Chapter 48


    "What should we do with him?"


    Nejiy on the hospital bed, his consciousness hazy and his vision dark. However, the surrounding conversation was clear, seeping into his brain.


    His thoughts were sluggish, and he could not grasp the meaning of the words, but his memory was still functional. He recorded every word, ready to be analyzed once his mind cleared.


    "He''s a victim too, just like the rest of you who hate Neiki. If we hadn''t intervened, he would have been killed by Neiki." It was the voice of Nara Shikaku, head of the Nara n.


    "That beast… he even attacked his own brother."


    "Neiki ughtered the entire Hyuga n. Why would he spare his brother?" Shikaku sighed.


    Understanding shikaku''s point, the other person fell silent for a moment before responding:


    "…We won''t hold him ountable, but we need an exnation."


    "The Hokage is considering this. The preliminary idea is to use the Hyuga n''s inheritance…" Shikaku lowered his voice as he continued."However, the Inuzuka n might take thergest share… My Nara n and the Yamanaka n suffered the least in this incident. During the meeting, we''ll voluntarily relinquish our share, which can then be inherited by your n…"


    The murmurings were like the whispers of rats in a dark corner.


    The dirty deal concluded quickly, and the room fell silent again. When Neji finally woke up, it was already noon the next day.


    In June, life was in full bloom. Outside the hospital window stood arge tree, the sunlight zing. The branches cast deep and dark shadows.


    White doves flew across the sky, the blue sky clear and spotless, as ifst night''s turmoil had been nothing but a heart-wrenching dream.


    Neji sat up in bed, causing the stitches in his abdomen to tear, sending a wave of sharp pain through his body.


    "Do you want to eat?" A weak voice came from a small girl with a bandaged eye, holding a bowl of steaming red bean soup. She stood by the bed, her gaze evasive, looking hesitant.


    And a bit scared.


    Neji turned to look at Hinata, at the blue curse mark on her forehead.


    Due to his father''s fate, Neji harbored extreme hatred toward everything rted to the Hyuga main family when he was young. He hated Hiashi and, by extension, Hiashi''s daughter Hinata. Neji''s hatred for Hiashi spilled over to her as well.


    In one of their sparring sessions, he even considered killing Hinata before the guards could react.


    "You killed my father, I will kill your daughter." In some way, it seemed justified.


    But in the Hyuga n, the absolute rule of the main family over the branch family was more justified than blood for blood.


    The system maintained by the Caged Bird Seal overshadowed all human nature and social justice, leaving Neji gasping for breath and desperate to rebel.


    However…


    When Neiki finally overthrew the Caged Bird Seal, toppled the main family, killed Hiashi, and brought freedom to all branch family members…


    Neji realized that if freedom came at the cost of destroying himself and others, he might not desire it as much.


    He might not hate Hiashi that much.


    He might not dislike Hinata in front of him.


    The goal he once considered worth any sacrifice, once achieved, seemed unworthy of so many tears and so much blood.


    The Hyuga n in Konoha had been nearly annihted, with only two members left.


    Brother Neiki hadmitted a grave crime and chose to defect from Konoha.


    Was freedom truly so weighty?


    Was it worth going this far?


    Neji didn''t understand and couldn''t figure it out. He took the red bean soup from Hinata and sipped it.


    Unfortunately, it was sweet.


    "I''m sorry," Neji mumbled.


    He threw away the spoon and drank straight from the bowl.


    Tears fell into the red bean soup.


    Finally, it tasted salty.


    Hinata didn''t understand why Neji apologized to her. Seeing Neji gulping down the soup, she finally rxed a bit, smiled, and urged:


    "It''s okay, Brother Neji. Take your time. There''s more…"


    …


    The Hokage Rock had the highest concentration of explosive tags.


    Since the explosionst night, the massive cliff where the Hokage Rock was located hadpletely copsed, with debris crushing many nearby buildings. Some people had their legs broken, but fortunately, there were no fatalities.


    Naruto sat on the tnd above the cliff, staring nkly at the bustling reconstruction of Konoha below.


    The repair of the Hokage Rock was scheduled far into the future. Naruto had never cared about such boring matters, but he had be quiet and steady since being captured by the Uchiha and releasing the Nine-Tails.


    This was because, when he was about to bepletely consumed by the Nine-Tails, he saw his father—the youngest Hokage who had sacrificed himself to resist the Nine-Tails—the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.


    "When they start repairing the Hokage Rock, I''ll make sure the craftsmen make Dad look even cooler," Naruto thought the previous depiction of the Fourth Hokage on the Hokage Rock didn''t do justice to his father''s real appearance. Neiki''s explosion was timely.


    "I''m the Fourth Hokage''s son…" Naruto muttered to himself, then suddenly smiled shyly.


    Although the vigers, due to another Nine-Tails rampage, were bing more hostile towards him, and the Konoha high-ups were discussing the possibility of confining Narutopletely, taking away his freedom as a Jinchuriki, and constantly monitoring him with ninja, these new worries couldn''t extinguish the fierce me burning in Naruto''s heart.


    I am the son of the Fourth Hokage.


    I can''t disgrace him.


    He died to protect the vige.


    I''m proud to have such a father…


    Simple thoughts rose in young Naruto''s heart.


    At a certain moment, an abrupt impulse made Naruto stand up, stretch out his arms as if embracing the sky, and shout:


    "I will definitely be Hokage like him, work hard to protect the vige, and gain everyone''s recognition."


    "I won''t let today''s disaster happen again!!"


    …


    Naruto''s shout echoed far.


    "Did you hear that? This kid''s ambition." In the temporary meeting room, Hiruzen Sarutobi stroked his beard and smiled.


    After a moment of silence, Homura Mitokado spoke calmly:


    "Locking him up is also for his own good. His father can''t save him a second time."


    "We won''t allow such a thing to happen again!" Having been saved by Minato during the second Nine-Tails rampage, Sarutobi red and retorted, "This is non-negotiable. Next topic!"


    Sarutobi rarely acted so autocratically unless someone truly disappointed him.


    With the preliminaries over, the next topic was the main event.


    "Exin, Danzo." Sarutobi turned and stared at the silent Danzo in the corner.


    "What''s the deal with Neiki?"


    "And what about these two Root ninja corpses?"