Hyuga Nichigetsu

Konoha Village, Hyuga Clan compound.

The weather was clear, with a few white clouds drifting lazily across the azure sky. A gentle breeze swept through the dense forest, and sunlight cast golden threads upon the path shaded by tree leaves. At the end of the road lay the bustling village surrounded by trees—Konoha.

On the iconic Hokage Rock, three massive heads were carved, silently witnessing all the trials and tribulations Konoha had endured since its inception. Below the steep and rugged Hokage Rock lay a vast expanse of houses in various styles, spreading out in a semicircle with the Hokage Office building at the center. The streets were wide and tidy, lined with rows of shops filled with a dazzling array of goods. Many civilians walked leisurely along the streets, enjoying an ordinary day; everything was so peaceful and serene.

The Hyuga clan was a prominent family in Konoha, holding a significant status, so their residential area naturally occupied a large portion of land, with grand mansions and small courtyards arranged in an orderly fashion. In a rather secluded courtyard within the clan's territory, a four-year-old boy sat quietly on a stone bench beside a pond, staring blankly at his own reflection in the water.

The boy's black hair hung down naturally, with long, slanted bangs covering most of his forehead, yet the distinct green "卍" seal was still visible. His large eyes were pure white. His skin was smooth and fair, but lacked color, appearing quite pale. His round, tender face, small straight nose, and sword-like eyebrows hinted at the handsome youth he would one day become.

He crossed his arms over his chest, his brows furrowed in a grave expression. Combined with his look of distress, he possessed a maturity far beyond his years. If anyone were to see the boy's demeanor, they would surely think he was a little adult.

He stretched out his palm to look at his thin, fair, and tender hand. "Sigh..." the boy let out a heavy sigh.

I, Zhao Ming, actually transmigrated... and to the world of Naruto, no less... Zhao Ming rested his chin on his hand, recalling the still-chaotic memories in his mind.

Zhao Ming was an ordinary modern man whose parents had passed away early. Independent from a young age, he had aspired to become a doctor. Through nearly twenty years of unremitting effort, he had finally realized that dream. At twenty-nine, he was a top-tier cardiothoracic surgeon, a star lead surgeon at his hospital, and quite famous in medical school, having been hired as a visiting professor before turning thirty. Before the transmigration, he only remembered performing two major surgeries back-to-back, exhausted after fourteen hours. Before he could even leave the operating room, his vision went black, and he collapsed beside the table.

He didn't know how much time had passed. When he woke up, his head was splitting with pain, and he found himself lying in an old, wooden-style house. Everything around him was unfamiliar, and his body had transformed into this child's form. His memories were severely fragmented; he seemed to remember nothing at all.

Who am I? Why does my head hurt so much? Where is this? Every time he pondered these questions, his head throbbed, and his mind felt like mush. Fortunately, after lying on the tatami for many days, he gradually remembered who he was and recalled his past life.

But immediately after, new memories flooded Zhao Ming's mind—he was a four-year-old child... Although these memories were short, they felt extremely familiar, as if he had experienced them himself, whereas his memories of his previous twenty-plus years felt somewhat distant. After carefully reviewing the child's memories, Zhao Ming realized a serious problem—he had transmigrated into the Naruto world.

Zhao Ming had a deep affection for Naruto. Since his university days, he had spent his free time in the dorm watching various anime. He was a die-hard fan who had been following Naruto for ten years, starting at nineteen. Although he felt a pang of regret for his original world, he was also quite excited to be in the Naruto world; after all, it was a dream for many, and he had fantasized about it himself. However, once he integrated the child's memories, he couldn't bring himself to be happy.

Hyuga Nichigetsu was Zhao Ming's current name. He was a member of the Hyuga branch family in Konoha, a distant cousin of the brothers Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi. Currently, Hiashi was not yet the clan head; his grandfather held that position. Therefore, Hiashi, Hizashi, and their peers from the direct line were considered members of the Hyuga main house. Beyond them, some elders and their offspring were also classified as main house members, possessing the right to inherit the position of clan head. Hyuga Nichigetsu's lineage had long been a side branch, so he naturally belonged to the branch family.

Nichigetsu's mother, Senju Naoko, was an ordinary person from a branch of the Senju clan. She was a doctor who had worked at the Konoha Hospital and died in childbirth. His father, Hyuga Den, a jonin of the branch family, had left Nichigetsu behind two years ago for the battlefield and never returned. Based on his memories, Zhao Ming deduced that the "battlefield" was the Third Shinobi World War in the Land of Rain, and his father had likely been killed in action, though the aunts and uncles had hidden this from the young Nichigetsu. After all, it was easy to deceive a three- or four-year-old, but Zhao Ming was no toddler. Thinking of Nichigetsu's deceased parents, Zhao Ming felt a pang of sadness; it seemed he was destined to be an orphan in both lives.

