Naruto: The Hyuga Mastermind

Chapter 9: You're Not an Adult!

"Edo Tensei really is the perfect jutsu for the Main Family."

Hyuga Fuji's quiet remark twisted Hyuga Meikyoku's expression into one of rage. Yet, despite his strength, he couldn't break free of Edo Tensei's control. He could only respond in a cold tone:

"As a branch family member, it's your duty to protect the Main Family. Any disloyalty deserves death!"

"The Caged Bird seal was created for people like you!"

As he spoke, his trembling fingers rose, preparing to activate the Caged Bird seal.

Hyuga Fuji raised an eyebrow at this and smirked. "You still don't understand the situation, do you? The current Hyuga Main Family no longer wields the dominance it had in the Warring States Era."

Hyuga Meikyoku succeeded in activating the Caged Bird seal.

But… nothing happened. Fuji's face remained calm, showing no signs of pain or discomfort.

Hyuga Meikyoku's pupils constricted in shock.

"Most sealing techniques and curses depend on the chakra of the target, not the caster," Fuji explained, as a coffin materialized behind Meikyoku. The defeated elder unwillingly retreated into it. His ears caught Fuji's parting words:

"After all, what better method is there than to have the target restrict themselves?"

"The Caged Bird is no different. The chakra used to destroy the nervous system and the Byakugan belongs to the branch members themselves."

"But… the Caged Bird's ability to mobilize chakra doesn't seem to match the power of my current Byakugan."

As the coffin lid closed, Meikyoku caught a glimpse of Fuji's unusual Byakugan. A chilling realization surged through him as memories of ancient legends surfaced.

He's not hunting Hyuga clansmen for revenge—he's trying to awaken the Tenseigan!

The Hyuga clan created the Caged Bird seal to prevent their eyes from falling into the hands of the Otsutsuki on the moon. And now…

A branch family member knows about this?

Who is he?

Is he an Otsutsuki? A disguised member of the Moon Otsutsuki?

With his mind racing between confusion and despair, Hyuga Meikyoku was forced back into eternal slumber.

The Hyuga clan… is doomed.

Retracting the Edo Tensei summoning, Hyuga Fuji quickly left the scene.

To his surprise, the evolution of his Byakugan rendered the Caged Bird seal ineffective. Honestly, even he hadn't anticipated this.

He had assumed only a fully evolved Tenseigan could neutralize the seal. Yet even this incomplete state seemed to suffice.

*"This isn't a complete solution, though. When Meikyoku activated the seal, my Byakugan's ocular power was forced to suppress it, affecting my overall performance.

If the Caged Bird interferes during a fight, it could be fatal to me."*

Fuji's eyes narrowed.

"I still need to completely eliminate the Caged Bird seal."

---

After leaving the scene of the attack, Fuji traveled five kilometers away. His Byakugan reflected the figures of two approaching ninjas, prompting him to halt and vanish with a body flicker.

When he reappeared, he stood atop the roof of a nearby tavern.

Below, two ninjas and a ninken passed by on the street.

One of the male ninjas noticed Fuji's Hyuga attire and frowned, preparing to approach him for questioning.

But the other ninja, a female from the Inuzuka clan accompanied by her ninken, stopped him.

The Inuzuka kunoichi shook her head and glanced at her ninken, which sniffed in Fuji's direction and wagged its tail, indicating no threat.

Understanding the signal, she quickly led her teammate and the ninken away from the area.

Unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, the male ninja finally asked:

"Inuzuka-senpai, that Hyuga ninja showing up so late… doesn't it seem suspicious?"

The kunoichi interrupted him in a low voice, "Tomorrow is the day the Hyuga clan rebrands the branch family with the new Caged Bird seal."

The male ninja immediately understood.

"So the village isn't planning to remove the Caged Bird seal after all… Sorry, I'm not questioning the village's decision. It's just… I have a friend in the Hyuga branch family."

The kunoichi sighed. "I get it. But this is an internal matter of the shinobi clans. Even the Hokage technically has no authority to interfere."

The male ninja fell silent.

Sensing the heavy mood, the kunoichi suddenly grinned mischievously and added, "Speaking of that kid just now, do you know why he looked so grim?"

"Because of the Caged Bird seal?"

"Nope! Maybe he was out clearing his head because of that, but the real reason for his sour face… is that he's not an adult yet! Hahaha!"

The male ninja blinked in confusion before bursting into laughter as well.

---

Watching the two patrolling ninjas leave, Hyuga Fuji maintained his expressionless demeanor as he entered the tavern.

Moments later… he was unceremoniously kicked out.

"Come back when you're an adult, kid."

Fuji stared blankly at the tavern owner's kind yet firm expression, then silently turned to leave.

This was ridiculous. With his past life added to this one, he was well beyond the age of adulthood—yet he couldn't even enter a tavern.

What made it worse was recalling the antics of Jiraiya and Tsunade, two of the Sannin. The latter had gambled her way through childhood, and as far as he remembered, the gambling halls never stopped her.

Was it because her mentor, the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, had taught her bad habits? Did that mean the casinos didn't feel responsible and just let her do whatever she wanted?

Even now, Fuji could hear old rumors in Konoha about "Big Payout Tsunade" from her younger days.

Feeling a mixture of annoyance and resignation, Hyuga Fuji navigated past the investigative patrols with his Byakugan. Only when he reached his underground training ground did he begin assessing his recent gains.

His chakra had doubled, which wasn't unexpected.

After all, his chakra reserves had already been far greater than those of Hyuga Miyuki, who had originally been a chunin. His chakra levels were several times that of the average jonin.

Approximately equivalent to four Kakashis.

Yes, 12-year-old jonin Kakashi. Fuji had seen him about a month ago, alongside the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

This meant Fuji now had chakra comparable to "eight Kakashis."

Not an overwhelming amount, but not insignificant either.

Of course, comparing himself to Naruto as a child—who had four times the chakra of adult Kakashi—was pointless. The Uzumaki clan were chakra monsters, after all.

Focusing on his significantly enhanced chakra, Fuji directed it toward his Byakugan.

Buzz!

The air vibrated, and faint cracks appeared on the ground.

"So that's it… I hadn't noticed before. This is the Byakugan's… aura suppression?"

A dojutsu technique once used by Otsutsuki Kaguya.

After careful examination, Fuji nodded in satisfaction.

A useful ability.

By converting his ocular power into a flow of chakra, he could exert a gravity-like oppressive force on his enemies and surroundings.

However, due to the immense power gap between himself and Kaguya, this technique currently only had significant effects on chunin-level opponents.

To make it useful against Kage-level enemies, he would have to rely on his experience and overall strength.

"And lastly, there's this."

Eight Gates Release—Fifth Gate, Gate of Limit, Open!

Vacuum Palm!

The chakra enhancement from the Eight Gates, combined with the increased chakra density from his Byakugan evolution, amplified the power of this Vacuum Palm to unprecedented levels.

Boom!

A solid underground wall collapsed, leaving a large hole in the middle.

"It's still far from the level of Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack. My chakra density needs further improvement."

Fuji muttered to himself.

"Plus, without using the Eight Gates, I wouldn't even be able to unleash such an attack."

Gentle Fist techniques were highly effective against human opponents but had limited destructive power against large chakra-based entities, such as Tailed Beasts or Susano'o.

The Minato squad was already heading to the Hidden Stone battlefield. The time for Obito's transformation into the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki wasn't far off. The road ahead would be long.

(End of Chapter)