Chapter 32 (C32)

Neji genuinely skipped class; Kana didn't ask for leave for him.

“Some rules are useless,” Neji seemed to hear her snort softly, but so softly that he couldn’t even tell if she had actually said anything, “that need not be followed.”

"What is more important, or what you want more, is up to you to decide."

That was the first time seven-year-old Neji had thought about the so-called "rules".

He went to the ninja academy to become stronger, but the teaching pace at the ninja academy was extremely slow—he had even taught himself up to the sixth-grade curriculum.

But in terms of purpose, special training is obviously more useful than the low-quality content of school, so why is his first reaction "What about my class tomorrow?"

He hasn't found the answer yet, but he still chose to stand here instead of sitting properly at his desk.

While it's called a "station," that's not entirely accurate.

The ground was covered with a layer of snow taller than a person. As soon as he landed, he fell headfirst into it.

The next second, Kana grabbed the fabric at the back of his neck and lifted him out, hooking him around her waist with one hand. Neji's limbs hung down naturally, and his toes occasionally brushed against the soft snowflakes. He shook them a few times, letting the white spots on his face and hair fall off.

Neji stopped moving when he noticed something had stopped on his head.

The object tapped lightly with a sharp little awl, producing a clear, melodious sound. "Is this little guy your brother?"

Kana took a few steps, and the snow beneath her feet slowly floated up, gradually revealing a small patch of dark brown ground. The hand that had been around her waist then loosened, allowing Neji's feet to firmly touch the ground.

"How did it get like this?" Qishan is a treasure land that nurtures the power of life, and the kite bird is a race that is good at using this power. This place should be spring-like all year round and full of flowers.

"It gets boring with the same scenery all the time. It's good to see snow once in a while." Qingyuan flew up from Neji's head, flapped her wings, and circled him once. "This human isn't injured. Why did you bring him here?"

His eyes, like black gemstones, darted around as he looked at her. "You know this counts as 'once,' right?"

"certainly."

Kana patted the cub's head, and Neji obediently greeted it, "Hello."

"This is the spirit beast I signed a contract with, Qingyuan."

Neji's eyes lit up instantly; this was the summoning beast of the Hyuga clan recorded in the family's books.

But then he hesitated, tugged at Kana's sleeve, and whispered in her ear, "But it's so small."

...As expected of her pet, she really knows how to provoke birds.

For a moment, Qingyuan wanted to transform back into its original form to scare this clueless brat to death, but then she thought, "So what if I'm a bird? What's the point of arguing with a cub that's not even ten years old when I'm a mature bird that's almost a hundred years old?"

"I only signed a contract with Kana, not with the entire Hyuga clan." Neji could even see the fake smile on a bird's face.

"You were allowed in because I lost a bet and promised her I could bring people here three times." Even though they had known each other for a while, Qingyuan still couldn't figure out Kana's thought process—after all, bringing people in was assumed to be a last-ditch effort to save a dying person, and she never thought it would be wasted on an unharmed human cub in this way.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She was like the kind of doting parent who brought a curious child on a tour—a treasure trove that even the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest envied, an opportunity that so many people longed for, and she used it for a visit?!

“Ah…” Kana answered the questions of both creatures at once, “I will teach him psychic magic.”

“I refuse.” Qingyuan said without hesitation.

“It’s alright.” Its reaction seemed entirely expected, so Kana remained very calm. “I will train him and teach him how to form a bond. Whether he is qualified or not, and whether he accepts it, is up to you to judge.”

She looked down at Neji. "Do you understand?"

"I will become stronger."

Qingyuan smiled politely.

Neji understood the meaning behind that smile. He solemnly and earnestly declared, "I will definitely become stronger."

The person who boasted that he would become stronger was now just a little kid who would fall into a snowdrift after taking ten steps in the snow because his chakra was unstable.

Perhaps it was due to its age, or perhaps it had been a bird for too long, but on that day, Qingyuan impulsively agreed to Kana's request. However, that surge of passion was not enough to sustain its heart's vigorous beating.

Its clone once passed through the seal mediated by her blood and arrived in the other world.

The first time I encountered it was at a rather grand clan gathering, which Kana later explained was the clan chief's 30th birthday celebration.

Kana rarely wears a white clan robe, and with her little one by her side, she disappears into the crowd. When she bends down, the oversized robe juts out her bony shoulder blades, making her look like a newly built grave.

The ritual vessel, shaped like a kite with outstretched wings, was struck, producing a resounding clang. The person in the center of the seat of honor began to speak words that illuminated the Hyuga clan. Rows of people bowed their heads, and the newly turned grave mounds were piled higher and higher, eventually becoming a monument in their hearts.

Hanging at the very top center of the ancestral hall is its old friend. Qingyuan stared at the black and white portrait for a long time, lost in thought. He was clearly the one who loved the wind and freedom the most, so why can't his descendants fly?

