New Functions and Preparations to Go to the Moon (Wishing All My Honored Fathers a Smooth New Year's Eve and Good Health)

Ever since becoming the Hyuga Clan Head.

Hyuga Hitoshi had known that if he wanted to change the Hyuga Clan's future and pull them out of Konoha's mud pit, plans alone would not be enough.

Given the Byakugan's strategic position, once they left Konoha and lost its protective umbrella, it would undoubtedly cause massive waves throughout the Shinobi World.

When that happened, the Hyuga Clan's fate would probably be even worse than the Uzumaki Clan's.

At worst, the Uzumaki Clan had been wiped out, yet miraculous Konoha had still managed to seize a bloodline and preserve it.

But if it were the Hyuga, being raised in captivity would be the least of their worries.

No one would ever complain about having too few Byakugan on their side.

This was probably why Hyuga Hiashi had compromised at every turn in the original work. He had not hesitated to pay the price of his own younger brother. Compared to Uchiha Fugaku, he had been a qualified Clan Head, but not a qualified older brother. The two had made different choices, and their endings had been different as well.

So no matter what, even the most perfect plan would be empty talk without overwhelming strength to safeguard it.

Fortunately, he had inherited the Golden Finger from his previous life, and it had become even more powerful than it had been back then.

Until now, he had stirred up storms in Konoha, and the time had finally come to reap the rewards.

His Golden Finger had upgraded.

Naturally, the Byakugan techniques he had acquired before had also been enhanced in every aspect.

At the very least, the Byakugan Coercion technique had advanced from its beggar's version into a standard version.

Before long, it would probably surpass the effect Kaguya Otsutsuki had produced back then.

After all, there was something on the moon that could let him go further!

Secretly relocating the clansmen while looking for an opportunity to absorb the Tenseigan's power—this was Hyuga Hitoshi's next step.

Judging from Fugaku's earlier attitude, he definitely would not be content to lie low and would continue charging forward, drawing the higher-ups' attention.

Even though Hyuga Hitoshi had told him there would come a day when he went to war, Fugaku still could not swallow that anger.

So he did not need to worry about the Old Village Chief having any strength left to deal with the Hyuga.

And the upgrade to his Golden Finger had filled Hyuga Hitoshi with confidence in the future.

Just as Hitoshi Clan Head had analyzed before, in his original world, his Golden Finger could only bring him to that world's upper limit. But in this world, it could break through the Dimensional Barrier.

As he grew, the Golden Finger also made breakthroughs.

The most obvious sign was that it had become more intelligent after upgrading.

Before, including in his previous world, Hyuga Hitoshi had figured out the Golden Finger's uses and abilities on his own.

But now, it seemed to have enough energy. After certain events were completed, the Golden Finger would give him prompts instead of making Hyuga Hitoshi rely on his own feelings to determine which abilities had improved.

Hyuga Hitoshi felt quite accomplished about this, as though the child he had raised had finally become sensible. It greatly comforted him.

Golden Finger: Yeah, yeah, sure.

That was right.

Unlike before, when everything had to be guessed at and relied entirely on intuition, it had learned to communicate through words. Completing the right thing at the right time and place would make the Golden Finger's textual feedback more direct. According to the Golden Finger, this method seemed to have been summarized from the experiences of its counterparts in previous lives.

All right. Countless worlds probably had countless Golden Fingers wandering about, and their lives were not easy either. After all, their counterparts were competitors.

But it was not a big problem. Hyuga Hitoshi was still a nobody, incapable of participating in the Golden Fingers' battles.

Besides, becoming more intelligent was not even the biggest surprise for him.

What truly filled Hyuga Hitoshi with confidence was that, based on his preliminary research after the upgrade, he had realized something.

Compared to before, when it could only improve his various attributes, purify his bloodline, strengthen his Byakugan, and awaken eye techniques, it now seemed to have a tiny chance of secretly slipping through the Dimensional Barrier and bringing back power from other worlds.

The probability was low, but Hyuga Hitoshi was simply too skilled at using the Golden Finger.

Perhaps one day, his beggar's version of Formless Style could evolve into something even more ridiculous than Kyo Kusanagi's version. Kyo Kusanagi's upper limit was fixed, but Hyuga Hitoshi's was not.

