An entire afternoon spent grinding mobs.
Another full stretch of time spent picking things up.
Hyūga Ming looked at the several stacks of 99 kunai in his inventory and finally let out a breath of relief.
Honestly—
It was hard to put into words.
"Still didn't manage to recover all of them."
Quite a few were lost somewhere he couldn't track down. In the end, he only collected everything visible on the mountain.
And throughout that entire process—
The Hyūga brothers and Tsunade didn't lift a finger to help.
Tch. What great teammates.
Only after Ming finished did the three of them finally start heading back to Konoha together.
There was no need to rush this time.
Instead of traveling through the trees, they took the main road.
Missions had time constraints.
On the way to a mission, ninja usually hurried at full speed.
Once it was over, there were no such requirements.
Beneath the shade of roadside trees—
Tsunade and Hyūga Ming walked in front.
She shot him a sideways glance and lowered her voice.
"When we get back, the Hyūga clan won't let you off easily."
"I won't hide anything either."
Her voice was kept deliberately low—
the brothers walking behind couldn't hear a thing.
This mission itself had been the result of a deal between the Hyūga clan and the Hokage.
She had no authority to interfere with Hyūga internal affairs.
And precisely because of that—
She couldn't conceal any details.
The final evaluation of this mission would belong to the Hyūga clan.
The Hyūga of today weren't the weakened clan suppressed by the Hokage of later years.
Competing with the Uchiha for the title of strongest clan, they held significant influence—
Even if that power was mostly wielded against branch family members.
"They can't kill me anyway," Ming said casually, baring his teeth in a sharp grin.
"And they don't dare cripple me either."
Killing and crippling active-duty ninja were forbidden by Konoha law.
Those had been conditions set when the First Hokage accepted the Hyūga clan into the village.
As long as one was an active ninja, the Hyūga couldn't openly kill or cripple them.
Of course, accidents outside the village were another matter.
But if the Hyūga dared to come after him outside—
He'd happily accept the experience points.
Tsunade fell silent.
Was this kid… completely unafraid of death?
In all her years, she'd never encountered someone like this—
Reckless.
Unrestrained.
Unbothered by life or death.
It reminded her of a certain infamous name.
Uchiha Madara.
At the very least, the legends surrounding Madara matched Ming's temperament disturbingly well.
A Hyūga Madara?
What kind of joke was that?
"The Caged Bird Seal," Tsunade said quietly,
"can't be removed—not even by a sealing team."
As the Princess of Konoha, her reputation outweighed her actual authority, but she still knew the village's darker secrets.
Someone once known as the Darkness of the Shinobi World had attempted to破解 the Caged Bird Seal.
And failed.
The Hyūga clan had sensed something amiss, and the research was halted.
Without removing the seal, even if Ming truly became a "Hyūga Madara,"
he would never escape the clan's control.
"Is that so?" Ming replied lightly, gazing toward the distant mountains.
Tsunade followed his line of sight—
And still couldn't tell what he was looking at.
Or what he was seeing.
Back in Konoha.
Tsunade went to submit the mission report.
The three Hyūga headed toward the clan compound.
Like the Uchiha, the Hyūga lived in a clan district—though with subtle differences.
Even within the compound, hierarchy was strict.
The main family lived in the best area.
The branch family residences were divided according to strength and standing.
Near the entrance, Hiashi stopped walking.
After a moment of silence, he spoke.
"You performed very poorly on this mission."
Ming glanced at the bandages wrapped around Hiashi's hand and grinned.
"What? Planning to settle the score afterward?"
Hiashi took a deep breath.
"I'm not that kind of petty man. But what you did cannot be hidden."
Even if he kept silent, Hizashi wouldn't.
Neither would Tsunade.
The fact that he'd been allowed to leave the village on a mission already meant the main family was watching closely.
There was no hiding it.
"So?" Ming scoffed.
He wasn't raised to be scared.
Hiashi's eyes flickered as he spoke slowly.
"Hyūga Ming. If one day I defeat you, I want you to fully submit to me. In exchange, I will save you once."
He knew very well—
Ming was the whetstone his father had prepared for him.
If he simply allowed Ming to be punished, his father would be disappointed in him as well.
So he was trying to salvage the situation.
Branch family serving the main family was natural law.
Branch family defying the main family was unforgivable.
That was the Hyūga way.
Ming looked at Hiashi with a half-smile and said nothing.
Branch family members only knew Gentle Fist and the Byakugan.
Advanced techniques like Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms and Rotation—
Those were exclusive to the main family.
Unless a branch member performed extraordinary service, they would never be taught.
And Ming had never heard of anyone actually being granted those techniques.
Perhaps after Hiashi became clan head—
and because of Hyūga Neji—
Such exceptions might exist.
But for now?
Ming could only chuckle.
In theory, that meant Ming would never defeat Hiashi.
In theory.
Ming finally spoke.
"And if you never defeat me?"
Impossible.
That thought flashed through Hiashi's mind instantly.
But looking at Ming's calm, mocking smile, he clenched his teeth.
"Then I'll grant you freedom," Hiashi said.
"I will never allow anyone to activate the Caged Bird Seal on you."
"Ha."
Ming laughed twice, shoved past Hiashi, and walked forward.
What a generous reward.
"Back already, Ming?"
The two Hyūga guards at the gate smiled and greeted him.
"Uncle Motoki, Uncle Kazuma," Ming replied brightly.
"Just got back from a mission."
Compared to the grin he'd shown Hiashi, this one was far less sharp.
The two men—both in their twenties—scratched their faces awkwardly.
"We're not that old, are we…?"
Hyūga Motoki sighed.
"Time really flies. You're a ninja already."
They were about to say more—
But when Hiashi approached, they immediately dropped to one knee.
"Heir."
Ming's expression softened slightly.
"I'm heading back."
He didn't wait for a response, pushing the door open and walking inside.
Motoki and Kazuma watched him with concern, wanting to say something on his behalf.
Hiashi and Hizashi ignored them completely and followed inside.
Watching the three figures disappear, the two guards sighed.
Kazuma touched the headband on his forehead.
Just a few green markings—
And the difference between branch and main family was heaven and earth.
Ming returned to his own quarters.
A modest one-bedroom unit.
Because his deceased parents had both been jōnin, he'd inherited their assets.
He sat cross-legged on a cushion and waited quietly.
"For six more levels…"
He murmured softly.
The storm was coming.