Looking at Hyuga Neji, who had already grown as tall as she was, Hyuga Keiko froze for a moment. Had he really gotten this tall already?
She still remembered when her mother had first brought Hyuga Neji home. Back then, he had been such a tiny little thing. She had never expected him to already be the same height as her.
As the son of the former Branch House Clan Head, Hyuga Neji's treatment naturally could not be poor. On top of that, Hyuga Hizashi had died for Clan Head Hyuga Hiashi. Although everyone in the Hyuga Main House believed that was only what he ought to have done, Hyuga Hizashi's sacrifice was still an undeniable fact.
At that time, Hyuga Neji had still been young and needed family to care for him. In the end, it was decided that Hyuga Keiko's parents would take him in, because Hyuga Keiko's father was also one of Hyuga Hizashi's younger cousins. Their relationship was not especially distant. They were relatives.
So Hyuga Keiko and Hyuga Neji could practically be said to have grown up together. It was just that in Hyuga Keiko's memories, he had still been a tiny kid.
Only now did she suddenly realize that Hyuga Neji had shot up quickly. He was already as tall as her. In a few more years, he would probably be much taller.
"Got it."
Hyuga Neji did not say much. Although he very much wanted to know how his older sister had suddenly become so much stronger, his pride stopped him from asking in the end.
Watching Hyuga Keiko leave with the Clan Head's attendant, he clenched his fists. He did not want to think of Hyuga Hiashi. That face, so much like his father's, only made him sadder whenever it came to mind.
Hyuga Keiko followed the attendant to the residence belonging to the Clan Head, located in the deepest part of the clan compound.
At this moment, a middle-aged man in a kimono, his expression dignified and stern, was already waiting for her. As soon as Hyuga Keiko saw him, she immediately gave him a deep bow.
"Greetings, Clan Head!"
"No need for such formality."
This man was none other than the Clan Head of the Hyuga Clan, Hyuga Hiashi.
Hyuga Hiashi barely managed to reveal a faint smile, then said, "Keiko, it's been many days. I heard you've been performing well. You even followed Jonin Kitahara and completed an S-Rank mission. Impressive."
In terms of relationship, he was also Hyuga Keiko's uncle. It was just that this relationship could not compare to the one he had with Hyuga Neji. It was much more distant.
"You praise me too much, Clan Head," Hyuga Keiko said respectfully.
Her experiences since childhood had taught her that even if the person before her was her uncle, the two of them were fundamentally not people of the same level.
"I heard you have a good relationship with Jonin Kitahara?" Hyuga Hiashi asked.
Hyuga Keiko paused. She had not expected Hyuga Hiashi to bring up Kaede Kitahara.
"It's pretty good," Hyuga Keiko said after weighing her words.
She did not understand why the Clan Head would suddenly ask about Kaede Kitahara. It felt strange.
"Since you're teammates, invite Jonin Kitahara to visit the house if there's an opportunity. There's nothing wrong with young people making more friends," Hyuga Hiashi said.
Hyuga Keiko was even more confused. Since when did Hyuga Hiashi care about the friends she made?
Although Kaede Kitahara was already a Tokubetsu Jonin and had a certain status in Konoha, what did that amount to in front of Hyuga Hiashi?
Hyuga Hiashi's actual power ranking in Konoha was basically only below Konoha's top leadership and several department heads. He was also the current Clan Head of Konoha's number one noble clan.
To him, a Tokubetsu Jonin was truly a small figure. Unless someone was an Elite Jonin, they were not enough to make him take special notice.
"It seems you still don't know," Hyuga Hiashi said, glancing at Hyuga Keiko. "Kaede Kitahara has been appointed as the Proctor for the Final Round of the Chunin Exams."
"Huh?"
Hyuga Keiko froze. It was not that she did not know this news. Kaede Kitahara had told her about it as soon as he came out.
There was nothing to hide about it either. It could not be called cheating or anything of the sort. After all, this was combat. By the Final Round, everyone basically relied on their own ability. Kaede Kitahara could not help much, much less openly help anyone under everyone's eyes.
Seeing Hyuga Keiko's somewhat blank expression, Hyuga Hiashi did not explain further. He only said, "I've long heard of a young talent like Jonin Kitahara. If there's a chance, bring him over. I'd like to meet this team captain of yours and thank him for taking care of my niece."
"Yes," Hyuga Keiko said quickly.
She clearly still had not figured out what was happening.
"You may go." Hyuga Hiashi said nothing more and directly dismissed Hyuga Keiko.
He thought back to the information he had previously obtained about Kaede Kitahara.
Originally, a mere Tokubetsu Jonin was not enough to draw his attention. But later, news spread that the Third Hokage had personally appointed Kaede Kitahara, someone who had originally been unknown, as the Proctor for the Final Round of the Chunin Exams.
This had actually attracted the attention of every major force in the Hidden Leaf Village. As a result, information on the previously unremarkable Kaede Kitahara had been placed on the table of each major faction.
Normally, being a Proctor for the Chunin Exams was nothing special. There were two exams every year. But this time was different. It was a joint examination between multiple villages, so the candidates chosen for each Proctor position drew more attention.
Morino Ibiki, the Proctor of the first phase, counted as a veteran Jonin with plenty of qualifications.
