Ninja Academy Teaching Assistant

Morning light filtered through the fence around Konoha Village's Ninja Academy training ground, casting long, slender shadows across the earth.

Hyuga Xiao stood at the edge of the field in the standard Hyuga Clan attire, a brand-new white forehead protector wrapped around his brow—an "award" sent by the Main House yesterday evening, supposedly "in recognition of his loyal performance while protecting the young lady."

Beneath the forehead protector, the Caged Bird Seal still throbbed faintly.

"Xiao Hyuga, I'll be counting on you from here," said the chunin instructor in charge of taijutsu, patting his shoulder. "Today is the third-years' basic taijutsu training. The focus is controlling chakra flow through the meridians of the limbs. With the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan, that should be easy for you to observe and guide, right?"

"I'll do my best." Xiao bowed slightly, his voice gentle.

Yet his gaze had already passed over the seven- and eight-year-old children on the training ground and settled on a red-haired girl in the corner.

Kurenai Yuhi.

At eight years old, she was smaller than the other children her age. Her long red hair was tied into a simple ponytail, and she was practicing hand seals alone before a wooden post. Her fingers were nimble, but whenever she formed the Goat seal, she would pause slightly—it was a common finishing seal for genjutsu.

"Fall in!"

The chunin instructor blew his whistle, and more than twenty children quickly formed three rows.

Xiao walked slowly to the front of the formation, his pale eyes calmly sweeping across each young face. Several children shrank their necks instinctively when they met his gaze—the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was famously intimidating in Konoha Village.

"I am Hyuga Xiao. Today, I will assist with your taijutsu training." His voice was not loud, but every child heard it clearly. "First, pair up and conduct basic sparring practice. I will observe each of you and point out any issues with your chakra flow."

The children quickly dispersed, and the sounds of fists and feet colliding filled the training ground.

Xiao appeared to wander casually, but every step was calculated. His Byakugan had long since been activated. Within his vision, the chakra meridians inside every child resembled glowing rivers, clearly visible.

Most of the children's chakra flows were clumsy, like clogged water pipes that stopped and started. That was normal—children of seven or eight had not fully developed their meridians, and weak chakra control was expected.

But there were two exceptions.

One was a child from the Uchiha Clan. The chakra in his eye meridians was unusually active, clearly an early sign of Sharingan bloodline awakening. The other...

Was Kurenai Yuhi.

When Xiao reached her training area, Kurenai was sparring with another girl. Her taijutsu movements were textbook-perfect, but she clearly lacked strength—not because of poor physical condition, but because she was not fully channeling chakra into her limbs.

More importantly, whenever she tried to mobilize more chakra, several meridian nodes in her chest became disrupted.

"Stop for a moment."

Xiao's voice made both girls halt at once.

"You," he said, looking at Kurenai's opponent. "Go practice with the third group over there."

Only after the other girl left did Xiao turn to Kurenai. The eight-year-old girl looked up at him, a trace of anxiety in her red eyes—the guarded expression common among war orphans.

"Your name is Kurenai Yuhi, correct?" Xiao crouched down so that his eyes were level with hers. "I observed your chakra flow just now."

Kurenai pressed her lips together and said nothing.

"Your problem is not with your taijutsu movements, but with your chakra distribution." Xiao pointed to his own chest. "Here, and here. These two meridian nodes automatically contract whenever you mobilize chakra. It is a physiological reaction caused by psychological tension. Were you injured before?"

Kurenai's pupils contracted slightly.

"...The year my father died, a falling rock struck me in the chest," she said softly. "The medical ninja said it had already healed."

"The external injury healed, but the psychological scar remained," Xiao said calmly. "Whenever you try to mobilize your chakra with full force, your body instinctively protects the area that was once injured, causing those meridian nodes to contract unconsciously."

He stood and pointed toward the woods on the other side of the training ground.

"Go practice alone over there. Do not pursue power today. Focus on making the chakra flow steadily through those two nodes—like water passing through a narrow channel. Do not rush it. Slow and steady."

Kurenai looked at him, nodded, and jogged away from the main training ground.

Xiao continued guiding the other children, but the edge of his Byakugan vision remained fixed on the woods.

Half an hour later, the basic taijutsu training ended, and free practice began. The chunin instructor called several talented children aside for individual guidance, while the others continued sparring in twos and threes.

Only then did Xiao slowly head toward the woods.

Kurenai Yuhi was indeed there.

She leaned against a cedar tree, forming hand seals as fine beads of sweat covered her forehead. Red chakra flowed through her body, but every time it passed through the nodes in her chest, it slowed noticeably.

Once, twice, three times.

On her fourth attempt, Kurenai's hand seals became noticeably faster—she was getting impatient.

"Stop."

Xiao's voice came from behind her.

Kurenai jumped in fright and nearly tripped as she turned around. Xiao reached out and steadied her by the shoulder, his touch light and gone in an instant.

