Chapter 616: Hyuga Neji
After some further discussion with the Hyuga Patriarch and after informing of the entrance ceremony that is about to be held a few days later, Kuroto bid farewell to Hiashi and then left.
From his conversation with Hiashi just now, Kuroto can be sure that the Hyuga Patriarch did not know anything about the Giant Tenseigan of the Hyuga Clan or the Otsutsuki Clan on the moon… the reason is most likely that the information about these two existences was either lost by the Hyuga Clan or deliberately covered up by the ancestors of the Hyuga Clan.
Regardless, Kuroto has sort of fulfilled his objective of this visit, and as such, he left.
After leaving the mansion of the Patriarch, Kuroto strolled along the newly built road of the Hyuga Clan districts… A bit absentminded, he was thinking about the traitor of the Hyuga Clan and other matters related to the Giant Tenseigan and the Otsutsuki Clan.
As Kuroto absentminded walked slowly, a voice he couldn’t be more familiar with reached his ears…
“Kuroto-kun!”
His thoughts were broken by the sudden voice, and after shaking his head he looked up and noticed that not far away from him Yui was waving her hand towards him, and together with her as she was coming towards him, and she was not alone, she seemed to be accompanying the father-son pair of Hyuga Hizashi, and Hyuga Neji.
Noticing them, Kuroto walked forward and after greeting Hizashi, he asked Neji, “Neji… how are you?”
Neji bowed slightly, and nodded, “Sensei… I am… fine…”
Kuroto nodded lightly and after activating his Byakugan, he scanned Neji’s body…
As Kuroto checked Neji’s body, Yui added from the side, “Don’t worry Kuroto-kun… I just carried out a complete medical check of Neji-kun… His body is in perfect health, and there are no other problems… There is no foreign Chakra present in his body… The Akatsuki Organization did not do anything to Neji-kun…”
There is no doubt, the father-son pair of Hizashi and Neji had just visited the Konoha Hospital for carrying out Neji’s full body check-up.
Akatsuki Organization has obviously rooted a deep fear in the hearts of all Konoha Villagers, the methods of the terrorist organization are completely unpredictable and can be very dangerous for not only Neji but also for the entire Konoha Village… Therefore, nobody wanted to take a chance and both Neji and Sasuke had to undergo a complete medical check-up to make sure that nothing was wrong with them or their body, before letting them roam freely in Konoha…
Of course, the same thing happened with Naruto and Hinata, which is reasonable…
As for how Yui got here?
Because currently she is the only Iryo-nin with the Byakugan, and because of her identity as the disciple of Tsunade-hime, Yui holds a high position in the Konoha Hospital, therefore, Neji’s check-up was done by her personally, which also reassured Hizashi…
After Neji’s medical check-up was completed, and because there was no major emergency at the Konoha Hospital, Yui took the initiative to accompany the father-son pair of Hizashi and Neji while returning back to the territory of the Hyuga Clan…
Kuroto nodded lightly with a thoughtful expression… As Yui said, Neji’s physical state is completely fine, there are no significant injuries except some scratches… and there are no signs of any foreign chakra residing with him… This means that the spores of White Zetsu are also not present in his body… Kuroto was sort of worried about the presence of White Zetsu’s spores which might have been overlooked by Yui during Neji’s checkup because of her lack of knowledge about the spores… But now that he has personally checked Neji’s body, Kuroto can be assured that there is indeed nothing wrong with him.
As Kuroto nodded, Hizashi said “This time… it was thanks to the rescue team of the Uchiha Clan… if not for them, I don’t know what I would have done…”
Hizashi’s tone was filled with guilt, self-blame, and grief…
As Neji’s father, Hizashi should have done everything to rescue his son, but because of his identity as a member of the branch family of the Hyuga Clan… he couldn’t put that much value in Neji, and had to devote all his energy to find and rescue Hinata… This inability of his made Hizashi extremely guilty and ashamed that he dares not meet his eyes with Neji…
“Yes, we must express our thanks to the Uchiha Patriarch and the rescue team of the Uchiha Clan…” Kuroto replied with a light smile.
