Whenever such a birthday arrived, a group of branch family children would be branded with the [Caged Bird] curse mark. Among them, the most outstanding few would have the chance to become close guards to the main family child.
As the eldest daughter of the clan head's line and the sole future successor, Hinata's third birthday was naturally taken seriously by the Hyuga Clan. Other ninja clans of Konoha and some nobles from the Land of Fire would come to offer congratulations. To Yunchuan Hyuga, this also meant that the coming period was certain to be unstable.
If Hinata was already three, then Kumogakure would soon come to Konoha to sign a ceasefire agreement and plan to abduct her. This period would also be the perfect chance for Yunchuan Hyuga to set his own schemes in motion. With these thoughts, the two walked out side by side, talking and laughing in an easy mood.
That mood lasted only until they neared the gates of the Hyuga Clan Compound. A cold voice stopped them, and both paused without thinking. Yunchuan Hyuga narrowed his eyes and turned toward the sound, meeting a face full of disgust.
"Yunchuan Hyuga."
The Hyuga clansman on guard by the gate questioned him coldly, asking where he thought he was going. Today was Lady Hyuga Aoi's additional training day, and as her attendant, he should have been at her side instead of leaving.
Almost every Hyuga Clan member of the Branch Family had a specific Main Family member they were assigned to serve. The title was called "attendant," but in truth it meant "servant."
Not every Main Family member was as gentle as Hinata Hyuga. If someone was unlucky enough to serve a bad-tempered Main Family member, then in addition to being a servant, they also became a training punching bag.
By coincidence, the Main Family member that Yunchuan Hyuga served was exactly the type who did not treat the lives of the Branch Family as human lives. As for the person in front of him now, he was just a well-trained dog.
The smile on Yunchuan Hyuga's face faded a little. He ignored the deliberate provocation from the unnamed Hyuga clansman and simply stepped forward, continuing toward the outside.
The other party clearly did not expect Yunchuan Hyuga, who had always endured rumors and insults, to ignore him. His face darkened at once as he called out Yunchuan Hyuga's name in a low voice, demanding an answer.
Yunchuan Hyuga still paid him no attention and kept walking. Seeing this, Might Guy only shrugged and followed along.
"Trash! I told you to stop!"
An angry shout came from behind, followed by the sharp sound of air being torn. The man actually reached for Yunchuan Hyuga's shoulder, and the force in his hand showed no trace of kinship.
Might Guy stopped and frowned, preparing to step in. But at the instant that hand touched his shoulder, Yunchuan Hyuga's body shook hard, like a pine shedding snow, and a penetrating force surged through his body to the shoulder, numbing the unnamed Hyuga clansman's palm.
In the next moment, before the shocked man could react, Yunchuan Hyuga moved without turning his head. He bent one arm, stepped forward with his left foot, and shifted his body in a smooth arc, his white clothes lifting to reveal a firm waist as he pushed his palm out.
In the unnamed Hyuga clansman's vision, his own right hand was shaken aside. Yunchuan Hyuga vanished at a speed close to Shunshin, lowered his body, and placed a palm against the man's abdomen.
Then an overwhelming force, far beyond anything he could imagine, poured in through that palm like a flood.
Bang!
The terrifying power erupted within less than half a centimeter, strong enough to shake stone. It slammed into the unnamed Hyuga clansman's body and bent him over as if struck by a siege hammer.
Just as blood was about to spill from the unnamed Hyuga clansman's mouth, a calm voice reached his ears. "Seeing blood would be bad."
Yunchuan Hyuga lifted his right palm upward, dropped his elbow, and expressionlessly tapped the man's chin. A clear cracking sound rang out, and the blood that had surged up his throat was forced back down.
"Cough, cough! Cough!"
Pain twisted across the unnamed Hyuga clansman's face as he clutched his throat and abdomen. His body went limp as he knelt in front of Yunchuan Hyuga.
"You actually dare…"
His Byakugan bulged slightly, veins standing out as he stared up at Yunchuan Hyuga with wide eyes. But when he met those calm eyes, the rest of his words stuck in his throat, and a chill rose in his chest.
It was a fear with no clear source, crawling over his body like a snake and pressing down with cold weight. He was afraid, afraid of this trash, which made no sense to him at all.
Yunchuan Hyuga looked down at him, and the smile returned to his face. He lightly patted the man's shoulder, ignored his trembling body, and walked out of the Hyuga Clan Compound with Might Guy.
"I didn't expect you to go that far."
On the way, Might Guy's tone remained relaxed, and he was mostly curious about Yunchuan Hyuga's actions. He had heard of Yunchuan Hyuga's past "deeds," but Yunchuan Hyuga was a friend he acknowledged, and he never believed Yunchuan Hyuga was the trash described in rumors.
Setting aside everything else, that taijutsu just now, which seemed to blend steel fist techniques with Gentle Fist, was something he had never seen before. In his eyes, it was far stronger than the rigid methods of those conservative Hyuga.
He simply did not understand why Yunchuan Hyuga had always ignored the rumors.
"I've made you laugh, senior. They are my clansmen after all, and I did not want to go too far," Yunchuan Hyuga said apologetically.
Might Guy shook his head and grinned. "You did nothing wrong. Youth must not be stained."
[Ding, your lie has been judged as reckless talk. Might Guy experienced a slight emotional fluctuation and reached the level of deep belief. You have obtained 200 realization points.]
Of course, that was a lie. As for why he ignored things in the past, one reason was that his plan involving Orochimaru had not succeeded yet, and the image of a harmless "waste" was more useful to him.
The other reason was simpler. When a dog at the village gate barks, other dogs bark along, but none of them know why they are barking.
If he had to stop and throw stones at every barking stray, there would be no time left to do anything else. Yunchuan Hyuga smiled to himself.
He felt no emotion at all toward that passerby who did not even deserve a name. Striking him was partly to test a new move he had thought up, and partly to prepare the ground for his next plan.
Only rats hide in gutters, and no one believes what a "rat" says. When Danzo Shimura speaks, villagers just wonder who that old man is, but when Hiruzen Sarutobi speaks casually, no matter how strange it sounds, people instinctively assume they misunderstood.
A lie only becomes truth when spoken by someone with authority and power. The changes to Yunchuan Hyuga's body from his bloodline worked from the inside out, from vague perception and talent to raw physical strength.