Neji's home was very quiet, the large house only had him alone. His mother died when she gave birth to him, and his father died for the main family four years ago.
It was already late at night, but Neji couldn't sleep.
He sat cross-legged on the ground, with a scroll in front of his knees, which he hadn't opened yet.
The words of that Hyuga clan elder echoed in his mind.
Neji had been sitting here for several hours.
He didn't know what he was thinking.
His thoughts were very chaotic.
"Main family... branch family..."
"Caged bird..."
Neji knew very well that as long as he used the caged bird curse seal in the scroll, he could make the once high and mighty main family young lady, become the same destiny as him, Hyuga Neji.
But such an act also clearly shows that destiny is indeed man-made, and can indeed be changed by man.
What exactly is Hinata's destiny?
It's all in his mind.
"..." Neji was silent for a long time, he didn't even eat a bite of food tonight, he didn't even have the leisure to practice Gentle Fist, he had been maintaining this posture for a long time....
Does he hate Hinata?
Indeed, he does.
If it weren't for her being kidnapped by Kumogakure four years ago, the head of the main family wouldn't have killed that Cloud Hidden messenger, and his father wouldn't have been a scapegoat for the head of the main family.
But if you extend your thoughts a little further
What is the real contradiction of hatred?
Is it really Hinata?
Neji is a bit confused.
"Maybe... I can see him again tomorrow."
Neji feels that although Haku is only a year or two older than him, he is more mature than him.
The way he looks at things is also very unique, maybe in this respect, he will have a different view.
And, Neji also vaguely feels like he's being used.
So he's hesitating.
The bird in the cage, although it feels difficult to break free from the shackles of fate.
But he doesn't want to be a pawn in anyone's hand.
...
At the same time, the Whitebeard Pirates are temporarily stationed in Konohagakure.
Tonight's banquet lasted for several hours.
Whitebeard leaned against the wall with a big knife, still holding a jar of half-drunk liquor in his hand, his face was a bit drunk, he had been asleep for more than half an hour.
Naruto was lying at Whitebeard's feet, Naruto's belly was bulging, today at the banquet he ate a lot.
"Burp... snore... burp... snore..."
Naruto was also sleeping soundly, sleeping and burping.
Karin and Hinata, the two girls, were lying on the other side of Whitebeard, hugging Whitebeard's thigh and fell asleep in a daze.
Uzumaki Fuushi is patiently cleaning up the table.
Haku is helping out on the side.
"This is the atmosphere of the Whitebeard Pirates! Are you used to it?" Kisame held a wine bowl in his hand, he was also a bit drunk tonight, he said this to Shisui.
Although Shisui is blind and did not see the joyful smiles of his family at tonight's banquet, this does not mean that Shisui is not happy, he has not felt this kind of "home" warmth and enthusiasm for a long, long time.
"Still... I still getting used to it!" Shisui also drank a lot tonight, and his speech was a bit slurred.
"Ha!" Kisame grinned: "You can't hold your liquor, you're already so dizzy after only drinking half a catty of wine. As a pirate, how can your liquor tolerance be so poor?"
Shisui responded helplessly: "I don't usually drink much, I only have a sip at some banquets."
"But, this feeling is not bad."
Shisui laughed drunkenly: "Drinking with family, drinking alone, these two completely different feelings. Personally, I prefer the former."
Shisui also understands that this banquet has truly integrated him into the Whitebeard Pirates.
And the Whitebeard Pirates did not let his fantasy be shattered.
This is indeed the kind of family atmosphere he expected.
This is also the reason why Shisui has always admired the Whitebeard Pirates.
Now he can finally join this big family.
Thinking about it.
Shisui increasingly couldn't resist the sluggishness and sleepiness brought on by alcohol, and fell asleep in a daze here.
If he were an upper ninja in Konohagakure.
Shisui would never fall asleep so easily, because it means that once danger strikes, he will have a hard time reacting quickly.
But, the situation is different now.
He is no longer an upper ninja of Konohagakure.
There's no need to be overly cautious.
"Tsk, such a poor tolerance for alcohol, really boring." Kisame pursed his lips, then looked at Haku who was helping to clean up, and curiously asked: "You said... you want to pull another person from the Hyuga clan into the Whitebeard Pirates?"
"Yes." Haku smiled: "That's a person called Hyuga Neji, according to the relationship of the Hyuga clan... he is still Hinata's cousin! He is a very good potential person."
"Not only do I think so, but even Naruto thinks so." Haku continued: "But if he wants to join the Whitebeard Pirates, he probably needs to untie that knot."
"Oh? A knot?" Kisame was interested: "Let's hear it? It shouldn't be a secret that can't be said between kids, right?"
"It's not really a secret." Haku explained Neji's situation in a relatively brief sentence.
He also talked about the divergence between the main family and the branch family of the Hyuga clan.
Only then did he roughly explain Neji's current situation.
Listening to this made Kisame frown.
