I looked at my mother's beautiful face as she served breakfast on the dining table with a warm smile. Sensing my gaze, she asked, "What's the matter, sweetie? Why are you looking at me like this?"
Pointing at her belly, I cutely asked, "When does the baby come out, Mommy?"
She caressed her tummy with love. "So you want to get your sibling this badly?"
"Hmm, hmmm, yes," I nodded excitedly.
"You have to wait 8 more months for that, sweetie," she told me.
"That long?"
"Yes, now eat quietly," she instructed.
'So I have around nine months, huh…'
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"What do you want, a boy or a girl, Father?" I curiously asked my father, who was quietly eating beside us.
"I want a little brother," Neji jumped into the conversation.
"I don't know, but both are better," my father said.
"What about you, Mother?" I looked at her and asked.
"Hmmm… I have you, so a son is better," she replied.
"I see," nodding, I quietly started to eat.
'Then you might get a surprise, or maybe I…'
Soon, everyone finished eating, and following the daily routine, Neji and I walked toward the training ground, with my father following us.
My uncle and father taught us for one hour each day, as they had agreed from the beginning. In almost two years, they have taught us everything except the 'rotation.' It's up to us how much we will improve in the future after learning from them.
.
"Father, show us how to do the Rotation technique," He had nothing new to teach except this one.
He looked at us for a moment before speaking, "It requires a large amount of chakra with great precision, so use it wisely and don't get chakra exhausted."
This was not a problem for me, and due to my teaching, neither for Neji, and my father knew it; that's why he was teaching us in the first place.
Traditionally, this technique was only for the clan leader and its heir, but I knew Neji's father also knew it, so it was not a problem for Neji to learn it.
"Watch carefully." Activating my Byakugan, I saw how my father expelled the chakra from all of his tenketsu and started spinning on the same spot, causing the expelled chakra to break apart in the form of small threads, spinning around and creating an absolute defense in the form of a spinning chakra shield.
It could be done without spinning, but my father wanted to show us the basics first.
.
This is called 'Eight Trigram Palms Revolving Heaven,' and its speed could reach 1200 km/h. If someone wants to breach its defense, they have to exceed this speed in the direction of the rotation.
And if the user does not have focus and precise chakra control when the Revolving Heaven is executed, the user will repel themselves out of the technique.
.
"So this is how it's done." I deactivated my Byakugan, and Neji did the same.
"I have shown you the technique; now it depends on your talent to learn it," my father said, his hands behind his back.
"But I know you will learn it in less than a month," he added.
"I will learn it in fifteen days," Neji said.
"Then I will learn it in 10 days," I added, looking at him with a smirk.
"If you can learn it in 10 days, then I will do it in 5 days," he exclaimed.
"Oh... is that so… then I will do it today," I bluffed.
My father looked at us, clapping his hands. With a stern voice, he said, "Both of you, stop bickering and start your training."
.
"Yes, Father."
"Yes, Uncle."
Both of us nodded and began our training for the day. After watching us, he went away, leaving us alone in the training ground.
---
The day quickly passed, leaving us physically exhausted. After resting for some hours, I gazed out of the library window, patting the little rabbit in my arms.
Haku-chan and Kimimaro were peacefully sleeping in their room after training for one hour with me; that was their current limit.
"It's finally damn time," I said with excitement, standing up and walking towards the exit. "It's been a while since someone tried to assassinate me," I chuckled maliciously.
"Ren, is everything ready?" Tilting my head, I asked him.
"Yes, Lady Hinata. We have picked up the target and scouted the safe routes," he said.
"Lead the way." Upon receiving my orders, he disappeared from there, erasing and adding some clues as he went.
We finally stopped at the crown of a tree, currently standing on the outskirts of Konoha and looking at a soon-to-be-dead clan.
.
"So, he is the weakest one," I asked.
"Yes, some people with white masks, different from the ANBU, regularly monitor the clan movements. As per your orders, we will pick him, the weakest among them," he explained.
"Good job, Ren," I looked at the man with a chuckle, whose name I didn't know, and who was going to be my lab rat.
'I hope Danzo will forgive my insolence, hehe.'
.
He was using a camouflage technique to hide himself in the darkness. Without the Byakugan, he was almost impossible to detect for any normal shinobi.
Patting the head of the white rabbit, I whispered, "If you do your job perfectly, I will give you a bunch of carrots."
The poor rabbit looked at me with an expression as if saying, 'My time has come.'
.
Chuckling at his expression, I let him go. The rabbit hopped in the direction of the hiding man.
The rabbit shook the nearby bushes, but the man ignored him, considering it to be random rats or cats.
However, the rabbit shook the bushes again, and this time the man became suspicious. He pulled out a kunai and precisely threw it at the shaking bushes to kill whatever was hiding in them.
But when the kunai was about to kill the little rabbit, I slightly flicked my finger and pulled the string connected to his leg.
The rabbit narrowly avoided death and came out into the open.
'I couldn't let this thing die; Haku-chan would be sad if this rabbit died, and as a benevolent person, I can't make him sad.'
.
"It's just the rabbit," the man muttered, lowering his guard.
But the next moment, he heard my melodic whispers in his ear, "Surprise, bitch."
.
Before giving him any time to think, I skillfully spun a senbon needle between my fingers and stabbed his neck two times, masterfully pressing his two pressure points.
