Chapter 23 C23

On the day Neji entered school, Kana, who was used to being calm and collected, almost wanted to set off fireworks to celebrate.

Neji is six years old and has started school. What does this mean? It means that he will spend a large part of his time at the Ninja Academy, that he has begun to build his own circle of friends and network of relationships, and that he has gradually learned to be independent and does not need too much attention from his guardians.

In this world's setting, graduating from the Ninja Academy is a watershed moment. Even if you are far from being old enough, you are already a working-class person who can support yourself. You are forcibly separated from the category of "children", and entering the Ninja Academy is the first step in this identity separation.

Therefore, one can have more free time for oneself without feeling guilty, instead of taking care of children.

Everyone says that Kana is a good older sister who rushed back to attend her younger brother's school opening ceremony, but the truth is always in the hands of a few.

Shikatori, who was on the same team, knew that she was not used to cooperating with others. This time, she took the initiative to use Lightning Release to inject into his Shadow Technique to control the direction of the attack in order to end the mission as soon as possible. However, the reason for rushing back after the mission was not to attend Neji's opening ceremony and not disappoint the child, but because Neji's enrollment information required the signature of a guardian.

In Kana's eyes, the Ninja Academy was less a place to learn knowledge and more a daycare. If she missed submitting her materials, she would have to postpone her studies for a year, which meant she would have to take care of her child for an extra year. Therefore, Kana went all out when facing difficult targets, and she was unstoppable.

Kita: Kana is a genius, isn't she?!

Shikaku rolled her eyes and looked at the retreating figure: This kind of thing... didn't we already know that she was a genius?

Kana, who is mistakenly considered a "genius" because of her extra life experience and her ability to quickly absorb knowledge, has not been doing well in her training recently.

As the "most talented" member of the Hyuga clan, one of the conditions she agreed to the main family's request to diligently study taijutsu and occasionally use Gentle Fist to remind the Hyuga clan of its presence during missions was that the Hyuga clan's buried ninjutsu scrolls be opened to her.

In recent years, the Hyuga clan has been too obsessed with demonstrating its prestige through its most representative Byakugan Gentle Fist, leading to a great disregard for the training of other ninjutsu within the clan. However, as a prestigious clan with deep roots, there are some things that ordinary ninja families or clans cannot compare to.

Kana frowned; this was already the third month.

The blood droplets flowing from the fingertips could not be absorbed by the scroll. Instead, they were repelled and driven to the edge of the paper, which was covered with intricate incantations. The blood seeped into the protective back cover of the scroll, mixing with the dried-up marks to form a heavy mass.

Just as the Uchiha clan's usual summoning beasts are ninja cats or crows, ancient ninja clans have summoning contracts passed down from generation to generation.

But just how utterly incompetent is the Hyuga clan that the summoned beast they signed with didn't react at all.

Kana has been here for ten years and has never seen a Hyuga successfully summon a summoning beast. Perhaps the other party thought that this clan was beyond redemption and therefore terminated the contract on their own.

A one-meter-tall scroll was pushed, swallowing back all the unfolded paper.

Before the visitor opened the closed door, he put the spirit scroll into a large wooden box.

She stood up expressionlessly, looking at the uninvited guest, and said, "Illegal trespassing."

The other person was clearly ignorant of the law: "What?"

There was no point in wasting time talking to a brick wall, so Kana cut straight to the point: "What do you want?"

“If it’s a summoning jutsu,” the other person said. Although he was nearly ten years older than her, in the ninja world, strength was the ultimate passport, so he didn’t treat her like a child. He took out a worn notebook from his sleeve. “My grandfather’s diary might contain what you need.”

Kana's gaze lingered for a moment on the torn corner of the page before moving to his face. "What's the price?"

"I'd like to."

Not long ago, during the clan training, Hyuga Kana successfully used the Rejuvenation Technique, which only the elite members of the main family could learn, for the first time. The panicked, astonished, and jealous looks in the eyes of those members of the main family... no matter how many times I think about it, it's still so interesting.

"You must be stronger than them..." A strange light ignited in his eyes, like a will-o'-the-wisp floating in a dark forest, lifeless and cold, yet harboring some vague hope.

That was an heir nurtured with all the resources of the entire clan, an heir to whom the entire family poured their heart and soul and hopes. "I hope you will be a hundred times stronger and ten thousand times more dazzling than their heirs..."

Then they trampled the pride of the main family underfoot and crushed it.

What kind of expressions will they have when that time comes?

Excitement, like a bloodthirsty worm, climbed upwards, following the blood energy to burrow into his heart. Just imagining it made him tremble with excitement.

"I need a sparring partner for the day after tomorrow afternoon."

The person who was about to turn away turned back in surprise and heard the still somewhat childish voice continue, "Free things are the most expensive. I don't like owing people things."

He realized that the meaning of "sparring" in Kana's words was far more than that—it should be some Gentle Fist techniques that they, as members of the branch family, could not learn. Although he had long given up, his ninja heart, which had always wanted to pursue strength, still trembled involuntarily after many years. "If you need it, there are many people who will reach out to you like I have."

Because we are caged birds with broken wings.

But there is one difference.

We are utterly mediocre, powerless, and have long been accustomed to it.

You possess an almost hopeful talent, and the innate arrogance that comes with that talent means you are destined to be unwilling to become a puppet to be manipulated by others.

You are the only resistance in a fate we do not want to submit to but are forced to submit to.

“I will convey your words to them as well.”

The system praised her for her ability to win people's hearts.

Kana felt that a bunch of data could not fully comprehend the greed and complexity of the human heart.

These long-suppressed family members may not have expected anything in return for each of her acts of kindness, but they all had their own hopes and purposes. If she failed to meet their expectations in the future, she would easily be resented and blamed.

Moreover, the main family has been instilling the idea that they are inherently superior to the branch families by restricting the practice of secret techniques for far too long. All the branch families have grown up in this kind of soil. In addition to the physical constraints of the curse mark, what the main family wants is their deep-seated inferiority complex.

However, if they learn those ninjutsu techniques that were previously only available to the main family through their own efforts, the ingrained notion that "one cannot rebel against the main family for the sake of the family's future" will be shaken.

Kana lowered her eyes and looked at the diary that recorded an experience of a branch family member successfully summoning a summoning beast in secret.

They need to know what else those people have taken from them besides freedom.