Chapter 517 Neiji Hinata

"Is it raining..."

From the time he woke up in the morning, Ning Ci heard the pattering sound coming from outside the house, which was obviously the sound of rain.

Judging by the size of the sound, it seems that the rain is not too small.

Walking to the corridor outside, there is a stream of water on the eaves, continuously flowing into the courtyard.

The sky was gloomy, and thunder could be faintly heard in the distance.

In this hot weather, it is a little comfort to be able to occasionally encounter rainy days.

Even if Neji can bear hardships and stand hard work, it is not a problem to be exposed to the sun for a long time, but after all, he doesn't like this kind of stuffy weather.

The wind that blows gently is mixed with the smell of dampness and soil. I was still a little drowsy, but my mind suddenly became clear.

It has been a few days since I came back from the ghost country.

Although he was disrespectful in the game and was reprimanded by the clan after returning, in essence, he did not receive any substantial punishment, and this was not something he could control.

Recalling the game scene that day, even though I re-simulated it countless times in my brain, the result I got was still a fiasco.

Moreover, compared to defeat in the war, he felt that the clan's distrust of the branch family made him even more gloomy.

Perhaps it was because after returning from the ghost country, he became extremely sensitive to certain things, and was able to perceive some things that he had never taken the initiative to pay attention to before.

In fact, if you think about it carefully, the woman named Hinata Ayane is right. The Konoha Hyuga clan is indeed full of various contradictions, and the relationship between the main family and the branch family seems to be very strange.

Reminiscent of the fact that my father also implicitly revealed that there is a strong hostility between the main family and the branch family, it feels like this is not like a family getting along at all.

Therefore, he also began to become hesitant about whether to ask his father for a certain truth.

He wanted to know the answer, but he was also afraid that the answer he got would plunge his heart into pain and despair.

Separation...what the **** is it?

The village...what the **** is it?

It seems that something is constantly hindering him from integrating into the family and the village.

"Ning Ci."

A gentle voice came from the other end of the corridor, and his father walked over in casual black plain clothes.

"Father."

Ning Ci turned around and greeted slightly.

"You wake up late these days."

"Yes."

Ning Ci nodded.

It's seven o'clock in the morning. Normally, he would get up at five o'clock in the morning for morning exercises.

"Are you still worried about the words of the elders of the clan?"

The day of the clan meeting was also there, but it was not suitable for him to speak for Neji on that occasion.

He was worried that he would make things self-defeating and complicate things that were originally simple.

Ning Ci fell silent and did not speak.

"After the Clan Council came back, you haven't mentioned this kind of thing. I thought you didn't care about it. But now, it seems that you don't seem to care at all in your heart."

Rizai laughed.

Ningji didn't know how to answer.

"They have always been like this, there is no need to worry about this kind of thing."

Risai comforted him.

I'm not bothered by this. Ning Ci said something in his heart.

His heart is not so fragile that he dare not even admit defeat.

He will not feel depressed because of the punishment of the Zong family, and let himself fall into a dilemma.

But seeing that his father would be wrong, Neji didn't intend to explain.

"Father thinks it's really good for the clan to keep in this state?"

Ningji asked.

"You mean..."

"Through the competition, I can somewhat more intuitively see the Hyuga clan in the land of ghosts, which is completely different from what we have here."

Although the elders of the clan here, after watching the game video, would regard the soft fist of the Hyuga clan in the ghost country as a crooked way that deviates from Hyuga's "orthodox", but they still want to break their heads secretly, and want to study the tricks used by the clansman over there.

Because they are enemies, they don't want to recognize the other party's achievements, so they will use the name of 'orthodoxy' to completely deny it.

But because it did bring a powerful deterrent effect, so I can only despise and reject it while secretly researching and thinking hard to get a powerful secret different from the orthodox Soft Fist of the Hyuga Clan of the Demon Country.

For these dishonest patriarchs, Ning Ci suddenly understood a truth, preaching is meaningless, only actions can make them physically obedient.

"This is something the Zong family needs to consider."

Said the day difference.