Mitarashi Anko, the Proctor of the second phase, had slightly weaker seniority, but she had at least made a name for herself long ago. If not for her unclear relationship with Orochimaru, she likely would have been promoted to Jonin already.
The Final Round was different. Its Proctor was a completely unknown person, someone who had still been a Genin a year ago, had only been promoted to Chunin a little over half a year ago, and then had rapidly advanced to Tokubetsu Jonin within the same year.
Through the Hyuga Clan's informants in the Anbu, Hyuga Hiashi had seen deeper intelligence files. In the Anbu's assessment, Kaede Kitahara actually possessed Elite Jonin-level strength. The only reason he was still a Tokubetsu Jonin was that his promotions had come too quickly, so they needed to slow him down a little.
A fifteen- or sixteen-year-old Elite Jonin being deliberately placed in the Chunin Exams to build his résumé. This was obviously the prelude to giving him an important position.
In the future, there was a real possibility that he would become the head of some department. If one day he broke through to Kage Level, then at minimum, he would become one of Konoha's top-ranking powerful figures.
Ah, speaking of Kage Level, that was truly the Hyuga Clan's eternal pain. The Hyuga Clan had always been stuck at that line. At the Jonin level, the Hyuga Clan had never lacked people, and it also had some Elite Jonin. But when it came to Kage Level, there were far too few.
At most, one could say they appeared occasionally.
Otherwise, the Hyuga Clan would not have been suppressed by the Uchiha Clan all this time. They dreamed every day of competing with the Uchiha Clan, yet Kage Level experts kept emerging from the Uchiha Clan. Meanwhile, ever since the Hyuga Clan joined the Hidden Leaf Village, it had been a very long time since they produced anyone who could compete with those top geniuses of the Uchiha Clan.
No matter what, a person like this was already enough to make him take a second look.
And as luck would have it, Kaede Kitahara's teammate was a member of the Hyuga Clan. She was even his niece. Was that not convenient?
"Your Clan Head wants to meet me? To thank me for taking care of his niece?"
Kaede Kitahara curled his lip. Not a single honest word came out of that Middle-aged Guy's mouth. How was he simply trying to meet the team captain who had taken care of his niece?
He clearly wanted to meet the new-generation talent favored by the Third Hokage.
After listening to Hyuga Keiko's explanation, Kaede Kitahara already had his own guess. If he were only a Tokubetsu Jonin, he probably would not be enough to make Hyuga Hiashi, the head of a noble clan, look his way.
Most likely, it was because the Third Hokage's special appointment made him feel that Kaede Kitahara was worth pulling over.
"Yes, that's what the Clan Head said," Hyuga Keiko said. "But I feel like his goal isn't that simple either, so watch yourself."
"It's fine. I'll find some time to pay a visit to an elder. What's the big deal?"
Kaede Kitahara grinned.
Seeing that Kaede Kitahara did not say anything more, Hyuga Keiko also could not tell what kind of hidden exchange was happening between him and Hyuga Hiashi. Clearly, she had not thought of the complicated network of relationships behind it.
"But that Point-Blank Chakra Strike you taught me really works. I finally beat that brat Neji for once."
A sweet smile appeared on Hyuga Keiko's face.
"Neji? You mean Hyuga Neji?" Kaede Kitahara paused, then said, "You know Hyuga Neji?"
Strictly speaking, Kaede Kitahara's class and Hyuga Neji's class were only two years apart. So when he was at school, he had heard of Hyuga Neji, who was quite a famous figure.
Always first in his year. As expected of a disciple from a prestigious dōjutsu Kekkei Genkai clan.
In short, there were many legends about Hyuga Neji.
Although Kaede Kitahara knew he was an important supporting character in the plot, back then, he had been desperately training every day just to survive. How could he have had the time to make friends? He had only occasionally run into him at school.
But he had never imagined that Hyuga Keiko actually knew Hyuga Neji.
Immediately afterward, he reacted. They were both from the Hyuga Branch House. What was strange about them knowing each other? They belonged to the same clan.
"He's my younger cousin. My father is his father's younger cousin. His father sacrificed himself for the village a long time ago, so Neji was later fostered in our home," Hyuga Keiko explained at once, though she did not understand why Kaede Kitahara was interested in this.
"So that's how it is. But he's a genius. It's normal that you couldn't beat him before," Kaede Kitahara said. He did not find it strange. Although she was two years older, they were just ordinary people. They were not from the same world as that kind of genius.
People like Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi could graduate at six or seven years old and reach Chunin level at seven or eight with no difficulty at all.
In his eyes, Hyuga Neji had only lacked that kind of guidance, which was what slowed his progress.
A child without a father really was like a blade of grass.
Hearing this, Hyuga Keiko only glanced at Kaede Kitahara and said nothing. Because now, she felt that there was one true genius, and only one. That was Kaede Kitahara. Her younger cousin simply was not enough to compare.
In the past, she had still been able to see through Kaede Kitahara's strength. Now, she could no longer tell how deep it went at all.
At the Hyuga Clan compound, Hyuga Neji wrapped a bandage around his right hand. Suddenly, a diary fell from the sky without the slightest warning, appearing in front of him just like that.
Kaede Kitahara's Diary, Hyuga Neji Copy.