"What a pedantic Kekkei Genkai ninja clan." Kisame's smile on his face was all mockery, and his tone was even more unkindly mocking: "No wonder Hinata would rather give up her status as an heir and join the Whitebeard Pirates, a better family. What kind of person would want to stay in that hellish place of the Hyuga clan?"
If... someone asked him, Hoshigaki Kisame, to die for someone, it's not impossible, the premise is to see who the other person is.
If the other party is a person from the Whitebeard Pirates, then he would be very willing to be this scapegoat and save his family.
But, if the other party is a person from the Hyuga clan, borrowing the so-called "family tradition", "branch family obligation"...
Let him be such a scapegoat.
Kisame would choose to kill the Hyuga clan!
...
The next day.
Early morning
Neji, with a scroll in his pocket, was heavy-hearted, his eyes were always staring at his feet, he didn't look forward while walking, until he accidentally bumped into someone in front.
"I'm sorry." Neji gathered his chaotic mind.
After apologizing to the other party, he looked up and took a look.
The other party's black robe with a fire cloud pattern made Neji stunned.
"Ah!" A sharp strange tone entered Neji's ears: "This young man, you have to watch the road when you walk! If this dress is broken, when I go back, that stingy woman will nag me about the budget issue."
Neji's gaze moved up again, and he was surprised to find that the person in front of him had a very strange mask on his face.
In his impression, only those Anbu ninjas in Konohagakure...
Would they wear a mask and wander around?
But this mask doesn't look quite like the mask of an Anbu ninja.
This is an orange mask with spirals patern.
The other party only revealed one eye.
"Young man, you dropped something!" The mysterious man with the mask bent down to pick it up from the ground, and picked up a scroll, and looked at it curiously: "It looks like a Ninjutsu scroll, what strange Ninjutsu is sealed inside? Young man, you don't mind letting me take a look, do you?"
"Give it back to me!" Neji reached out to take the scroll back, but was dodged by the mysterious masked man.
"Ah! Young man, don't get too excited, it's not easy to come to Konohagakure village once, you have to let me see some fun." The mysterious masked man actually directly opened the scroll.
"EH? What is this?"
He was actually seriously analyzing it: "It doesn't look like ordinary Ninjutsu, it's more like a curse seal. Such a profound seal! It's hard to know how to break it!"
"Damn it!" Neji decisively reached out and grabbed the scroll and pulled it back.
After putting the scroll away and stuffing it back into his pocket.
He looked at this mysterious masked man warily: "Who the hell are you?!"
At a glance, he could tell that the caged bird was a curse seal.
Neji didn't believe this person was an ordinary person.
Not even an ordinary ninja.
"Me? Me?" The mysterious masked man didn't care about the wariness and faint hostility on Neji's face at all, he still pinched a very funny sharp tone, and scratched the back of his head: "I am a... person who has 'died' long ago!"
"Hmph! Speaking so mysteriously... you must be a ninja from an outside village, right?"
Neji retreated a few steps without leaving a trace: "What is your purpose coming to Konohagakure? Dressed so mysteriously, you can't be a decent ninja, right?"
The mysterious masked man showed a smile: "Don't speak so harshly! How am I not decent, aren't I standing on the streets of Konohagakure in a decent manner?"
He spread his hands, completely ignoring the passers-by around him: "Aren't I exposed under everyone's eyelids?"
"I can secretly tell you a secret..."
The mysterious masked man lowered his voice with a sense of purpose: "I came to your Konohagakure village, preparing to watch a big 'drama'. If you want to watch it too, young man, try not to sleep too early these nights!"
Drama? Neji's face changed slightly.
He didn't believe that the "drama" spoken from such a mysterious guy would be a good play.
"Oh no! I accidentally revealed some things to a young man! Every time I get excited, I can't help but blurt out a secret, I don't know how to change this habit."
The mysterious masked man spoke with a touch of melancholy.
Finally, with a bit of pondering: "Do you think, should I kill you to silence you?"
Not good!!
Neji's pupils suddenly shrank.
Neji didn't hesitate to make a move, his palms were wrapped around a bit of chakra, and his eyes became sharper than ever: "Gentle Fist, Eight Trigrams Eight Palms!"
The swift first palm hit the mysterious masked man's abdominal acupoint, and the next seven palms were almost completed within two seconds.
But what shocked Neji was that the other party had no reaction at all!
His eight palms seemed to have all hit the air.
"Young man, didn't I remind you that if my clothes are damaged again, that woman will nag?" The mysterious masked man laughed nonchalantly.
"Damn it! You are definitely not an ordinary ninja!"
Neji quickly pulled back, took out three shurikens from his ninja bag, and threw them directly at the mysterious masked man.
And he also turned his head and retreated behind him.
Just a face-to-face meeting made Neji clear that he was definitely not this masked man's opponent. And there are too many civilians here, fighting with this guy, it's easy to hurt ordinary people.
He must hurry up and leave this place, and inform the ninja of the village that a very dangerous mysterious person has infiltrated the village.
With this thought in mind, Neji had already run out more than a hundred meters.
His retreat route was not very chaotic.
He shuttled back and forth in the streets and alleys.
Trying to shake off that mysterious person.
