For every third birthday celebrated by a Main House child, a batch of Branch House children were branded with the Caged Bird Cursed Seal.
The most talented among this batch would be selected to become the personal guards of the Main House heir.
As the eldest daughter of the Clan Head, Hinata Hyūga was the sole candidate for future leadership. Her third birthday was a momentous occasion for the clan.
Nobles from the Land of Fire and representatives from other Konoha clans would attend to offer congratulations.
'Unfortunately, this also means the coming days won't be peaceful,' Kumokawa thought with a silent sneer.
If Hinata was turning three, it meant the Cloud Village (Kumogakure) would soon arrive to sign the "peace treaty"—a ruse to kidnap her.
This period of chaos would be the perfect opportunity for Kumokawa's own schemes.
Lost in thought, he walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Guy, chatting and laughing as they left his quarters. The atmosphere was light.
Until they reached the gates of the Hyūga compound.
"Stop right there."
A cold voice cut through the air, causing both of them to pause.
Kumokawa narrowed his eyes and turned his head. He saw a face twisted in disgust.
"Hyūga Kumokawa."
The guard on duty stood by the gate, questioning him with icy hostility. "Today is Lady Aoi's extra training day. As her attendant, you should be by her side serving her. Where do you think you're going?"
Almost every Branch House member was assigned a Main House member to "serve." The title was "Attendant," but the reality was "Servant."
Not every Main House member was as gentle as Hinata. If you were unlucky enough to be assigned to a cruel master, "servant" quickly became "human punching bag."
As luck would have it, the Main House member Kumokawa served was exactly that kind of person—someone who didn't view Branch members as human.
And the man in front of him? Just a loyal dog barking for its master.
The smile on Kumokawa's face faded slightly. He ignored the guard's deliberate provocation and simply resumed walking toward the exit.
The guard clearly hadn't expected the usually submissive "waste" to ignore him. His face darkened, and he barked, "Hyūga Kumokawa! I'm talking to you!"
Kumokawa kept walking. Guy shrugged and followed.
"You waste! I said STOP!"
An angry shout came from behind, followed by the whistle of wind.
The guard reached out to grab Kumokawa's shoulder. The force behind the grip contained absolutely no affection for a fellow clansman; it was meant to hurt.
Guy stopped, frowning. He prepared to intervene.
But the moment the hand landed on Kumokawa's shoulder...
VMM!
Kumokawa's body shuddered like a pine tree shaking off heavy snow. A piercing shockwave traveled instantly from his core to his shoulder, jolting the guard's hand numb.
Before the stunned guard could react.
Kumokawa didn't even turn his head. He bent his arm, stepped forward with his left foot, and shifted his body in a perfect circle. His white coat swirled like a dancer's skirt, revealing the defined muscles of his abdomen.
He thrust his palm backward.
In the guard's eyes, his own hand was bounced away. The Kumokawa in front of him vanished with near-Body Flicker speed, dropping low and pressing a palm against the guard's abdomen.
Then, a power far surpassing anything a Hyūga should possess—a power like a tidal wave—flooded out of that palm.
THUD!!
Terrifying force exploded within half a centimeter of contact. It was like being hit by a siege ram. The guard's body bowed violently around the fist.
Just as blood was about to erupt from the guard's mouth...
"It wouldn't be good to spill blood today."
A calm voice drifted into his ears.
Kumokawa's right hand, palm facing up and elbow down, gently tapped the guard's chin.
Crack.
With a crisp sound, the guard's jaw snapped shut, forcing the rising vomit of blood back down his throat.
"Guh! Cough! Cough!!"
The guard's face twisted in agony. clutching his throat and stomach, he collapsed to his knees in front of Kumokawa.
"You... you dare..."
Veins bulged around his protruding Byakugan. He stared up at Kumokawa with pure rage.
But meeting those calm eyes, the rest of his sentence died in his throat. A sudden chill spiked in his heart.
It was an irrational, primal fear—like a venomous snake sliding over his skin.
I'm afraid?
Afraid of this waste? Impossible...
Kumokawa looked down at him. The gentle smile returned to his face.
He patted the trembling guard on the shoulder, then walked out of the compound with Guy as if nothing had happened.
"I didn't expect you to go that far!"
On the road, Guy's tone remained light. He was merely curious.
He had heard the rumors about Kumokawa, but Guy considered him a friend. He never believed the "waste" label.
And that move just now? A fusion of Strong Fist power and Gentle Fist fluidity? To Guy, that was proof of genius far greater than the stagnant Hyūga traditionalists.
"I let you see something unsightly, Senior. They are my kin, after all. I didn't want to be too harsh," Kumokawa apologized.
Guy shook his head and grinned, flashing a thumbs-up. "You did nothing wrong! Youth cannot be stained by insults!"
[Ding. Your lie has been judged as "Talking Nonsense".][Might Guy has generated weak emotional fluctuations, reaching the level of "Absolute Belief".][You have obtained 200 Realization Points...]
Of course it was a lie.
Why hadn't he fought back before?
Firstly, because his plan against Orochimaru hadn't succeeded yet. The image of a harmless "waste" was useful camouflage.
Secondly...
'If the village dog barks, other dogs will bark too, even if they don't know why.'
'If you stop to throw stones at every stray dog that barks at you, you'll never reach your destination.'
Kumokawa chuckled internally.
He felt zero emotion toward the nameless mob character he had just crushed.
He had acted partly to test a new move, and partly to lay the groundwork for his next phase.
Rats hide in the gutter. No one believes a rat.
If Danzō spoke, villagers would ask, "Who is this old geezer?" But if Hiruzen spoke, no matter how absurd the statement, people would doubt their own understanding before they doubted the Hokage.
Lies only become Truth when spoken by those with Power and Authority.
The Ōtsutsuki bloodline was transforming him from the inside out. But without external intervention, this evolution would be slow.
Kumokawa couldn't wait that long. He needed more Realization Points. He needed to approach high-quality targets and demonstrate his value.
That little "resistance" just now was Step One.
News of his involvement in Orochimaru's experiments would spread. Hiruzen likely already had "Tenzo" (Yamato) under his wing. As the only other survivor of Orochimaru's labs, both Hiruzen and Danzō would inevitably come to probe him.
Thinking of this, Kumokawa thought of his eyes again.
'System, manifest item: Pure Byakugan capable of fusing into a Tenseigan.'
[Cost: 10,000 Realization Points. Confirm manifestation?]
"Exactly enough?"
Kumokawa hesitated. To be safe, he tried another query.
'Manifest item: Method to fuse Pure Byakugan with Pure Ōtsutsuki Bloodline to awaken Tenseigan.'
[Insufficient Points.]
"..." Kumokawa's face darkened. "I knew something was missing."
Good thing he hadn't fallen for the System's trap. If he had spent his entire fortune on a pair of useless Byakugan he couldn't install, he would have nowhere to cry.
"In that case, only the second method is safe and reliable." Kumokawa frowned.
The Hyūga clan's Byakugan were purer than the moon branch's, but their numbers were far fewer than the moon population that had thrived for thousands of years. Would digging out the entire clan's eyes be enough to fuse a Tenseigan?
Cough.
Kumokawa cleared his throat, mentally reciting a quick prayer.
Digging out everyone's eyes was too evil. He wasn't a beast like Uchiha Itachi.
Just harvest the eyes of the active ninja. Digging out the eyes of blind civilians would be useless anyway.
Of course, he couldn't be the one to do it.
He had a better candidate in mind.
Now, he just had to wait for those old fossils to reveal their ugly faces.