Preparing to Lie Flat

Hyuga Mie's emotional shifts naturally couldn't escape Hyuga Ningyuan's notice—his eyesight was excellent now, after all.

Besides, the era he lived in was one of information explosion, where people taught everything online, so he could easily understand the reasons behind Hyuga Mie's mood swings.

It was nothing more than a mother's love clashing with a rebellious son.

The deeper root of it was a cultural issue: in this ninja village, once a woman married, she had to abandon her career and devote herself entirely to the family.

His father was never home, so all her focus naturally fell on Ningyuan.

The moment Ningyuan showed any sign of self-reliance, she felt a loss of self-worth.

Really, she just had too much free time, which led to overthinking. Getting a job would fix it.

"Come to think of it, I couldn't have figured out this much in such a short time back then. My brain in this life seems sharper than in my past life too. If I'd had this mind before, I'd have had my pick of top universities—those top-student novel protagonists' lives would've been my autobiography!"

Hyuga Ningyuan also recalled that both Hinata and Neji had exceptionally sharp minds.

Neji was top of his class, a super-genius who could deduce and complete the Eight Trigrams Palms on his own, while Hinata was the only other member of the Konoha 12 besides Sakura to independently solve all nine extra-difficult questions on the Chunin Exams.

This was clearly the bloodline advantage of the Hyuga Clan.

"Strong eyesight, strong taijutsu, strong brains too. No wonder it's called Bloodline Shippuden—all these advantages concentrated in one clan. How are ordinary people supposed to compete?"

And yet, with all this power, they weren't the protagonists. In every war and major battle, they were relegated to support roles.

So the question was: why?

What's wrong with this clan? Systemic thinking, systemic issues.

Hyuga Ningyuan spent the time of one breakfast pondering it. The main reason the Hyuga Clan held such a massive advantage yet could only play support was indeed a systemic problem.

The Caged Bird system forced the numerous Branch Family members to grovel under the Main Family. No matter how great their achievements, how talented, or how capable, they were nothing more than dogs the Main Family could crush with a single thought.

It wasn't just about meritorious deeds either. Even in business, research, or medicine—your accomplishments, contributions, and creations weren't yours to control.

If the Main Family's brat said, "Grandpa, I want it," what could you do?

Tell me, under these circumstances, what motivation did the Branch Family have to improve, to innovate, to grow strong?

Since hard work was useless, the only option was to lie flat.

The Main Family had very few members, passing down a single bloodline. How many geniuses could such a system produce?

Geniuses weren't guaranteed, but roughly 99% of them were born into the Branch Family.

But if the Branch Family's geniuses all gave up, then the Hyuga Clan had no room to progress!

So while others evolved their techniques from the Rasengan to the Six Paths Rasengan, updating their versions countless times, the Hyuga Clan was still using the Eight Trigrams Palms and Rotation invented by their ancestors in the Sengoku period.

And yet, you couldn't say the system was flawed, because the Caged Bird did protect the Branch Family's eyes and preserve the Hyuga Clan.

The Uchiha Clan, overflowing with geniuses and constantly updating their versions, got banned for being too overpowered!

So, the Caged Bird was innocent, and the Main Family did nothing wrong?

That was complete nonsense.

Whether the Caged Bird was innocent or not, the Main Family was definitely at fault. Their mistake was refusing to wear the Caged Bird themselves.

They only imposed it on the Branch Family, not on themselves. That was strict with others, lenient with oneself.

Turning a seal meant to protect the clan into a tool to enslave the Branch Family—that was petty behavior, twisting right and wrong!

"So, I'm going to lie flat too!"

After careful thought, at least until the Caged Bird issue was resolved, he really should lie low. Not just to avoid arousing the Main Family's suspicion, but also to guard against that scheming old man, Danzo.

After all, this was Konoha. Sticking your neck out brought no benefits.

Besides, he might have died from overwork in his past life. This time, he had to learn his lesson!

By the way, was Danzo around yet?

Hyuga Ningyuan recalled the street scene he'd seen when he left the house. It seemed the Third Hokage's face was already carved into the Hokage Rock.

