The First Person in History

"While the Uchiha Clan has Shisui Uchiha, our Hyuga Clan has Yuzuru Hyuga!"

With that single sentence, Hyuga Hiashi had placed Yuzuru Hyuga on the same level as the genius ninja of another great clan.

Only then did the Branch House ninja finally dare to relax and cheer for Yuzuru Hyuga.

"Young Master Yuzuru! Hyuga's genius!"

Such cries rose one after another. Even the Main House ninja had no choice but to admit that four-year-old Yuzuru Hyuga had displayed terrifying talent never before seen in the Hyuga Clan. Given time, even if he only grew to Shisui's current age of eight, he could become a pillar of the clan.

If he could grow up safely, perhaps—

Perhaps!?

An elder abruptly thought of something. His expression shifted between excitement and gloom before he finally narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

There was no reason that a commoner ninja like Minato Namikaze could become Hokage while the Hyuga Clan, having devoted itself heart and soul to Konoha, could not set its sights on that position.

Although the Fourth Hokage had yet to take office, everyone knew that Minato Namikaze's momentum was unstoppable.

Of course, Yuzuru Hyuga would not do. He was from the Branch House.

But as a member of the clan, he could contribute to it and help Hiashi take that position—

The only concern was that Minato Namikaze was too young. If he did not die, the position of Fifth Hokage might not open up for a very long time.

The Hyuga Clan elder sank into thought.

Beneath those undercurrents, the thoughts of most Hyuga clansmen remained fairly simple.

They cheered loudly for Yuzuru Hyuga, thrilled by the clan's rise and its hope for the future.

Though it had merely been an ordinary internal clan match, this single battle had earned Yuzuru Hyuga enormous prestige, and not just within the Branch House.

Even among the Main House Hyuga ninja, quite a few now looked up to him sincerely and no longer regarded Yuzuru Hyuga as an ordinary Branch House member.

That had been Yuzuru Hyuga's goal.

Hizashi Hyuga looked around, his face still gloomy, yet inwardly he sighed with a touch of bitterness: Yuzuru...

Whether or not he supported him, Yuzuru had still walked this path with unwavering determination.

Still, Hizashi Hyuga turned to Hyuga Hiashi. "Yuzuru is still too young. Is becoming a ninja really appropriate?"

"Konoha White Fang's son, Kakashi Hatake, became a Chunin at six. What is wrong with a Hyuga Clan genius becoming a Genin at four? Do not worry. The war is over."

Hyuga Hiashi smiled, looking as though his heart was entirely devoted to the Hyuga Clan's future. "It is time for Konoha to see that the Hyuga Clan has geniuses as well."

"Rest assured, Hizashi." Hyuga Hiashi's smile was bright and gentle. "Believe in Yuzuru."

Yuzuru Hyuga quietly lowered his head and listened to everything.

At last, Hizashi Hyuga stopped refusing. Instead, he glared at his son with an irritated expression. "But we will discuss it after his confinement ends. He is so immature that sending him out now would only disgrace the Hyuga Clan."

"Fine. We will do as you say."

Hyuga Hiashi quickly settled the matter.

No one knew how conflicted he felt at that moment.

On one hand, he was delighted that the clan possessed such a monstrously gifted talent. On the other, Yuzuru's Branch House birth made him feel as though he were sitting on pins and needles.

If he were not Hizashi's son, what choice would I make?

Hyuga Hiashi briefly closed his eyes in contemplation. Then he opened them, smiled, and proceeded with the remaining matches.

Unfortunately, neither the Hyuga clansmen participating in the later matches nor the audience had any interest left. Once the matches ended, Hyuga Hiashi chose to dismiss the gathering.

Hizashi Hyuga put on an angry face, making everyone else too wary to disturb him while he disciplined his son. He took Yuzuru Hyuga straight home, locked him in his room, and put on the appearance of grounding him.

Afterward, he was notified to head alone to the Main House for a meeting.