On the surface, it is indeed the rescue team of the Uchiha Clan who rescued Sasuke and Neji, but the insiders know that that’s not really the case. The only reason Akatsuki released Sasuke and Neji is to obtain the information on the two Homusubi from Itachi and to assure Kuroto.
If not for that, no matter how much effort the village or either of the clan had put, it was next to impossible for them to rescue the two kids.
Of course, even if the Akatsuki Organization wouldn’t have released Sasuke and Neji, Kuroto wouldn’t have been that worried about the safety of the two kids, after all, the two of them have no Bijuu inside them, so they were of no use to the Akatsuki Organization… And with Shinichi present in the Akatsuki Organization, he would have definitely tried his best to protect the two children as long as it didn’t blow away his cover…
So, despite being surrounded by the members of the Akatsuki Organization, the two of them were safe.
With such a thought in his mind, Kuroto looked at Neji and noted that Neji’s expression was low, his eyes were riddled with confusion… as if he was stuck in a loop and couldn’t find a way out… Curious, Kuroto asked, “Neji… What’s the matter? You seem unhappy…” he took a pause, and added in a playful tone, “Are you unhappy because of coming back?”
Neji shook his head and said in a downcast tone, “I am fine Sensei… just a little tired…”
“Really?” asked Kuroto with a frowned expression… he didn’t like this downcast expression of Neji…
Hizashi glanced at Neji’s downcast expression, and sighed…
Obviously, Hizashi is aware of the reason behind Neji’s downcast expression… but even if he is aware of it, he isn’t able to do something about it.
As soon as Neji was brought back to the village and first saw Hizashi, Neji didn’t care about any other thing, and the first thing he did was ask a question from Hizashi, ‘Otou-sama… please tell me the truth… what do you think, is the Hyuga Clan really inferior compared to the Uchiha Clan?’
Faced with such a straightforward question from Neji, Hizashi was taken aback and was unable to answer…
Moreover, he really had no answer that would satisfy Neji’s hopes…
If it was before, then Hizashi would have denied it straight off the bat, the Hyuga Clan was never inferior compared to the Uchiha Clan back when he was a child, but at this point in time, in Hizashi’s knowledge, the Hyuga Clan really doesn’t have anyone who can match the Mangekyou Sharingan users… coupled with the fact that Uchiha Shisui is now officially considered as the strongest shinobi of Konoha, even Hizashi had to admit that the Hyuga Clan can’t match the Uchiha Clan…
Of course, even if he is aware of this fact in his heart, saying so openly wouldn’t be very good for the reputation of the Hyuga Clan, especially considering his identity… so, in the face of Neji’s question, Hizashi could only choose to respond with silence.
What made Hizashi even more puzzled was the confusion in Neji’s eyes…
Neji may have had such a doubt in his heart, but, even with that, Neji’s had the desire to prove that this doubt is wrong… he had the desire to not only make the Hyuga Clan catch up to the Uchiha Clan, but also to defeat them and prove that the Hyuga Clan is not inferior compared to the Uchiha Clan. But now, Neji seems to have lost that desire… it is as if he has suffered a major setback and he is confused about the future…
It feels as if Neji has already believed in his heart that the Hyuga Clan is indeed inferior compared to the Uchiha clan, and no matter how much effort is put in, the Hyuga Clan will not be able to change their fate…
Upon seeing such complicated emotions appearing in the eyes of such a young child Hizashi was naturally doubtful, and as such, he asked a detailed explanation of Neji’s experience in the Akatsuki’s base… only then did he realize the cause of Neji’s frustration and confusion.
Seeing that Neji had bowed his head, Hizashi looked at Kuroto and answered in place of Neji, “This kid lost to the child of the Uchiha Clan… and that’s why he is so frustrated…”
And then, Hizashi narrated Neji’s experience that Neji told him earlier…
Upon understanding the matter, Kuroto smiled, “Oh… so that’s what happened? Just because you were defeated by Uchiha Sasuke… you feel so confused?”
