Otsutsuki Kaguya Hime

Land of Fire.

Year 40 of the Leaf.

"Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!"

Inside the courtyard of the Hyuga Clan's branch family, a handsome child with pure white eyes and a manji-shaped curse mark on his forehead had pale-blue chakra radiating from both hands. He struck thirty-two consecutive blows against the wooden post in front of him with extreme speed, the entire sequence flowing in one go without the slightest pause.

As expected, I still can't pull off the Sixty-Four Palms.

The moon in the sky cast its brilliance down upon Hyuga Setsuna, making up for his consumed chakra while also slowly nourishing those white eyes and his physique.

Hyuga Setsuna was not originally from this world; after an accidental incident in his past life, when he woke up once again, he had already arrived in the world of Naruto.

Though he was born into the Hyuga family in the Hidden Leaf Village, unfortunately, he belonged to the branch family rather than the main family.

The Caged Bird on his forehead represented the main family's bondage and control over his life.

He was now five years old, and his parents had headed to the front lines to provide support shortly after he was born, subsequently perishing in the war.

Ever since then, Hyuga Setsuna had relied on a clan nanny and the village's survivor pension to live, but after dismissing the nanny this year, he began his independent life.

Aside from being reborn into the Naruto world, Hyuga Setsuna had also acquired his own "unique" cheat.

You were planted with the so-called Caged Bird curse mark some time ago, and both your brain and body have suffered a certain degree of damage. If you continue training like this, you will only harm yourself.

Grandmother, I need to keep getting stronger so that I can seize control of my own destiny and life.

No matter how much you train now, you will not grow strong rapidly; after all, your body has not fully matured, and excessive training will only burn away your own potential.

Listening to the ethereal and noble reprimand echoing in his ear, Hyuga Setsuna stopped speaking as well, simply staring daze-like at the moon in the sky with a slightly vacant look.

When Hyuga Setsuna was three years old, a soul entity had suddenly appeared inside his body.

The soul entity residing within Hyuga Setsuna turned out to be none of other than the founding matriarch of the entire Hyuga Clan, "Otsutsuki Kaguya Hime," who had been sealed inside the moon by her own sons.

Two years ago, when she first appeared inside Hyuga Setsuna, she had even attempted to make him reduced to the "Karma" she would use to resurrect.

And that ability known as "Karma" was unique to the Otsutsuki clan, capable of copying oneself and digitizing one's own data to resurrect.

As long as she succeeded in transmigrating into Hyuga Setsuna's body, she could break free from the "Six Paths: Planetary Devastation" set up by her two sons and once again rule the shinobi world.

It was only a pity that just as Otsutsuki Kaguya Hime was about to succeed, she was sealed deep within Hyuga Setsuna's body by a suddenly appearing, inexplicable force, turning into a relationship similar to that of a tailed beast and a jinchuriki.

And after Otsutsuki Kaguya was sealed, that power gradually grew dormant, remaining completely unresponsive no matter what Hyuga Setsuna tried.

After Otsutsuki Kaguya was sealed, Hyuga Setsuna could sense her true body sealed on the moon.

Otsutsuki Kaguya's true body could even replenish chakra for Hyuga Setsuna through the radiance of the night's moon, as well as nourish those white eyes and guide them toward a deeper level of evolution.

After Otsutsuki Kaguya was sealed, her own power was suppressed to the point where she could not use it. Such a circumstance had once caused this "naive and airheaded" woman to shut herself away for a long time.

Following that, Hyuga Setsuna gradually began to converse and communicate with Otsutsuki Kaguya; after all, she still counted as his cheat.

Moreover, Otsutsuki Kaguya had never communicated with anyone during the thousand years she was sealed, constantly facing betrayal from her sons, loneliness, and a lack of understanding.

Thus, when conversing with Hyuga Setsuna, who was only three years old at the time, she did not harbor too much vigilance.

After passing these two years of peaceful coexistence, Otsutsuki Kaguya finally resigned herself to her fate, merely reaching an agreement with Hyuga Setsuna to eventually rescue her from the seal in the future.

In exchange for the agreement, she would lend her own power for Hyuga Setsuna to use whenever he encountered danger.

If you wish to completely master your own life, death, and destiny, grow strong as quickly as possible and leave this so-called village. This body will help guide you in acquiring sufficient power.

Following this cold and ethereal utterance, Otsutsuki Kaguya fell dormant and spoke no more, leaving behind a heavily bewildered Hyuga Setsuna.

Power?

What power could possibly compare to you, Grandmother, a cheat capable of letting me grow strong rapidly?

Could it be some good stuff left behind by Otsutsuki Kaguya before she was sealed?

No use thinking about it. Grandmother will naturally tell me when the time comes anyway; I might as well continue training. After all, the outbreak of the Third Shinobi World War isn't far off either—I must accelerate raising my own strength.

Amidst the night, a tiny figure toiled fiercely in a small courtyard belonging to the branch family of the Hyuga Clan, striving solely to avoid dying in this cruel world.

