Trouble Named Hyuga

"Yo, Kawaki Aoba, long time no see. Why are you wearing goggles? It's really strange to see you like this at first glance," the ninja tool shop owner teased with a smile while handing over the custom-made gear.

"Uh, haha, is that so? It can't be helped. My eyes were injured during a mission a couple of days ago, and they can't handle bright light for a long time, so I had to find these goggles to wear."

Kawaki Aoba brushed the owner off casually. Although he looked no different from his usual self while wandering about, he was actually feeling incredibly anxious to get home.

If even the shop owner, whom he rarely interacted with, could notice something off, it went without saying that those who knew him well would be even more suspicious. If he ran into an acquaintance on the street now, he wouldn't be able to handle it well in his current state.

If his gear hadn't been so badly damaged during his last mission, he wouldn't have even stepped out of his house.

After exchanging a few more perfunctory pleasantries with the owner, Kawaki Aoba couldn't wait to grab his new gear and head toward his residence.

Kawaki Aoba was a Hidden Leaf Village ninja born with the bloodline of the Hyuga Clan.

At the same time, he was a transmigrator who had arrived in the world of Naruto due to an accident.

Although Kawaki Aoba possessed the Hyuga bloodline, he had not inherited the Byakugan kekkei genkai at birth.

That's right, he was a mixed-blood. His father was an ordinary jonin from the Hyuga Branch Family, while his mother was just an ordinary chunin from a non-ninja clan.

In fact, his situation was not uncommon in the Hidden Leaf.

Although the Hyuga and Uchiha clans were the most prestigious noble families in the village and strictly believed in endogamy and the purity of their bloodlines, that only applied to a small core group.

Take the Hyuga for example: only the Main Family strictly adhered to internal marriage. As for the Branch Family, besides having to follow strict regulations, they were allowed to marry outsiders; otherwise, there wouldn't be such a distinction between bloodline purity and Byakugan purity.

When those outsiders combined with the Hyuga Branch Family, there were two possible outcomes for their offspring. The first was inheriting the Byakugan kekkei genkai; their eyes would be white from birth. Such individuals were required to take the Hyuga surname and were born as members of the Branch Family, with a high probability of awakening the Byakugan after becoming ninjas.

The second outcome was like Kawaki Aoba's: his pupils were no different from a normal person's at birth, with no obvious Byakugan traits.

Those like him were not qualified to inherit the Hyuga surname, nor would they be acknowledged by the clan. Of course, when the Hyuga wanted to marry outsiders, these individuals were the first to be considered—after all, they did indeed have the diluted blood of the Hyuga clan flowing through their veins.

Other than that, mixed-bloods like Kawaki Aoba were, under normal circumstances, no different from ordinary ninjas.

Well, under normal circumstances.

Kawaki Aoba, currently wearing goggles, was clearly not in a normal situation.

By wearing dark-tinted goggles, Kawaki Aoba was trying to hide his pair of pure white pupils.

That's right, Kawaki Aoba had awakened the Byakugan during his last mission. As for the reason, it might have been due to extreme emotional distress or the stimulation of a life-or-death crisis, but such past events no longer mattered.

Nowadays, the most important thing for Kawaki Aoba was to hide himself well, ensuring that no one else found out he had awakened the Byakugan, and especially not the Hyuga clan.

Otherwise, given the Hyuga clan's stubborn attitude toward their bloodline, Kawaki Aoba would be in big trouble.

The Byakugan was a powerful kekkei genkai, but it had come at the worst possible time. If it had happened when he was in the Ninja Academy, he could have used personal taste as an excuse to wear goggles long-term, avoiding such a sudden and conspicuous change.

If he had awakened it after he had already grown strong, it would be even less of an issue; by then, he would have had the confidence to make the Hyuga clan keep their mouths shut.

As for now... sigh, who could tell him why his pupils couldn't change back after awakening? Those pale, ghostly white eyes were far too conspicuous.

However, since it had already happened, the only thing Kawaki Aoba could do was buy as much time as possible to develop his strength—at the very least, to the level of an elite jonin or a jonin.

Only then would he have the qualifications to tangle with the Hyuga clan.

As for now, Kawaki Aoba had made up his mind: keep a low profile, avoid appearing in public as much as possible, and especially steer clear of the Hyuga Clan Compound.

Unfortunately, while Kawaki Aoba wanted to lay low in peace, others wouldn't allow it.

As the saying goes, what you fear most is what happens. Just as Kawaki Aoba was about to reach his front door, he was intercepted by two ninjas.

The two ninjas, one tall and one short, were both dressed as chunin. Furthermore, both of them had their large Byakugan activated.

The Hyuga clan's ninjas—they were certainly fast.

Someone had leaked the information and informed the Hyuga clan that he had awakened the Byakugan.

As for who betrayed him? It could have been a temporary teammate from his last mission; after all, he had awakened the Byakugan while fighting alongside them.

It could also have been a leak from the Third Hokage's side. His team leader, Yuhi Shinku, would certainly have reported the fact that he had awakened the Byakugan during the mission to the Hokage.

As for which of these two possibilities it was, Kawaki Aoba couldn't be sure. After all, who wouldn't want to do a favor for the prestigious Hyuga clan if it didn't harm the interests of the Hidden Leaf?

The worst-case scenario had already occurred and was irreversible, so the only thing left to do was to find a way to resist.

As for compromise or resignation? Sorry, that concept didn't exist in Kawaki Aoba's dictionary. As someone living a second life, he hadn't come to this world to be anyone's dog.

Facing the two Hyuga chunin, Kawaki Aoba felt no fear. He walked forward without a hint of hesitation—he was just returning to his own home, what was there to be afraid of?

"Kawaki Aoba, come with us. The elders want you to return to the Hyuga Clan Compound to answer some questions." Just as expected, when Kawaki Aoba approached, the two Hyuga ninjas blocked his path, their tone extremely aggressive, as if they were giving an order.

Pah, no need for "as if"—this was an order.

The Hyuga clan was a noble family of the Hidden Leaf, so it was natural for them to be arrogant. When dealing with outsiders, they might show restraint due to village regulations or a sense of reason.

But when dealing with mixed-blood clansmen they deemed inferior, that sense of superiority was etched into their bones.

This was the classic mentality of bullying one's own.

Regarding this, although Kawaki Aoba understood it, he still replied to them very tactfully: "Good dogs don't block the road. Please get lost."