The meeting's core discussion would most likely revolve around Yuzuru Hyuga.

All of this would have nothing to do with Yuzuru Hyuga. Although that meeting would largely determine his future fate and the dangers he would soon face, he remained calm.

Everything was going according to plan.

Why had he chosen to make such a splash earlier if not to draw attention?

If he could not perform well enough within this year, how could he make his father steel himself? How could he make the other Branch House members trust and follow him?

Every gain came with a loss. Gaining attention meant inevitably losing a peaceful period of development and exposing himself beneath the spotlight, but so what?

Sitting in his room, Yuzuru Hyuga first opened his skill panel.

Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms (A): Level 1 (32/1600)

Detected that the host has independently developed an unnamed B-rank taijutsu. It can replace Konoha-style Taijutsu: Shadow Leaf Dance. Replace?

What excited Yuzuru Hyuga most was that unnamed taijutsu.

If nothing unexpected happened, it referred to the combo taijutsu that linked Rotation after he used Shadow Leaf Dance.

In truth, Shadow Leaf Dance had always been a transitional taijutsu technique. Whether it was Rock Lee, Naruto, or Sasuke, all of them had developed their own taijutsu combos based on it.

But having it directly replace Shadow Leaf Dance and produce a new combo taijutsu still made Yuzuru Hyuga tremendously excited.

Ninjutsu that had already broken through or been merged would not affect the ninjutsu he had already mastered. Just as his Finger Seal had evolved into the B-rank Sealing Technique Flying Bird, he could still use Finger Seal proficiently.

Even if it was merged and replaced, it would not prevent him from using Shadow Leaf Dance in the future.

And if nothing unexpected happened, improving the new taijutsu would also make his use of Shadow Leaf Dance stronger. After all, that technique was part of the new taijutsu.

"Replace."

Please name it.

"Rotation: Swallow Reversal."

Rotation: Swallow Reversal (B): Level 1 (121/800)

At the same time, Yuzuru Hyuga thought of something else.

Rotation: Swallow Reversal used an incomplete Rotation to attack. Did that mean practicing this move could also increase Rotation's proficiency?

Yuzuru Hyuga itched to try it, but he was confined to his room and could not practice, so he could only suppress the urge.

"At present, I have accumulated enough ninjutsu."

"My next focus should be on breaking through my existing ninjutsu."

"I absolutely have to max out the Body Flicker Technique. This technique is no longer limited to movement; it also affects the execution of Rotation: Swallow Reversal. If the Body Flicker Technique can break through into a technique like Flying Thunder God, Rotation: Swallow Reversal may gain even more possibilities during attacks and evolve on its own into an A-rank or even higher-level skill."

"As my only defensive method at present, Rotation has already developed a certain degree of offensive capability. But this secret technique undoubtedly has much more room for development. Whether it follows the area-of-effect attack route of Shinra Tensei or the single-target attack route of the Rasengan, the possibilities are vast. I must practice it, perhaps even develop it myself."

"The Byakugan is not urgent. It would be troublesome if upgrading it too early made it consume too much chakra when activated. In any case, the Tenseigan would require at least several hundred thousand free experience points. It is impossible for me to even consider that now, unless I find some way to obtain free experience points in large quantities..."

Thinking of that, Yuzuru Hyuga fell silent.

When it came to the word experience points, the first way Yuzuru Hyuga thought of to obtain them was battle.

Compared to a simple sparring match to determine victory or defeat, perhaps battles of greater intensity and danger could yield more experience points than pure hard training.

With a thought—

Eight Trigrams Palm: Rotation (A): Level 1 (1077/1600)

Just as expected!

Yuzuru Hyuga remembered clearly that before the battle began, his Rotation proficiency had only just passed seven hundred.

He had only used Rotation twice in that fight, yet he had gained a full three hundred proficiency points—equivalent to half an afternoon of hard work.

"If it was not merely deciding victory or defeat, but a fight to the death..."

