Hyuga Hoshishaku didn't know many people in the clan.
Before he turned four, he'd spent most of his time receiving private lessons in his own courtyard, occasionally going to the main residence to study Gentle Fist.
After turning four, he often went to the village to take on exploration missions. Apart from the occasional elder who happened upon him and complained about his lack of manners, his life had been more or less this dull and monotonous.
He'd already asked his cousin, though, and learned that aside from the clan head, the elder responsible for assigning Branch Family members was Hyuga Takashi.
So Hoshishaku went straight to Hyuga Takashi's home and bluntly asked for some people.
"You mean you want two Branch Family members to help manage your businesses?"
Hyuga Takashi, his face aged and stern, asked Hoshishaku again.
Hoshishaku didn't so much as blush as he replied:
"Oh, yes. If the Branch Family has enough people, four would be good. No, six would be even better. Ten would be best."
"My two shops still need managers, and I'll have more branches in the future. I'll also need people to manage my vast wealth down the line."
Looking at the little boy in front of him, who made his request in a clear and orderly manner while shamelessly raising his asking price, Hyuga Takashi's expression suddenly softened.
He knew that, barring any surprises, this shameless little brat would definitely become the clan head.
After all, his talent, thick skin, maturity, and composure were all qualities Hyuga Yueye couldn't hope to match.
So he would do his best to accommodate the future clan head's requests.
It was just...
Looking at the little boy in front of him, who was chattering away and had already raised his request to twenty people, each with a reasonable assignment in mind, Hyuga Takashi felt a dull ache in his heart.
He quickly raised a hand to stop him.
"Enough, Young Master Hoshishaku, stop. The Branch Family can spare at most two people for you."
Hoshishaku was secretly delighted, but put on a dissatisfied expression.
"Huh? After all that I said, you're only giving me two people?"
Hyuga Takashi seemed to see through Hoshishaku's delight. The corner of his mouth twitched as he calmly took a sip of tea.
"Please understand, Young Master Hoshishaku. The clan's businesses have been undergoing changes lately, and almost everyone is occupied. Assigning two people to you is already the limit."
"Fine, then. Two it is."
Hoshishaku agreed with obvious reluctance. After discussing the candidates with the elder, the matter was finally settled.
As they were wrapping up, Hyuga Takashi said:
"I'll have Hyuga Shiin and Hyuga Ren report to you tomorrow. By the way, if you're going to let them handle money, you should consider adjusting their Caged Bird Seal."
Hoshishaku was curious. "Can the Caged Bird Seal be adjusted?"
Hyuga Takashi nodded.
"Of course. There are several branches in the Main Family, but the Branch Family has only one.
"So, aside from the clan head, who controls the activation incantation for all the seals, each Main Family branch has its own independent second incantation."
Hoshishaku frowned at this.
He immediately understood what the elder meant.
In other words, aside from the clan head being able to activate the Caged Bird Seal to punish Branch Family members, each Main Family branch had added a Double Seal to the basic Caged Bird Seal, which they could activate at any time to punish Branch Family members.
That way, the Branch Family members would be guaranteed to serve not only the clan head but also the Main Family branch that controlled the Double Seal.
Although Hyuga Hoshishaku was a beneficiary of this system, and might even become its greatest beneficiary in the future, his values made it hard for him to accept this ideology.
Hoshishaku held back his displeasure and continued asking the elder about the Cursed Seals.
But Hyuga Takashi was a shrewd old man. How could he fail to notice Hoshishaku's disapproval?
"Child, I know you may feel the urge to stand up for the Branch Family. To be honest, every member of the Main Family feels that way as a child."
"But the Caged Bird Seal is our fundamental safeguard against our Kekkei Genkai falling into outsiders' hands. It also indirectly protects the weaker members of the Branch Family, so don't entertain thoughts you shouldn't."
"Yes, if someone weak possesses a Kekkei Genkai that can be taken from them, it's like a child carrying gold through a crowded marketplace. As the saying goes, 'A man may be innocent, but his jade makes him a target.' So I agree with your point, Elder."
"But..."
As he said this, many scenes he'd witnessed with his own eyes in the past flashed through Hoshishaku's mind.
They were all scenes of bullying, humiliation, and torment.
The words "The child of a scapegoat is a scapegoat too" seemed to ring in his ears once more.
"Let's not talk about that anymore." Hoshishaku forced a smile.
"Then how should I adjust the Caged Bird Seal?"
Hyuga Takashi studied Hoshishaku's eyes, as if pondering something, or perhaps simply observing him.
Only after a long while did he speak. "Yun Fei's Caged Bird Seal doesn't need adjusting. Only the clan head can activate it. If you need a Double Caged Bird Seal, go to Elder Asakawa."
"As for Ziyin and Lian, I'll remove their Double Seals. Likewise, if you need a Double Seal, go to Elder Asakawa."
"Understood. Thank you, Elder Takashi."
After thanking him, Hoshishaku hurried off.
He felt like his act hadn't fooled the old man at all.
Then again, before coming to this world, he'd only been a high school student.
How could he hide his feelings from crafty adults?
Hyuga Hoshishaku made his way back to his courtyard, feeling rather frustrated.
Until he was strong enough to keep the entire clan in check, he'd better avoid discussing the clan's system with these old men.
That was what he thought.
After dinner,
Hoshishaku first gave Yun Fei some pointers on the fundamentals and techniques of Eight Trigrams Palms: Rotation.
Then Yun Fei taught Hoshishaku the most basic sealing and unsealing techniques.
Of course, this was just Hoshishaku's way of legitimizing the abilities he'd acquired from Ajisai, a B-rank ninja.
After all, he could claim that he'd learned the Taijutsu he'd picked up from Neji by regularly observing the training grounds.
But even the most basic sealing techniques were something nobody would believe he could learn just by watching once.
After using Yun Fei to legitimize Ajisai's main abilities, Hoshishaku couldn't wait to try them out.
To be honest, he only knew that the Loli Path was extremely powerful when it came to the Summoning Technique.
He really had no idea how to use the basic Sealing Technique for opening Sealing Scrolls as his primary means of attack.
After glancing at Yun Fei, who was practicing Rotation in the backyard,
Hoshishaku went to the study and began preparing the materials for the Sealing Technique.
Strictly speaking, the paper used for Sealing Techniques had to be specially made.
The tool shop in the village sold finished products made from this special paper: blank Sealing Scrolls.
But after acquiring Ajisai's abilities, he had a feeling that ordinary paper might work too.
So he followed that instinct and didn't immediately practice with Sealing Scrolls.
Instead, he cut a few pieces from a large sheet of paper.
Just like in Ajisai's training memories, he formed Hand Seals, pressed his hands to the paper, and condensed the sealing formula onto it.
A sealing formula resembling the Eight Trigrams was successfully inscribed on the palm-sized paper.
Hoshishaku was incredulous.
"That's it? It worked?"
So he made several more pieces of sealing paper.
Then he took them to the backyard, ready to test their power.
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