Heaven Rewards Diligence

Heaven Rewards Diligence System

Four bright, glaring words flashed past.

Chakra Refinement Technique (E): Level 10 (MAX) (Can Break Through)

Ninjutsu · Clone Technique (E): Level 3 (219/300)

Ninjutsu · Transformation Technique (E): Level 8 (799/800)

Ninjutsu · Substitution Technique (E): Level 10 (MAX) (Can Break Through)

Taijutsu · Hyuga Gentle Fist (C): Level 4 (2200/2400)

Dojutsu · Byakugan (A): Level 2 (2000/3200)

Free Experience Points: 12710.

Yuzuru Hyuga was drenched in sweat as he looked at the panel, his feelings still complicated. He panted heavily, sitting on the ground without a shred of dignity.

As he tried to recover his strength, he gazed up at the starry sky, overwhelmed by emotion.

Time really flew by.

Although the scene of his transmigration still seemed vivid in his mind, in the blink of an eye, he had already been branded with the Caged Bird and spent four years in this clan he deeply despised.

By now, he had grown accustomed to being Hizashi Hyuga's son, and to living as Yuzuru Hyuga, but he could never get used to the curse mark on his forehead.

Whenever he thought of the nauseating blue pattern on his forehead, Yuzuru Hyuga's gaze turned colder.

Perhaps in other people's eyes, accepting one's identity as a Branch House member and receiving the Caged Bird curse mark was an inescapable fate. They were meant to resign themselves to it.

But Yuzuru Hyuga had never seen it that way.

People were born free.

Why should others stand above them? Why should their lives and deaths rest on someone else's whim?

Main House, Branch House—simply because of one's birth, one had to become little more than a slave to the Main House.

Could a clan like that still be called a clan?

Yuzuru Hyuga's gaze settled on his System Panel.

Fortunately, he was not without hope of changing everything. The Heaven Rewards Diligence System that had arrived with his transmigration was his greatest reliance for changing his fate.

The Heaven Rewards Diligence System could not create something from nothing, but even as a member of the Branch House, it ensured that his future development would not fall behind any genius.

As long as he trained diligently, his skills would gain experience. Once they reached a threshold, they could level up. That meant he would no longer encounter the bottlenecks ordinary shinobi faced in training. As long as he worked hard enough, he could raise ninjutsu and taijutsu to their limits without anyone teaching him!

Not only that, after skills such as ninjutsu and taijutsu reached their limits, he could use Free Experience Points to break through! Although Yuzuru Hyuga had yet to formally use this function, the system's description made one thing clear—so long as he was willing to invest enough, even the lowest-level Great Fireball Technique could become some super ninjutsu like "Falling Fire Meteor" after repeated breakthroughs.

Of course, that was the least efficient option.

Free Experience Points came from one-time rewards granted when skills reached their maximum level. Other than that, they came from actual combat and training.

After defeating an opponent, he could gain a certain amount of Free Experience Points based on the intensity of the battle. Even if he lost, he would receive a certain amount based on his performance.

During training, as long as he trained hard, whether in taijutsu or ninjutsu, he would receive a certain amount of Free Experience Points according to the difficulty of the training.

For Yuzuru Hyuga right now, his Free Experience Points mainly came from his never-ending training.

After a day of grueling exercise that left him completely spent, he could earn anywhere from dozens to over a hundred Free Experience Points.

The one-time experience rewards were also a major source of Free Experience Points. Even an E-rank ninjutsu would grant 2,000 Free Experience Points once it reached maximum level.

It was a pity that even though Chakra Refinement had already reached maximum level, this body was only four years old and had its limits. The amount of chakra I can refine each day is ultimately limited.

My limited chakra also further restricts how long I can keep the Byakugan active to build proficiency. If I force it up with Free Experience Points, an overly powerful Byakugan would consume too much chakra for me to use. It'll be even harder to make the Byakugan reach maximum level and break through into the Tenseigan. I don't even know how many Free Experience Points that would take.

Not to mention, I still need to save up Free Experience Points...

Yuzuru Hyuga rubbed his brow, trying to relax his mind.

