Chapter 46: Caged Bird

Neji said in a flat tone, "I am a ninja of the village."

An obvious refusal.

"Good, very good."

An inexplicable sense of shame welled up in Hyuga Zhongjie's heart, as if being refused by a Branch House member he had always trampled underfoot was something that brought him disgrace.

He let out a sneer and left the game.

Bang!

Inside a luxurious residence in the Main House quarters, exquisite and expensive porcelain was smashed to pieces.

Hyuga Zhongjie vented the anger in his heart, muttering, "Shouldn't a Branch House member be fawning over me like a dog?"

Hyuga Rongyao?

A Branch House member actually thinks so highly of himself?

"I should properly teach him how to be a qualified Branch House member."

Until evening, Hyuga Zhongjie, dressed in robes, walked out of the residence.

Because he was worried about punishment from the Clan Head, he deliberately avoided all servants and clansmen, quietly arriving at a dilapidated small courtyard.

The cramped courtyard had no pavilions, rockeries, or ponds.

Most of the area had been converted into a training ground.

Looking at the degree of wear, the owner of this courtyard must have been training day and night without pause.

"Young Master Zhongjie."

Having just left the game, Neji, his consciousness returned to his body, stood up and bowed in greeting.

His tone was respectful.

Just as the clan taught, one must cherish the true successors of the Hyuga Clan from the bottom of one's heart.

Hyuga Zhongjie sneered, "I can't accept that. You are the Fourth Captain of the Konoha Troops, a genius ninja of the village; how can you call me Young Master?"

If it were any other Branch House member, being teased and mocked like this would have already left them feeling anxious and uneasy.

Neji's expression remained as usual, maintaining a respectful and polite attitude as he said, "Although I am a ninja of the village, I am even more so a ninja of the clan."

Hearing signs of him backing down, Zhongjie mocked, "When you refused me just now, the feeling I got was that you didn't consider yourself a member of the Hyuga Clan. Do you want to break away from the Hyuga Clan?"

Neji shook his head and said, "Young Master Zhongjie, you have misunderstood; I have no such thoughts."

Hyuga Zhongjie's gaze shifted slightly upward, landing on Neji's forehead, which was tightly covered by his forehead protector.

Just like a slave branded with a scar, thinking that by covering the mark, one could deceive oneself into forgetting their status.

Hyuga Zhongjie raised his right arm, pressed his two fingers together, and sneered, "It doesn't matter. Whether you have thoughts of leaving the Hyuga or not, I will make you regret your actions just now."

"In the Hyuga Clan, everyone has their own responsibilities to fulfill."

"If the Hyuga Clan is viewed as a complete body, as the Main House, I am the indispensable spirit and bloodline of this body."

Hyuga Zhongjie's expression was like that of someone inspecting a disobedient stray dog, and he frowned, "And you, as the Branch House, are destined to become the filthy flesh and blood to protect the Main House."

"Flesh and blood that performs well and is valued by the Main House has the qualifications to become important organs like hands, feet, and internal organs. Only those Branch House members who have earned the appreciation of the Main House through their actions are qualified to kneel behind the Main House and listen to the clan meetings."

This wasn't actually nonsense.

In the Hyuga Clan, ordinary Branch House members are not qualified to participate in clan meetings; only those Branch House members recognized by the Main House have the qualifications for high-level decision-making.

Of course, that is only a qualification; generally speaking, on such grand occasions, the consequences for a Branch House member speaking out of turn are very severe.

The words became increasingly harsh, and Neji frowned slightly, saying, "The Clan Head has said that even the noble Main House cannot provoke the Branch House without reason. Does Young Master Zhongjie want to violate the clan rules?"

"Clan rules? Those are chains for you Branch House members; what do they have to do with me?"

Zhongjie laughed as if he had heard a joke, mocking, "Besides, everyone in the Hyuga Clan has a responsibility to protect the clan's interests, but you handed the ashes of a Commander Level Ghost Turret to Konoha. Does this count as a reason for me to punish you?"

