Neji said calmly, "I am a ninja of the village."
It was an obvious refusal.
"Good, very good."
Hyuga Chusuke felt an inexplicable sense of shame welling up in his heart, as if being rejected by a branch family, whom he had always trampled underfoot, was a humiliating experience for him.
He scoffed and left the game.
Bang!
Inside a luxurious mansion in the main family's residence, exquisite and expensive porcelain was shattered into pieces.
Hyuga Chusuke vented his anger, muttering, "Shouldn't the branch family wag their tails and beg before me like dogs?"
Hyuga honor?
A mere branch family actually took himself seriously?
"I should teach him a good lesson on how to be a qualified branch family member."
It wasn't until evening that Hyuga Chusuke, dressed in a robe, walked out of the mansion.
Fearing punishment from the clan leader, he deliberately avoided all servants and clan members, quietly arriving at a dilapidated small courtyard.
It was not a spacious courtyard; there were no pavilions or rockeries, nor a pond.
Most of the area had been converted into a training ground.
Looking at the degree of wear and tear, the owner of this courtyard must have been practicing day and night without cease.
"Young Master Chusuke."
Having just left the game and with his consciousness returning to his body, Neji stood up and bowed respectfully.
His tone was deferential.
Just as he had been taught within the clan, he was to sincerely revere the true inheritors of the Hiashi Clan.
Hyuga Chusuke sneered, "I can't accept that. You are the Fourth Captain of the Konoha forces, a genius ninja of the village. How can you call me Young Master?"
If it had been another branch family member, they would have long been terrified and uneasy from such mockery and ridicule.
Neji's expression remained unchanged, maintaining his respectful and polite demeanor, and said, "Although I am a ninja of the village, I am even more a ninja of the clan."
Hearing his apparent softening, Chusuke scoffed, "When you refused me just now, I felt like you didn't consider yourself a member of the Hyuga Clan. Do you want to leave the Hyuga Clan?"
Neji shook his head and said, "Young Master Chusuke, you misunderstand. I have no such intention."
Hyuga Chusuke's gaze shifted slightly upwards, falling on Neji's forehead, which was completely covered by his forehead protector.
It was as if a slave, branded with a scar, thought that by covering the mark, he could deceive himself into forgetting his identity.
Hyuga Chusuke raised his right arm, two fingers held together, and sneered, "It doesn't matter whether you have thoughts of leaving the Hyuga Clan or not. I will make you regret your actions just now."
"In the Hyuga Clan, everyone has a responsibility they must fulfill."
"If we view the Hyuga Clan as a complete body, then as a member of the main family, I am the indispensable spirit and bloodline of this body."
Hyuga Chusuke's expression was like that of someone examining an disobedient stray dog, and he frowned, saying, "And you, as a branch family member, are destined to become the dirty flesh and blood that protects the main family."
"Flesh and blood that performs well and is valued by the main family gains the qualification to become important organs like hands, feet, and internal organs. Just like those branch family members who, through their actions, gained the main family's appreciation, are then able to have the privilege of kneeling behind the main family to listen to clan meetings."
This was not nonsense.
In the Hyuga Clan, ordinary branch family members were not qualified to participate in clan meetings; only those recognized by the main family had the qualification to participate in high-level decisions.
Of course, it was merely a qualification; generally speaking, in such solemn occasions, the consequences of a branch family member speaking out without discretion were severe.
As the words became increasingly harsh, Neji's brow furrowed slightly, and he said, "The Clan Leader has said that even a main family member of noble status cannot provoke a branch family member without reason. Does Young Master Chusuke intend to violate the clan rules?"
"Clan rules? Those are chains for you branch family members. What do they have to do with me?"
Chusuke scoffed as if he had heard a joke, "Besides, everyone in the Hyuga Clan has a responsibility to protect the clan's interests, but you handed over the ashes of the Commander-level Ghost Turret to Konoha. Isn't that a reason for me to punish you?"
Is this what a clan is?
Neji was expressionless; being in the Hyuga Clan territory, he felt as if he was in a bone-chilling cold wind.
Father, what should I do?
Am I also to be like you, shedding my last drop of blood to protect the Hyuga Clan?
His fist clenched tightly, then slowly relaxed.
Although he wanted to break free from the Caged Bird, he had no intention of becoming an enemy of the clan, as the same blood flowed within his body.
In this world, only those fanatical madmen could sever their closest blood ties without hesitation.
At least Neji was not a madman.
After much thought, Neji lowered his head slightly and said apologetically, "Young Master Chusuke, I hope you can forgive my mistake. I will find a way to compensate for the losses caused to the clan."
He knew in his heart that once the Caged Bird secret technique was broken and exposed, it would invite cruel interrogation from the clan.
Therefore, he had already prepared to leave the village.
His friends at the Ninja School, the thick-headed yet protective Might Guy sensei, the villagers who looked after him…
His method of doing things was actually no different from betraying the village.
Therefore, even if it meant offending the main family, he wanted to exchange the Ghost Turret for the village, as a way of thanking the village for its nurturing grace.
Neji, who had been taught various etiquettes since childhood, did not want to leave with such a debt.
Just bear with it a little longer… until the Caged Bird is released without harm!
Neji was not worried about his future life; the enhancements brought from the game body to reality had already given him the strength of an elite Jonin.
In front of Asuma, he had held back slightly.
"Compensate?"
A vein throbbed at the corner of his eye, and Hyuga Chusuke said coldly, "All rewards received by the branch family are rightfully to be contributed. Even if you receive many more rewards in the future, it is only proper, and the losses you have caused can never be compensated."
Neji did not speak.
He wanted to settle the matter peacefully and send away the troublesome Young Master of the main family as soon as possible.
As if remembering something, Hyuga Chusuke said with a look of regret, "I recall that your father apparently served as a scapegoat, protecting the Clan Leader and making an indelible contribution to the clan. You are his son, yet you are not even half as good as him."
Boom!
The suppressed Chakra suddenly erupted.
Neji's respectful expression, like a mask, was completely torn away.
His father's death was a bottom line deep within his heart that could not be touched.
"Dare to bare your fangs at me? Are you seeking death?"
Hyuga Chusuke stood quietly in place; the turbulent flow caused by the Chakra burst swept past his eyebrows, but it did not make him waver in the slightest.
He didn't even assume a defensive stance.
Because he had nothing to fear.
If it were an outside ninja, he would have long since taken a stance, fearing that the opponent would slit his throat.
But a branch family member,
Even Hyuga Neji, whose strength was terrifying and who was called a genius, was merely a dog on a leash, with a muzzle on.
Unable to cause any harm to its master.
Neji spread his arms, and glass-bead-like Nen orbs circled him, touching the hard bluestone floor, and the Nen orbs carved deep gashes into it.
"Idiot."
Hyuga Chusuke inevitably showed signs of jealousy.
The Nen Master's techniques were very compatible with the Hyuga Clan's gentle fist in reality. It should have been mastered by him, the main family member, yet he repeatedly failed to comprehend it, while a branch family member successfully changed his profession.
Neji pushed off with his feet, and his figure suddenly vanished from the spot.
Caged Bird!
Hyuga Chusuke calmly wiggled his fingers, and Chakra flowed through his body along a special path.
And then… bang!
Like a rag doll caught in a strong wind.
The bluestone floor shattered, and the main family member who had activated the Caged Bird lay sprawled in the sunken pit.
His bones were broken, and he could not move.
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