Byakugan

After a night of wind and rain, the entire Leaf Village had been washed clean. Crystal-clear dewdrops slid from the leaves, and the newborn morning light filtered through the foliage, falling upon them and making them sparkle.

A cool breeze brushed past the windowsill and gently swept over the curtains, stirring them in the wind. Dappled morning light quietly crept across the woman's face, bright and dim, mingling together.

As if she sensed something, Hyuga Yuko instinctively raised a hand before her eyes. Her trembling lashes struggled fiercely as her hazy eyes slowly opened.

Hyuga Yuko glanced outside. The air after the rain was especially fresh. She took a deep breath, then lazily stretched.

Suddenly, Hyuga Yuko seemed to realize something. She turned her head and found the bed beside her empty.

Hyuga Iwa was gone! That had never happened before!

Hyuga Yuko instantly lost all sleepiness. Without even having time to get dressed, she hurriedly ran outside.

"Iwa, where are you? Iwa... uh..."

Hyuga Yuko flung open the bedroom door and saw her son standing there, one hand braced against the wall and the other holding a paintbrush, staring at her in shock.

Without thinking, Hyuga Yuko rushed forward and pulled her son into her arms. Her hanging heart finally settled.

The "frightened" Hyuga Iwa seemed to realize something and quickly hid the little hand holding the paintbrush behind his back.

After a while, Hyuga Yuko seemed to think of something. Her son could walk now?

A surge of joy welled up in her heart. Hyuga Yuko carefully examined her son. He seemed a little nervous?

Maybe she had scared him just now? Hyuga Yuko thought with amusement. Her gaze happened to sweep behind Hyuga Iwa, where his little hand was clutching a paintbrush. It looked like her paintbrush?

Hyuga Yuko cleared her throat and said sternly to her son, "This is Mommy's paintbrush. You're still little, so you can't take things without permission."

As she spoke, Hyuga Yuko snatched the brush away and looked it over with a pained expression. Some of the paint had been used, but luckily she had discovered it early. Otherwise, her paintbrush probably would not have survived.

She picked up her son, returned to the room, and placed him on the bed. Hyuga Yuko smiled in satisfaction and said gently, "Sit on the bed and don't run around. Mommy is going to make breakfast. Be good, okay?"

Her son still seemed a little nervous, but it was fine. He would be better soon. Hyuga Yuko did not pay it any mind and turned to walk outside.

The moment the door closed, Hyuga Iwa let out a heavy breath and instantly put on a grin.

Good thing she didn't notice. The prank was a success!

However, Hyuga Iwa quickly pulled a long face again, because he knew his mother would soon find out. And he was still too small; it seemed he had no way to escape her clutches.

Hyuga Iwa sighed and stopped thinking about it. He stretched, found a spot, curled up on the bed, closed his eyes, and prepared to catch up on sleep.

Before long, Hyuga Yuko's furious scream came from outside. Her face covered in "drawings," she slammed open the bedroom door and glared at the bed.

But when Hyuga Yuko saw her son sleeping peacefully, her heart softened. Her anger came quickly and went quickly. She tucked the little blanket around Hyuga Iwa, then quietly left the room again.

The room gradually fell silent, while Leaf Village began to bustle. Another day had begun.

Sure enough, a life without war was what people yearned for most. Yet at this time, Leaf Village remained shrouded beneath the dark clouds of war.

In truth, the Second Shinobi World War, caused by uneven economic development between nations and their competition for territory and resources, had only just begun.

The Rain Country's daimyo, seeking to expand his territory, instructed Hanzo of the Salamander of Rain Village to declare war on the Land of Iron, Sand Village, and Leaf Village in succession. This ultimately led to a great war between Sand Village and Leaf Village. Lightning Country and Earth Country were unwilling to fall behind and joined in one after another, while Water Country began implementing the Blood Mist Policy and closing itself off during this period.

Countless shinobi marched onto the battlefield, either gaining fame or dying. The war brought immense pain to the entire Shinobi World, and it also devastated the overly ambitious Rain Country, leaving it with catastrophic casualties. It never recovered even decades later, directly becoming someone else's battlefield and supporting player.

