Chapter 1: The Trouble Called Hinata

“Yo, Brother Aoyume, long time no see. Why are you still wearing goggles? At first glance, it really threw me off.” The owner of the ninja tool shop handed over Aoyume Kawaki’s custom gear while teasing him with a smile.

“Uh, haha, is that so? It can’t be helped. My eyes got injured during a mission a few days ago. I can’t be exposed to bright light for a while, so I got these goggles.”

Aoyume Kawaki casually responded to the shop owner. Although he appeared as relaxed as always during his stroll, inside he was desperate to get home.

Even the ninja tool shop owner, who rarely interacted with him, noticed something was off. Not to mention those who knew him well—if he ran into acquaintances on the street now, it would be difficult to handle given his current state.

If his ninja tools hadn’t been severely damaged on the last mission, he wouldn’t have even left the house.

After exchanging some polite words with the owner, Aoyume hastily took his new tools and headed toward his residence.

Aoyume Kawaki was a shinobi born in the Hidden Leaf Village, carrying the Hyuga bloodline.

He was also a transmigrant who had come to the world of the Hokage through a twisted fate.

Though he bore the Hyuga blood, he was not born with the Byakugan, the Hyuga clan’s Kekkei Genkai.

Indeed, he was a half-blood. His father was a regular jonin from the Hyuga branch family, while his mother was a non-shinobi chuunin from outside the clan.

Actually, his situation was not uncommon in Konoha.

Though both Hyuga and Uchiha were among the village’s most prestigious noble families, fiercely dedicated to in-clan marriages and blood purity, this applied only to the core families.

Take the Hyuga for example: only the main family strictly enforced in-clan marriage. The branch families, while bound by strict rules, were permitted to marry outsiders. Otherwise, distinctions like blood purity and Byakugan purity wouldn’t exist.

When outsiders married into the Hyuga branch families, their descendants usually fell into two categories. The first inherited the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, with both eyes white from birth. These children bore the Hyuga surname and were naturally considered part of the branch family, often awakening the Byakugan after becoming shinobi.

The second type, like Aoyume Kawaki, were born with normal eye color, showing no obvious Byakugan traits.

Such individuals did not qualify to inherit the Hyuga name nor gain recognition from the clan. However, when the Hyuga sought to marry outsiders, they typically preferred this type—after all, a faint trace of Hyuga blood still coursed within them.

Under normal circumstances, half-bloods like Aoyume Kawaki were almost indistinguishable from ordinary shinobi.

Well, under normal circumstances.

The fact that Aoyume was now wearing dark goggles clearly indicated otherwise.

By donning tinted goggles, he sought to conceal his pure white eyes.

Yes, during his last mission, Aoyume had awakened the Byakugan. What triggered this awakening? Perhaps overwhelming emotion, or the shock of danger—such past details no longer mattered.

What mattered most now was keeping his awakening a secret, especially from the Hyuga clan.

If they found out, given their stubborn obsession with blood purity, he would be in serious trouble.

The Byakugan was not a curse, but its timing was terribly unfortunate. If he had awakened it back in jonin academy, he might have justified always wearing goggles as a personal style, avoiding the sudden attention it now brought.

If he had awakened it after growing stronger, it would be a different story—he’d have the confidence to confront the Hyuga without fear.

But now... sigh, who could tell Aoyume why his pupil color hadn’t returned to normal after awakening? Those glaringly white eyes were impossible to hide.

Since the situation was irreversible, the only option was to buy time—to grow stronger, at least to the level of an elite jonin or full jonin.

Only then would he have the right to tussle with the Hyuga clan.

For now, Aoyume resolved to keep a low profile, avoid showing himself in public, and especially steer clear of the Hyuga estate.

Unfortunately, his wish to lay low was not granted.

As they say, what you fear most always comes.

Just as Aoyume approached his home, two shinobi blocked his path.

One tall, one short, both dressed as chuunin, both with the unmistakable large white eyes of the Hyuga.

The Hyuga clan’s shinobi were fast indeed.

News had leaked that he had awakened the Byakugan.

Who betrayed him? Perhaps a temporary teammate from the last mission—after all, he only awakened it while fighting alongside them.

Or maybe it was the Third Hokage’s camp. His team leader, Shinku Yuhi, surely informed the Hokage about his awakening during the mission.

Which possibility was true, Aoyume couldn’t say. After all, no one wanted to upset the noble Hyuga family while preserving Konoha’s interests.

The worst had come, irreparable now. The only choice left was to resist.

Compromise or submission? Sorry, those words were not in Aoyume Kawaki’s vocabulary. Having lived a second life, he wasn’t here to be anyone’s dog.

Facing the two Hyuga chuunin, Aoyume showed no fear. He walked forward without hesitation—he was only going home, after all. What was there to fear?

“Aoyume Kawaki, come with us. The elders want to ask you some questions at the Hyuga estate.”

Just as expected, the two Hyuga shinobi stood firmly before him, speaking with the forcefulness of a command.

No need to pretend—it was indeed an order.

The Hyuga were a noble family of Konoha. Their pride was natural. Though they might restrain themselves toward outsiders out of village protocol or rationality, when dealing with half-bloods like Aoyume, their condescending arrogance was ingrained in their bones.

A classic case of hostility within the household.

Aoyume understood this, yet he still replied politely but firmly: “Good dogs don’t block the way. Please step aside.”