The growing Golden Finger had even learned to steal things to strengthen its master. This made Hyuga Hitoshi even more comforted.

Golden Finger: It is not stealing. It is taking. Those are two different concepts.

Look, it had even learned to answer before being asked!

In short, this upgrade had brought enormous gains and further strengthened Hyuga Hitoshi's resolve to stir things up. It was roughly as he had guessed: the less he cared about the original plot and the more he pushed the world off course, the greater the impact on the worldview and the more he gained.

This happened to align with his decision to defy the ancestors.

So what came next was simple.

Thinking of the news relayed by the Shadow Clone he had left on the moon during the upgrade, Hyuga Hitoshi had already made up his mind.

The Shadow Clone that had held on for several days had ultimately killed itself, bringing back several very important pieces of information.

Aside from the tense situation between the Otsutsuki Branch Family and the main family, the most absurd news was the rumor that the Otsutsuki Clan prohibited using the Byakugan on one's own people.

It could not be used unless necessary?

If so, there seemed to be plenty of room to work with.

"Clan Head!"

While he was still thinking, the two brothers walked in.

Shisui, who had been in the side courtyard, had just wanted to come in and greet Hitoshi, but Itachi, carrying Sasuke, pulled him away.

Though Itachi God was ruthless toward his own people, he remained polite to outsiders and had good social awareness. It was obvious they were about to hold a clan meeting, so there was no need to interfere. There was no rush to offer greetings.

Even the Hyuga Clan Head's wife had left. Should they not have the sense to do the same?

In the end, only the Hyuga brothers and Kakashi, who remained on standby while contemplating darkness, were left in the main hall.

Keeping Kakashi there had been Hitoshi's own order.

Though Hyuga Hiashi found it strange, he did not say anything.

"Clan Head, the reconstruction of the new clan land is progressing quickly. It probably will not be long before we can relocate on a large scale. However, regarding the scope of the reconstruction—"

Hyuga Hiashi gave his work report. Clan Land Relocation was not so simple; at the very least, housing had to be arranged properly. Although the new clan land was far from Konoha's center, it was truly enormous. If properly developed, it could likely become very luxurious.

"Something similar to the current one is enough. There is no need to make it overly luxurious just to display the Hyuga's aristocratic aura."

Hyuga Hitoshi gave the order.

"There is no need to pay too much attention to the new clan land either. That is all secondary."

Turning to look at his Guard Captain, anticipation flashed across Hyuga Hitoshi's face.

"Gyuba, how is the guard unit's training going?"

Now that he knew of the Otsutsuki Clan's bizarre rules, he had to prepare for the next step.

Provoking conflict between the main family and the branch family and making them fight was only the beginning. He needed to control the situation after both sides were nearly dead. Going alone would always leave room for mistakes.

Besides, it would be a pity to kill all those Otsutsuki. It would be best to control them all and use them as manpower. As for how many could be kept, that depended on how many Byakugan were needed to create the Energy Vessel Tenseigan.

"The progress has been very fast. Half the clansmen have already mastered the new technique."

Hyuga Gyuba answered respectfully.

Only half?

Hyuga Hitoshi rubbed his chin. Talent limitations were still rather severe. Once he occupied the moon in the future, the Hyuga Glory Evolution Plan would have to be put on the agenda as well. With so many Experiment Subjects, research would not be difficult anyway.

"Clan Head, are you...?"

Hyuga Hiashi seemed to sense something and asked tentatively.

"The base we mentioned before has already been selected. This Clan Head needs manpower."

Hyuga Hitoshi said solemnly.

"After the Old Village Chief takes office, he will probably cause no small amount of trouble."

"And even if Konoha's attitude toward us does not ultimately change, this Clan Head must leave the Hyuga Clan a safe way out! Being completely tied to Konoha is unwise. The initiative cannot rest in someone else's hands!"

Hyuga Hitoshi stood up, took a deep breath, and pointed toward the moon.

"Tell the clansmen to brace themselves and be ready to go to the moon with this Clan Head at any time!"

Happy New Year, bosses!