Moreover, judging by the main house's attitude toward him, Zhao Ming felt there was more to his father's death than met the eye. Shortly after his father left for the front, Zhao Ming—or rather, Hyuga Nichigetsu—was immediately branded with the Caged Bird seal by the elders of the main house. The main house members often bullied him, such as Hyuga Nisshin, the son of the clan elder Hyuga Hideyoshi. It was said that Nisshin was a candidate for the next clan head and a rival to Hiashi. Nisshin was eight years older than Nichigetsu and would beat and humiliate him for no reason. From the look of extreme disgust and hatred in Nisshin's eyes, Zhao Ming could clearly sense the hostility. This wasn't just a child bullying someone weaker; it was clearly instigated by his father, Hideyoshi. Such intense animosity must have been instilled by an adult. Zhao Ming suspected that the clan elder Hideyoshi had played many dirty tricks behind the scenes to get Nichigetsu's father sent to the battlefield, and his death might even have been orchestrated.

Over a month ago, Nisshin and his lackeys had beaten Nichigetsu until he was black and blue. The original Nichigetsu had merely glared at him, and in a fit of rage, Hyuga Nisshin had activated the Caged Bird seal on Nichigetsu's forehead. With his head splitting and the pain unbearable, Nichigetsu had gritted his teeth and slammed his head against a pillar, blood splattering everywhere.

Zhao Ming estimated that the four-year-old Nichigetsu had died at that moment, and his own soul had just happened to transmigrate into this small body, merging with the original soul's memories. His soul's arrival had given the body a second wind, allowing it to survive. Of course, these were just the most logical explanations Zhao Ming could come up with. Later, people from the branch family arrived in time to send him for treatment, saving his life. After waking up, Zhao Ming had to lie in bed for over twenty days before he could walk again.

In the original Nichigetsu's memories, that moment was truly dark. A fist had slammed into his face, accompanied by mocking laughter and insults as he lay on the ground. Then, fists and kicks rained down on him like a storm.

"Hyuga Nichigetsu, you trash!"

"Garbage, you aren't worthy of the Hyuga name!"

"Your dead old man is never coming back! Hahaha..."

"Hmm? What's with that look? Want to attack me? Taste the power of the seal!"

"The Caged Bird is a dog collar for branch family trash like you!"

"Hahaha! You can go keep your dead father company..."

The memory of his head feeling like it was being torn apart was so vivid that Zhao Ming felt as if he had truly experienced it. The pain from those fists seemed to linger. The humiliation, hatred, and unwillingness felt like scars on his own heart; every time he thought of it, Zhao Ming burned with fury. It seemed Nichigetsu had lived a life of constant suffering. Looking at the little boy in the reflection, Zhao Ming clenched his fists.

"To think they would teach a child how to activate the Caged Bird seal; those people in the main house really wanted me dead. And that Nisshin hasn't faced any punishment, nor has anyone apologized to me. What kind of world is this!?" Zhao Ming's brows furrowed.

"Others transmigrate and get the Rinnegan or Wood Release. Heaven, couldn't you at least give me a 'red-eye disease' (Sharingan)? If not that, then Crystal, Swift, Underworld, Ice, or Magnet Release would have been fine. But you gave me a cataract! And even if it is a cataract, the Byakugan is from the impure branch bloodline, and it comes with a Caged Bird seal. The worst part is that the main house wants me dead! Heaven, are you trying to kill me?" Zhao Ming couldn't help but look up at the sky and complain.

As everyone knew, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan had excellent insight. With the Byakugan, one was already a reconnaissance and sensory-type ninja. However, the chakra nature of the Hyuga clan was generally non-elemental and did not fall into the five main categories. The clan specialized in Gentle Fist taijutsu, so they were basically unable to use the mainstream five elemental ninjutsu. The Hyuga clan rarely delved into sword techniques, medical ninjutsu, sealing techniques, barrier techniques, or genjutsu. The only sealing technique they had was powerful, but it was used against their own people. Aside from taijutsu that complemented the Byakugan, other arts were largely abandoned by the clan.

Therefore, Hyuga ninjas were very weak in long-range combat. Even if they learned the Eight Trigrams Air Palm, it only slightly compensated for the lack of long-range attacks. You were supposed to be a high-level radar staying in the back, yet you had to run to the front lines to engage in hand-to-hand combat; just thinking about it gave Zhao Ming a headache. He remembered in Naruto how Neji was constantly attacked by the enemy's long-range boomerangs and could only use Rotation to defend, with no means to counterattack. There was also Neji being toyed with by Kidomaru of the Sound Four from a distance; that was the consequence of having no long-range combat capability.