Is this what a clan is?

Neji was expressionless; standing in the Hyuga clan grounds, he felt as if he were in a cold, biting wind.

Father, what should I do?

Should I also be like you, shedding every last drop of blood to protect the Hyuga Clan?

His fists clenched tightly, then slowly relaxed.

Although he wanted to get rid of the Caged Bird, he had no intention of becoming an enemy of the clan; after all, the same bloodline flowed within his body.

In this world, the only people who can sever the bloodline of their closest kin without hesitation are those paranoid lunatics.

At the very least, Neji was not a lunatic.

After thinking it through to the end, Neji lowered his head slightly and said apologetically, "Young Master Zhongjie, I hope you can forgive my negligence. I will find a way to compensate for the loss caused to the clan."

He knew clearly in his heart that once the Caged Bird secret technique was broken, exposing it would invite a cruel interrogation from the clan.

Therefore, he had long been prepared to leave the village.

Regarding his friends at the Ninja Academy, his thick-headed but protective teacher Might Guy, the villagers who took care of him...

His current approach was actually no different from betraying the village.

Therefore, the Ghost Turret he wanted to exchange for the village, even if it meant offending the Main House, was a way to thank the village for its cultivation.

Neji, who had been taught various etiquettes since childhood, did not want to leave while owing such a debt.

Endure a little longer... until the Caged Bird can be removed without harm!

Neji was not worried about his future life at all; the Reinforcement brought to reality by his game body had already given him the strength of an Elite Jonin.

In front of Asuma, he had held back slightly.

"Compensate?"

Veins appeared at the corners of his eyes, and Hyuga Zhongjie said coldly, "All rewards obtained by the Branch House should naturally be contributed. Even if you get back more rewards in the future, it is only as it should be, and the loss you caused can never be compensated."

Neji did not say a word.

He wanted to settle the matter and send away the troublesome Main House young master as quickly as possible.

Seemingly recalling something, Hyuga Zhongjie said with a look of pity: "I remember now, your father appeared to have acted as a scapegoat to protect the Clan Head, making an indelible contribution to the clan. You are his son, yet you are not even half as good as him."

Boom!

The chakra that had been suppressed all this time suddenly erupted.

The respectful expression Neji had been maintaining was torn away completely, like a mask.

His father's death was the bottom line deep within his heart that could not be touched.

"You dare bare your fangs at me? Are you looking for death?"

Hyuga Zhongjie stood quietly in place; the turbulence caused by the chakra eruption swept past his brows without making him sway in the slightest.

He did not even bother to adopt a defensive stance.

Because he had nothing to fear.

If it were a ninja from an outside clan, he would have long since taken a stance, fearing that the other party might slit his throat.

But the Branch House,

even Hyuga Neji, who possessed terrifying strength and was called a genius, was nothing more than a dog on a chain with a muzzle strapped on.

Incapable of causing the slightest harm to its master.

Neji spread his arms, and Nen Qi Balls like glass beads circled him; when they touched the hard bluestone floor, they gouged deep gashes into it.

"Fool."

Hyuga Zhongjie inevitably revealed a look of jealousy;

the Qi Master class was very compatible with the palm techniques of the Hyuga Clan in reality. It should have been mastered by him, a member of the Main House, yet he had failed to comprehend it several times in a row, while a member of the Branch House had successfully changed classes to it instead.

Neji exerted force with the soles of his feet, and his figure suddenly vanished from where he stood.

Caged Bird!

Hyuga Zhongjie unhurriedly wiggled his fingers, and the chakra within his body flowed along a special route.

And then... Bang!

Like a ragdoll swept up by a gale.

The bluestone floor shattered, and the Main House member who had activated Caged Bird lay prone in the sunken crater.

With broken bones and snapped tendons, he was unable to move.

(End of this chapter)