"I told you not to rush." He walked in front of Kurenai. "Your hand seal sequence was wrong just now. Tiger-Goat-Horse is the sequence for the C-rank genjutsu Hell Viewing Technique, but after the Goat seal, you added the starting motion for the Rat seal. Why?"

Kurenai froze.

She lowered her head to stare at her hands. Several seconds later, she finally spoke in a small voice. "...The first genjutsu my father taught me was This Place Is Not Technique. Its seal sequence was Tiger-Goat-Rat."

"You confused them," Xiao said. "Different genjutsu have entirely different chakra-flow paths through the meridians. Forcing an old habit onto a different technique will only make those nodes more disordered."

He paused, clearly seeing the trajectory of chakra within the girl through his Byakugan.

"Now, form the seals for Hell Viewing Technique again. When you reach the Goat seal, do not send all your chakra into the eye meridians—redirect thirty percent to your right palm."

Kurenai looked at him in confusion.

"Do it." Xiao's tone allowed no argument.

The girl took a deep breath and formed the hand seals again. Tiger, Goat—

The instant the Goat seal took shape, she followed Xiao's instruction and guided part of her chakra into her right hand.

Then, a miracle happened.

The chakra flow that had originally stagnated in her chest suddenly lost most of its pressure after being diverted, passing smoothly through those two stubborn nodes. It lasted only for an instant, but Kurenai clearly felt the difference—the smooth sensation of chakra coursing through her entire body was something she had never experienced since beginning genjutsu practice.

The air before her twisted slightly, and a pale red curtain of light flashed and vanished.

Though it lasted less than half a second, it was undeniably a sign that Hell Viewing Technique had activated successfully.

"I-I did it..." Kurenai's eyes widened, her voice trembling with disbelief.

She abruptly turned, wanting to thank the Hyuga Clan teaching assistant.

But the edge of the training ground was empty.

Hyuga Xiao had already returned to the main field, where he was teaching a fallen child how to break a fall properly. His profile looked calm and focused in the morning light, as though his guidance in the woods had never happened.

Kurenai stood where she was, clutching her slightly warm right hand.

In her chest, those two meridian nodes that had been stagnant for years still retained the warm sensation of chakra flowing through them. It was faint, but real.

She looked at Xiao's back, and something slowly settled in her red eyes.

At the same time, on the observation platform at the other end of the training ground.

Two figures stood side by side.

"So that's the child from the Hyuga Branch House who has recently emerged?" The speaker was a bespectacled middle-aged man in a jonin vest, holding a clipboard.

"Yes, Hyuga Xiao." The man beside him had a hoarse voice. "He saved the Main House's young lady a few days ago. I heard he performed well. The Main House gave him some 'rewards,' including the chance to experience teaching at the academy."

"What do you think?"

"His Byakugan purity should be fairly high." The owner of the hoarse voice—a scar-faced ninja—narrowed his eyes. "When he guided that red-haired girl just now, he was at least fifteen meters away, yet he accurately identified the problems with her chakra flow. That is not the sort of observational ability an ordinary Branch House member should possess."

The bespectacled man wrote a few notes on his clipboard.

"Should we report it?"

"Observe a while longer," the scar-faced ninja said. "We should interfere less in the Hyuga Clan's internal affairs. But... that Kurenai Yuhi is worth noting. Her father was a jonin who specialized in genjutsu before his death. Her bloodline should be decent."

"A war orphan with no background. Easy to control."

"Exactly."

Their conversation was quiet, completely drowned out by the commotion on the training ground.

But they failed to notice that below the platform, Hyuga Xiao, who was teaching a child how to break a fall, had turned his pale eyes slightly toward the observation platform.

Though he could not hear the exact words, the chakra flows within those two ninja had briefly accelerated in his Byakugan vision—a physiological response to emotional fluctuations.

Xiao withdrew his gaze and continued his instruction.

But in his mind, the system notification had already sounded:

[Contacted high-fortune target: Kurenai Yuhi (juvenile)]

[Current bond value: 5/100 (initial impression)]

[Fate node "genjutsu psychological trauma" intervention progress: 12%]

[Warning: Detected that Konoha Village's upper ranks intend to monitor the target. Host must act cautiously.]

Xiao helped the fallen child up and brushed the dust from his clothes.

His movements were gentle, his gaze calm.

Only he knew that something cold was slowly growing deep within his chest.

The Caged Bird Seal beneath his forehead protector faintly heated up, like a scar that could never heal. And that scar reminded him at every moment—

In this world, even the weak needed the strong's permission to breathe.

So, if he did not want to remain a dog chained by the neck forever, what should he do?

The answer was simple.

Become the one holding the chain.

"Thank you, Brother Xiao!" The child he had helped up grinned.

Xiao rubbed the child's hair, a gentle curve appearing at the corner of his lips.

"Keep practicing," he said. "The next time you fall, remember to concentrate chakra in your elbows and knees—then you will not get hurt."

The child nodded vigorously and ran back to the training group.

Xiao straightened up, his gaze sweeping across the entire training ground once more.

