Redemption Commission

At 9:00 PM, after the Mixue Dessert Shop closed its doors.

Hyuga Kenshi dragged his exhausted body, slowly pacing his way home.

Working from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM—twelve hours—was nothing to a ninja, yet for some reason, he felt incredibly tired.

Calling it a home.

In reality, it was nothing more than a small cubicle within the branch family compound.

Ever since his father and mother passed away, he had lost his home.

And that small cubicle was the last place in this world that could contain him.

As he reached the entrance of the branch family compound, a sharp, shrill voice suddenly rang out from the doorway:

"Yo, Kenshi, playing around until so late before coming back?"

Hyuga Kenshi looked up and saw the young master of the main family he had previously served.

This branch of the main family had recently confirmed an heir, but the heir was not the youth before him.

Thus, the youth before him had become just like him: a lowly member of the branch family.

Seeing that Hyuga Kenshi did not speak, the youth's eyes suddenly turned red, and he shrieked harshly:

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you mocking me in your heart for becoming the same kind of person as you?"

As he spoke, he suddenly lunged forward, punching and kicking Kenshi.

A flicker of pity appeared in Kenshi's eyes, so he allowed his former master to beat and berate him.

But the youth seemed to have misinterpreted his silence.

Seeing that the person before him wouldn't even deign to speak to him.

He said bitterly: "Your Caged Bird Seal hasn't been undone yet, what right do you have to ignore me?"

With that, he suddenly activated the Caged Bird Seal.

Watching Kenshi roll and writhe on the ground in agony.

He felt not a shred of satisfaction from the revenge, only an ever-growing sense of fear.

After letting out a scream, he stopped the seal and fled like a coward back into the branch family compound, hiding himself in a cubicle the size of a toilet.

From now on, that would be his "home" as well.

Left in agony and with his eyes throbbing from the torture of the Caged Bird Seal, Hyuga Kenshi lay on the spot for over ten minutes before he could shakily crawl to his feet.

It wasn't as if no one had passed by during that time.

It was just that most of the branch family members had numb eyes, accustomed to such occurrences.

He picked up the dessert that had fallen to the ground, and with an expressionless face, walked toward his home.

Those desserts were gifts from the shop manager Ziyin to every employee; he wanted to taste them, and he couldn't just throw them away.

Back home, Kenshi unwrapped the now-mangled small cake and, in a daze, began to dip his fingers in to eat it bit by bit.

The sweetness in his mouth was clearly wonderful, yet he felt as if he were chewing on wax.

His brain, just ravaged by the seal, was still throbbing with pain.

His thoughts were drifting aimlessly at this moment.

Suddenly, he thought of his current job.

Right, his current job was very good.

Young Master Hyuga Hoshishaku was a good person and would not torment the branch family members at will.

But such a good job had no future.

He didn't know when it started, but he had actually been longing to engage in dangerous work.

Perhaps it was the first time he was tortured by the seal.

Or perhaps the first time he was humiliated by a young master.

He truly couldn't remember when that thought had first taken root.

But he had always hoped to bid this world farewell as soon as possible.

Even his motivation to increase his strength stemmed from this.

Unfortunately, that job had cut off his hope.

A "knock-knock" sound suddenly rang out at the door.

Kenshi did not react immediately.

By the time he realized someone was knocking, Hyuga Hoshishaku had suddenly appeared before him.

"What a sorry state you're in."

That was the very first sentence he spoke.

At this moment, Kenshi's pair of pale lavender Byakugan were covered in bloodshot veins.

The skin exposed on his body was covered in lacerations from struggling against the ground.

His sweat-drenched clothes were caked in dust.

Hyuga Hoshishaku sighed, formed hand seals with both hands, and pressed them against Hyuga Kenshi's forehead.

"My apologies; it was my oversight not to have discovered the Double Seal sooner."

As he spoke, he undid the second layer of the Caged Bird Seal on Hyuga Kenshi's forehead.

Kenshi's mind was beyond the point of coherent thought.

He could not tell if it was due to the torture he had just endured or the actions of the person before him.

"I have requested you from Elder Hyuga Takashi. From now on, you are mine; you will come to live with me."

"I promise to protect you and ensure no one bullies you, but you must not betray me. Do you understand?"

"Hm? Why aren't you speaking?"

Hyuga Kenshi felt as though he were in a dream.

Fearing that he might anger the person before him and be subjected to further torture, he did not dwell on the implications of those words, simply nodding and responding in a low voice:

"I understand."

Hyuga Hoshishaku patted the boy's head and smiled happily: "As long as you understand. I'll be frank with you: once I become the clan head, the moment you reach the rank of Jonin, I will remove your Caged Bird Seal."

Having said that, Hyuga Hoshishaku ignored the look of shock on the boy's face and called out toward the outside:

"Yun Fei, Lian, find a stretcher and carry him back for me."

He then looked back at the dazed youth and comforted him softly: "Good boy."

[System Notification: C-Rank Commission Task Completed]

[You have received the C-Rank Commission reward: C-Rank Ninja x1, Secret Scroll: Recovery x1]

[Congratulations, you have obtained the C-Rank Ninja "Young Uzumaki Naruto"]

[Notification: Uzumaki Bloodline detected as incompatible with the host. Byakugan has autonomously consumed the Uzumaki Bloodline. Byakugan purity +10%]

After arranging matters for Hyuga Kenshi.

Hyuga Hoshishaku returned to his small house and saw the string of system notifications.

"The Uzumaki Bloodline is incompatible too? What is going on with this Byakugan?"

Hyuga Hoshishaku felt somewhat dissatisfied.

One had to know that the strongest constitutions in the world of the Hokage were the Sage Body of Senju Hashirama, followed by the Uzumaki Bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan.

These two constitutions were naturally endowed with immense vitality and chakra reserves.

Now, with a single line about the Byakugan being incompatible, the system had devoured his Uzumaki Bloodline. Was that reasonable?

Deeply dissatisfied, he opened his attribute panel to investigate.

[Name: Hyuga Hoshishaku]

[Vitality: 460(+300)]

[Mental Energy: 540(+150)]

[Chakra: 5050(15000)]

[Jutsu: Natural Energy Body Tempering Technique, Gentle Fist series, Summoning Technique, Sealing Jutsu, Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Lightning Style: Chidori, Multi Shadow Clone Technique, Rasengan]

[Special Abilities: Byakugan (40% Second Evolution), Lightning Style Chakra Nature Transformation, Space-Time Talent]

[Secret Scroll: Recovery (Unlocked: 2/10)]

He didn't know until he looked, but the sight gave him a start.

Only after checking the panel did Hyuga Hoshishaku realize he had wronged the system!

Although his Uzumaki Bloodline was gone, his attribute panel had effectively gained a Naruto who possessed the Uzumaki Bloodline!

If nothing else, just look at that chakra.

He had originally possessed only 5,050 chakra.

Yet, Young Uzumaki Naruto had brought him a direct increase of 15,000 chakra.

This was equivalent to a fourfold increase, bringing him to 20,000 chakra—nearly approaching the levels of some Jonin in the village!

One had to know that his father, as the strongest member of the Hyuga Clan, only possessed 60,000 chakra.

The Jonin guard elder within the clan only had 30,000.

This C-Rank commission had made him incredibly wealthy in one fell swoop!

Hyuga Hoshishaku stood up happily, intending to go and see how the benefactor who had triggered the commission task for him was faring.