“Here we are. You should be safe here, Hanabi.” Hinata said as they arrived at the gates to the Hyuga compound, guarded by several vigilant branch family members.

With great reluctance, Hanabi left Hinata’s arms and disgruntledly said, “Un.” while avoiding Hinata’s eyes.

Hinata chuckled and patted her sister on the head. “Be a good girl and stay in your room until father comes home, alright?”

“I can fight, too.” Hanabi mumbled while blushing and looking at her feet in embarrassment.

“I am sure you can.” Hinata indulgently smiled, “You are mighty.” Her eyes glanced toward Ren, and her smile widened, “Maybe even mightier than that lazy, useless bum of mine. Hm? What do you think?”

Hanabi looked at Ren, who watched their interaction with amusement and pointed at him. But before she could open her mouth to speak, Ren did so first.

“Ouf. I’ve suffered emotional damage! You’ve won this spar, Princess.”

“But that’s not fair!” Hanabi protested with a pout.

“All is fair in love and war.” Hinata gently poked her fingers into Hanabi’s stomach, where she knew the other girl was ticklish. “Go now. Your big sister needs you to guard our house.”

Hanabi suppressed a shriek before giving Hinata a mild glare, but then she nodded and was about to run inside the compound.

Hinata’s house was pretty much in the middle of it, so it was the most defended part. With Hanabi in a safe location, Hinata could finally feel relieved.

But as Hanabi was about to run off, a loud shout interrupted them.

“You lowly filth! You dare to try to get closer to my brother!?”

Hinata, Hanabi, and Ren turned toward the shouting woman, only to see that she was one of the Hyuga main house members. A civilian one at that.

Not everybody in the main family was a ninja. They all had some basic training in handling chakra, but the few untalented ones usually stayed civilians to not stain the reputation of the Hyuga family with their ineptitude. Most females in the main house family also didn’t get trained. Their purpose was not to fight for the family but to birth children for it.

Marriage alliances were an actual thing between various Hyuga clan elders, from what Ren heard about it from Hinata.

Hinata and Hanabi’s situation was special. They were the children of the Clan Head. The ones supposed to inherit the position. And neither of them was a male.

Quite a few clan elders most likely did not like the idea of having a female clan head. It was why their upbringing was so stern and brutal.

The woman who was shouting was one of these spoiled, civilian girls who were lucky to be born into the main family and lived a life of indulgent luxury, getting everything she ever wanted without the burden of having to become a good ninja.

Ren inwardly grimaced. These kinds of bitches were the worst sort because they usually felt entitled as hell. At least the stuck-up elders who were Jonin-ranked ninja had some discipline and principles.

They knew how hard ninja training was. They had the common sense that the branch family was their protectors, so abusing them was not smart. And they had their ninja pride with the village rules drilled into them during their service to Konoha. Bullying a weaker ninja from the village was a big no-no.

Most of them used the Caged Bird Seal only when they really felt slighted by something.

But the spoiled civilian main house members who never got the gruelling training or the ninja rules drilled into their heads?

The target of the woman’s shouting was another Hyuga female, one from the branch house, who was clearly on the way back home from the battlefield. Exhausted and weary, all slumped and barely dragging her feet forward. Bloodstains covered her face and clothes, and she was cradling her bandaged right arm. It was quite obvious she wanted nothing more than to fall into a bed and rest.

And now, she looked absolutely terrified as the main house Hyuga woman put her fingers into a familiar seal.

A loud, piercing, and anguished shriek erupted from the branch house girl as she fell to her knees and grabbed her head before collapsing onto the ground and curling into a ball while the pain exploded in her head.

“This should teach you to stay away from your betters, bitch! My brother is mine!” The main house Hyuga woman fiercely glared at her curled-up victim with a vicious grin.

Witnessing that, Hinata’s mood didn’t just sour. It dropped down, casually passing the underworld on its way, before drilling even deeper into the deepest pits of whatever is under hell.

A massive scowl appeared on Hinata’s usually measured face.

She was vaguely aware of the story between these two women. Hikari Hyuga was chasing Hanako Hyuga, the branch family girl. But his sister, Hitomi, had a thing for him.

Of course, Hanako knew her place and tried to stay away from Hikari. Unfortunately, Hikari was a spoiled little shit, and ‘no’ was not in his vocabulary.

Oh, he was harmless. Hinata didn’t think she had ever heard or seen him using the Caged Bird Seal. Apart from being a spoiled little shit, he was not that bad. Just very insistent and whining like a child when he doesn’t get what he wants.