"Ararara! What a great young man, I didn't expect a student from the ninja school to carry three shurikens with him." A familiar strange tone sounded from the left, Neji hurriedly turned his head to look, and saw that the mysterious person was right next to him!
He still had three shurikens in his hand, and he waved at him mischievously.
Aren't these three shurikens the ones he threw at the other party?
Neji's heart tightened instantly.
"Young man, here you go!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The sharp sound of three shurikens cutting through the air came, and Neji quickly slapped one of them away with his palm, and hurriedly twisted his body while running to dodge another shuriken.
But the angle of the third shuriken was very tricky, and no matter what, Neji couldn't dodge it.
Thud...
The shuriken directly hit his armpit, and the intense pain made a few bloodshot veins crawl up his white eyes.
"One out of three, good job, young man!"
A voice with a strange tone sounded like a death knell behind him: "Could it be because of your Hyuga clan's Byakugan? What a powerful pair of eyes, second only to the Uchiha clan's Sharingan! Eh? Right!"
The mysterious masked man suddenly realized: "You wouldn't have seen my face under the mask through your eyes, would you? But according to the normal Byakugan, you should only be able to see my facial meridians?"
"Ararara, trouble!" The mysterious masked man's tone suddenly became very low, with a strong killing intent: "Whether you have seen it or not, I can't keep you alive."
Neji was very shocked by this person's change in tone, this guy, it was like he changed his personality in the blink of an eye.
Suddenly, Neji's pupils dilated quite a bit.
"Puwa!!!" A mouthful of blood spurted out of his mouth, and his whole body flew towards a house on one side, hitting the wall of the house hard, and then he spat out another mouthful of blood.
The mysterious masked man calmly retracted his raised foot, his tone was low and murderous, "I'm tired of messing with you, I have more important things to do!"
"Cough cough... damn it..."
Neji struggled to get up, he didn't even know how the other party had made a move just now.
The gap between the two was too big.
"It seems that the bone in my left leg is fractured..." Neji was sweating profusely, who would have thought that he would be so unlucky today.
His gaze turned to the mysterious masked man.
Seeing the other party holding a kunai.
"Haku, perhaps there really are people who can break free from destiny." Neji's blood-stained mouth corner brought a touch of bitterness: "But that person... definitely can't be me, this caged bird. I'm still too weak, pitifully and pathetically weak."
Whoosh...
In Neji's line of sight, the kunai thrown out by the other party was heading straight for his throat, and the kunai was getting bigger and bigger.
At the moment of life and death, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and firmly caught the kunai.
The tip of the kunai was less than two centimeters from Neji's throat.
Just a little bit more and it would have pierced his neck.
"Hmm?" Neji quickly turned his head to look, the familiar profile made him immediately recognize who this person was: "Haku?!"
"To be able to hold on for so long in front of a 'Akatsuki' member, you're already very impressive. Neji-kun, don't belittle yourself!"
Haku's tone was unprecedentedly alert and serious.
Although he was talking to Neji, Haku's eyes were fixed on the mysterious masked man.
The mysterious masked man's black robe...
Is too eye catching
It would be difficult not to recognize him.
"Neji, don't move, I'll help you deal with the shuriken under your arm."
Uzumaki Karin's voice came from the side: "My medical ninjutsu is not very high, it might hurt a bit. Don't worry, with me here, your injury will heal quickly."
Neji also looked at Karin, he recognized Uzumaki Karin, she was the red-haired girl next to Naruto.
"Hey! You guy, have you appeared in the Land of Water?"
Naruto's voice also quickly sounded.
Naruto frowned at the mysterious masked man: "I heard Pops say that when he killed the Fourth Mizukage in the Land of Water, he encountered a person from the Dawn organization. You guy, you're almost exactly the same as Pops described!"
Although Naruto couldn't see the other party's face.
But that mask was very recognizable.
"You... are you the one who claims to be Uchiha Madara?" Naruto has already taken out two kunai from his ninja bag.
Hinata is not here.
Because Naruto let Hinata go and notify the ninjas of Konohagakure.
"Tsk, a bunch of little devils from the Whitebeard Pirates have come!" Uchiha Obito squinted his eyes: "A Kekkei Genkai little devil, an Uzumaki clan little devil, a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
Obito hooked the corner of his mouth under the mask: "You little pirates, do you want to meddle here?"
"Naruto! Naruto! What a coincidence!"
Suddenly, an excited voice came from not far behind Obito: "eh? Naruto, what's going on over there?"
"Stupid Chouji! Don't go over there! Naruto is in danger!" This is Shikamaru's urgent reminder.
"Ah? What?!!!"
Obito looked back.
"The clan emblems on the clothes of these two little devils..." Obito had a vague impression, after all, he was once a ninja of Konohagakure: "The Nara clan? And the Akimichi clan?"
"Strange, what's going on today? On the first day I came to Konohagakure, did I poke a hornet's nest?"
Obito sighed lightly.
"On the first day I came to Konohagakure, I killed so many little devils, it doesn't seem quite right, does it?"
.....
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