Three Years

Three years later.

Hmm... I am now called Hyuga Ningxue. I am a transmigrator, having arrived here three years ago due to an accident.

Based on what I have seen over these three years, I must have transmigrated into the world of Naruto that my close friend used to talk about, and I have become a member of the Hyuga clan's branch family.

To be honest, in my past life, I didn't know much about Naruto. I only knew that the protagonist was the son of the Fourth Hokage.

Danzo was some future Hokage.

Orochimaru was a villain.

The Akatsuki were a gang.

The Uchiha clan would be wiped out by that masked man and Itachi. The masked man was also the instigator of the Fourth Great Ninja War; I think his name was Madara, and who was the other person again?

Oh, right, there was also some evil alien.

In short, in my past life, I had only skimmed through the anime and heard some plot points from my friend; I didn't know any of the specifics.

However, I never expected that after dying, I would end up in a world where, without power, you might not even live to see tomorrow's sunrise.

As for the transmigration, I don't have much to say. In my past life, I was a shut-in, and my parents were often away and didn't care much about me. Aside from my friend, everyone else was just a classmate.

Do I have anything to say? No. I can only say that since I am here, I must make the best of it.

Perhaps due to the effects of the transmigration, my memories of my past life are like watching a very long movie, viewing an entire lifetime from a third-person perspective.

Even so, those dozen or so years of experience made me seem more mature than my peers.

This young, fragile body did not affect my core.

If someone were to ask, "How do you feel after transmigrating?"

The answer would be: it all depends on fate.

"Ningxue, get up and have breakfast," a gentle female voice rang out from outside the door.

Well, at least I am satisfied with my current life.

"Coming."

Over these three years, I gradually adapted to my new identity, though I faced discrimination because of my hair color. But that doesn't matter to me.

Ningxue walked to the next room and saw a simple breakfast on the table, along with his mother's gentle yet weary smile.

His father, Hyuga Ning, was there too, but his brows were tightly furrowed. There was no trace of the ease one should have in the morning; instead, a heavy anxiety permeated his expression.

"Ningxue, come here." Hyuga Ning's voice sounded dry.

Ningxue walked over obediently, keenly sensing that the atmosphere was wrong.

Hyuga Ning took a deep breath, as if he had made a difficult decision, before speaking with great effort.

"Today... you are to accompany me to the main house. The elders... are going to hold a ceremony for you."

"A ceremony?" Ningxue tilted his small face, feigning innocence as he asked.

But his heart sank abruptly. A term he had deliberately forgotten, pulled from his hazy memories, instantly surfaced—Caged Bird!

Ningxue's mother turned her head away sharply, her shoulders trembling slightly; she was clearly struggling to suppress her emotions.

Hyuga Ning could not bear to look into his son's eyes and said in a low voice, "It is a... curse seal that can protect you. From now on, you will be a formally recognized member of the Hyuga branch family."

His words were pale and powerless, every syllable dripping with helplessness and pain.

Ningxue fell silent.

He finally remembered. This was the curse that his friend had once spoken of with indignation—the Caged Bird! A curse seal that controlled life and death, bound one's freedom forever, and turned all branch family members into servants of the main house.

He clearly remembered that day, his friend cursing and swearing, saying that the Hokage's son would always be the Hokage, while the scapegoat's son would always be a scapegoat—damn the Caged Bird.

How could such a genius die so early?

The fragments of his past life's memories pieced together a cruel truth.

He did not have the luck of a child of destiny; his transmigrated identity was not a fresh start, but a heavy shackle.

Watching his parents' pained and helpless expressions, a cold chill crept up Ningxue's spine.

This world, as expected, would not let him live easily.

The fangs of fate had already quietly pressed against his forehead in this, his third year.

After a moment of reflection, he responded immediately.

"Yes... Father."

He understood his father's helplessness. If he had to blame anyone, he could only blame this Caged Bird. For the past three years, his parents had treated him well and had not neglected him in any way, allowing him—someone who had been practically an orphan in his past life—to feel familial love once again.

If you were to ask, "Why not just refuse to acknowledge your ancestors and return to the clan?"

Then I would ask you: what would be the fate of someone with Byakugan blood, no background, no clan, a mother who is a commoner, and a father who is only a chunin? It's not hard to guess.

Hyuga Ning silently took Ningxue's small hand and walked toward the main house—a mansion that was more magnificent yet far more oppressive. Ningxue's mother stood at the door, her eyes brimming with tears, yet she dared not step forward to stop them. This was a fate that no member of the branch family could escape.

On the way, Hyuga Ningxue saw many children of his own age heading toward the ancestral hall, and he knew his guess had been correct.

During this time, some children greeted him by calling him a "monster" the moment they saw him, but Ningxue did not care in the slightest.

Upon arriving inside the main house's ceremonial hall, the flickering candlelight illuminated the expressionless faces of several elders, creating an atmosphere so solemn it was suffocating.

The Great Elder, seated in the place of honor, held a strangely shaped scroll and a ritual implement, his gaze sweeping over the children below as if he were appraising mere objects.

"Begin," the Great Elder said, his voice devoid of any ripple of emotion.

Hyuga Ningsong let go of his hand and stepped aside, bowing his head deeply, his fists clenched tightly within his sleeves.

Ningxue was the first.

"Hyuga Ningxue," a member of the main house called out, holding the scroll as he checked the names of the children below.

Hearing his name, Hyuga Ningxue had no choice but to step forward with a resigned sigh.

Ningxue was instructed to kneel in the center of the ritual formation in the middle of the hall. He looked up, clearly observing every subtle movement of the Great Elder's fingers as he formed hand seals, as well as the heart-stopping fluctuations of chakra gathering on the ritual implement. A cold sensation pressed against his forehead.

Without a word, the power of the curse seal was instantly triggered. A searing heat, accompanied by a tearing, agonizing pain, surged from his forehead as if a red-hot branding iron were being pressed directly onto his soul!

Ningxue's small body trembled violently, but he bit his lip hard, refusing to cry out; only faint, stifled groans escaped through his teeth.

The memories of his past life as an ordinary person intertwined cruelly with the visceral pain of the present, making him realize with absolute clarity: this was not an anime, this was reality! This was a pain he had to endure.

The sharp pain gradually faded, leaving behind a clear, blue, cross-shaped mark on his forehead with two hooks pointing in opposite directions, along with an intangible sense of restraint that felt as though it could choke him at any moment.

"The ceremony is complete," the Great Elder announced indifferently. "Hyuga Ningxue, from this day forward, you shall uphold the duties of the branch house and make the protection of the main house your life's mission."

Hyuga Ningxue did not respond; he was still reeling from the pain and had not yet recovered.

Seeing this, the Great Elder understood, and after having Ningxue taken away, he called for the next child to be brought forward.

However, the children who followed were seeing such a scene for the first time, and each one was so terrified that their faces turned deathly pale, crying out for their mothers and fathers, screaming, "I don't want to!" "Help me!" and "Yamete!"

But the main house cared nothing for their pleas, so they simply continued calling out names.

"Hyuga Que."

"Hyuga De."

The children called were desperate to refuse, but what choice did they have? Naturally, they all went in standing and were carried out horizontal.

After this ordeal of having the Caged Bird seal carved into him, Ningxue fell asleep in his father's arms; after all, it had truly been agonizing.