"Fencing?" Neji was a little confused by Takasaki's meaning. "Is it a type of sword art?"
"Tell me in detail why you came to apologize to me. Actually, I don't feel like you owe me anything."
The barbecue had been eaten, his stomach was full, and his hunger satisfied. Takasaki felt it was time to talk business.
In any case, if Neji wanted to fence with him, there was no way he would agree.
Even if he had to pay back the barbecue money, he wouldn't.
At worst, he would just run away.
"It's like this, after you left my house, Hinata and I sparred, and I unexpectedly found that Hinata could last 3 minutes against me…"
Neji sat on a low stool, explaining in detail.
Takasaki was a little confused at first, but gradually, he understood and felt a little relieved.
During this time, he didn't forget to grab a few skewers and drink a couple of beers.
After the third beer, Takasaki roughly understood the situation.
Simply put, Hinata's strength had improved by leaps and bounds within the last month. When Neji and Hyuga Hiashi asked her why, Hinata said it was because Takasaki had motivated her.
So, Neji believed that more interaction between Takasaki and Hinata was a good thing.
Even Neji himself was inspired by Takasaki's efforts, which was why he came to apologize.
"How could I have motivated Hinata? I'm just a dead-last myself," Takasaki said with a wave of his hand and a smile, feeling much more at ease.
He was actually very curious about the reason for Hinata's rapid improvement in strength, especially since in the original plot, Hinata's strength improved little by little.
Takasaki was curious, but he didn't care too much.
No matter how fast Hinata's strength improved, it couldn't be faster than his. After all, not everyone had a diary cheat.
Later, when he married Hinata and brought her home as his wife, he would have a hundred ways to make Hinata explain clearly under the covers.
The key was that Neji wasn't here to fence with him, but had a legitimate reason to thank him, and that was the most important thing.
As for why Hinata said she was motivated by him?
It wasn't important; he could ask Hinata privately later.
"Takasaki-kun, you are not a dead-last. You have already learned the Three Body Technique. Now, the only dead-last in the class is Naruto."
Neji said earnestly, "And I've seen your efforts with my own eyes. When I came to apologize, I saw you still diligently practicing the Clone Technique through the window. You must have put in an amazing amount of sweat in places we couldn't see."
"Stop praising me, or the skewers will get cold."
Takasaki felt a little guilty from Neji's praise.
He felt that in Neji's mind, he had already become someone who secretly worked hard to become stronger and then amaze everyone.
Actually, if he were to talk about effort, he had only started working hard two days ago, as he had only received the system cheat a few days ago.
On the other hand, the feeling of just starting to work hard, being seen by the Hyuga heir, and being praised and admired so much, was truly wonderful.
After chatting for a while.
Neji and Takasaki became familiar with each other, especially when Takasaki accepted the property deed he gave him, and the weight on his mind finally lifted.
It seemed that Takasaki had indeed forgiven him.
It was considered to have completed the Clan Head's instructions.
Next, he only needed to ask Takasaki how to change his destiny.
He didn't know why, but he always felt that Takasaki seemed a little different from before, as if he was hiding some secret.
Neji understood social etiquette.
He was already a Ninja who had graduated from the Ninja Academy and couldn't drink alcohol before the age of 20, so he used beverages instead of alcohol, clinking glasses with Takasaki.
The pitcher of beer he brought was almost entirely drunk by Takasaki, and his mouth was greasy from the skewers.
Takasaki was almost ready to sing "Good Brothers" with Neji.
It was clear that Takasaki's alcohol tolerance wasn't great; he was slurring his words, reeking of alcohol.
With the atmosphere set, Neji finally spoke, "Takasaki-kun, actually, there's something I'd like you to clarify for me."
"Oh, tell me about it?" Takasaki lifted his eyelids, pretending to eat a grilled chicken wing, his drunkenness clearing up by more than half.
Neji, this guy, really did have something on his mind.
"It's about this."
Neji's expression became a little serious. He put down his glass and slowly unwrapped the tight bandage on his forehead, revealing the green mark on his forehead.
The Caged Bird Seal.
"Can my Caged Bird Seal really be broken?" Neji asked earnestly, "I remember you mentioned earlier at my family's estate that you seemed to have a method to break the Caged Bird Seal."
So that's what he came for, Takasaki suddenly realized.
Earlier, at the Hyuga Clan estate, when he used the Three Body Technique to trick Neji, he did subtly imply to Neji that he had a way to break the Caged Bird Seal.
At that time, he actually just wanted to provoke Neji and make him lose his composure.
After all, he had started fighting Neji, but he couldn't beat Neji, so he could only take advantage of Neji verbally.
In reality, could Takasaki break the Caged Bird Seal?
Of course not.
At least not now, but that doesn't mean he can't in the future.
Maybe one day, the diary will reward him with a method to break the Caged Bird Seal. Who knows about such things?
So Takasaki didn't completely cut off Neji's hope all at once, but rather kept him on edge: "It can definitely be broken, it's just that I don't have a method to break it yet. I once dreamed of a way to break it, which is why I told you that earlier."
"You dreamed of it?"
Neji was a little confused.
Takasaki, slightly tipsy, patted his shoulder and said, "Neji, we've gotten to know each other through a fight, so from now on, your business is my business, and your sister is my… sister! Villagers have faith, the country has strength, we are all students about to graduate from the Academy, and we can all have a bright future. Who knows what the future holds? In any case, if I discover a way to break the Caged Bird Seal, I will definitely tell you immediately!"
Takasaki understood how to build connections.
As a commoner with nothing, in Konoha Village, a place with severe class stratification, if his strength didn't improve in time, it was best to find some connections as a protective umbrella.
The Hyuga Clan was a prominent family that had been passed down since the Sengoku period.
Aligning with the Hyuga Clan was definitely the right choice.
To this, Neji nodded heavily, "From now on, you are my partner!"
It wasn't that Neji was too foolish to realize he was being misled by Takasaki.
It was simply that breaking the Caged Bird Seal was of paramount importance to him, and he would seize even the slightest hope.
Even without this hope, just because Takasaki could motivate Hinata to become stronger, he felt it was necessary to maintain a good relationship with Takasaki.
After Neji left.
Takasaki looked at his living environment, which was so simple that even a thief would leave two hundred with tears in their eyes before leaving.
He pulled out the property deed and house key Neji gave him: "My brother-in-law has already prepared the future new home for me and my wife Hinata, so why wouldn't I move in? Time to move!"
Though he said "move," Takasaki actually just packed some clothes and toiletries.
The new house Neji prepared for him was a fully furnished apartment in the Village's central shopping district, with all the furniture ready, so he only needed to move in with his bags.
Tonight, he would sleep comfortably, and tomorrow he would write a diary entry to thank his wife, Hinata.
Without his wife Hinata's rapid progress, his future brother-in-law wouldn't be so good to him.
"Speaking of which, why did Hinata's strength improve, and why did she say it was because I motivated her?" Takasaki pondered as he walked out, carrying his backpack and dragging his suitcase.