This "Hinata" had slightly longer hair.
More importantly, when Akira saw the girl's smooth, unmarked forehead, a look of disgust appeared on his face.
A main branch member.
"Hey, you three." Akira bent down and picked up a few small stones.
The three kids stopped throwing stones and looked toward him.
In terms of build, Akira was clearly bigger than them. But since he wasn't an adult, it wasn't enough to scare them into fleeing immediately.
"Another Byakugan monster," one of the kids said while making faces at him.
The three of them turned to run. Even though Akira wasn't an adult, his build alone told them he wasn't someone they could beat. They had enough sense to know that.
But they weren't faster than the stones Akira threw.
"One, two, three, four… all hits."
The three running figures were knocked to the ground instantly. One of them tried to get up, only to get hit in the forehead again and immediately crouch down holding his head.
The three little brats glared at Akira angrily.
"Just you wait!"
Then they ran away, ignoring the pain in their bodies.
"Why did you hit me too?" the "Hinata" stood up and glared at Akira with wide, angry eyes.
She thought he had come to rescue her.
Instead, he attacked friend and foe alike.
"What, would you prefer this?" Akira took out a kunai and tossed it in his hand, a dangerous smile on his face.
It wasn't that he couldn't tell friend from foe.
It was that she—the one being bullied—was actually the enemy.
The girl stepped back instinctively. Then she seemed to realize something and stared at him.
"You're that rebellious Hyuga Akira!"
"So not obeying the main family is rebellion? Living your own life is treason?" Akira replied coldly.
He didn't want to continue this conversation with a little girl. Even if he didn't get along with the main family, he wasn't going to bully a child.
Just as he turned to leave—
"Wait!"
Akira paused.
"What? Want to try the kunai?"
The girl's face instantly turned pale. Tears began forming at the corners of her eyes as she sniffled.
"C-Could you… take me in?"
"…Huh?"
"You're Hyuga Natsuna. Granddaughter of Hyuga Hi. You ran away from home because you didn't want to marry Hyuga Hiashi."
Akira gently set his teacup down and stared at the girl in front of him, deep in thought.
He knew Hyuga Hi.
An ill-tempered old man from the main branch.
He hadn't expected the man to plan on marrying his granddaughter to Hiashi.
So that meant the girl in front of him really was the future mother of Hinata and Hanabi.
"Not marry him!" Natsuna corrected loudly.
"I'm supposed to become his fiancée! The engagement ceremony is next year!"
"I'm only six years old! Even next year I'll only be seven! Why should I have a fiancé?!"
"Child bride. What's strange about that in the Hyuga clan?" Akira rolled his eyes.
Many customs from the Warring States period were still preserved within the Hyuga clan.
And they had absolutely no intention of changing them.
If the entire clan were thrown back into the Warring States era, they probably wouldn't feel the slightest discomfort.
Still…
Hyuga Hi clearly doted on his granddaughter. Otherwise Natsuna's personality wouldn't have turned out like this.
The Hyuga clan valued etiquette more than anything.
But arranging Hiashi's engagement this early felt… rushed.
Akira suddenly sensed something strange.
Marriage among the Hyuga main branch wasn't free, but engagements at sixteen were already considered early—let alone to someone who had just entered the ninja academy.
The current clan head, Hyuga Masashi, hadn't married until his twenties, and he had even married someone from the branch family.
As long as they were Hyuga, the main family could marry whoever they wanted.
There was no reason to restrict things this strictly.
Unless something had happened that forced Hyuga Hi to do this.
Akira didn't know much about Hyuga Hi besides his temper.
He couldn't figure out the old man's motive.
"So do you know why he wanted to marry you off?" Akira asked curiously.
"How would I know?!" Natsuna slammed the table angrily.
"If I knew the reason, would I have run away?!"
Would she have ended up getting bullied by a bunch of little kids?
Akira raised an eyebrow.
Natsuna instantly sat up straight, trying to appear ladylike.
"So… can you take me in?" she asked carefully.
This was the result of careful consideration.
Other Hyuga members would definitely send her back home.
She wasn't familiar with any other ninja clans.
But Akira was different.
He was a Hyuga who openly opposed the main family.
He was the most likely person to shelter her.
And the main branch would never think to look for her here.
Plan complete.
She mentally gave herself a thumbs-up.
"As long as you cook and clean, you can stay," Akira said casually.
The house was big anyway. One or two extra people didn't matter.
Natsuna slammed both hands on the table and stood up angrily.
"The stove is taller than I am! And I've never cleaned a house before! How am I supposed to do any of that?!"
So she could cook, apparently.
Akira simply looked at her calmly.
"If the stove's too tall, use a stool. If you've never cleaned before, learn."
"If you can't…"
He pointed toward the door.
"The exit's over there."
Natsuna's face scrunched up.
"Fine, fine! As long as I don't have to go back home, I'll do anything!"
She absolutely refused to get engaged to Hyuga Hiashi!
Meanwhile, Akira was still pondering the meaning behind Hyuga Hi's decision.
"The Hyuga clan head died on the front lines."
Orochimaru gave the answer the next day.
He was currently training Nawaki and Mushi-hime beneath a waterfall.
"Akira-senpai!" Mushi-hime walked over with sparkling eyes, holding a red bug.
"I made a new bug dish! Want to try it?"
"Thank you, but no."
Akira silently stepped back.
He really couldn't handle bugs.
Looking at Nawaki being battered by the waterfall, Akira wondered—
Did every training regimen include this step?
"So Hyuga Masashi really died?" Akira said with a hint of regret.
Orochimaru glanced at him strangely.
"Yes. The body is currently being transported back."
"He was ambushed by the Raikage. The clan head personally intercepted him. The Raikage was seriously injured… but the Hyuga clan head died."
Wasn't this guy supposed to have a terrible relationship with the Hyuga main family?
Why did he sound regretful?
"What a pity he didn't die by my hand," Akira muttered bitterly.
He hadn't even gotten a chance to make the Byakugan drop yet.
Of course.
Orochimaru looked at him with a knowing expression.
Now he finally understood why Hyuga Hi wanted to marry Natsuna to Hiashi.
This was simply a power struggle within the Hyuga clan.
It had nothing to do with him.
"The Chunin Exams may not be difficult for you," Orochimaru said.
"But don't slack off."
"Yeah, yeah," Akira waved his hand dismissively.
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