Hyuga Hiashi frowned, even wondering if he had misheard his daughter.
Was it that dead-last who had caused trouble at the Residence earlier who helped his daughter become stronger?
That sounded ridiculous!
"Hinata, lift your head and look into my eyes."
Hinata lifted her head, meeting Hyuga Hiashi's gaze.
Hyuga Hiashi asked again, "Who did you say helped you become stronger?"
"It was Takasaki-kun," Hinata's tone was a little timid, but she was telling the truth.
She really wasn't lying.
She became stronger through the diary, and the contents of the diary were written by Takasaki, so didn't that mean Takasaki helped her become stronger?
No problem there.
To Hyuga Hiashi, however, these words sounded utterly absurd: "How could Takasaki help you become stronger? Isn't he the dead-last in your class?"
"Takasaki-kun isn't a dead-last; he's always been hiding his strength and working hard. I was influenced by Takasaki-kun, so I worked extra hard this month and became stronger."
If she didn't lie, Hinata couldn't think of a better explanation.
So this time, Hinata said it with a flushed face.
"Is that so?"
Hyuga Hiashi began to understand a little; it sounded as if Takasaki had been motivating his daughter to work hard this month.
There was no better explanation besides that.
He still found it somewhat hard to believe.
Could she really make so much progress in one month just by a classmate's encouragement?
It wasn't until he heard Hinata recount the events of Takasaki's disturbance at the Residence today that he somewhat came to his senses.
Previously, his clansmen had only briefly told him about the incident; he only knew that Takasaki had caused trouble at the Residence, but he didn't know the specifics.
Now, his perspective had changed somewhat.
It seemed Neji had provoked first, and Neji was also the one who initiated the fight; Takasaki was merely acting in self-defense.
At this moment, Hyuga Hiashi finally understood why Neji had to apologize, because it was indeed Neji's fault.
Most importantly.
Hyuga Hiashi seemed to have already understood why Takasaki's encouragement alone could make Hinata improve so much in a month.
Hinata, upon hearing that Takasaki was blocked outside the Residence, had proactively gone to bring Takasaki in.
She had proactively arranged for people to pack Takasaki's favorite skewers, and received Takasaki in the VIP room.
She proactively taught Takasaki the Three Body Technique.
Takasaki had clearly already learned the Three Body Technique, so why did he still need Hinata to teach him?
Hyuga Hiashi was an experienced man; could he not see through the relationship between Hinata and Takasaki, especially when he saw Hinata's flushed cheeks? He immediately understood everything and tentatively asked, "Hinata, are you in an early romance?"
"No, no! How could that be! No! I'm not in love!" Hinata shook her head vigorously, her face turning even redder.
She understood her father's meaning.
Her father suspected she liked Takasaki.
How could that be?
How could she like that philanderer?
However, her continuous denial, in Hyuga Hiashi's eyes, only made him more certain.
His daughter must be in a relationship.
Even if she wasn't in love, it could be unrequited love.
Because only love could motivate someone to grow so strongly.
In fact, thinking about it, it was quite reasonable. Takasaki wasn't bad-looking and worked hard; it was normal for girls to like him, as girls at this age were relatively innocent and wouldn't care about the other person's family background.
Unlike at his age, when talking about love, one needed to consider material things, at least whether the other person had a Konoha position, what their parents' professions were, whether their family had enough money, and if they could afford the betrothal gift…
Therefore, Hyuga Hiashi was not against his daughter's romance.
After all, she was still young.
When she grew a little older, she would care about material conditions.
And Takasaki's family was dirt poor.
The two would naturally separate.
And by then, Takasaki would have helped Hinata enough, and he would no longer be of value, so separating would be just right.
"It's okay to be in love, after all, the other person can help you grow, but remember, you must not have any physical intimacy with the other person. A girl's first time should be saved for after marriage, otherwise, men won't cherish it," Hyuga Hiashi earnestly instructed.
"No, Father, I'm not in love. How could I like Takasaki? I won't like him." Hinata still shook her head vigorously, her face flushed, but her heart pounded faster.
As she spoke, she lowered her head and ran out.
Hyuga Hiashi's hearty laughter echoed in the training room.
After leaving the training room, Hinata ran straight to her room, her heart still beating fast.
The reason her heart was racing was not just because her father teased her about being in a relationship, but more importantly, during her conversation with her father, she suddenly had a premonition.
Takasaki was writing the second diary entry!
This time, would her name be recorded in Takasaki's diary?
If so, what reward would she receive?
The reward she received last time had made her noticeably stronger, enough to last over 3 minutes in a spar with Neji.
Would this reward be even better?
Hinata was both nervous and expectant.
She arrived at her boudoir, locked the door, and after her emotions had calmed down a bit and her heart rate stabilized, she retrieved the diary from her consciousness space. Carefully, she opened it, and the sight before her made her heart pound again.
This time's diary, the very first line, was about her!
[I'm really liking Hinata more and more…]
Hinata silently read on, her whole body tense, her cheeks blushing like the evening glow in the twilight sky.
…
At the same time.
Inside the training room of the Hyuga Residence.
Neji and Hyuga Hiashi had not left.
Neji, having grown up in the Hyuga Clan, had become well-versed in social etiquette through observation.
Especially when interacting with the clan elders, their words often carried two layers of meaning.
Sometimes, praising him was actually a warning.
Sometimes, criticizing him was actually for show.
The more prominent the family, the more intricate the unspoken rules.
Just now, for instance, when he told the Clan Head that he planned to apologize to Takasaki tomorrow, the Clan Head did not continue the conversation but instead changed the subject and started talking to Hinata.
At that moment, Neji understood the situation.
His words must have made the Clan Head uncomfortable, and he was being given time to prepare a better explanation.
And now, the Clan Head hadn't left, waiting for his reply.
"Clan Head, I've thought it through; I know how I should treat Takasaki," Neji said proactively.
"What do you plan to do?" Hyuga Hiashi smiled.
He had always been very satisfied with Neji's perceptiveness.
He knew how to give elders face, how to look after Hinata, he studied hard, was ambitious, and his talent was also outstanding.
It was just a pity that such a promising talent was born into the Hyuga branch family.
If only he were his child.
If it hadn't been absolutely necessary back then, he truly wouldn't have wanted to place the Caged Bird Seal on Neji.
"Takasaki can motivate Hinata to become stronger, which means Takasaki is useful to our Hyuga Clan, and we need to maintain a good relationship."
Neji sincerely said: "And my abrupt action today, chasing Takasaki away, was my fault. You taught me that there should be no lingering grudges with friends, and sincerity is always the best weapon. So I plan to go apologize to Takasaki tonight; I can't wait until tomorrow."
Looking at Neji's sensible demeanor, Hyuga Hiashi's admiration for Neji deepened, and at the same time, he felt even more regretful about Neji's birth.
He gently patted Neji's shoulder: "Good child, do as you say. I believe you can do it well."
"Understood, Clan Head!"
Neji nodded slightly and left.
He proactively went to apologize to Takasaki for two reasons.
The one he told the Clan Head was actually just the superficial reason.
The real reason was that he always felt Takasaki seemed to know a way to remove the Caged Bird Seal, and he wanted Takasaki to help him.
Of course, he definitely couldn't tell Hyuga Hiashi about this little secret of his; it was a crime of betraying the clan.