Before he could hit the ground like a dead man, Ren appeared and grabbed him by his neck, preventing him from falling.
Ren quickly pulled out a bag, and the man was perfectly fitted into the bag. Tying the bag with a rope, he put it on his shoulder as if it were a sack of potatoes.
*crack*
I threw a vial of perfume and poison on the crime scene before leaving.
"Let's go; I am looking forward to seeing your fabulous acting skills," I said, grinning at Ren.
"I will do my best, Lady Hinata," he said with a short chuckle.
.
Ritsu skillfully distracted the clan guards, making it more believable that's why he was not with us.
Soon, we arrived at the clan, and I was sure that no traces were left behind, not even the fur of this little rabbit.
"Here, the drama begins," I said, opening the rope of the bag and revealing the still-unconscious man. We were near the library, so the grounds were empty.
Pulling out a senbon needle, I stabbed him in the pressure points, waking him up.
"Wakey-wakey," I patted his cheeks. The man started to regain consciousness and looked at me with confusion, unaware of what had happened to him. "What happened to me?"
"Nothing happened," I demonically chuckled.
.
Before he could say anything, I kicked him in the chest, sending him flying away. Ren and Ritsu soon joined me, attacking him from all directions but not inflicting any damage on him.
"It's time to call daddy."
*cough* *cough* I set my vocal cords, and from the top of my lungs, I yelled, "FATHER, HELP ME."
In just a matter of seconds, my father appeared and looked at how furiously we were fighting a man. Without any delay, he appeared in front of the man faster than he could react and struck his palm into the chest.
.
The man coughed out blood and crashed into a nearby wall, destroying it.
How can he let his princess be harmed? With worry and concern in his eyes, he asked, "Are you alright," he asked, checking me with his shaky hands all around my body.
"I am fine, Daddy. With their help, I was quickly able to react. He was about to assassinate me while I was reading," I said bravely, without panicking despite the near-death experience. I could see a sparkle of pride hidden under the worry-filled eyes of my father.
'I made my father proud of me.' I happily exclaimed in my heart.
.
Hearing the commotion in the clan, all the members surrounded the area.
Ren, with great guilt and self-disappointment, lowered his head. "I am sorry, Clan Head. I was unable to protect Lady Hinata."
His words were so believable that everyone fell for it. 'Ren, oh Ren, if I had an award, I surely would have given it to you.'
.
There were some wounds on his body, indicating that he had fought with his life on the line.
My father looked at his injuries, pleased by his loyalty and humbleness, and spoke, "Don't blame yourself; you did a great job protecting the future of the clan."
"B-but I…" He was cut off by my father. "Heal yourself; I am very pleased with you."
"Yes, Clan Head," Ren said, and he started walking towards the infirmary before giving me a concerned look filled with worries.
Soon, all the elders and my mother, Neji, Haku, and Kimimaro appeared beside me.
"Are you okay, my baby?" my mother asked, hugging tightly, her heartbeat faster than normal.
"Yes, Mom, I'm fine," I said, hugging her back. Looking at her worried face, I sighed. 'This is the last time I am making you worried about me, and this whole setup was for you.'
.
Soon, the commotion calmed down, and everybody knew what had just occurred — someone had tried to kill their little princess.
One of the clan members grabbed the man by his hair and dragged him in front of us.
"Let's kill him; how dare he harm the clan heirs," he asked for permission from my father.
"Let's kill him,"
"Kill him,"
"Burn him alive,"
"Stab him to death,"
"Rip out his heart,"
"Cut him to pieces and feed to the dogs,"
"Bury him alive,"
"Let's put melted iron in his eyes."
The clan members started to shout with angry eyes, resembling hungry beasts who wanted to devour the man alive.
"Let me kill him; how dare he harm my sister," Neji pulled out a kunai and walked towards the man with immeasurable anger.
Haku and Kimimaro were no different from Neji, but my gaze stopped them from moving.
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No elders, not my father or mother, stopped Neji from killing the man. He was about to stab his kunai into the man's heart. But at the last moment, I spoke, "Stop, brother."
Every member was anticipating his death, but my words surprised them, and all of them looked at me.
"What is it, sister? Don't tell me you want him to live," Neji said in a dissatisfied tone.
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Raising my hand, I walked towards him and spoke, "Let him live, brother. All of you know that I am learning medical ninjutsu, so I want this man, my supposed killer, to become my test subject. I want to experiment with various types of poisons on him. He will beg for death, but I won't kill him. Death is mercy to those who want to harm me; they deserve a fate worse than death. What do you think?"
I spoke in a strong voice befitting the future clan heiress. I couldn't allow them to see me as a normal leader, so I showed them why I am hailed as the genius born in the centuries.
If I show any weakness in times like this, it will only plant a seed of my incompetence in their minds.
.
"Men, capture this man and interrogate him about who sent him before sending him to my lab," I ordered, and without hesitation, Ritsu appeared. He grabbed the man and disappeared from there.
"This matter closes here; nobody is allowed to talk about it outside the clan," my father strongly stated.
"Yes, Clan Leader," all the members started to leave, giving me a look of admiration.
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"Is this really what you want, little girl?" Elder Kazuya asked.
"Yes, Gramps," I replied in a tired voice.
I didn't want to deal with any further questions, so the best escape was... I looked at my mother and said.
"Mommy, I'm feeling sleepy." Saying this, I fell asleep in her arms.