Two Hundred Thousand

Meicun Hyuga's sudden outburst left Tianyun Hyuga utterly speechless.

Yesterday, she had indulged his every wish, but today her attitude had suddenly changed, as though all her praise for him yesterday was already a thing of the past.

Frustrated or not, he still had to do what needed doing. Tianyun Hyuga said directly, "Mother, please give me two hundred thousand. I need to bring..."

"What?" Meicun Hyuga shrieked. "Didn't I give you a hundred thousand yesterday? What do you need so much money for again? No!"

Meicun Hyuga had interrupted before he could even finish, leaving Tianyun Hyuga thoroughly frustrated. "Mother, can you please hear me out first? I have a use for the money."

"Hmph... Then let's hear it. What exactly does a little boy like you need so much money for?" Meicun Hyuga asked unhappily.

Tianyun Hyuga hurried to explain, "Mother, I've already started learning Ninjutsu at school, and I've even mastered the Substitution Technique, so I need to buy some supplements to take every day. There's someone from the Nara Clan in my class. I heard their medicinal herbs work really well, so I'm planning to buy some from him..."

"You've already started learning Ninjutsu?" Meicun Hyuga looked at Tianyun Hyuga in surprise, then frowned and said unhappily, "What is your teacher thinking? How could he let you learn Ninjutsu? You're still so young. Learning Ninjutsu isn't good for your development..."

Tianyun Hyuga curled his lip. "Everyone else in our class is already learning Ninjutsu. How can I not learn it? Won't I end up losing to them?"

"Uh..." Meicun Hyuga had no answer.

The students in the Elite Class all came from clans. Naturally, they had no shortage of training resources, so there was no problem with them learning Ninjutsu early.

But her household was merely part of the Hyuga Clan's Branch Family, and an ordinary household within it at that. They simply did not have that many training resources to give Tianyun Hyuga. Meicun Hyuga wrestled with the issue, wondering whether she should start taking missions to earn some money.

"Wait..." Meicun Hyuga suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and said with some excitement, "Tianyun, did you just say you've already mastered the Substitution Technique?"

"Yes! Is there a problem?" Tianyun Hyuga answered, feigning confusion.

Meicun Hyuga was overjoyed. She had never expected her son to be a Ninjutsu prodigy. Delighted and excited, she said, "Good, good, good! Wonderful! Hurry up and show me your Substitution Technique..."

Tianyun Hyuga nodded. "Then hit me with your palm, Mother, and I'll show you. I guarantee it'll be a flawless Substitution Technique."

"Flawless? What a boast." Meicun Hyuga swung straight at Tianyun Hyuga's head. She certainly did not believe a Substitution Technique he had learned only a day ago could be flawless.

But Meicun Hyuga quickly froze. Just as her hand touched Tianyun Hyuga's head, there was a poof, and he vanished, leaving only a block of wood to fall to the ground.

"Uh..." Meicun Hyuga was stunned. That Substitution Technique really had been flawless. Even as a Chunin, she had not spotted a single weakness.

Looking around, Meicun Hyuga found Tianyun Hyuga behind a small tree nearby, grinning as he watched her make a fool of herself.

He actually dared to laugh at her! Meicun Hyuga immediately roared, "Get over here right now, or you'll see how I deal with you!"

Meicun Hyuga scolded Tianyun Hyuga, but inwardly, she was thinking about how to earn money so he could have the resources he needed to train. If such a gifted boy ended up wasting his talent for lack of training resources, her conscience would never let her rest.

Still turning the matter over in her mind, Meicun Hyuga said when Tianyun Hyuga came over to her, "I'll handle buying the medicinal herbs from the Nara Clan. You just behave yourself and go to school!"

Tianyun Hyuga certainly did not want Meicun Hyuga to go. That would ruin his scheme to trick her out of the money. He hurriedly said, "Mother, I've already arranged it with my Nara classmate. He'll bring some medicinal herbs to school, and I'll buy them directly from him. His father specially prepared them for him. He only thought of selling them to me because he wanted some spending money..."

Meicun Hyuga paused, then no longer rejected Tianyun Hyuga's suggestion. She understood that even if the Nara Clan sold medicinal herbs, they would surely put little care into them, whereas medicine prepared for their own children would certainly use the finest herbs, selected with the utmost care.

After a moment's silence, Meicun Hyuga glanced at the somewhat excited Tianyun Hyuga and said, "All right. I can let you take two hundred thousand to school, but if you dare lie to me, don't expect to get a single coin from me ever again..."

"I would never lie to you, Mother!" Tianyun Hyuga promised, patting his chest.

Meicun Hyuga nodded in satisfaction. "Then let's head back first. I'll give you the money when we get to school..."

"Ah..." Tianyun Hyuga was rather speechless, but he did not dare argue with Meicun Hyuga again. If he upset her and she refused to give him the money, he would be finished. He could only endure the hour before they reached school.

Now that Meicun Hyuga knew her child was a Ninjutsu prodigy, she was no longer in the mood to train. She decided to take Tianyun Hyuga to school first, then put in some serious training herself. She might have to take some missions around Konoha in the future to earn money for his expenses.

Lost in thought, Meicun Hyuga took Tianyun Hyuga by the hand and left the Hyuga Clan's grounds. After buying him some breakfast to take along in the village, she dragged him all the way to the Ninja Academy.

Quite a few parents were already dropping their children off at the entrance to the Konoha Ninja Academy. When Meicun Hyuga arrived with Tianyun Hyuga, she enjoyed a taste of being envied. It secretly delighted her, though outwardly she had to maintain her authority as a mother, constantly lecturing Tianyun Hyuga at the academy gates.

After a night of spreading, word of what Tianyun Hyuga had done yesterday had reached every corner of the small village of Konoha. After all, in these peaceful times, the appearance of a young prodigy in Konoha was something people were quite happy to talk about.

Naturally, the parents whose children attended the Ninja Academy envied Meicun Hyuga all the more. With Tianyun Hyuga's status as a member of the Hyuga Clan on top of that, they felt they could only envy her from afar. None dared approach her to strike up a friendly conversation.

The gap in status was simply too great. Those parents did not have the courage to speak to Meicun Hyuga at all.

At the Ninja Academy gates, the only person feeling frustrated was Tianyun Hyuga. His mother was so excited that she kept talking about one thing after another. He did not dare argue and could only listen to her nagging.

At last, Tianyun Hyuga could take no more. Seeing Neji Hyuga approaching in the distance, he hurriedly interrupted Meicun Hyuga's nagging. "Mother, Neji is here. I need to get ready to go inside..."

Meicun Hyuga turned to glance at Neji Hyuga and stopped nagging. She handed Tianyun Hyuga two hundred thousand in banknotes and said, "Don't let anyone swindle you out of it. Be careful when you get the medicinal herbs..."

Tianyun Hyuga answered helplessly, "The Nara Clan has a very good reputation. Surely he wouldn't risk being exposed by giving me fake goods!"

Meicun Hyuga thought about it and agreed, so she stopped nagging Tianyun Hyuga. After ushering him to the Ninja Academy gates, she waved goodbye and hurried back toward the Hyuga Clan's grounds.