Yuzuru Hyuga could not help thinking about it.

In truth, he had long suspected this. After all, he had played games before transmigrating. Killing monsters to level up and gain experience points was perfectly normal, was it not?

"It needs to be verified."

He was somewhat resistant to meaningless killing, but he also understood that in Konoha, in the ninja world, not every act of killing came with a reason or righteous cause.

Ninja were tools by nature.

And the ninja who wielded those tools... were the Kage.

"Accumulate experience points and break through my existing ninjutsu. As for ranged methods, Kunai Throwing Technique and Fireball Jutsu will be enough for now. After Gentle Fist breaks through, perhaps I can develop a long-range attack method like Air Palm. Maybe I can even figure out a mid-range offensive technique like Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm myself..."

Rapid movement, ranged harassment, and unmatched close combat.

That was the path Yuzuru Hyuga had currently planned for himself.

Just as Yuzuru Hyuga was considering which technique he should prioritize improving and breaking through first—

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

Hizashi Hyuga's voice came from the doorway, ice-cold.

"Starting tomorrow, you will attend the Ninja Academy. Within two years at most, you will graduate early and join ANBU."

"The Hyuga Clan will clear the obstacles on the Hokage's side for you. After joining ANBU, you will be promoted to Jonin within two years at most."

"After becoming a Jonin, you will be pushed into the spotlight and become the Hyuga Clan's banner."

"If you do not want to die, you only have two years."

Yuzuru Hyuga smiled faintly.

Where had this two-year transition period at the Ninja Academy come from?

He had already guessed.

"Father, thank you."

"Over the next year, prepare yourself. I will train you with the intent to kill you." Hizashi Hyuga's cold voice held not a trace of warmth. "Fortunately, you still have a younger brother."

Yuzuru Hyuga walked to the window, but all he could see outside was his father's back.

He gently placed a hand against the glass. "What if I succeed?"

"...He should not have shown killing intent toward you." Hizashi Hyuga's hoarse voice, deliberately lowered yet filled with murderous intent, was caught by Yuzuru Hyuga's attentive ears.

Yuzuru Hyuga chuckled and pushed up his glasses. "Four years."

"A very good point in time."

Four years later would likely be the day Kumogakure used an excuse to try to seize the Byakugan, only for Hizashi Hyuga to die in Hyuga Hiashi's place.

"Father, it is time to find some trustworthy allies."

He reminded him.

"That is why I will only train you for half a year."

There was little emotion to be heard in Hizashi Hyuga's heavy voice.

"As expected of my father. Once you get serious, you are surprisingly reliable." Only then did Yuzuru Hyuga dare to confirm that his father had truly hardened his resolve and no longer held illusions about Hiashi.

At the very least, he would no longer foolishly hope that the bond between the two brothers could overcome the divide between the Main House and the Branch House.

"Hmph. Cherish your last moments of leisure."

Hizashi Hyuga's footsteps gradually faded away. It seemed he truly intended to keep Yuzuru Hyuga confined for a full day.

Perhaps he also wanted Yuzuru Hyuga to rest properly and recover from his injuries. After all, he had not emerged completely unscathed from his battle with Hyuga Shion.

Resting his chin on his hand, Yuzuru Hyuga looked out the window.

Suddenly, a somewhat childish yet amusing thought popped into his mind: Itachi had entered ANBU at eight, while he would enter at six if nothing unexpected happened. And to join ANBU, he would need to be at least a Chunin. At the same time, he would tie Kakashi's record of becoming a Chunin at six.

Would he be racing straight toward the title of the first person in history purely based on his résumé?

How interesting... the future.

PS①: The bug regarding Orochimaru defecting before the Third Shinobi World War has been fixed. NPC Orochimaru has now respawned in Konoha and joined the overall storyline. The defection instance has been moved to after the Nine-Tails Incident.

PS②: Also, a missing-person notice: Yanzu! How am I supposed to live without your recommendations and favorites, Yanzu! Yanzu!!