That settled it. The Pot Kage was already in play.

"Today's your first day of school. Make sure to get along well with your classmates." Hyuga Mie packed his bento as she gave her instructions.

Hyuga Ningyuan nodded, eyeing the bento in her hands. Food made in the morning and eaten at noon would be cold by then.

Eating that all the time couldn't be good for the stomach, could it?

His mind wandered again.

He remembered seeing a Douyin video that claimed the gastric disease rate in this little country was 80%, ranking among the highest in the world.

Maybe it was related to this eating habit.

Opening a fast-food shop near the Ninja Academy might be a solid business idea.

He took a bite of the tempura. It was basically fried egg batter, similar to fried dough sticks, sometimes stuffed with meat or shrimp. But Hyuga Mie's tempura had no meat or shrimp—only diced carrots.

Was the family poor?

Hyuga Ningyuan sifted through his predecessor's memories. Meals rarely had meat, clothes weren't bought often, and the training uniform he wore now was a hand-me-down from the neighbor's house.

If it was just wearing old clothes, that could be thriftiness.

But if a child can't even get meat to eat, then the family must truly be poor.

"This body's father is a Chunin. A Chunin can take B, C, and D-rank missions. D-rank missions have a max reward of 10,000, and I'd get 5,000. C-rank max is 50,000, and I'd get 25,000. B-rank max is 150,000, and I'd get 75,000. Even calculating at the highest tier..."

His father Hyuga Yuuki's team was a Chunin squad with no Jonin to take a cut. And because Hyuga Yuuki bore the Hyuga name, he got the largest share. After the village took its portion, he could still pocket about half the total reward.

One D-rank mission a day, 5,000 daily income—that's 150,000 a month.

One C-rank mission a week, 25,000 weekly—that's 100,000 a month.

One B-rank mission a week, 75,000 weekly—that's 300,000 a month.

300,000—is that a lot?

A bowl of ramen costs 60, roughly equivalent to 12 RMB, so 1 RMB = 5.

300,000 is 60,000 RMB. In other words, Hyuga Ningyuan's father's monthly income was 60,000 RMB.

That's a solid high-income bracket.

But the problem is, that's income under ideal conditions.

In reality, B-rank missions rarely have rewards as high as 150,000, and you can't do one every week.

Take that C-rank mission in the Land of Waves—completion time was measured in months.

For a B-rank mission, escorting a merchant caravan, a round trip takes about half a month, and the reward is only about 100,000. Do it twice a month, that's 200,000. Split with teammates, and you get 100,000.

100,000 divided by five is 20,000 RMB.

That's the real income Hyuga Yuuki should have.

Even 20,000 RMB isn't low—it already surpasses 99% of people in China.

So the question is, with such high income, why is the family still so poor?

"The Hyuga Branch Family—they don't have to pay Heavenly Tribute to the Main Family, do they?" Hyuga Ningyuan thought it over. He really didn't know. For one, he was just a child, no one told him. For another, Kishimoto never drew it.

But the Hyuga Main Family doesn't go out on missions. Where do their food, drink, and daily expenses come from? They must rely on the Branch Family to support them.

What's the split? Fifty-fifty? Sixty-forty? Or seventy-thirty?

It couldn't be eighty-twenty, could it?

Although Hinata never seemed particularly wealthy and often looked like she couldn't eat her fill, the entire Hyuga Clan was used to keeping a low profile. It would be perfectly normal for Hyuga Hiashi to have money but not flaunt it.

"Too bad I transmigrated too early. Hinata hasn't been born yet!" Hyuga Ningyuan thought. Right now, the brothers Hiashi and Hizashi were both young and not even married yet.

By the way, when I just woke up, what was that sound ringing in my ears?

Setting down his bowl and chopsticks, Hyuga Ningyuan heard the crisp prompt sound again by his ear.

[Ding, you have completed a Diet Activity. Diet Experience +1, General Experience +1. Current Level: LV1 (1/100)]

Ningyuan's eyes instantly blazed with light: "System?"