Chapter 24: Hiashi Hyuga

"Please give me your guidance."

Sasuke smiled with pursed lips and punched forward.

"Yeah!"

Naruto smiled as brightly as the rising sun. From today on, he was no longer alone. He had brothers and a family. He no longer had to endure the long nights alone, longing for the dawn.

..................

In the Hyuga Clan, Hiashi sat in the courtyard, recalling what Fugaku Uchiha had said.

"Lord Hiashi, the Hyuga Clan is extremely explosive in the entire ninja world for controlling and marking their own blood relatives like dogs."

He and Hizashi were twin brothers and should have grown up happily and harmoniously. But due to the rules of the Hyuga Clan, they were forced to separate from their twin brother since childhood.

When they met again, there was a strange seal on Hizashi's head. Their relationship was no longer the same as before, and there was more hatred and unwillingness in Hizashi's eyes.

Just because he was born a few minutes later than his brother, he had to be controlled by others all his life. Presumably, he hated such a fate to the extreme.

Due to his own carelessness, Hizashi died heroically for him and the Hyuga Clan, which also made Neji lose his father forever.

Even the only blood relative of Hizashi was marked with an indelible imprint for life. He always felt indebted to that child.

He remembered that Neji used to be a very gentle and bashful child, with his fair little face always blushing. But since Hizashi's death, he had never smiled again.

Those little eyes hid strong hatred for the Hyuga Clan and himself. He should have taken Neji in and compensated him well, but whenever he saw those eyes full of unwillingness and resentment, he became scared.

He was avoiding and didn't dare to admit his own weakness and incompetence. He didn't even have the courage to face such a young child and tell Neji who his father had died for.

The Uchiha Clan had changed. They put aside their past arrogance and were willing to bend down and stay with others equally. Konoha had changed. Tanzō and his Root had been uprooted and could no longer cause any trouble. Konoha was also willing to admit its mistakes and develop in a more sunny and beautiful direction. Was it time for the Hyuga Clan to change too?

..................

"Lord Hiashi, Neji Hyuga has arrived."

"Quickly invite him in."

"Yes."

The 8-year-old Neji had a cold little face without any sign of emotional change. He followed the guide in. A flash of hatred passed between his eyebrows when he saw the head of the Hyuga Clan, but it was still noticed by Hiashi.

"Lord Hiashi, what do you want to tell me to do?"

Neji bowed respectfully. The distance in status and relationship made their kinship seem extremely distant.

He was actually Neji's uncle. Hiashi thought with a helpless smile. But the world was like this, and it was really impossible to force Neji to call him uncle.

"Neji, I recently met your teacher at the ninja school. He said you've been doing well at school. How about it? Have you encountered any difficulties at school?"

Hearing Hiashi's words, Neji was a bit confused. Was the clan leader just bored? He suddenly called Neji here just to talk about this kind of thing.

"Well, my life is going well. I don't have any difficulties. Do you have anything else, Lord Hiashi? If not, I'll take my leave."

As he looked at the little face that seemed to keep others at a distance, the atmosphere grew a bit awkward. He coughed lightly and continued gently.

"Right, I called you here this time to talk to you. I want to take you into the main family and raise you by my side."

!!!!!

Hearing this, little Neji was shocked. He couldn't understand what the clan leader was up to. Why did the clan leader want to take him into the main family? The long - standing rules of the Hyuga clan regarding the main and branch families had never been broken.

"Lord Hiashi, this is not possible. Neji is just a member of the branch family!"

"Shut up and step back!"

He scolded the clan member beside him in a completely different tone from the one he used when talking to Neji.

"Neji, I just want to hear your thoughts. I think you're a very talented child, a child who can shoulder the future of the Hyuga clan. So I have high hopes for you and want to bring you up by my side. What do you think?"

Neji looked up at his uncle, who had the same face as his father. When he was little, he always saw his uncle with a serious and imposing face, and his father always addressed him as 'Lord Clan Leader' instead of 'brother'.

After his father's death, Neji never looked up at his uncle again. But today, taking a closer look, he found that the arrogance and coldness in his uncle's expression had given way to careful concern.

Was it guilt for making his father his scapegoat? Although the offer was tempting, he'd rather not have such an opportunity than live in front of someone who was almost like a father - killer to him.

"No, thank you, Lord Clan Leader. I'm just a member of the branch family. What you're doing doesn't conform to the rules of the Hyuga clan. Besides, I'm used to being alone and don't like having someone around me."

Even if he, Neji Hyuga, was not a member of the main family, he would become the Hokage in the future and reach a height unattainable by the main family.

"Neji..."

He knew Neji was deliberately avoiding him, but he himself had been avoiding this situation for so many years and didn't want to avoid it anymore. If the Jinchūriki of the Nine - Tailed Fox could return to his family, why couldn't his precious nephew?

For the first time, he faced those hateful eyes directly and knelt down in front of Neji.

"Lord Hiashi, what are you doing? Get up quickly."

Neji rushed to Hiashi's side and wanted to pull him up, but Hiashi grabbed him instead.

"Neji, I know you still hate me because of Hizashi's death, but I really want to tell you that I never thought of making Hizashi die for me."

"At that time, the ninjas from Kumo - hidden Village demanded that Konoha hand me over. For the sake of peace, I was truly willing to die and was about to do so. But at the last moment, Hizashi knocked me out with a palm. I still remember what he said before I passed out."

"Father? What did he say?"

Neji's movements stiffened slightly. He was dying to know what his father's last words were.

"I utterly loathe the main family, and I still do. So, I'm not doing this to protect the main family, but to protect my brother. For me, this is the first time I've had the freedom to choose. So, please tell Neji for me that my death isn't to protect the main family, but to protect Neji. I'm willing to choose death for my brother, my relatives, and even Konoha Village. Even if it's just once, I want to defy the Hyuga's fate. I want to control my own destiny. That's all."