Under careful observation, Hinata Haruki noticed something peculiar.
The chakra of the Hyūga clan was different from that of other shinobi. Unlike most, it didn't belong to any of the five elemental natures. While comparing his chakra with that of Mizuki (美月), Haruki noticed a subtle distinction.
Both he and Mizuki possessed non-elemental, basic chakra. On the surface, they appeared identical. But Haruki had a gut feeling—when he looked closely at Mizuki's chakra and then compared it to his own, he could tell something was… extra. His chakra, which he knew best, was high in quality and purity. But there was an additional element in it.
Could this extra component in my chakra be what's making my Byakugan consume so much more chakra than normal? Haruki wondered. He concentrated, trying to sense that unfamiliar element more clearly. What he felt was a powerful vitality—a sort of life force—that seemed to be arising from his very body.
Haruki activated his Byakugan again and watched as his chakra flowed through his tenketsu. When the chakra surged toward the Byakugan, that strange extra energy was suddenly drawn away—intercepted by an unknown force. It was as if something green had wrapped itself around his Byakugan, filtering the chakra. Most of it was wasted. Only a small amount actually fueled the dōjutsu.
If he hadn't been trained in cardiovascular sealing techniques, he might never have noticed such subtle changes.
Haruki's eyes widened in shock, and his expression darkened.
"That green thing around my Byakugan… Could it be… the Caged Bird Seal?!"
"Haruki? Haruki, are you alright?" Mizuki asked, concerned as she noticed him spacing out.
"Ah, it's nothing, Mizuki-neesan. My chakra's just depleted. Can we continue Gentle Fist training tomorrow?"
"…Okay. Let's head back."
Is there something different about my Caged Bird Seal? Haruki thought as they walked. Why is my chakra different from the rest of the Hyūga clan's? What exactly is this extra component? Is it tied to my bloodline? Is there any way to resolve the Byakugan's chakra drain?
He touched the green mark on his forehead.
Unlike most members of the branch family, Haruki had no intention of hiding it with a forehead protector. He wasn't going to wear a bandage like some head injury patient. No—he wanted the world to see the cruelty of the Hyūga Main Family, branding a four-year-old child with a seal.
The Caged Bird Seal was the Hyūga clan's method of protecting the Byakugan. Upon the death of the bearer, or if their eyes were forcibly taken, the seal would automatically activate and destroy the dōjutsu. Additionally, the Main Family could trigger the seal manually, damaging the branch member's brain cells—a tool of control.
So the seal doesn't just destroy the Byakugan. It actively filters my chakra, limiting it. No wonder my Byakugan consumes so much energy. My Caged Bird Seal isn't normal…
Haruki vaguely recalled being branded with the seal at age two. He hadn't fully formed memories at that age, but the trauma was etched into his body—fragments still surfaced.
He remembered three elders from the Main Family standing around him. The younger Haruki hadn't understood what was happening and simply looked around curiously.
Then the elders placed their fingers on his forehead, forming the seal with chakra needles. But something had gone wrong.
"Huh? His body is resisting the seal," one elder muttered.
"It won't imprint?" another said, alarmed.
"Damn it. It appears, then fades!"
Indeed, the green lines carved into his forehead were vanishing on their own.
"What's going on?"
"I've never seen this before… What do we do?"
"Together! All three of us—force it through!"
…
Haruki only remembered the intense headache that followed. After that, everything went dark.
So in the end, they still branded me, Haruki thought. But that resistance... it must've triggered something. Maybe that's why this seal is stronger than normal. It acts like a suppressive seal, locking away the extra energy in my chakra—filtering most of it, especially when I use the Byakugan.
He recalled how Sasuke once used the Mangekyō Sharingan's Susanoo to forcibly break free from Danzō's paralysis seal.
That proves it—strong power can resist curses and seals. In the case of dōjutsu, it's ocular power. The equivalent in the body would be physical vitality. Like how the Sage of Six Paths' eyes required a Sage Body to balance them.
Could it be that my body also possesses some kind of resistance to the Caged Bird Seal?
Is my bloodline... special?
He found himself wandering to his parents' old room. Ever since his father had died, the room had remained untouched. Haruki only came here occasionally to clean.
He looked through the photos—his parents' wedding, his mother pregnant, and baby pictures of himself. His mother had died shortly after childbirth, so he'd never met her in this life.
Still, looking at them stirred a deep sadness in him.
Even if I've been reincarnated, this body is theirs. That makes them my parents now.
He opened the wardrobe.
"…Man, the Hyūga sure love wearing kimono. I can't get used to them. Maybe I should get some custom shinobi gear made… Wait—what's this?"
He had found something on the sleeve of one of his mother's robes. A symbol—one he immediately recognized. Not unusual to see it here, but given everything happening, it suddenly felt important.
The emblem was shaped like a double-pronged trident—just as iconic as the Uchiha's fan.
It was the Senju Clan's crest.
His mother, Senju Naeko, had been an ordinary member of the Senju's branch family. It made perfect sense her clothes bore the clan's emblem.
But now it clicked.
The Senju are descendants of Ōtsutsuki Asura… They're known for possessing the Sage Body—immense vitality and life force.
Haruki's heart skipped a beat.
A Hyūga-Senju hybrid… My chakra carries traits from both clans. That's what's different. The Senju's vitality—characteristic of the Sage Body—must be what I'm sensing.
No wonder… My body instinctively resisted the Caged Bird Seal. The Main Family must've reinforced the seal to suppress that vitality, forcibly filtering my chakra to keep my Byakugan in check. It all adds up.
Only a small fraction of his chakra was actually reaching his Byakugan. The rest was being sealed away—wasted. That explained why his Byakugan consumed dozens of times more chakra than it should have.
The Senju bloodline, huh? Maybe I can use all five nature transformations someday… or even awaken the legendary Wood Release!
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" Haruki shouted jokingly, striking a dramatic pose.
The heavens remained silent, ignoring his shameless wish.
"…Tch. Wishful thinking. I've already tested my chakra paper—no elemental changes. My chakra is still pure non-elemental. For now."
He sighed.
So… how do I fix the Byakugan issue?
He activated the dōjutsu again, deliberately lowering his chakra output. As expected, the Caged Bird Seal still filtered it heavily—too little remained to sustain the Byakugan.
After repeated trials and refined chakra control, he managed to extend his Byakugan usage to six minutes. That was his current limit.
It felt like invisible chains were binding his dōjutsu.
Without sustained Byakugan, the Hyūga's signature Gentle Fist techniques are practically useless… And I can't use elemental ninjutsu either. What are you playing at, fate? Trying to screw me over?!
He pointed at the ceiling and yelled, "You trying to kill me off, you cosmic bastard?!"
But his expression quickly hardened.
So what if I can't rely on the Byakugan? Six minutes per activation it is. And Gentle Fist? Who says I need Byakugan to strike tenketsu?!
From that day on, Haruki resolved to memorize every chakra point in the human body—until he could strike them blindfolded. Even if each person's chakra network had slight variations, he trained himself to memorize his opponent's points within the six-minute window of Byakugan activation.
His knowledge of acupuncture points and chakra flow, honed to an expert level, became his foundation.
He also trained for the Byakugan's blind spot—learning to sense and react like any other shinobi. His goal was to sharpen his perception, reflexes, and instincts to the point that even without his dōjutsu, he'd never be caught off guard.
He planned to build a small training room—rigged with wooden projectiles launched from all directions—to simulate attacks and sharpen his senses.
Even if his Byakugan had limitations, Haruki was determined to turn every weakness into strength.
And with that, a new line was added to his daily training regimen.