"In the end, I still didn't pick them all up."
There were still plenty scattered who knew where. In the end, he picked up everything he could see on the mountain.
Throughout the process.
The two Hyuga brothers and Tsunade never helped at all.
Pfft, what great teammates.
Only after Hyuga Akira finished collecting everything did the three head back toward Konoha with him.
There was no need to hurry on the return trip, so they took the main road toward Konoha instead.
Missions had time limits.
Generally, ninja hurried to their destinations when carrying out missions, but there were no such requirements once they were finished.
Beneath the shade of the trees.
Tsunade and Hyuga Akira walked at the front.
Tsunade glanced sideways at Hyuga Akira and lowered her voice. "When we get back, your Hyuga Clan won't let you off easily."
"I won't hide anything, either."
She kept her voice so low that the two brothers following behind could not make out a word.
Her mission this time was itself a deal between the Hyuga Clan and the Hokage.
She had no standing to interfere in the Hyuga Clan's affairs, either. After all, she was only a jonin now.
And because the Hyuga Clan was involved, she absolutely could not conceal any details. The ones who would truly evaluate this mission were the Hyuga Clan.
The current Hyuga Clan was not yet the clan that would be suppressed by the Hokage in later years.
They competed with the Uchiha for the title of strongest ninja clan, and the power they held was far from insignificant.
Though it was all directed at branch family members.
"They can't kill me anyway, and they wouldn't dare cripple me."
Hyuga Akira grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth.
No killing, no crippling. Those were Konoha's rules.
They were also the conditions under which the First Hokage had accepted the Hyuga Clan: no active-duty ninja could be beaten to death or crippled by the Hyuga Clan.
Of course, they could arrange an accidental death, but not inside the village.
But if the Hyuga Clan left the village to attack him, he would gladly accept the experience they offered.
Tsunade fell silent.
Was this brat completely unafraid of death?
In all her life, she had never met anyone like him, utterly unrestrained and unafraid of life or death.
She could not help thinking of someone famous.
Madara Uchiha.
At least in the legendary stories about him, Madara Uchiha fit Hyuga Akira's image quite well.
The Hyuga Clan was going to produce a Madara Hyuga.
What kind of joke was that?
"Even the Sealing Squad can't break the Caged Bird Seal," Tsunade said quietly.
As Konoha's princess, although her prestige outweighed her actual authority, she still knew about Konoha's secrets.
A certain scapegoat known as the Darkness of the Shinobi World had tried to break the Caged Bird Seal, but ultimately failed. The attempt had only been abandoned because the Hyuga Clan had begun to notice something.
Without breaking the Caged Bird Seal, even if Hyuga Akira truly became a Madara Hyuga, he still could not escape the Hyuga Clan's control.
"Really?" Hyuga Akira did not care at all, merely looking toward the distant mountains.
Tsunade followed his gaze.
She still had no idea what he was looking at.
Or what he had seen.
They returned to Konoha.
Tsunade went to turn in the mission.
The three headed toward the Hyuga Clan Compound. Like the Uchiha, the Hyuga all lived within their clan compound, though there were slight differences.
The Hyuga Clan's residences were also divided into tiers. Naturally, the Main Family lived in the best ones, while the branch family's housing was allocated according to strength.
As they approached the entrance, Hyuga Hiashi stopped. Watching Hyuga Akira walk ahead, he considered for a moment before saying, "You handled things very badly this time."
Hyuga Akira looked at the bandaged wound on Hyuga Hiashi's hand and grinned. "What? Planning to settle the score afterward?"
Hyuga Hiashi took a deep breath. "I'm not that petty. It's just that there's no hiding what you did on this mission."
Even if he said nothing, neither his younger brother nor Tsunade would conceal anything.
The Main Family had been paying close attention to his being allowed out of the village on a mission in the first place. There was no hiding it.
"So?" Hyuga Akira smiled disdainfully.
He was not someone who could be intimidated.
Hyuga Hiashi's gaze flickered as he said gravely, "Hyuga Akira, if I defeat you one day, I want you to submit to me completely. In exchange, I'll save you this once."
He knew Hyuga Akira was the whetstone his father had given him.
If he simply watched Hyuga Akira get punished, his father would be disappointed in him as well.
So he still wanted to salvage the situation.