But none of that had anything to do with Hyuga Iwa right now. No matter how fiercely they fought, it was not yet the concern of a child barely over one year old and not even two.

Speaking of which, Hyuga Iwa still could not speak. Even when listening, he could not yet fully understand the language of the Shinobi World.

That had left Hyuga Iwa complaining for a long time. What kind of transmigrator still could not speak the local language after so long? That was simply ridiculous.

Unfortunately, Hyuga Iwa truly did not have much talent for languages. Moreover, his vocal cords did not seem to have fully developed yet. Words often got stuck at his lips, but he simply could not say them. In the end, all that came out were infant babbles of "ah, ah, ah."

Still, combined with his fingers, people could understand much of what he wanted to say, so it was not as if he could not communicate at all.

Ever since Hyuga Iwa had learned to walk, the entire house had suffered under his mischief. It was covered in all kinds of indecipherable scribbles—coded writing from his previous life, mainly because he could not find pens or paper to write on and did not have to worry about anyone deciphering it. Gradually, his tracks began extending outside as well.

Unfortunately, it was still wartime. As a Hyuga Branch Family member of the Hyuga Clan who possessed the Byakugan, before he had been branded with the Caged Bird, the greatest range of his activities was limited to the Hyuga Clan Grounds.

No Hyuga Clan child was allowed to leave the clan grounds alone before being acknowledged or branded with the Caged Bird!

This applied equally to the Hyuga Main Family and the Hyuga Branch Family!

Due to the Byakugan's strategic importance, Leaf Village's higher-ups also approved of this rule!

Furthermore, there really was not much to see within the clan grounds during wartime. Even so, Hyuga Iwa had wandered through the entire clan grounds—aside from the places he could not enter.

Adults were rarely wary of children, much less a child who had only just learned to walk and could not even speak. Hardly any adult would guard against a child. Thanks to this, Hyuga Iwa still got to see some harmless little secrets of others.

Speaking of which, Hyuga Yuko had quite a headache over having a son who liked wandering everywhere. Whenever she let her guard down, he would disappear, leaving her worried until she found him somewhere else or another clansman brought him back.

But as time passed and it happened more often, Hyuga Yuko gradually grew used to it.

Time passed bit by bit, and another year or so went by.

Hyuga Iwa had long since learned to speak. Now able to forage for food everywhere—sweet-talking people and asking them for things to eat—he had grown fair and chubby. His pair of pristine white Byakugan made him look especially lively.

On the main road of the clan grounds, several little children with Byakugan gathered around Hyuga Iwa, playing games together. Their foreheads were smooth and immaculate.

But Hyuga Iwa knew that they were all members of the Hyuga Branch Family. In the future, they would all be branded with the Caged Bird.

Although Hyuga Iwa was not very pleased about it, he also knew it was a necessary measure. Without the Caged Bird's protection, the area outside the Hyuga Clan Grounds would likely be packed with schemers from who knew where.

During the Warring States Era, before hidden villages existed, the Hyuga Clan might have been able to rely on its own strength and influence to evade the covetous gazes lurking in the shadows.

But the establishment of hidden villages had increased shinobi strength by an unknown amount. A single Hyuga Clan could not evade so many underhanded schemes.

On this point, Hyuga Iwa agreed. The Hyuga Clan's low profile and conservatism had protected its safety.

Hyuga Iwa knew that in the future, Ao of Mist Village would transplant a Byakugan! The Byakugan did not seem as difficult to handle as the Sharingan!

After all, throughout the Shinobi World's long history, it was not as though no one had ever obtained a Sharingan. Yet not a single intact Byakugan had ever fallen into someone else's hands!

Even so, most people who obtained a Sharingan did not transplant it. That alone explained the problem.

Because among all the non-Uchiha Clan members who obtained a Sharingan, not one could continue improving their strength after transplanting it—simply not regressing was already something to thank the heavens for!

The rejection reaction and the inability to deactivate the Sharingan made those who coveted it shrink back.