Soon, Naruto, Neji, and Karin went to the Yamanaka Clan first, and then went to Yamanaka Flower Shop after missing.
Before entering, you can hear the crisp chatter and laughter of the Girls coming from inside.
Apparently, Hinata, Hanabi and Ino are inside.
When Naruto opened the store door and walked in with Neji and Karin who followed him step by step, the warm and peaceful atmosphere in the flower shop seemed to have been pressed on the pause button.
Rino Yamanaka, who was arranging flowers behind the counter, was the first to see them, and a friendly smile immediately appeared on his face, "Oh, it's Naruto here, and Neji... who is this?"
Her eyes fell on Red-Haired Girl behind Naruto, and a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.
Almost at the same time, Backyard's door was opened, and Ino, who heard the movement, poked his head out first. "Naruto? You came just in time, we are... huh?"
Her voice stopped suddenly.
Immediately afterwards, Hinata and Hanabi who were following her also squeezed out.
The eyes of the three Girls were all focused on Naruto and the strange Girl next to him who was clutching his sleeve tightly, with his head lowered, and with bright red hair.
Time seemed to freeze for a few seconds.
Ino was the first to react, and her green eyes widened instantly.
His eyes glanced back and forth between Naruto and Karin, especially after seeing Karin's posture that was obviously dependent on Naruto, his eyes suddenly became sharp.
Hinata, on the other hand, the moment he saw Karin, his fair cheeks suddenly turned white.
She subconsciously covered her mouth, her pure white eyes widened slightly, and her gaze moved frantically between Naruto and Karin.
Especially when she saw Karin standing close to Naruto, even holding his sleeve, an inexplicable sense of sourness and tension instantly gripped her heart.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out, she just clenched her fingers unconsciously.
Hanabi first narrowed his eyes and then looked at Karin curiously, especially her red hair, and tilted his head. "Brother Naruto, who is this Older Sister? Her hair color is so special!"
"Her name is Karin."
He turned sideways so that Karin could be seen more clearly.
"I rescued them from those bad guys Kusagakure yesterday."
After a pause, he specifically emphasized that key identity and glanced at Ino and Hinata:
"She is from the Uzumaki Clan."
"Uzumaki Clan?"
Ino and Hinata whispered the word almost at the same time, and the expressions on their faces changed subtly in an instant.
Most of the sharpness and hostility in Ino's eyes faded away, replaced by a complex expression mixed with surprise and surprise.
This red-haired Girl is a member of Naruto's tribe?
Hinata's pale cheeks regained a trace of color.
That's okay.
Rino Yamanaka looked at Karin with a smile.
I didn't expect that Uzumaki Clan's clan members are still alive. If Kushina's spirit in heaven knows that Naruto has found an orphan of Uzumaki, he will definitely be very happy.
Neji stood a little further away, his pure white eyes quietly watching everything in front of him.
None of this had anything to do with him, but it was like a mirror, reflecting the chaos in his heart at the moment.
His eyes finally fell on the two cousins.
Look at Hinata's face that instantly turns pale because of the appearance of Karin, and then look slightly relieved because of her status as a "tribe"; look at Hanabi's carefree and simple curiosity about her new partner.
Neji's heart is full of mixed feelings.
Just late last night, in that Tea Room that was soaked in blood and conspiracy, after Uncle Hyuga Hiashi personally took the lives of four Elder, the bloody Great Sun Calamity Cutter was handed into his hands.
Uncle's voice was cold and decisive, like a tempered blade. "Neji, the last one is up to you."
That is the old guy who shirks all the blame and even viciously wants to lead trouble to Naruto and his two cousins.
Neji held the knife and looked at Sixth Elder who was trembling at his feet and crying, and the blood flowing in his body seemed to be frozen and ignited at the same time.
Hatred, anger, remembrance of his father, resentment of past injustices... all emotions reached their peak at that moment.
He knew that this blow was not only for his father, but also for the Branch Family people who were bound by "Caged Bird Seal" and squeezed by the Main Family rules, and also for his own past.
He didn't hesitate.
The sword light fell.
Blood splattered.
At that moment, he seemed to hear an invisible Shackles that had imprisoned him for more than ten years, making a crisp cracking sound.
Hiashi looked at him, and in those pure white eyes, there was no usual majesty and distance, only a deep, almost exhausted sense of relief and trust.
He patted Neji on the shoulder and said in a low voice:
"The cage of the caged bird has been opened, and the bird longing for freedom will finally spread its wings."
Not a command, not an expectation, but a statement of fact.
"You have experienced the pain caused by Caged Bird Seal. I hope that you can make Hyuga no longer have the difference between the Main Family and Branch Family."
At this moment, Neji still wears Forehead Protector, which symbolizes Konoha Ninja, on his forehead.
But under Forehead Protector, the Caged Bird Seal that once caused him pain and humiliation, and always reminded him of his "Branch Family" destiny, has become useless.
It is not a physical disappearance, but the meaning it represents, the constraints it imposes, and the pain it brings have been completely cut off and reconstructed by the blood and fire last night, and by the authority and responsibility handed over by Uncle himself.
It is still there, but it can no longer determine his fate or bind his soul.
From now on, it is just a mark, a piece of history that needs to be remembered and transcended, rather than a sword hanging from the ceiling.
What made Neji even more upset was Uncle's subsequent explanation.
Hiashi clearly told him that he would not interfere with Two Daughters's marriage.
Of course, Neji is also encouraged to love freely.
Hinata are free to choose their own paths and partners. They will not be bound to the seemingly glorious but actually rotten cage of the Hyuga Clan like those Ancestors who were forced to marry within the clan or even intermarry in order to maintain the so-called "purity" of the Main Family bloodline.
"Hyuga's Future, there is no need to continue it in that twisted way."
This means that the future of Hinata and Hanabi is open and belongs to them.
The future of the Hyuga Clan was entrusted to Neji.
He became Hyuga Clan Heir.
This knowledge weighed heavily on Neji's heart, far heavier than any weapon he had ever held.
This is not the "Main Family" identity that he once resented and resisted, but a completely different kind of responsibility.
The responsibility to break old rules, lead change, and protect the true future of our people.
He looked at Hinata's gentle and kind profile, and looked at Hanabi's lively and bright eyes.
They will have the "freedom" that he once dreamed of but did not dare to hope for.
And he will shoulder the burden of reforming the entire ethnic group and walk on a road full of thorns that is destined to not be smooth.
There is relief, there is heaviness, there is confusion about the future, and there is also a faint expectation for the vast sky after breaking out of the cocoon.
This is the indescribable feeling that is surging in Neji's heart at this moment.
He stood there in silence, like a sculpture that was quietly transforming. He was calm on the outside, but turned upside down on the inside.