Hitomi, on the other hand…

It was obvious to Hinata that this encounter was planned by Hitomi. She could not corner Hanako, who was a chunin otherwise. Hanako could just body-flicker away, and with Hitomi’s pitiful chakra, she could do nothing to Hanako. The Caged Bird Seal could be activated at a distance, but the further away the target was, the more chakra it took. Somebody who was not even genin level chakra-wise couldn’t hope to catch a chunin with it.

Most civilian members of the main house were cautioned against using the Caged Bird Seal, too. You never know how a ninja would react to a perceived threat. And these people were not fast enough. They could have had a kunai in their neck before they made the hand sign. It happened often enough in the past.

The sad part was that the branch family members who killed ‘their betters’ this way didn’t even mean it. It was a purely instinctual reaction ingrained in them during their grueling training.

Hitomi knew that, and she was using the crisis in the village to catch Hanako off guard when she was tired and wounded. The flashes of her battles during the invasion flashed in front of Hinata’s eyes as a hot, searing rage exploded inside of her.

“Hitomi Hyuga.” She growled out as she stalked forward.

Hearing her name, Hitomi finally looked away from Hanako, whom she was torturing, and her eyes slightly widened in surprise when she noticed Hinata’s presence.

“Lady Hin-” She started, only to stop in the middle as her head slid off her neck and fell down to the ground while blood started gushing upward and raining across the immediate surroundings.

With a huff, Hinata appeared next to the sniffling and sobbing Hanako just as Hitomi’s body realized it was dead and hit the ground.

Hinata raised her head and glared at the small gathering of now-horified main house members who were here to watch a good show. Her killing intent hit them in full force, making most of them shake like leaves in a hurricane, while some of them outright fainted.

Hinata was done.

She locked her eyes with Elder Hakuo, the only Jonin within the gathered main house crowd. She dared him with her eyes to protest or say something.

The old man wisely stayed silent, trying to suppress the small, involuntary shivers Hinata’s killing intent gave him. His heart ached over Hitomi’s death. She was his niece. Hate bloomed in his heart. But he could easily discern Hinata’s mood right now, and he knew if he opened his mouth, he would be butchered next.

The last time Hinata Hyuga showed up in front of the Elders and gave them her ultimatum, she humiliated them. But this, this was something else entirely. Hakuo realized the young girl meant business, and a cold spike of fear went up his spine as he gulped and averted his eyes.

His hands balled into fists as he realized that revenge on the battlefield against this little monster was highly improbable. No. If he wanted his due, he would need to be crafty.

Snorting, Hinata looked at Hanako and crouched next to her before she put a green-glowing hand against her forehead, easing her pain and healing the damage.

Her expression was stone cold, but she felt contrite underneath that. She… shouldn’t have killed Hitomi. But the woman’s actions just pissed her so monumentally off!

Here she was! Representing the village and the clan in the Chunin Exams. Then, fighting the Kazekage. Then, fighting an entire army to safeguard the village. Then, she prevented the kidnapping of her younger sister. Then, she had dealt with a hostage situation even if nobody had asked for her help.

And when she came home, hoping that all that bullshit was behind her, her home, where things should be peaceful, and where she dearly wished her family would live in harmony?

She witnessed some insipid, spoiled bitch torturing a family member for some asinine, childish reason.

No. She had had enough. Hinata’s resolve hardened as she finished healing Hanako. She had warned the elders that she would start killing if she saw somebody use the Caged Bird Seal in anything but self-defense.

And if the bastards don’t like it, they will just have to suck it up.

Hinata turned her head toward a small crowd of branch house members gathered a bit further away, looking at the happenings with trepidation and a subtle, faint hope.

“Take Hanako home and make sure she is comfortable. She deserves a proper rest after defending the village from a fucking invasion.” Hinata said in an unamused tone before she turned back toward the main house people. “And if I hear that somebody tried to harm her for what happened today, I will kill them.”

Turning around, Hinata’s eyes sought comfort in Ren’s gaze, who gave her a reassuring smile. As she came closer to them, Hanabi instantly threw her arms around her sister and hugged her.

Ren’s shoulders slightly slumped as he observed both the main and the branch house people awkwardly shuffling around, trying to avoid each other, and he sighed. This was going to cause trouble.

He sighed and stepped closer to Hinata before kissing her on the forehead.

He guessed it was time to put some serious effort into making a substitute for the Caged Bird Seal.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep