Ninja Academy Teaching Assistant

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

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

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

"Xiao Hyuga, I'll be relying on you from here on," said the Chunin instructor in charge of taijutsu class, patting his shoulder. "Today is the third-years' basic taijutsu training. The focus is controlling chakra flow through the meridians in 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 in the training ground and settled on a red-haired girl in the corner.

Kurenai Yuhi.

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

"Line up!"

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

Xiao slowly walked to the front of the formation, his pale eyes calmly sweeping over each young face. Several children instinctively shrank their necks when their eyes met his—the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was famous in Konoha for its intimidating presence.

"I am Hyuga Xiao. Today, I'll be assisting with your taijutsu training." His voice was not loud, but every child heard him clearly. "First, pair up and spar using the basics. I'll observe each of you and point out problems with your chakra flow."

The children quickly dispersed, and the sounds of fists and feet colliding soon rang through the training ground.

Xiao appeared to wander about casually, but every step had been calculated. His Byakugan had long since activated. In his vision, the chakra meridians inside every child were as clear as glowing rivers.

Most of their chakra flowed awkwardly, like water through clogged pipes, stopping and starting. 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. Chakra was unusually active in the meridians around his eyes, clearly an early sign of Sharingan bloodline potential. The other...

Was Kurenai Yuhi.

When Xiao reached her training area, Hong was sparring with another girl. Her taijutsu movements were standard, but she clearly lacked strength. This was not a matter of physical fitness; her chakra simply was not fully flowing into her limbs.

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

"Stop for a moment."

Xiao's voice made both girls halt at once.

"You." He looked at Hong's opponent. "Go practice with the third group over there."

Only after the girl left did Xiao turn toward Hong. The eight-year-old looked up at him, a trace of tension in her red eyes—the wary expression common among war orphans.

"You're Kurenai Yuhi, right?" Xiao crouched so his eyes were level with hers. "I just observed your chakra flow."

Hong pressed her lips together but said nothing.

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

Hong's pupils contracted slightly.

"...The year my father died, I was struck in the chest by falling rocks." Her voice was quiet. "The medical ninja said it had healed."

"The physical injury healed, but the psychological scar remained," Xiao said calmly. "Whenever you try to mobilize chakra at full strength, your body instinctively protects the area that was once injured, causing those meridian nodes to contract without your awareness."

He rose to his feet and pointed toward the woods on the other side of the training ground.

"Go practice alone over there. Don't pursue power today. Focus on letting chakra flow steadily through those two nodes—like water passing through a narrow river channel. Don't rush. Slow and steady."

Hong looked at him, then 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 it was time for free practice. The Chunin instructor called several talented children aside for individual instruction, while the rest 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, her hands forming seals, fine beads of sweat covering her forehead. Red chakra flowed through her body, but every time it passed through the nodes in her chest, it became noticeably sluggish.

Once, twice, three times.

On the fourth attempt, Hong's hand seals noticeably sped up—she was getting anxious.

"Stop."

Xiao's voice came from behind her.

Hong jumped in surprise and nearly tripped as she turned. Xiao reached out to steady her by the shoulder, his touch light and gone in an instant.

"I told you not to rush." He stepped in front of Hong. "Your hand seal sequence was wrong just now. Tiger-Ram-Horse is the seal sequence for the C-rank genjutsu Hell Viewing Technique, but after the Ram seal, you added the opening movement for the Rat seal. Why?"

Hong froze.

She lowered her head and looked at her hands. Only after several seconds did she softly say, "...The first genjutsu my father taught me was the This Place Is Not Technique. Its seal sequence was Tiger-Ram-Rat."

"You confused them," Xiao said. "Different genjutsu have completely different chakra flow paths through the meridians. Forcing an old habit onto them will only make those nodes even more unstable."

He paused, his Byakugan clearly seeing the path of chakra within the girl's body.

"Now, form the seals for Hell Viewing Technique again. When you reach the Ram seal, don't send all your chakra into the eye meridians—direct thirty percent of it into your right palm."

Hong looked at him doubtfully.

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

The girl took a deep breath and formed the seals once again. Tiger, Ram—

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

Then, a miracle happened.

The chakra flow that had originally stalled in her chest lost most of its pressure due to the diversion and smoothly passed through those two stubborn nodes. It lasted only an instant, but Hong clearly felt the difference—the smooth sensation of chakra flowing through her entire body was something she had never experienced since beginning genjutsu practice.

The air before her twisted faintly, 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 been successfully activated.

"I-It worked..." Hong's eyes widened, her voice trembling with disbelief.

She abruptly turned her head, 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 and was showing a fallen child how to break a fall properly. His profile looked calm and focused in the morning light, as if his instruction in the woods had never happened.

Hong stood where she was, holding her slightly heated right hand.

In her chest, the two meridian nodes that had been sluggish for years still retained the warmth of chakra passing through them. It was faint, but real.