In other words, there is no reason for separation, and there is no condition to intervene in such disputes.

Although they also belong to the Hyuga Clan in name, they are essentially at a disadvantage. They only exist as a subsidiary branch, and cannot communicate directly with the Hyuga Clan in the Demon Country like the main family.

Ning Ci looked at the stagnant water in the yard, but did not speak.

"Speaking of which, your friend just came to look for him, and he seems to be from the same team as you."

Risai said suddenly.

Ning Ci understood, it must be Xiao Li and Tian Tian.

"Then I'll go out first."

"It doesn't matter if you come back later, just relax when it's time to relax."

Day difference smiled.

Ning Ci glanced at Risashi, nodded slightly, turned and left.

"Neji, this way!"

Beside a shop not far from the Hyuga Clan, Neji saw Tiantian waving at him.

She and Xiao Li were sitting on a bench under the eaves outside the shop, having breakfast there.

"Is Teacher Kai not here again?"

Ningci didn't see Kai, so he asked.

"Yeah, it seems that after returning, many junin have become very busy, and yesterday I just had a quick meeting with Teacher Kai."

Tiantian took out the extra hot rice **** and put them in front of Neji.

"Here, Neji, you probably haven't had breakfast yet."

"Thanks."

Ning Ci felt a hint of warmth, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Compared to the family whose atmosphere is always dull and serious and has all kinds of rules, it is more relaxed to get along with the companions here, without having to think about superfluous things.

Sometimes, he would also think that it would be great if he was not born in the Hyuga clan.

There is nothing wrong with being an ordinary ninja.

Although you don't care on the surface, you will still feel a little longing in your heartthe happiness called freedom.

Freedom...what does it feel like?

It seems that in this family, he never knew what it was like to be free.

Even without the caged bird curse mark, the various rules and regulations of the family still make him feel a lot of pressure.

"Is the injury all right now, Lee?"

Ning Ci looked towards Xiao Li and asked about his injury.

"The doctor said that it will take another week to fully recover."

Xiao Li said energetically.

His injuries were largely caused by the overuse of Bamen Dunjia. It can be said that this is a dangerous move that hurts one thousand enemies and eight hundred.

"Since this is the case, then don't do some extreme exercises during the recovery period. What if the injury recurs and you suddenly come to the task?"

Said dissatisfied every day.

She knew that Xiao Li had been secretly doing overloaded physical exercises for the past two days, and she was very worried that his injury, which was about to heal, would prolong the recovery time due to excessive exercise.

"Tian Tian, youth is not allowed to waste time!"

Xiao Li said seriously.

Tiantian rolled his eyes, knowing that his words were for nothing.

"Do you have any plans for today?"

Ning Ci bit the warm rice ball, swallowed it, and asked.

"Mr. Kai is not here, so we can arrange whatever we want. But today is a rainy day, so it is not suitable to go out for training."

Looking at the gloomy sky every day, I don't really want to practice in this kind of weather.

Besides, the Chunin Exam has just passed, so she doesn't want to devote her rare leisure time to practicing.

She is not a cultivator like Xiao Li.

"In this way, Tiantian is a girl."

Xiao Li seemed to be thinking about something.

The corner of his mouth twitched every day for his unintentional words. Didn't she act like a girl before?

"Ningji, what are your plans?"

"In my case, I probably want to rest at home."

Ningji said without hesitation.

"I thought you would, like Li, insist on training in this bad weather."

Tian Tian was surprised, she rarely saw Ne Ci so leisurely.

But she can also guess something, probably related to the game.

She doesn't care on the surface, but she will definitely feel unwilling in her heart.

So, Tiantian Zhiqu did not extend the topic to this.

"Even I want to take a break every now and then. Also, I don't want to get so wet that I'll catch a cold."

I don't like hot weather, but it's too much to say that I like rainy weather.

"But it's not good to be too leisurely, you must become a Chunin as soon as possible. So let's go to Hokage-sama to take the task later!"

Even in this kind of rainy day that can dampen people's enthusiasm, Xiao Li is full of enthusiasm to perform tasks, and wants to exercise himself through various tempering, so that he can grow rapidly.