Compared to awakening the Tenseigan, there was something more urgent before him.

The reason he had saved up such a massive amount of Free Experience Points was not to play weak and then suddenly break through in battle.

It was to break the Caged Bird!

At present, the ninjutsu most likely to remove the Caged Bird that he could think of was Sealing Technique.

But what left him helpless was that, as a member of the Branch House, he had no way to openly obtain advanced Sealing Techniques, much less research them.

The Main House had personally placed the noose around the Branch House's necks. How could they possibly allow them access to techniques related to unlocking it?

So Yuzuru Hyuga could only use a clumsy method—even a C-rank Sealing Technique would do. As long as he could get hold of any Sealing Technique, he could continuously level it up through proficiency, then use Free Experience Points to break through. In the process, he would gain knowledge and advanced Sealing Techniques, eventually finding the Caged Bird's weakness and completely removing this damned ticking bomb.

If Sealing Technique was not the final answer either...

Yuzuru Hyuga could only turn to things like soul reincarnation. But whether it was Impure World Reincarnation or Orochimaru's self-developed Living Corpse Reincarnation, both were clearly even harder to obtain than Sealing Technique.

And in the worst-case scenario—if the Caged Bird was tied to the soul as well—it would be even more troublesome. Methods like Living Corpse Reincarnation and Impure World Reincarnation, which involved playing with souls to escape, might not work either.

I'll take it one step at a time. Fortunately, maybe Itachi Uchiha will give me a pleasant surprise tomorrow.

His thoughts were interrupted.

Hurried footsteps sounded behind him, making Yuzuru Hyuga instinctively rise to his feet and put on the black-rimmed glasses he had casually set aside.

"Young Master Yuzuru! Lady Hyuga is about to give birth, and Lord Hizashi has returned!" a maid called joyfully from afar.

"I understand." Yuzuru Hyuga was somewhat surprised. It was not because his mother was about to give him a younger brother named Neji, but because of his father's sudden return.

The Third Great Ninja War was still raging. Konoha's situation was far from optimistic. Iwagakure, Kirigakure, and Kumogakure—nearly every force with designs on Konoha had launched attacks at once. They fought fiercely among themselves, yet still maintained united pressure against Konoha.

If nothing unexpected happened, the battlefield would soon approach Konoha, and the famous Battle of Kikyo Pass would erupt.

At a time like this, it was no easy matter for Hizashi Hyuga, one of the Hyuga Clan's high-level combat forces, to return home.

He quickened his pace. When he reached his mother's room, he saw his father, Hizashi Hyuga. He looked travel-worn, and there were even traces of blood on his somewhat filthy clothes.

"Father." Yuzuru Hyuga walked over with a smile.

When Hizashi Hyuga saw him, a smile naturally appeared on his face. "Yuzuru, you've grown taller again."

"Father, you seem to have gotten thinner too." Yuzuru Hyuga looked him over as well.

Father and son looked at each other. Reunited after so long apart, they found themselves speechless for a moment.

"Mother and child are safe. It's a boy. Congratulations, Lord Hizashi!"

From inside the room, the medical shinobi announced the good news.

The gentle smile on Hizashi Hyuga's face deepened after hearing the news, but he did not go inside. Instead, as the boy's cries from the room grew stronger, his smile became brighter. "That's good!"

"Aren't you going in to take a look, Yuzuru?"

Hizashi Hyuga turned his head and looked at the boy standing quietly beside him. Yuzuru appeared calm, as if the child who had just been born had nothing to do with him.

Yuzuru Hyuga, standing beside him, had beautiful medium-length black hair that fell casually around his face. His young features were delicate and handsome, perfectly inheriting the best qualities of both his parents without a single flaw.

But there was one exception—the blue Caged Bird mark amid the black hair on his forehead added a discordant hint of savagery to his otherwise flawless face.

Yuzuru Hyuga was only four years old. Even standing straight, he barely reached Hizashi Hyuga's thigh. Behind his black-rimmed glasses were calm white eyes. Hearing his father's words, he merely smiled gently. "I'll go take a look after he falls asleep."