Neji bit his lip and said, “Sensei… I watched Sasuke’s growth with my own eyes… in that short period not only did he catch up to me, but also surpassed me… Initially, whenever we fought, I was able to defeat him with just a little effort… but after he received training from Shinichi-san, he got stronger every day, and surpassed me…!”
Kuroto glanced at Neji and said in a mocking tone, “Just because Uchiha Sasuke has surpassed you, are you planning to give up?”
Neji shook his head… and said, “No, I haven’t admitted defeat! But… but…”
Kuroto interrupted Neji and said in a cold tone, “But what? Are you going to give me an excuse now? If that’s the case, then it is all the more reason to just give up!
In fact, I suggest you give up… quit all your training and sit back at home like a normal child…! If you don’t even have enough courage and tough heart to get back up again after suffering such a small setback, then you are not qualified of becoming a Shinobi!”
“No… it’s not that either… I… I just can’t see any hope of surpassing him at all… Currently, he just has a single tomoe Sharingan, but his Sharingan will evolve over time… eventually, it will turn into the Mangekyou Sharingan… but my Byakugan… it will remain only Byakugan! How… how am I going to defeat him then?” said Neji.
Considering Neji’s young age, it is normal to be confused under strong stimulation… but Kuroto didn’t like it… The current Hyuga Neji reminds of the Hyuga Neji from the Naruto cannon, the same child who seemed to have accepted his fate… Except that he is reserved and not being violent towards Hinata and the others…
Kuroto coldly said, “That’s why I am saying… Give up… since you don’t have an answer in front of you, then give up…! Because giving up is better than suffering and searching for an answer, right? Aft-…”
But before Kuroto could finish, suddenly a group of men, wearing the uniform of the Konoha Military Police Force forced their way inside the Hyuga Clan district and started to taunt Kuroto.
“Where is Hyuga Kuroto? Bring him out!”
“Come out you bastard! This time we are going to teach you a lesson you will never forget in your life!”
“You stole Shisui’s position! Since when did a servant such as you have such courage?”
The unbridled screams of these members of the Konoha Military Police Force echoed all over the Hyuga Clan, disturbing the silence of the Hyuga Clan district, raising several eyebrows.
Many Hyuga Clansmen who were present in their homes came out on the streets and glared at the Uchiha Clansmen who dared to force their way inside the Hyuga Clan district in such a violent manner.
Even the Patriarch of the Hyuga Clan was notified of such a happening and came out with several guards to check the situation.
As for Kuroto? He was still standing where he was, and upon understanding that they were here for him, he will about to go ahead and greet them.
Just as Kuroto took the first step, Yui quickly grabbed Kuroto’s sleeve and shook her head with a begging expression, “Kuroto-kun… please don’t go…”
From their clothing, it can be clearly noticed that all eight of them are Jonin Rank shinobi…
And considering the attitude shown by the intruding Uchiha Clansmen, they don’t seem to have any intention of talking things out and were definitely planning to have a conflict with Kuroto.
If Kuroto were to go alone, he would have to face eight Jonins at the same time…
Although Yui knows that Kuroto is very strong and can definitely fight and defeat more than one Jonin at once, but handling all eight Jonin Rank shinobi at the same time? Even Kage Rank shinobi wouldn’t claim that they can come off scot-free!
Moreover, these eight are Jonin of the Uchiha Clan…!
As such, Yui did not dare to let Kuroto go for a head-on fight against them.
Understanding the situation, Hizashi also said, “Kuroto-kun… it’s better to be careful… let the Clan handle this matter… you shouldn’t deal with it yourself.”
Kuroto shook his head, “Hizashi-sama… the Clan shouldn’t get involved in such a small matter… Let me handle it, after all, they are here for me.” Then he looked at Yui and gently reassured her, “Don’t worry, it will be over soon… And I get to play the cool guy!”
With that, he removed Yui’s head that was stopping him, and slowly walked towards the incoming Uchiha Clansmen.
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