Passing this Chunin exam, he seriously felt his lack of strength, compared with those top ninja, he was still far behind.

"No, you will definitely take on those tiring tasks."

Tiantian refused without hesitation.

"why is it like this?"

"And Teacher Kai is not here, let's talk about the task later."

"Yeah, it's a bit inappropriate for this kind of thing to take on the task."

Ning Ci nodded, he was not very enthusiastic about carrying out the task at the moment.

"I can't say that completely. It would be different if it was a parent-child task."

"Parent-child task?"

This new term made Xiao Li and Ning Ci look at Tian Tian in doubt.

"To put it simply, it is to perform missions with family members who are also ninjas. Because the difficulty is very small, and the mission process is relaxed and happy, it will not appear depressed. By the way, you can get close to your family and enjoy the warmth of family affection... Therefore, compared with missions, this is more like a family trip. This is the origin of parent-child missions. Why, don't you know?"

Tian Tian asked strangely instead.

Xiao Li shook his head without hesitation and said, "No, my parents are not ninjas. I have no idea that such missions exist."

"Hasn't Ningji experienced it?"

asked curiously every day.

Ning Ci hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, I have never performed missions with my family."

I don't know what to say every day.

It would be understandable if it was those who had just graduated, but they were graduates of the previous year. The life of a genin has lasted for more than a year. Neji should have time to do this kind of task with his family.

"That's a pity. I heard that Ino and the others will do this kind of task with their family after a few days off. I'm really envious."

Like Xiao Li, Tian Tian's parents are not ninjas, they are just businessmen who run a ninja tool shop, and they have never experienced what it is like to perform tasks with their families.

Ning Ci remained silent.

In fact, not only the so-called parent-child tasks, he doesn't even have the experience of traveling with his family.

Every time he wants to travel with his family, his father excuses his work and refuses his requests.

Thinking of this, Ning Ci couldn't help but cast a haze in his heart.

Ning Ci suddenly stood up from the bench, Tian Tian and Xiao Li looked at him, always feeling that something happened to Ning Ci, and his face seemed unsightly.

"What's the matter, Neji?"

"Sorry, I suddenly remembered something at home, so let's stop here today."

"But, that you just... came..."

Tiantian wanted to say something, but saw Neji get up, shuttle through the rain, and return to the Hyuga clan's clan site, making the words that Tiantian was holding back stagnant in his mouth, unable to continue.

"Ningci's state seems to be a little bit wrong. This is the first time I have seen his serious expression, and I always feel that something big is about to happen."

Xiao Li looked at Ning Ci's back and felt that it was a bit unusual for Ning Ci to go back suddenly.

"Is there nothing wrong with Neji?"

Tiantian is also worried, did I say something wrong?

However, recalling what I said before, there was no intention of offending anyone at all.

"At this time, it would be better for him to be alone. We will only do a disservice in the past."

This is Xiao Li's sincere speech.

He is very clear that there are some private matters that cannot be helped by others.

As a companion, he can only pray that Neji can come out safe and sound.

"Really, it would be great if Teacher Kai was here. I really don't know what he is busy with."

Every day, I complained depressedly.

noon.

The cloudy and rainy weather has not improved, but has a trend of getting bigger and bigger.

Seeing the figure of Ning Ci returning, Nishi, who had just returned from the clan's territory, was slightly taken aback.

"Are you back so early today?"

According to his guess, Neji should have lunch with his companions, maybe he won't come back in the afternoon, and he won't come back until after dinner.

"Did father come back from the Zong family?"

Ning Ci did not answer the question.

"Yes, it's my brother... No, it's the patriarch who asked me to discuss some private matters."

Hi almost nodded.

"A private matter?"

"It's related to Hinata."

Ning Ci blinked, even more confused.

He didn't understand that Nizuzu, who was the patriarch, called his father over just to discuss Hinata's affairs.

If you are running around for the heir of the clan, then it is completely meaningless to find your father.

In the matter of deciding the heir of the clan, although the branch family has a little right to participate, it is only the right to participate, and the decision-making power has always been in the hands of the clan.