Hyuga ninjas were formidable during the Genin and Chunin stages, as the Byakugan's powerful insight and pressure-point strikes were advantageous. But by the Jonin stage, they became somewhat sluggish. Most Hyuga ninjas became reconnaissance and support types. As for reaching the Kage level, it was basically out of the question. In decades, the Hyuga clan had produced only one genius—Hyuga Neji—and he was the first of the Konoha 11 to die, and the only one at that.

When Zhao Ming watched the anime, he didn't think much of the Byakugan. Compared to the heaven-defying abilities of the other two great ocular powers, the Sharingan and the Rinnegan, the Byakugan's power was indeed not strong. Moreover, Nichigetsu had already been branded with the Caged Bird seal. Not only was he controlled by the main house, but the Byakugan also had a blind spot. What depressed Zhao Ming even more was that he couldn't learn the secret techniques of the main house.

Kirin, Majestic Destroyer Flame, Hard Vortex Water Blade, Rasenshuriken—these ninjutsu are out of the question. Shadow Clone Jutsu should be learnable, as it only concerns chakra distribution. Medical ninjutsu should also be possible, as it is Yang Release and doesn't require the five elemental natures, but it demands powerful physical energy and precise chakra control. Sealing and space-time ninjutsu will have to wait; whether I can learn them is another question. The Rasengan should be trainable; after all, it is the pinnacle of chakra shape transformation and has nothing to do with nature transformation. But anything beyond the Rasengan is impossible; it's a bit of a chicken rib... Zhao Ming continued to ponder.

The Byakugan can evolve into the Tenseigan, and the Tenseigan is super overpowered... The problem is, I'm not a descendant of the Otsutsuki with a powerful Sage body, nor do I have pure Byakugan blood. The main house has pure Byakugan, but I can't bring myself to forcibly take someone else's eyes. Oh Heaven, can you send me an Apollo 10 lunar module? I could go to the moon and find the descendants of Otsutsuki Hamura; maybe I could get a Tenseigan. Zhao Ming smiled helplessly, mocking himself.

Heaven! My requirements are very simple... If there's no cultivation technique, a Kamehameha or Spirit Bomb would be a decent cheat! Or send me a Zanpakuto; it doesn't have to be very strong, just something like Ryujin Jakka or Kyoka Suigetsu would do. Give me a Devil Fruit; there isn't much sea in Naruto anyway... Zhao Ming looked up at the blue sky, as if negotiating with the heavens, but only clouds drifted slowly across the sky, and no one responded to his "simple" requests.

"Sigh, transmigrated into the Naruto world, I originally wanted to stick to my old profession and just be a doctor. But the Hyuga main house wants to play me to death; I can't just stay out of it even if I want to! I, Zhao Ming, am not someone who can be kneaded at will. If they want to play, I'll accompany them to the end!" The little boy said as he slowly stood up, his eyes becoming incomparably firm.

Zhao Ming recalled his days studying medicine: studying desperately, conducting experiments, learning foreign languages, reading foreign materials, running between the library and the laboratory every day. After his internship, he worked hard to accumulate experience. To hone his skills, he volunteered for a humanitarian medical team in Africa, treating patients in various difficult environments. Each surgery, while saving lives, was also a constant challenge to his limits. In his twenties, his clinical experience had already surpassed many veteran doctors; whether it was surgery, internal medicine, or traditional and Western medicine, Zhao Ming had dabbled in them all. In cardiothoracic surgery, he had reached the top tier. When it came to hard work, he had never feared anyone.

He pointed at his reflection in the water and said, "Since Heaven has let me live again, I will live this life well! This is also for the sake of the original Nichigetsu. Now that someone doesn't want me to live, I can only strive for strength! And live even better!"

"Hmph! So what if I have the Caged Bird seal? So what if I can't use ninjutsu and can only use Gentle Fist? So what if the branch family can't learn the main house's secret techniques? So what if I'm a thorn in the side of the main house? Is it destined that the Hyuga branch family must be weaker than the main house? Is it destined that the branch family must be slaughtered without resistance when suppressed by the main house? Can the Byakugan not become the strongest bloodline limit? Can the Hyuga clan not become the 'strongest clan in Konoha' without the Senju and Uchiha? Hmph! You all underestimate me, Zhao Ming!" Zhao Ming nodded firmly; it was hard to imagine a four-year-old boy possessing such presence.

"From today on, I am Hyuga Nichigetsu! From now on, no one can bully me!"