Whoosh—
The sound of running water echoed softly.
Steam thickened in the bathroom, tiny droplets clinging to the ceramic tiles like beads of glass. When Unkawa Hyuga stepped out of the shower, his figure blurred within the mist like a spirit emerging from fog.
He stopped in front of the sink, facing the mirror, and stared at his own reflection in silence.
Sharp, defined features. A broad forehead. A straight nose. Soft, well-shaped brows. Honestly, he looked like the kind of kid you'd expect to see on a poster for a student council president—or worse, a poster child for good behavior.
It was the same face he'd always had, in both this life and the last. A face so wholesome that even if it appeared on a wanted poster, most people would mistake it for an academic award certificate.
But now... there was something different.
He pushed back his wet black hair, revealing his forehead.
And there it was—a grotesque, glaring 卍-shaped seal.
The Caged Bird Seal.
The caged bird, the caged bird...
Unkawa closed his eyes and centered his mind. A moment later, he reopened them slowly.
The boy in the mirror was gone.
The soft, harmless aura he'd worn like a mask had vanished. His face was half-shrouded in shadow, the lines of his jaw sharpened into something deeper—something colder.
And his eyes...
The milky-white purity of the traditional Byakugan was gone, melted away like first snow under sunlight. In its place was a soft, glowing blue—calm like a still lake, but filled with shimmering flecks that resembled stars. Beautiful and ethereal, yes—but unsettling. Threatening, even.
No one would mistake him for a "failure" now. Hell, no one would even want to meet his eyes. The pressure that radiated from them was like being stared down by a predator with a spear for a soul. Even the Caged Bird seal on his forehead seemed… fainter, somehow.
"So this is the 'Unknown' bloodline limit?" he murmured, brushing his fingers against his eyes.
He could feel it—raw power swirling in the depths, still unformed, still asleep. "Is this... a transitional stage between the Byakugan and the Tenseigan?"
In his past life, he'd read it all.
The Tenseigan—an ocular power that rivaled the Rinnegan—wasn't just something you could evolve into on a whim. According to what he remembered, the Hyuga clan's Byakugan could evolve into the Tenseigan under very specific circumstances.
There were two known ways:
One, by combining the pure Byakugan of the Hyuga clan with the chakra of Ōtsutsuki Hamura's bloodline, as seen with Toneri.
Two, by fusing numerous Byakugan from the Ōtsutsuki clan, inducing an evolutionary leap.
As for Unkawa himself, he didn't have Toneri's chakra—but what he did have was a bloodline so pure, it rivaled the Ōtsutsuki's direct descendants. Whether that was equivalent to their chakra remained to be seen.
In the original lore, only Hamura and Toneri had ever manifested the Tenseigan. Kaguya and the other Ōtsutsuki members never showed it, and even Hamura had never used it onscreen.
Toneri, being Hamura's direct descendant, had gone through several "awakening pulses" before fully activating it. Whatever those pulses were, they probably weren't safe.
If the Rinnegan was the true ability of those who had consumed the God Tree's chakra fruit, then the Tenseigan was an aberration—an evolutionary offshoot of the Byakugan. Less utility, more raw destructive power.
"Unkawa! You done in there?"
A voice from outside the bathroom interrupted his musings. He blinked, then tugged his mouth into a soft, practiced smile as he worked the muscles of his face back into place.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming."
He dressed in a clean white outfit and tied his Leaf Village forehead protector across his brow. The faint edges of the Caged Bird seal were still visible underneath, but most people wouldn't notice. Not unless they were looking closely. Not unless they were trying to hurt him.
As far as the clan was concerned, the original Unkawa Hyuga was a dud. A thirteen-year-old who had never activated his Byakugan and once cried on the battlefield like a kid who'd dropped his lunch.
A disgrace, they said. A burden.
Still, even a "failure" of the Hyuga clan was stronger than your average civilian-born genin. He'd graduated alongside Might Guy—the so-called "hopeless taijutsu freak."
Of course, Guy was now a chunin.
Unkawa? Still a genin.
When he slid open the door, the first thing he saw was Guy hanging upside down from a horizontal bar, training with wild abandon. The man couldn't stay still for five seconds if you glued him to a wall.
Thud!
Guy flipped off the bar and landed in a flex, the weights on his legs hitting the ground with a meaty crack.
"Oh! So this is what it means to burn with the spirit of Konoha's youth!" he shouted, eyes blazing as he looked Unkawa up and down. "I can't believe it! I go on one mission, and you've already leveled up your flames of passion!"
Those weights Guy had been wearing were heavy—Unkawa had felt them once. They'd nearly snapped his spine.
"You flatter me, senpai," Unkawa said, smiling politely. "I should be the one thanking you—for teaching me the Eight Gates."
The truth was, the Eight Gates were only as strong as the body they enhanced. Sure, even Kakashi could open the first gate—but that didn't mean he could outmatch Guy in base form. Guy had been conditioned since childhood by his insane father. His baseline was miles ahead.
"I never expected a member of the Hyuga clan to ask me to teach him the Eight Gates and Strong Fist!" Guy wiped a tear from his eye, voice trembling with emotion. "Your willingness to break tradition… your courage to challenge the limits of the body…! Youth!!"
Unkawa raised an eyebrow, just slightly.
Guy sobbed for a moment, then straightened up and peered toward the heart of the Hyuga compound. A rainbow of color shimmered in the distance—unusual for a clan known for its solemn, strict atmosphere.
"What's going on back there?" Guy asked, squinting.
"Hinata-sama's third birthday is coming up," Unkawa replied, a touch of amusement in his voice.
"Huh?" Guy blinked. "Do they always go this all-out for birthdays?"
"Not usually," Unkawa said, shaking his head. "But the third birthday is different. Especially for the main family's children."
On a Hyuga child's third birthday, a chilling tradition was upheld—children from the branch family were selected to receive the Caged Bird Seal.
Among those selected, the most talented were given the "honor" of serving the main family's heirs as personal bodyguards.
And Hinata… was the first daughter of the main family head. The heir apparent. Of course the clan would throw a feast. Nobles from across the Land of Fire, and other ninja clans from the village, would come bearing gifts and pleasantries.
"Unfortunately, it also means the peaceful days are numbered," Unkawa thought to himself with a dry smirk.
If Hinata was turning three, then that meant the Cloud delegation would soon arrive in Konoha.
With their "peace treaty."
And their plan to kidnap Hinata.
Unkawa narrowed his eyes. That particular event… would be the perfect smokescreen for his own plans.
As they chatted, the two strolled shoulder to shoulder through the Hyuga grounds, the mood light and easy.
That is… until they reached the compound gates.
"Stop."
A cold voice cut through the air.
They both paused.
Unkawa turned toward the sound, narrowing his eyes. It belonged to a young Hyuga clansman standing by the gate—his expression twisted with disdain.
"Unkawa Hyuga," the boy said, voice clipped. "Today is Lady Aoi's training day. As her assigned attendant, what are you doing here instead of serving her?"