The vote for separation is just a formality in the past.

And private matters... This made Neji even more unclear.

The day difference did not explain directly, but took Neji into a nearby room, the door was not closed, and he could see the rain scene in the courtyard from here.

The father and son sat down on the floor facing each other.

"Speaking of which, Neji, do you have a girl you like?"

Neji looked very strange when he asked such a sudden question from the day's difference.

In an instant, Tian Tian's voice and appearance appeared in his mind, but it was only for a moment, because Tian Tian was the girl of the same age that he had contacted the most. As for the rest of the girls, he didn't have much contact with them.

When he was in ninja school, he was often single. Although many girls had a crush on him, but to say that he likes... Neji thinks it's a bit too early.

"Why does father ask such a question?"

"Isn't there? I thought that with your ability, many girls would pursue you."

Nizai said jokingly.

"I haven't thought about it."

"It really looks like your style."

"So, about that so-called private matter, what is it..."

Ningji uncovered this topic, and was a little curious about the private affairs discussed by Nisasa to the patriarch Hizuzu.

"I heard from the patriarch that Hinata seems to have a boy she likes."

Ningji thought of the yellow-haired boy who maintained Hinata and quarreled with him on the way back.

Compared to my own relationship with the opposite sex, as a cousin Hinata seems to have less relationship with the opposite sex.

If Hinata really has a man she secretly likes, Neji will lock on the target all at once.

"They are impossible."

Ningji said directly.

Although there are people who marry out of the Hyuga clan, the number is very small, and there are many restrictions.

What's more, Hinata is the young head of the patriarch who is likely to inherit the position of patriarch.

Even if taking a step back, Hinata failed in the fight for the position of patriarch, he is also the daughter of patriarch Hizuru, and the sister of the next patriarch Hyuga, which is of great significance to the clan.

For example, my father is the younger brother of the patriarch Rizu.

With this blood relationship, my father can be said to be the most trusted members of the main family.

Therefore, no matter whether Hinata succeeds in competing for the position of patriarch or not, it is impossible for her to marry outside.

So, if Hinata really has a liking for a foreigner, Neji thinks that breaking it off as soon as possible is good for both parties.

"That child is called Uzumaki Naruto."

Riza looked at the rain scene in the courtyard.

"Um."

"The identity of that child is a bit unusual."

Turning his head, seeing Neji's astonished expression, Hizashi smiled slightly.

"Whether in the past or today, intermarriage between ninjas and ninjas is very common. Especially in the chaotic Warring States Period, because there were no villages, the alliance between ninjas and ninjas usually relied on in-laws to conclude friendly relations. For example, the first Hokage-sama who founded our Konoha Village, and his wife Uzumaki Mito-sama, represent the union of the two families."

"Vortex..."

Ning Ci suddenly thought of something.

He thought of Karin Uzumaki who appeared in the final of the Chunin Exam, who also had the same surname as Naruto.

This surname probably has an unusual meaning.

"Although it's a bit premature to say so, the patriarch is actually undecided. The things behind that child are too huge, even our Hyuga clan, it is very difficult to deal with. Moreover, it is said that he has a close relationship with Jiraiysama, one of the three ninjas. The Muji ninjutsu that he used to defeat Gaara in the Chunin exam was taught by Jiraiysama."

Ning Ci did not recover from the shock.

In his cognition, the Hyuga clan can be said to be the role model for all the ninja clans in Konoha. He couldn't imagine that the entire Hyuga clan would give in because of one Uzumaki Naruto.

"I didn't expect him to have such a network."

"Master Hokage also attaches great importance to him. Because of this, the Zong family seems to be in a dilemma."

Nichizai sighed.

Because the initiative in this matter is not in the hands of the Hyuga clan, but in the hands of Hokage.

Naruto's guardian is the Third Hokage.

Even if the third Hokage resigns from the position of Hokage, the fact that the guardian is Hokage will not change.

What's more, there are Sannin behind him, and even Minister Anbu is inextricably linked with him.