Hizashi Hyuga reached out and gently ruffled his hair. "Take a good rest today. Don't train too late, and spend more time with your mother."

"Mm." Yuzuru Hyuga nodded and did not refuse. He looked around before suddenly asking, "Did the clan head not come?"

"Lord Hiashi... The battlefield has been very tense lately, and he has many matters to handle." Hizashi Hyuga's gaze dimmed slightly in an unnatural manner.

Yuzuru Hyuga merely smiled faintly. "Will Father be returning tomorrow?"

"I'll be leaving shortly. The situation at the front lines is not optimistic." Hizashi Hyuga never hid such things from Yuzuru Hyuga, because he knew very well that even if he said nothing, this precocious child before him could guess.

Yuzuru Hyuga merely gave an "oh," then asked again, "Is the clan head not going?"

"Of course he'll go." After saying that, Hizashi Hyuga could not help reaching out to pat his head. "Yuzuru!"

Yuzuru Hyuga dropped the subject. The smile on his face remained gentle as he pushed up his glasses and said casually, "Father, I was only asking."

"You know what you're thinking." Hizashi Hyuga did not want to discuss these matters with him here. The joy of Neji's birth had been somewhat dampened because of it. He lingered for a moment, using the Byakugan to look at his sleeping wife and child inside the room, then turned and left.

He wanted to go inside, but he was still filthy all over and even stained with blood. He was not suited to directly approach a woman who had just given birth and a newborn child.

"Stay safe," Yuzuru Hyuga said softly behind him.

Hizashi Hyuga paused, then laughed heartily. "I still have to watch you and Neji grow up."

His footsteps gradually faded at the end of the corridor. Yuzuru Hyuga stood alone on the wooden walkway outside for a long while before finally turning and entering the room.

His exhausted mother had already fallen asleep, while Neji, the little fellow with no worries in the world, had also quieted down under the medical shinobi's care.

Newborn children were generally ugly beyond measure, and even Neji was no exception. Yuzuru Hyuga chuckled at how ugly he was. It was a shame he did not have a camera on hand. Otherwise, showing it to Neji after he grew up would definitely be amusing.

Yuzuru Hyuga paused quietly in the room. The medical shinobi gestured for him to remain quiet, so he sat beside his mother's bed and gently peeled an apple with a fruit knife. He cut the apple into little rabbit shapes and placed them on a plate.

After that, he followed the medical shinobi out of the room.

"Is something the matter?" The female shinobi at the door looked exhausted. She wiped away sweat as she asked wearily.

Yuzuru Hyuga simply said quietly, "I wanted to see you off. It's so late, and you had to come all the way from the hospital to the Hyuga residence. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's nothing. I used to handle deliveries like this all the time. It's just that lately... Anyway, the hospital has been very busy." The medical shinobi did not want to tell this little boy that Konoha Hospital was nearly full to capacity. The war Konoha was fighting was not something children should be involved in.

Yuzuru Hyuga merely exchanged a few more polite words before seeing the shinobi out of the Hyuga residence. He seemed so mature that he did not resemble a four-year-old child at all.

When he returned to the room, even though they were part of the Hyuga Branch House, they still had several maids. There was no need for him to worry about anything; his mother and younger brother were naturally well cared for.

He merely gave the cradle a gentle push for the maid, watched as Neji slept fairly soundly, then softly said goodbye to his sleeping mother before returning to his own room.

He took a simple bath in the wooden tub the maids had prepared, dried his hair, and drifted off to sleep in his room.

Early the next morning, Yuzuru Hyuga quietly left home by himself.

He was going to meet someone.

A "friend" his own age.

Itachi Uchiha.

Author's Note: Due to some unavoidable circumstances, this book's early settings are somewhat lacking in quality. After all, I was a newbie back then. (Laugh.) But it is mostly just a few setting issues. So far, no readers have reported any problems with the plot, so please read with confidence.

This is a slow-burn mastermind story that builds up before taking off. The further it goes, the better the quality becomes—I solemnly swear this on my increasingly sparse hair! If my updates are not intense enough after it goes premium, you can pull all my hair out! (Please don't.)