At the same time, the moonlight in the sky spilled over Hyuga Setsuna, continuously restoring and nourishing his chakra and body.

Deep inside Hyuga Setsuna's body, rows of palaces stood upon a vast, white, desolate land. Otsutsuki Kaguya floated in the air, possessing pale skin, blue-and-white long hair, and delicate, beautiful features with two small horns growing from her head, wearing white garments patterned with black tomoe.

Watching Hyuga Setsuna train hard outside, alongside his unexpectedly mature demeanor, Otsutsuki Kaguya wore a complex expression, her thoughts a mystery.

"Oh no, I'm late." Arriving in the living room and glancing at the time on the wall clock, Hyuga Setsuna inwardly cried out in dismay. He immediately grabbed a white headband to cover the Caged Bird curse mark, then quickly put on his clothes and dashed toward the ninja academy.

At that moment, inside the ninja academy.

Teacher Omino Genmura was explaining the basic ninjutsu curriculum to the students below the podium.

Below the podium, Kurenai Yuhi looked at Hyuga Setsuna's empty seat with a worried expression.

"How strange? Where on earth did this guy Hyuga Setsuna run off to? He's always punctual, isn't he? Could it be he skipped class?!"

Asuma Sarutobi sat in the seat next to Kurenai Yuhi, speaking with a perplexed look.

"No way. Setsuna-kun wouldn't skip class."

Kurenai Yuhi stared wide-eyed at Asuma Sarutobi, while Kakashi in the neighboring seat simply looked at Hyuga Setsuna's vacant seat, lowering his head in thought.

"Bang."

The classroom door was slammed violently open.

"Omino-sensei, I'm sorry, I'm late!" Hyuga Setsuna smoothed out his hurried breathing from running all the way, speaking somewhat awkwardly.

"Setsuna-kun, it's fine. Come in. But you mustn't be late next time; after all, the school's curriculum is very important."

Omino Genmura looked at Hyuga Setsuna and said warmly.

After all, Hyuga Setsuna had only been late this once, not every time, and he was usually modest and polite. No teacher would dislike a modest and polite student.

"I understand. Thank you, Omino-sensei."

Hyuga Setsuna offered a polite acknowledgment, then walked all the way to his seat.

"Setsuna-kun, did something happen today?"

Hyuga Setsuna turned his head to look at Kurenai Yuhi's caring expression, shaking his head slightly to indicate that nothing was wrong.

Meanwhile, Obito Uchiha further back completely ignored Omino Genmura on the podium, pulling Hyuga Setsuna aside to whisper on his own accord.

"Setsuna, you couldn't stand these dry lessons either, which is why you came a bit late, right? How about we skip class together this afternoon?"

Hearing Obito Uchiha's question, Hyuga Setsuna shook his head and rejected skipping class.

"How could that be? Obito, you're thinking too much. Besides, only by laying a solid foundation at the ninja academy can we become powerful ninjas in the future, or even become the Hokage. So you'd better not skip class this afternoon."

Hearing Hyuga Setsuna's words, Obito Uchiha automatically filtered out everything else, latching only onto the four words "become the Hokage" as he shouted excitedly.

"Really?! Setsuna, you think I can become the Hokage too, right?"

Obito Uchiha danced around in excitement. If he became the Hokage, that stuck-up Kakashi would definitely be defeated by him, and Rin would then... Heh heh.

"Obito Uchiha! This is a school classroom! If your dream is to become the Hokage, then start listening properly from now on and stop letting your grades stay at the bottom of the class!"

"If you don't want to! The classroom door is right over here, and you can turn right outside. I give you permission to leave school early and go home!"

On the podium, a few veins popped up on Omino Genmura's forehead as he spoke furiously.

This guy—not only was he late every day and failed to study properly, always lingering at the bottom, but he also constantly caused trouble. It was utterly exasperating.

"I'm sorry, Omino-sensei," Obito Uchiha said dejectedly.

In the classroom, bursts of uproarious laughter erupted from the other children.

After class.

Kurenai Yuhi came over to Hyuga Setsuna's side, her red eyes gazing at him with concern.

"Setsuna-kun, are you alright? I keep feeling like your complexion is terrible."

"No, I just didn't sleep well last night. Thanks for your concern, Kurenai."

Hyuga Setsuna said with a smile on his face.

The matter of him being planted with the Caged Bird curse mark was something he shouldn't mention to them for now, lest Kurenai worry about him.

At that moment, Kakashi walked over, his slightly icy voice reaching them.

"This doesn't look like your usual self. If something happened, telling us would be better."

After uttering those words, Kakashi walked directly out of the classroom.

Listening to Kakashi's awkward comfort, a smile appeared on Hyuga Setsuna's face.

At this time, Kakashi had yet to experience the suicide incident of his father, White Fang, so he hadn't turned into that later persona yet. What an awkward fellow.

The ninja academy's lessons for the day ended quickly. Declining the invitation from Obito Uchiha and the others to go eat grilled meat, Hyuga Setsuna walked toward his own home.