"Clang!"
Two heavy thuds echoed clearly in the silent stands.
The Third Hokage's Hokage hat flew off, and the expression on his old face was more interesting than if he had swallowed a fly whole.
Hyuga Hiashi even abandoned his usual strict fatherly demeanor.
He scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to brush the dust off his clothes.
He lunged straight to the railing of the stands, staring intently at Kenya in the VIP seats, gripping the railing so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"Ken... Lord Kenya! You... you're telling the truth?!"
Hiashi's voice was distorted with extreme excitement, even trembling slightly.
" Hizashi... Hizashi is really still alive?!"
The Hizashi took his place in death back then is the biggest regret of his life.
He spent countless days and nights in self-blame and pain; every time he closed his eyes, he saw his younger brother's resolute back as he faced death.
Now, someone is telling him that his younger brother isn't dead? And is actually doing well?
This ecstatic feeling of instantly ascending from hell to heaven.
This caused the head of the Hyuga Clan, a tough man who could remain unmoved even in the face of a collapsing mountain, to burst into tears on the spot.
Kenya picked at his ear, looking at Hiashi, who was in tears, with some disdain.
"Would I lie to you for no reason?"
Kenya rolled his eyes and continued speaking into the microphone:
"Your brother is not only alive now, but he also eats much more than before."
"It's probably from the sea breeze at the beach; he has an unusually good appetite. He can eat ten pounds of barbecue in one meal. I can hardly afford to feed him anymore."
"And this kid is really enlightened now. He even goes for a morning run with my foreman every day. He's in great shape."
Kenya paused here, as if savoring something.
"After the Chunin Ninja Exams are over, I'll let him go back to the village for a couple of visits, and you two can catch up on your own."
Hearing this affirmative answer...
The Hiashi could no longer control his emotions, covered his face with his hands, and burst into tears in the stands.
The sound of crying was truly heartbreaking, enough to bring tears to the eyes of anyone who heard it.
Now.
All eyes were once again focused on Neji in the center of the arena.
If Neji had a sliver of doubt just now, thinking that Kenya was using psychological tactics to distract him...
Now.
Seeing his aloof and unsmiling uncle crying like a 200-pound child in public.
There wasn't even a rebuttal.
Even if Neji didn't want to believe it, he had to admit it.
Kenya is telling the truth!
His father really didn't die!
"No... no... this is impossible..."
Neji staggered back two steps.
He held his head in his hands, his once neatly combed hair now a mess.
His pure white eyes were filled with unprecedented confusion and disorientation.
"If Father hadn't died..."
"Then what have I been doing all these years?!"
Neji roared madly in his mind.
His proud "theory of destiny," and the Gentle Fist he practiced day and night to rebel against the Main Family.
He shed countless nights of sweat and blood in order to prove that the Branch Family was no less capable than the Main Family.
At that moment, everything seemed to have turned into a huge, ridiculous joke!
His hatred lost its target.
His faith collapsed into ruins.
His adolescent spirit was completely extinguished by Kenya's unreasonable remark, like a bucket of ice water.
He even recalled how he had just been spouting nonsense at Hinata, talking about fate and the weak.
Now it seems that the real clown was himself.
"Aaaaaah--You're lying to me! You're all lying to me!"
Neji suddenly roared to the sky as if he had gone mad.
He couldn't accept this reality.
I can't accept that what I've always firmly believed in is so absurd!
He abruptly turned his head, his Byakugan, now devoid of reason, fixed intently on Hinata opposite him.
"This is all fake! This is all a conspiracy by the Main Family!"
"I'm going to kill you! Killing you will prove that fate cannot be changed!"
Neji completely lost control of his mind.
Like a raging beast, he pounced on Hinata once more.
But this time, his steps were no longer steady, and his movements were full of flaws.
He has completely lost the composure that a Hyuga genius should have.
Each of his palm strikes, though still brimming with Chakra, was utterly chaotic, merely an outpouring of his inner collapse.
Neji pounced on him like a mad dog.
Hinata didn't close her eyes as before, nor did she take a single step back.
She took a deep breath, Kenya's words echoing in her mind.
"Girls, when you're out and about, you need to learn how to defend yourself using physical strength."
Forget about meridians and acupoints.
"Just hit him in the face with these brass knuckles, I guarantee one punch will take down that whiny guy!"
Hinata's eyes became more determined than ever before.
She was no longer the timid and submissive young lady Hyuga the Hyuga family.
She frantically poured all her Chakra into the Black Iron Wood knuckle duster in her right hand.
The originally jet-black knuckle duster, enveloped in Chakra, began to faintly emit a pale blue halo.
"I... I won't run away anymore!"
Hinata let out a delicate shout.
Faced with Neji's chaotic attacks.
Hinata seized the opportunity to throw a finger tiger punch. Although Neji instinctively dodged it, the force of the punch still made him shudder.