Shinichi Hyuga

Year 50 of Konoha.

[This story follows the Book of Formations and takes place after Shippuden ends, with a total history of 68 years.]

The Third Shinobi World War had ended not long ago.

Konoha.

The First Auditorium was where the most important ceremonies were held.

It was bustling with people. Jonin who were rarely seen were everywhere, and the clan heads and elders of the various families were all smiling as they chatted with one another.

A wedding was being held here today.

It was the wedding of Konoha's hero, the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Kushina Uzumaki.

More importantly, the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, had recently become the Fourth Hokage. This was a rare and joyous occasion.

"The First spent his entire life building Konoha, hoping to keep young people from perishing in the prime of their lives because of war.

"But the Third turned those very youths into nourishment, feeding Konoha as it rotted away."

At the entrance to the auditorium stood a young man of seventeen or eighteen. His eyes were weathered, his maturity at odds with his age, and a cold aura radiated from him—one that even the Anbu couldn't match. It was hard to imagine what he'd been through to become this way.

The sleeve hanging empty from his right arm was tied in a bow. It bore the faint traces of some doodles.

His daughter had left them on his sleeve.

At the thought of his daughter, the murderous aura around him vanished, replaced by a gentle warmth.

He had only one eye left, his left. It was pupil-less and entirely white, while a black cloth covered the spot where his right eye should have been. His identity was unmistakable.

Anyone from the Konoha Shinobi Village would recognize him as a member of the Hyuga Clan. That eye was the Byakugan, the Kekkei Genkai for which the Hyuga Clan was renowned.

But the Cursed Seal on his forehead told everyone that he belonged to the Hyuga Branch Family.

Some people were curious. How had someone from the Branch Family, and a disabled man at that, qualified to attend the Fourth Hokage's wedding?

Others who knew him couldn't hide their regret. If only he weren't from the Branch Family; then he could have been another contender for the position of Hokage.

"Lord Shinichi, you're here! Please, follow me." Kakashi Hatake came up to Shinichi Hyuga and bowed respectfully.

As Minato Namikaze's student—and his only remaining student—Kakashi was personally there to welcome Shinichi Hyuga. This drew plenty of attention.

Shinichi Hyuga came back to himself and nodded.

"Kakashi, don't worry about me. Go take care of your business." A trace of a smile returned to Shinichi Hyuga's face. He wanted to draw less attention.

The gazes around him already made him feel as if thorns were pricking his back. What he needed most right now was to keep a low profile and bide his time.

Especially around those useless members of the Hyuga Main Family.

Kakashi obediently left. As a young prodigy, he somewhat understood Shinichi Hyuga's predicament.

On the battlefield against Kumogakure, he had seen with his own eyes how Shinichi Hyuga repeatedly came to Minato Namikaze's aid at critical moments. Thanks to him, Konoha had completely overwhelmed the AB Duo on the battlefield.

But because Shinichi Hyuga belonged to the Branch Family, all his achievements were credited to the Hyuga Clan. He was left as an ordinary Jonin, with no fame to his name.

Kakashi sensed a deathly stillness about Shinichi Hyuga, much like the aura his father had given off when he took his own life. But this stillness was even stronger, as if it would swallow everything around him.

Only some bond held it back.

Shinichi Hyuga shook his head, found the seats reserved for the Hyuga Clan, and sat down.

Several Jonin from the Branch Family greeted him. They were all older than he was, and some were already frail with age.

Seeing their young kinsman, covered in injuries and missing a limb, they gathered around him, shielding him from view.

The Cursed Seal on Shinichi Hyuga's forehead was a source of pain for them all.

"Shinichi, you've suffered."

One of the clan elders spoke with a trembling, helpless voice. A tear slipped from his eye.

Only people like them could truly understand Shinichi Hyuga's suffering.

He had clearly been the Hyuga Clan's strongest fighter, yet this was how things had turned out.

"Third Elder, you worry too much. Isn't this our fate?" Shinichi Hyuga raised his uneven shoulders, trying to gauge the attitudes of the Branch Family's strongest fighters.

At once, they all fell silent, but the emotions in their eyes didn't escape Shinichi Hyuga.

His gaze first settled on Hizashi Hyuga. What did the younger brother of the current head of the Main Family think about all this?

Then he looked around at the others.

Some had numb expressions, as if they fully agreed with Shinichi Hyuga. They were all older.

Others, all young, were filled with resentment.

Hizashi Hyuga was among them. He hid it well, but Shinichi Hyuga could still read his expression.

Is it because of Neji Hyuga? Shinichi Hyuga began to understand. Hizashi Hyuga's son, Neji Hyuga, had been born that year.

He understood Hizashi Hyuga's feelings very well.

He said no more and closed his eyes to rest. He and Hizashi Hyuga shared the same worry.

His daughter was three years old that year.

Children of the Hyuga Branch Family were branded with the Caged Bird between the ages of three and five.

Because they feared him, his daughter, Reiko Hyuga, would be branded with the Caged Bird alongside the other children of the Branch Family in three months.

A crude panel appeared in his mind, visible only to him. It was a secret he'd kept hidden for many years.

[Name: Shinichi Hyuga

Worlds manifested: Detective Conan World, Ajin World, ???

Templates manifested: Kyogoku Makoto, Haibara Ai, Ajin No. 002...

Manifestation Points: 10078]

He was a transmigrator. In his previous life, he'd been a student who had just started university. After pulling an all-nighter and dying suddenly, he'd come to this world as an infant in the Hyuga Branch Family.

He'd tried a few clever tricks, but couldn't escape the fate of being branded with the Caged Bird.

Fortunately, he knew the story. More fortunate still was the gift from the Earth Will, which allowed him to use Manifestation Points to manifest character templates from anime.

Once he obtained a character template, he could quickly master that character's talents and knowledge. He would also gain some of their traits and bloodline abilities, which would merge with his own body.

That made his future impossible to predict.

The hard part was obtaining Manifestation Points. Fresh souls were needed to provide the energy.

Souls of different strengths yielded different numbers of Manifestation Points. Generally speaking:

A Genin yielded one point.

A Chunin yielded ten points.

A Jonin yielded one hundred points.

During the Second Shinobi World War, he had absorbed many souls and unlocked the slice-of-life world of Detective Conan. That was how he'd earned enough to manifest the two templates he currently had.

Kyogoku Makoto seemed like a pushover. Judging by strength alone, he was only at the Genin level; even reaching the Chunin level would be a stretch.

But like a certain bald teacher, Kyogoku Makoto had the ability to break limits, allowing him to overcome the restrictions of his world. His actual strength was heavily limited, and he also possessed new ideas and knowledge about martial arts.

This had taken Shinichi Hyuga's kicking techniques and Taijutsu to a whole new level.

Thanks to this, his Taijutsu had surpassed Hizashi Hyuga's, and he had combined Konoha's Strong Fist with the Hyuga Gentle Fist to create a leg technique of his own.

He had also inherited Kyogoku Makoto's nickname: Noble Prince of Kicks.

His elegant yet devastating kicks had made a name for him on the battlefield.