Although the Hyuga clan has long been aware of this kind of thing, considering the intricate relationship behind Naruto, even the Hyuga clan dare not intervene at will, and can only let it develop naturally.

After all, if Hinata really loses her status as the patriarch, then it is also an option to go out and marry someone.

Judging from the results, it doesn't seem to be a bad thing.

But the issues of face and tradition are still things that the Zong family needs to consider.

After the split, the strength of the Hyuga Clan is too weak after all. If it is like the Uchiha Clan in the past, even Hokage can face it head-on without fear.

Hijiri couldn't help but sigh. Twenty years later, the Hyuga clan wouldn't be so cautious. That split severely damaged the power of the Hyuga clan.

Ning Ci nodded absently.

It is not too early for the family to consider the issue of marriage so early.

Even today, it is not uncommon for families to get married and have children at the age of fifteen or sixteen.

Compared to the Warring States period, although the average life expectancy has increased a lot, it is not much higher. Therefore, the population problem is still one of the major problems facing the village and even a country.

The only task of those incapable clansmen is to contribute to the family in terms of population.

Not only the Hyuga clan, but also other ninja clans. The village also specially introduced many preferential policies for this purpose.

"What about Hinatsama's thoughts? Has the patriarch talked to him?"

Ningji asked.

"Not yet, the patriarch and the rest of the clan elders plan to wait and see what happens."

In the end, I dare not put the initiative in my own hands.

Based on the degree of protection of Naruto by the Third Hokage, even Naruto knows exactly what color underwear he is wearing today. It is hard to believe that the Third Hokage knows nothing about the secret love affair of the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan patriarch.

"Is that so?"

"You should pay more attention to this matter in the future, after all, she is your cousin, she is different from the rest of the clan."

Nichiza looked at Neji and said.

"I know, I will pay attention to this aspect in the future, Master Hinata is not suitable for the environment of the Zong family."

Ning Ci nodded in agreement, even if the daily difference did not require him, he planned to do so.

"That's good, all right, it's almost time for lunch, let's go together..."

"Father."

Ning Ci suddenly stopped the day messenger, and sat still.

"What's wrong?"

Riza looked at Neji suspiciously, and sat down again.

"I want to do parent-child tasks with you later."

Ning Ci raised his head to meet Hizashi's eyes, revealing a trace of longing.

"Parent-child task?"

He was stunned, he didn't know why Neji would suddenly make this request.

He knows about parent-child tasks, that is, on the premise that children and parents are ninjas, going out to perform tasks together is a novel way of family travel.

"Well, since I've never experienced such a thing, I want to know what it's like. Is that okay, Father?"

Ningji looked at Nishiki with hopeful eyes.

Rizai was silent, a trace of guilt and grief flashed across his face.

Because it's not just parent-child tasks, he found that he couldn't even give Neji the so-called travel.

"Sorry, recent family affairs..."

Daily difference can only be excused by being busy.

"Actually, I returned to the clan three hours ago, and found the rest of the split ninjas who were as old as me, and asked some questions."

Nichizai's eyes dodged a little, as if he was looking at Neji in fear.

"Father, do you know? It's quite a coincidence. Those who are as old as me are the same as me. They have never performed parent-child tasks with their families. No, they don't even have the experience of traveling with their families. This is a very interesting coincidence."

Following Ning Ci's eloquence, Nisai took a deep breath and looked at Ning Ci with complicated eyes.

In this complicated look, there is still comfort.

Because he suddenly realized that his child has grown up and can think about problems on his own, instead of being sheltered by him.

But what followed was a burst of sadness and helplessness.

"What do you want to ask?"

"When I went to the Kingdom of Wind and the Kingdom of Ghosts to take the exam, my father wasn't doing a task at all, but he was being monitored, right?"

Ningji stared at the face of the day, as if trying to find the answer he wanted.

He clenches his fist so hard that his nails almost sink into the flesh.

Looking at Rizai, there is longing, but also worry, and more anger, and a strong hatred that he has not even noticed!

For the sake of the family, the family was separated from life to death, but the result was only this kind of fate.

Zongjia!

(end of this chapter)