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

Meanwhile, on the observation platform at the other end of the training ground.

Two figures stood side by side.

"That's the child from the Hyuga Branch House who has recently begun to stand out?" The speaker was a middle-aged man wearing glasses and an Elite Ninja vest, holding a clipboard in his hand.

"Yes, Hyuga Xiao." The person beside him had a hoarse voice. "He saved the Main House's young lady a few days ago, and apparently 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 ninja with a scar on his face—narrowed his eyes. "When he guided that red-haired girl just now, he was at least fifteen meters away, yet he accurately pointed out the problems with her chakra flow. That isn't observation ability an ordinary Branch House member should possess."

The man with glasses wrote several notes on his clipboard.

"Should we report it?"

"Observe him longer," said the scar-faced ninja. "We should interfere less in the Hyuga Clan's internal affairs. But... that Kurenai Yuhi is worth noting. Her father was an Elite Ninja 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 noise from the training ground.

But they did not notice that below the platform, Hyuga Xiao, who was guiding a child through falling techniques, turned his pale eyes slightly toward the observation platform.

Though he could not hear the exact content, the chakra flow within those two ninja briefly accelerated in his Byakugan vision—a physical reaction caused by emotional fluctuation.

Xiao withdrew his gaze and continued his instruction.

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

[Contacted high-luck target: Kurenai Yuhi (child form)]

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

[Fate Node "Genjutsu Psychological Trauma" intervention progress: 12%]

[Warning: Detected monitoring intent from Konoha's higher-ups toward 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 was faintly heating 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 to a leash forever, what should he do?

The answer was simple.

Become the one holding the leash.

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

Xiao ruffled his hair, a gentle curve appearing at the corner of his lips.

"Keep practicing," he said. "Next time you fall, remember to concentrate chakra in your elbows and knees—then you won't 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 throwing with another girl. Her movements were smoother than before. They were still unpolished, but at least that shrinking hesitation was gone.

Good.

The first chess piece had already been placed on the board.

There was still a long way to go before he could truly steal someone else's opportunity, but at the very least, he had successfully left a clear mark in that red-haired girl's memory.

A mark of someone who, while everyone else ignored her, precisely identified her problem and offered an effective solution—

The Hyuga Clan teaching assistant.

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

His steps were steady, his expression humble, perfectly fitting the image of a Branch House child diligently doing his duty after receiving the Main House's "grace."

No one saw his right hand at his side slowly curl inward.

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

It was the embryonic form of a new ability awakened after his Byakugan purity rose to 6%. It was still very weak, but it was indeed growing.

Caged Bird Seal release level: 0.1%.

The number was so small it could be ignored.

But Xiao clearly remembered the nearly imperceptible loosening sensation from the Curse Mark on the back of his neck the instant that number on the system panel jumped from 0% to 0.1%.

It was like a crack as thin as a strand of hair appearing in an airtight iron door.

Tiny.

But real.

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.

"Xiao Hyuga, 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's what I should do." Xiao accepted the water, and as he unscrewed the cap, his movements naturally paused for an instant.

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

Tokuma Hyuga.

The Branch House Elite Ninja ordered to monitor him.

Tokuma's expression was calm. He even nodded at Xiao in greeting. But Xiao could clearly see that the chakra flow within Tokuma was three percent faster than usual—a physical reaction associated with heightened vigilance.

The Main House truly did not trust him.

Even though he had saved Hinata, even though he had acted as loyally as possible, the Branch House would always remain the Branch House.

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

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

"The clan head asked me to inspect your teaching situation." Tokuma's voice revealed no emotion. "And to inform you that there will be a clan meeting at the Main House residence at three this afternoon—all Branch House Elite Ninja and Chunin must attend."

"What is the meeting about?"

Tokuma looked 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. He merely nodded respectfully.

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

Tokuma looked at him a few 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 corner of the street.

The water bottle in his hand was gently set down.

The children's laughter and shouting remained lively across the training ground. The sunlight was warm, and Konoha's morning was peaceful and tranquil.

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

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

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

After all, an overly outstanding 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, changing shape without end.

An extremely faint, extremely cold curve rose at the corner of his lips.

"Reassignment..."

Fine.

It would let him see just how shameless those important figures of the Hyuga Main House could be.

And it would let him test just how much turmoil 6% Byakugan purity, combined with 0.1% Caged Bird Seal release, could stir up at the clan meeting.

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

Thunk!

Bullseye.

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

Hong withdrew her hand, a faint warmth from the flow of chakra still lingering at her fingertips.

She turned her head instinctively and looked toward the Hyuga Clan teaching assistant at the edge of the field.

Xiao was talking to the Chunin instructor, his profile sharply defined in the sunlight.

Hong clenched her fist. The two meridian nodes in her chest no longer felt as painfully obstructed as they once had.

Though it was only a very subtle change.

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

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

She did not say what was different.

But something was quietly taking 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.