The Setup

After the entrance ceremony ended, the first-year students were assigned to different classrooms. Toru Kujyo followed the crowd into his assigned room. It was a typical Konoha Ninja Academy classroom, with wooden desks and chairs arranged in neat rows. A Shinobi World Map and diagrams of basic ninjutsu hung on the walls, and the faint scent of ink and old wood lingered in the air.

The teacher leading them was Umino Iruka. The man who would one day guide Naruto looked young and full of energy, wearing his signature smile-slightly stern, yet warm. Toru glanced at the glowing orbs above Iruka's head: "Chunin Aptitude (green)," "Teaching Enthusiasm (blue)," "Sense of Responsibility (green)"... A very standard talent setup for an excellent chunin and teacher.

The classroom quickly filled with students. Toru chose a seat by the window in the second-to-last row, an inconspicuous corner that let him observe most of the others. He was accustomed to spots like this. They made it easy to keep himself hidden while watching the world.

He scanned his classmates again. Naruto sat in the front row, his bright blond hair as eye-catching as ever and his six whisker marks clearly visible. The "Chunin Aptitude (green)" orb above his head looked especially "stable."

Sasuke sat by the window on the other side, his expression cold, as though an invisible barrier separated him from everything around him. Above his head, "Genin Talent (green)" and "Sharingan Potential (purple)" shone together, hinting at an extraordinary future.

There were other faces, some familiar and some unfamiliar: Shikamaru Nara, with his pineapple-shaped hair, had "Secret Shadow Technique (green)" and "Exceptional Intelligence (blue)" bobbing above his head; the round, chubby Choji Akimichi sported "Multi-Size Technique (green)" and "Family Secret Technique Potential (blue)."

Ino Yamanaka, her hair tied in a high ponytail, had "Mind Body Switch Technique (green)" and "Sensory Ability (green)" above her head. The short-haired Sakura Haruno had relatively ordinary talent entries, mostly white ones such as "Basic Chakra (white)."

"Ninjutsu Theory (white)" and the like, but Toru knew her future potential. Then there was Hinata Hyuga, who always kept her head lowered and nervously twisted her fingers together.

Hinata... Toru's gaze lingered on her for a moment. A conspicuous "Byakugan Potential (purple)" hovered above her head.

Seeing that entry inevitably drew Toru's thoughts back to three years earlier, to the decisive moment that had changed his fate.

He had been only three years old then, having just moved out of the orphanage to live alone in a shabby rented room.

The astonishing talents granted by the Beginner's Gift Pack-Otsutsuki Bloodline (red), Super Kage Aptitude (gold), Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (purple), All-Attribute Constitution (purple), and more-had given him a starting point beyond anything an ordinary person could imagine.

But the single free copying opportunity the system had given him was like a double-edged sword, making him weigh his choice with extreme care.

His original plan had indeed been to target Naruto or Sasuke. Naruto's Nine-Tails' Power would be a devastating weapon later on, while Sasuke's Sharingan had limitless potential. Copying either of them would spare him many detours in this world.

Yet as he thought more deeply about the Naruto storyline, especially what he knew about the Ōtsutsuki Clan and the Tenseigan, a new target gradually formed in Toru's mind.

He knew that far away on the moon lived the Otsutsuki Branch Family, a clan that had nearly wiped itself out by using a secret technique to fuse their Byakugan together, leaving only a child named Otsutsuki Toneri.

Toneri possessed a pure Otsutsuki Bloodline. Although he had been born without eyes, his bloodline itself held immeasurable potential and might even be connected to the Tenseigan.

Toru had a bold theory: Otsutsuki Toneri, a character who only appeared in the original story's movie, "The Last," might well have secretly visited Earth-and Konoha-with his father as a young child.

Judging from the plot, the purpose of that visit was very likely connected to finding a pure Byakugan. Toneri might even have "seen" the young Hinata at that time through some medium, such as the Giant Tenseigan shown in the movie, and developed a fixation on her.

He carefully recalled the detail of Toneri mentioning that "Hinata is the princess of the Hyuga Main Family," along with how much Toneri knew about her in the movie. The more he thought about it, the more likely his theory seemed.

If Toneri really did visit Konoha, when would he most likely have come? Toru reasoned that the likeliest time was the year of Hinata's third birthday. It coincided with a visit from Kumogakure's envoy delegation and a large celebration in Konoha. With so many people milling around, outsiders would have the perfect opportunity to slip in and observe.

If that theory held true, it meant the young Toneri, who possessed the top-tier red talent "Otsutsuki Bloodline," might be somewhere in Konoha!

Copying Naruto's or Sasuke's talents would certainly be good, but those were merely future potential. A pure Otsutsuki Bloodline, on the other hand, was already the finest possible foundation-the source of a red talent entry!

Besides, I've already obtained "Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (purple)" from the Beginner's Gift Pack. I don't know exactly where this Byakugan came from yet, but since I already have it, wouldn't copying Toneri's "Otsutsuki Bloodline" be a better deal? That's a red entry, above gold-a legendary talent!

Once that thought took hold, there was no stopping it. He decided to gamble his precious copying opportunity on finding Otsutsuki Toneri.

Starting a few months before Hinata's third birthday, the three-year-old Toru roamed Konoha's streets and alleys like a relentless ghost. Using his unique talent-eyes that could see "talent entries"-he carefully scanned every pedestrian who passed him.

He knew the Otsutsuki Bloodline was anything but ordinary. No matter how well it was disguised, the radiance of its true nature would be difficult to conceal completely.

For an entire year, he covered almost every corner of Konoha. Countless white, green, and blue orbs passed before his eyes, and even the occasional purple entry failed to stop him in his tracks. Then came Hinata's third birthday, when Konoha held a grand celebration. Crowds surged through the streets as drums and music filled the air. Toru mingled among them, his sharp gaze catching every glowing orb.

Just as the celebration reached its peak, he spotted two unusual orbs at the edge of the crowd. One was large and the other small. Some kind of chakra or ninjutsu concealed their outward glow, but Toru's ability pierced that disguise and revealed the entries at their cores.

The larger orb was gold, bearing "Otsutsuki Bloodline (gold)," "Tenseigan User (gold)"... That was Toneri's father!

The smaller orb belonged to the child cradled in his father's arms, but its radiance was even more dazzling, surpassing his father's golden glow! It bore only a single entry, yet it nearly made Toru's heart stop-"Otsutsuki Bloodline (red)"!