Lion Raises His Head

At this point, Hyuga Yu no longer harbored any illusions about pulling off the kind of plot from a fan novel—unleashing the Tenseigan in a blaze of glory, breaking free from the Caged Bird's shackles, staging a coup, rewriting the Hyuga Clan's twisted system, then marrying Tsunade's big chest and ascending to the Hokage's throne.

Thirteen years spent in the Hyuga Clan, The reality far removed from fantasy had long since made him face the truth.

To be honest, Within the Hyuga Clan, aside from having to serve the main house like a beast of burden, bow and scrape, and kneel to kowtow—which was a bit grating—

The treatment this clan provided was genuinely flawless.

Free room and board, orphan subsidies from the village, secondary subsidies from the clan, and a third round of private subsidies from the elders never arrived even a day late. On top of that, adults were given houses, and the clan even had a policy of arranging marriages.

Except for the fact that ninja-related scrolls, tools, and advanced ninja instruction were priced sky-high and not easy to obtain, The Hyuga Branch Family had its members' livelihood secured from birth to death, all neatly arranged by the clan.

This was the real reason the twisted main house–branch family system persisted to this day—

This clan was genuinely wealthy, and they weren't stingy with their money.

Under such circumstances, even if the branch family harbored plenty of grievances, it was only suppressed among individuals and the batch of branch members cut off in the current generation.

But understanding didn't mean acceptance.

Hyuga Yu had no habit of kneeling to kowtow, bowing ninety degrees, and shouting "Sumimasen" at the top of his lungs. Even if he went along with local customs, he'd at most accept some superficial daily etiquette.

So, Even knowing he had no talent as a ninja, He still had to become a chunin, to risk his life for a life where he no longer had to live under someone else's roof and kneel to kowtow!

Yet now, Facing this branch family prodigy girl before him, facing her earnest promise to him, Hyuga Yu suddenly fell silent.

Hyuga Natsu was the wife the clan had arranged for him—his fiancée.

He had calculated everything, never expecting that

In the future, Natsu, who as Hyuga Hanabi's personal maid had dodged Pain's assault and the Fourth Shinobi World War, would now join him in the Guard Squad for the main house's young master, Hyuga Genko, and step onto the battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War.

"What's wrong, Yu-kun? You look terrible..."

"Nothing." Hyuga Yu took a deep breath, lifted his head, and squinted with a smile at his loli fiancée before him.

"Yu-kun sounds weird. Just call me Lion."

"Lion?" Hyuga Natsu couldn't help but burst into a giggle, "Calling you that makes me feel like I'm laughing 'hee hee.'"

Hyuga Yu suddenly spoke: "I'll protect you."

Hearing this, Hyuga Natsu froze, lifted her head, fluttered her slender, curled eyelashes, and her face flushed slightly, "What did you say?"

"Let's go, Natsu. Please take me to see Young Master Genko."

#

Half an hour later, Hyuga Yu met that unfortunate young master—the one who would later lose his Byakugan to Ao of the Mist—in the reception room of the main house's mansion.

This main house's Hyuga Genko looked very young, only about eighteen, dressed in a white kimono, with a standard Hyuga face—

Black hair, white eyes, sharp features. Except for his smooth forehead without a headband, he looked just like an adult version of Hyuga Neji.

"You're... Hyuga Yu?"

At that moment, Hyuga Genko held a printed resume, sizing up the upright, seated Hyuga Yu before him, "I've heard of you."

"Your grades at the Ninja Academy were a bit lopsided?"

"Yes." Hyuga Yu nodded.

"Academically, you scored full marks in math, chemistry, and physics—three basic subjects—and zeros in everything else."

"For ninja basics, aside from a full score in basic swordsmanship, barely passing grades in shuriken throwing, Taijutsu, and the Three Body Techniques, you failed everything else."

Hyuga Genko flipped through the resume and questioned, "Why the lopsided grades?"

Hyuga Yu immediately replied: "Because I've been training Taijutsu with Might Guy and his son, and also going to Konoha Hospital to learn the basics of Medical Ninjutsu."

Hyuga Genko frowned slightly and then asked, "Why follow Might Guy and his son to learn the Konoha Steel Fist? Isn't the Gentle Fist the clan teaches far stronger than those crude Taijutsu styles?"

Facing this question, Hyuga Yu dared not be careless and promptly answered:

"I've studied both Strong Fist and Gentle Fist, but Strong Fist has a better foundational effect on building the body, helping me accelerate the process of unlocking the Byakugan."

Hearing it was for unlocking the Byakugan, Hyuga Genko's expression softened slightly.

In academy days, there were two types of people who left a lasting impression—

one was the genius at the top of the rankings, the other was the hopeless Dead Last.

And a Dead Last waste born into the foremost clan of Konoha stood out even more.

Hyuga Genko had heard of Hyuga Yu's talent as a ninja—this person was naturally deficient in chakra reserves, barely qualified even as an ordinary ninja, let alone as a member of the Hyuga Clan.

A Hyuga Clan ninja required an abnormally large amount of chakra compared to ordinary ninja to activate and unlock the Byakugan.

Understanding that the other had made all those bizarre moves in the Ninja Academy just to unlock the Byakugan, Hyuga Genko couldn't help but look at Hyuga Yu with a bit more regard, acknowledging his persistence.

Before this, including himself, no one in the clan had really believed Hyuga Yu could unlock the Byakugan within three years of graduation. But unexpectedly, during last year's Chunin Exam, he actually unlocked it ahead of time and pushed through to the Final Match.

Even though he still couldn't beat Uchiha Obito, who was the Dead Last back then.

Hyuga Genko then continued asking:

"So, did you learn your Medical Ninjutsu during your academy days? What Medical Ninjutsu do you know?"

"D-rank Chakra Heal, Chakra Threads, C-rank Epidermal Suturing, B-rank Subtle Disease Extraction."

"Not bad." Hyuga Genko nodded, offering Hyuga Yu a faint smile, "With such talent, not only unlocking the Byakugan but also mastering this many Medical Ninjutsu, Hyuga Yu, you've worked quite hard."

"You're still a bit unqualified as a Reconnaissance Ninja, but as a Medical Ninja, you're already quite good, and it just so happens to fill the gap for this type of ninja in the clan."

He pondered carefully for a moment, then recalling the message the main family elder had just sent someone to relay, he arranged aloud:

"I'll report this to the Main House. From now on, the clan will focus on training you in the direction of a Medical Ninja."

"Once the village's deployment order comes down, I'll arrange for you to be stationed at the Rear Camp, studying under the Medical Ninja there."

Hyuga Genko closed the resume and looked at the boy with his head bowed before him, "Do you have any objections?"

Hyuga Yu suddenly lifted his head, his expression serious. "I do."

"Oh?"

"I request to accompany the squad in action, as a member of your Guard Squad."

Hyuga Genko furrowed his brow, slapping the resume folder onto the table with a sharp crack, and stared coldly at him, "I told you, as a Reconnaissance Ninja, you're not qualified."

Hyuga Yu held his head high, a resolute light gleaming in his white eyes hidden beneath his thick bangs, insisting, "I can!"