Kurenai Yuhi had returned to the main field and was practicing shuriken throws with another girl. Her movements were smoother than before. Though still unskilled, she no longer had that shrinking, hesitant air.

Good.

The first chess piece had already landed on the board.

Though there was still a long way to go before he could truly steal her fate, at least he had successfully left a clear impression in that red-haired girl's memory.

Someone who had precisely identified her problem while everyone else ignored her, and given her an effective solution—

A Hyuga Clan teaching assistant.

Xiao turned and walked toward the chunin instructor, preparing to report on the morning's guidance.

His steps were steady, and his expression humble, perfectly matching what a Branch House member who had received the Main House's "favor" should look like.

No one saw his right hand hanging at his side, its five fingers curling slightly inward.

A thread of pale blue chakra quietly circulated in his palm, then vanished in an instant.

It was the embryonic form of a newly awakened ability after his Byakugan purity had risen to 6%—still weak, but undeniably growing.

Caged Bird Seal removal progress: 0.1%.

The number was so small it could be ignored.

But Xiao remembered clearly the nearly imperceptible loosening sensation from the seal behind his neck the instant that number on the system panel had jumped from 0% to 0.1%.

It was like a hair-thin crack appearing in an airtight iron door.

Tiny.

But undeniably there.

And what he needed to do was pry that crack open bit by bit until it became a breach large enough to collapse the entire door.

"Hyuga Xiao, you worked hard." The chunin instructor smiled and handed him a bottle of water. "The children all said you were very attentive in your guidance."

"It was my duty." Xiao accepted the water, but as he unscrewed the cap, his movements naturally paused for an instant.

At the edge of his Byakugan vision, a familiar figure was walking toward the training ground entrance.

Tokuma Hyuga.

The Branch House jonin ordered to monitor him.

Tokuma's expression was calm, and he even nodded to Xiao in greeting. But Xiao could see clearly that Tokuma's chakra flow was three percent faster than usual—a physiological reaction associated with heightened vigilance.

The Main House truly did not trust him.

Even if he had saved Hinata, even if he acted as loyal as possible, the Branch House would always be the Branch House.

No matter how obedient a dog was, its master would never forget to keep it chained.

"Senior Tokuma." Xiao took the initiative to approach him and bowed slightly. "What brings you here?"

"The clan head sent me to inspect your teaching," Tokuma said, his voice devoid of emotion. "And to inform you that there will be a family meeting at the Main House residence at three this afternoon. All Branch House jonin and chunin must attend."

"What is the meeting about?"

Tokuma glanced at him, remained silent for two seconds, then slowly spoke.

"The follow-up handling of the Hidden Cloud Spy Incident, and... the reassignment of security duties for Branch House members."

Xiao's pupils contracted slightly.

But his expression did not change in the slightest. He merely nodded respectfully.

"I understand. I will be there on time."

Tokuma looked at him several more times. In the end, he said nothing and turned to leave the training ground.

Xiao stood in place, watching his back disappear around the street corner.

He gently set down the water bottle in his hand.

The children's laughter and shouting still rang across the training ground. The sunlight was bright, and Konoha Village's morning was peaceful and serene.

But Xiao knew that beneath that tranquility, undercurrents had already begun to stir.

The Main House intended to reassign the Branch House's security duties—which meant the little "merit" he had earned by risking his life to save Hinata could very easily be erased by the Main House under the name of "reasonable allocation."

He might even be assigned to a more dangerous, more remote position.

After all, an overly prominent Branch House member was not a good thing in the Main House's eyes.

Xiao raised his head and looked toward the azure sky.

White clouds drifted slowly by, their shapes ever-changing.

A faint, cold curve lifted at the corner of his lips.

"Reassignment..."

Fine.

It would be a good chance to see just how shameless those important figures of the Hyuga Main House could be.

And a good chance to test just how much turmoil 6% Byakugan purity, combined with 0.1% Caged Bird Seal removal progress—

Could stir up at the family meeting.

At the other end of the training ground, Kurenai Yuhi threw her final shuriken of the morning.

Thunk!

Bullseye.

The girl beside her widened her eyes in surprise. "Kurenai, you're in great form today!"

Kurenai withdrew her hand, her fingertips still retaining the faint warmth of chakra flowing through them.

Instinctively, she turned to look at the Hyuga Clan teaching assistant by the edge of the field.

Xiao was speaking with the chunin instructor about something, his profile sharply defined beneath the sunlight.

Kurenai clenched her fist. The two meridian nodes in her chest no longer felt so sluggish and painfully blocked as before.

Though it was only a very subtle change.

To her, however, it was the first time in the two years since her father's death that practicing genjutsu had not filled her with that suffocating sense of failure.

"...Mm." She softly answered her companion. "Today really does seem a little different."

She did not say what was different.

But something quietly took root in those red eyes.

Like a seed buried beneath frozen soil, finally receiving a ray of sunlight that broke through the ice.

Though it was still very faint.

It had indeed begun to grow.