata shook her head. "Teacher Kurenai told us to rest for a few days."

Hyuga Hiashi nodded.

"That is good too. Go rest, then."

Hinata said sheepishly, "Well, actually, I have plans with Kanami today..."

Hyuga Hiashi raised a brow.

They were already going on dates?

He then said lightly, "All right. I approve."

"Thank you, Father!"

Hinata's lips curved upward uncontrollably.

She felt that her father was especially kind today.

Hyuga Hiashi cleared his throat and said, "I was just thinking of meeting Kanami myself. I'll go with you."

"Huh?"

"Ah!!"