It was only natural for the branch family to serve the Main Family, and for the branch family to defy the Main Family was a grave act of insubordination.
Those were the Hyuga Clan's rules.
Hyuga Akira looked at Hyuga Hiashi with a faint, ambiguous smile and said nothing.
Aside from Gentle Fist and the Byakugan, the Hyuga Branch Family had no powerful ninjutsu.
Advanced Gentle Fist techniques such as Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation could only be mastered by the Main Family.
Branch family members could be taught them if they rendered great service, but he had never heard of any branch family member actually being taught Rotation or Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms.
He figured that only after Hyuga Hiashi became clan head would he permit them to be taught, and that would be because of Neji Hyuga.
As for now... Hyuga Akira could only scoff.
In other words, in theory, Hyuga Akira would definitely be unable to beat Hyuga Hiashi in the future.
But that was only in theory.
Hyuga Akira slowly spoke. "What if you can never defeat me?"
That's impossible.
That was the first thought that flashed through Hyuga Hiashi's mind. But looking at Hyuga Akira's faint, ambiguous smile, he gritted his teeth and said, "I'll grant you freedom. I won't let anyone activate the Caged Bird Seal on you."
"Hahaha." Hyuga Akira laughed, pushed Hyuga Hiashi aside, and walked on.
What a generous reward.
"Akira, you're back." The two Hyuga clansmen guarding the entrance smiled and greeted Hyuga Akira as he approached.
"Uncle Sōkon, Uncle Torimono, I just got back from a mission." Hyuga Akira nodded with a bright smile.
Compared with the smile he had shown Hyuga Hiashi, it was a little less chilling.
The two Hyuga clansmen in their twenties scratched their cheeks awkwardly and muttered, "We're not that old, are we?"
Sōkon Hyuga could not help sighing.
"Time really flies. You're a ninja now too, Akira."
The two were about to say more when they saw Hyuga Hiashi approaching and quickly dropped to one knee.
"Young master."
Hyuga Akira's expression grew more restrained. "I'll head back first."
Without paying attention to anyone else, he pushed open the gate and walked inside.
Sōkon Hyuga and Torimono Hyuga were worried about Hyuga Akira and tried to explain something on his behalf.
Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga walked inside, completely ignoring them.
The two sighed as they watched the three figures disappear beyond the gate.
Torimono Hyuga touched the Forehead Protector on his head.
A few green marks created a world of difference between the branch family and the Main Family.
Hyuga Akira returned to his own home, a small place with one bedroom and a living room, which he had inherited from his deceased parents because they had been jonin.
He sat cross-legged on a cushion, silently waiting for something.
"Six more levels."
He murmured softly.
Chapter 8: The Main Family's Interrogation
"Tick, tock."
The sound of the clock slowly ticking rang in Hyuga Akira's ears.
Time passed slowly.
Eventually, his front door opened, and two Hyuga members stood in the doorway.
"Hyuga Akira, the Main Family has summoned you. Come with us," the Hyuga woman leading them said gravely.
Hyuga Akira slowly opened his closed eyes and rose from the cushion.
"Let's go."
The Hyuga Main Family's precious baby had been bullied. He had known these people would not take long to arrive.
Hyuga Akira stepped outside, and the two positioned themselves in front of and behind him, boxing him in as though escorting a prisoner.
Well, to the Main Family, he was a prisoner.
Passing branch family members could not help looking at the three of them.
Some who knew Hyuga Akira could not help asking.
"What happened to little Akira?"
"Didn't he just become a ninja?"
"They're heading to the Council Hall."
Everyone murmured among themselves, their voices gradually fading as something occurred to them.
Some could not help worrying. After all, he was a genius of their Hyuga Branch Family, and Hyuga Akira was also very warm toward them.
That had made quite a few people familiar with Hyuga Akira.
Of course, that was mainly because Hyuga Akira had wanted to see whether a mission system existed back then, and whether he could pick up any missions.
He had not picked up any missions, but he had earned plenty of goodwill.
But since this involved the Main Family, they did not dare do anything.
Hyuga Akira was not counting on anyone, either. His current status as a ninja was his protective charm.
As long as he was not killed or crippled, he really had nothing to fear.
If they truly risked being held accountable by the Hokage's faction to kill him.
At worst, he could test whether there was a resurrection mechanic.
Before you continue