But it still wouldn't give up.

Even within the Hyuga clan, there are outcasts like Kana.

What we're seeing this time is punishment.

Qingyuan knew that the "bird in a cage" technique was equivalent to cutting off a bird's wings, but she could only imagine it, since she had never cut off her wings. The so-called empathy was just a comfort, not a reality.

That was a direct form of slow slicing.

It was as if the person's bones and tendons were being pulled out one by one, leaving them curled up on the ground, degenerating into a lowly worm that could only crawl. Along the way, not only tears and saliva flowed from their eyes, nose, and mouth, but also dripping flesh and blood. Painful screams scraped against their eardrums, leaving sharp wounds.

The sound stopped abruptly, like a snapped string.

The people standing there took a few steps closer, and one of them kicked him in the shoulder. His body, which had stopped struggling, was turned over, and he found a dagger stuck in his heart.

What a piece of trash.

It heard someone say that.

"Burn it." Another person said casually, "There have been a lot of thieves robbing graves and gouging out eyes lately. Even if it's just the white eyes of a family member who's separated from their family, we absolutely can't let them out."

"Under what circumstances would they use that forbidden technique?"

At that moment, Kana was in the crucial stage of refining and condensing the water components in the air without forming hand seals. Upon hearing this, she was distracted for a moment, and the thousands of water needles suspended in the air instantly turned into fine rain and fell down. "You shall be judged as useless and severely disobedient."

“I’m not entirely sure either.” She ran her fingers through the feathers on its back, brushing away a few water droplets. “After all, I’m very useful to them, and I don’t have any curse marks.”

But what if we get discovered?

Will she also be captured and have that ugly curse inscribed on her, and one day, like that person, fall at their feet, begging for mercy in pain and humility until she dies?

The Hyuga clan's scrolls are wrong; it was never the Hyuga clan's summoning beast. It simply made a contract with Hyuga Sho—and now there's another one, Hyuga Kana.

At this moment, Qingyuan realized that she didn't really care about the life or death of the Hyuga clan. Her original concern, helplessness, and resentment were only because she wanted to remember her old friends among the descendants who inherited those eyes and appearance. Now, she had found the only person who had his shadow.

Do you love the Hyuga clan?

If it's not love, why stay?

"I'm not crazy." Kana rarely rolls her eyes; she thinks that kind of straightforward emotional outburst is a bit silly, but it perfectly expresses her speechlessness at this moment.

"Will you leave?" Qingyuan used "yes" instead of "want to".

"Yes." She replied without the slightest hesitation.

"But it's not the right time yet."

Qingyuan landed on her shoulder, her gaze shifting from the small black dot in the snow that had already walked a hundred meters away. Her jumbled thoughts gradually came together. "Is he the reason you can't leave yet?"

Hyuga Neji possesses remarkable talent, and given time, he will become someone the main family can only aspire to but never reach. However, he is not strong enough yet, far from it. Having him by one's side would only be a burden.

Not entirely.

Kana looked up at the sky and found that the snow had stopped falling. The air currents brought a breeze, which compressed around her wrist into a spinning, sharp blade.

“If I leave now, I will only be wanted and hunted down. I can only hide my appearance and erase my identity, and live in constant fear and trepidation.”

"Why? They're the ones who're in the wrong, so why should I have to hide like a rat that can't stand the light for the rest of my life?"

The wind blades grew faster and faster, causing her clothes to flutter as if they were about to be torn apart. Kana lowered her center of gravity, spun around, and threw her left hand, pulverizing the withered tree that would take five people to encircle.

Neji, who was not far away, was attracted by the loud noise. He looked back and then charged forward with even more force.

That flash of violence passed by in an instant, then disappeared perfectly into the depths of her eyes, which were completely clear and white, so Qingyuan, whose attention was elsewhere, didn't notice it.

The tree that had died but not stiffened had vanished into nothingness. The nausea from the so-called question of whether or not one loved their family dissipated. Kana exhaled and regained her usual composure. "I need someone to help me, so I hope you can help me help him."

“I don’t expect you to accept him or form a bond with him; his current chakra isn’t enough to summon you. Just occasionally, respond to his ‘Reverse Summoning’ so he can train with you away from others. That’s enough.”

Kana was wary of her meeting with the Third Hokage a few years ago; she suspected the old man possessed some means to cover the entire village. However, the cultivation of certain techniques must not be discovered until the opportune moment arrives, which is why she frequently travels to Qishan.

If the fates of two people are already intertwined, then if it wants to protect Kana, it must make Neji stronger.

"Is that a threat?" Qingyuan sneered.

Kana looked at it in surprise, wondering where this sudden outburst of temper came from. "This is a request."

A choice without a choice is itself a threat.

After a long silence, Qingyuan finally spoke, "It's just occasionally."