Almost every member of the Hyūga Branch Family had a Main Family member they were assigned to serve; the title was "attendant," but in truth, it meant servant.
And not every Main Family member was as kind as Hinata. If you were unlucky enough to serve a Main Family member with a foul temper, then your duties went beyond servitude; you also became their personal punching bag.
Unfortunately, the Main Family member whom Hyūga Arata served was exactly the type who didn't see Branch members' lives as human lives.
And the man in front of him right now was nothing more than a loyal dog.
Arata's smile faded slightly. He ignored the man's obvious attempt to provoke him and continued walking forward.
The guard didn't expect that Arata, the same person who had always endured insults silently, would just ignore him. His face darkened instantly.
"Hyūga Arata, I'm talking to you!"
Still, Arata didn't respond and simply kept walking. Might Guy shrugged and followed him casually.
"You useless fool! I told you to stop!"
A furious shout came from behind, followed by the sound of air being torn apart.
The man had grabbed at Arata's shoulder, his strength clearly lacking even the slightest restraint.
Guy stopped and frowned, ready to intervene.
But the moment that hand touched Arata's shoulder, Arata's body suddenly tensed like a pine tree shaking off snow.
A powerful shock rippled through his muscles and bones, sending a sharp jolt up the attacker's arm.
Before the Hyūga guard could even react-
Arata twisted his body, his left foot sliding forward in a smooth, circular motion. His white robe flared lightly as he rotated, revealing the defined lines of his abdomen as he pushed his palm forward.
Anyone from Arata's previous life would've recognized the move instantly; it was Aikido.
To the Hyūga clansman's eyes, his right arm was brushed aside as Arata suddenly vanished from sight, lowering his stance and pressing his palm against the man's stomach.
Then, a surge of unimaginable power exploded from that single touch.
BAM!!
The sheer force of the blow erupted within a mere centimeter, the impact powerful enough to shatter stone. The guard's body folded like he'd been struck by a battering ram.
Just as blood was about to burst from his mouth-
A calm voice sounded near his ear, "Letting blood spill would be unpleasant."
Arata's right hand flipped upward, elbow dropping as he lightly tapped the man's chin.
A sharp crack rang out.
The blood rising in the man's throat was forced back down as he choked and coughed violently, clutching his neck and stomach before collapsing to his knees.
"Y-you dare-"
His Byakugan flared open, veins bulging around his eyes in fury. But when he met Arata's calm, faintly glowing gaze, his words froze in his throat.
A cold, primal fear crept up his spine like a snake.
'Am I afraid?'
'Afraid of this so-called failure? Impossible…'
"This strike repays yours." Arata looked down at him, smiling again. "Lady Aoi's extra training session is this afternoon. Next time, don't bark at me like a dog."
He patted the man's shoulder lightly, ignoring the trembling in his body, and walked off with Guy.
"I didn't think you'd go that far!" Guy's voice was still lighthearted, though he was clearly curious.
He'd heard the rumors about Arata, the "useless" Hyūga who couldn't awaken his Byakugan, but Guy had always considered him a friend. In his eyes, Arata wasn't the failure others said he was.
Especially not after seeing that strange technique, a fusion of Gentle Fist and Iron Fist, something even Guy had never seen before.
Still, he couldn't understand why Arata always ignored what others said.
"Sorry if that was embarrassing to watch," Arata said politely. "They're still my clansmen. I don't want to go too far."
Guy shook his head with a grin. "You did nothing wrong! Youth must not be tainted!"
Arata smiled, sighing softly. "Still, all this noise is getting annoying."
[Ding, Your lie has been detected as [Casual Fabrication]. Might Guy experiences a minor emotional fluctuation reaching the level of [Complete Belief]. +200 Reality Points obtained.]
Of course, that was a lie.
Why hadn't he fought back before?
Partly because his plan involving Orochimaru wasn't complete yet, and a harmless, "useless" persona was more useful to him.
And partly because…
'When one dog starts barking, the rest follow, but none of them know why they're barking.'
'If I had to throw stones at every barking stray along the way, I'd never get anything done.'
He sneered inwardly.
That nameless fool wasn't even worth his emotions.
His strike earlier wasn't just to test a new technique; it was also the first step in his next plan.
After all, no one believes a rat that hides in the sewers.
When Shimura Danzo speaks, the villagers scoff.
But when Hiruzen Sarutobi speaks, even the most absurd thing sounds like the truth.
A lie only becomes truth when spoken by those with power and authority.
Arata could feel the bloodline within him continuing to transform, from spiritual perception and innate talent down to the strength of his physical body.
Left alone, this process would be slow, taking years to reach its full potential.
But Arata didn't have that kind of time.
To gain more Reality Points, he needed to approach high-value targets, and to do that, he'd have to show a bit of his true power.
That brief "rebellion" was merely the first move.
Soon, news of his connection to Orochimaru's human experiments would spread.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had likely already taken Yamato (the subject known as "A") under his wing, and as one of only two surviving test subjects of Orochimaru, Arata knew both Hiruzen and Danzo would eventually come probing.
At that thought, Arata's gaze flickered. He thought to himself, 'Manifest item, Pure Byakugan capable of evolving into the Tenseigan after fusion.'
[Cost: 10,000 Reality Points. Proceed with manifestation?]
'Exactly ten thousand?' He hesitated. Then, testing another option, 'Manifest item, Method to fuse Pure Byakugan and Pure Otsutsuki Bloodline to awaken the Tenseigan.'
[Insufficient Points.]
"..." Arata's expression darkened. 'As expected, missing something again.'
Good thing he hadn't fallen for this damned system's trick.
If he'd blown all his points on a pair of useless eyes, he'd have nowhere to cry.
"In that case," he muttered, "the second method is the safer one."
The Hyūga clan's Byakugan should be purer than that of the Otsutsuki on the moon. The only issue was numbers; the Hyūga were far fewer in comparison to the Otsutsuki, who had ruled the moon for millennia.
He wondered, could the fusion of all their eyes create the Tenseigan...?
Cough.
The thought made him cough awkwardly. He quickly muttered a silent apology in his heart.
Harvesting everyone's eyes was a bit too evil; he wasn't Itachi-level depraved.
Maybe just those who had already awakened their Byakugan. The unawakened ones would be useless anyway.
Of course, he wouldn't be the one doing it.
He had someone much better suited for that role.
Now, all he had to do was wait… for those old men to reveal their true, ugly faces.