There were no further incidents along the way.
Back home, Riku carefully closed the door behind him and pulled out the scroll he had obtained from Orochimaru in his small room.
Unrolling the scroll, his eyes met with dense, intricate characters. Riku's gaze moved swiftly and precisely across the text, while the system's prompts appeared accordingly:
[You have mastered Sealing Jutsu: Seal Meridian Finger]
[Seal Meridian Finger (D): (1 / 200)]
Seeing these two prompts, Riku's heart swelled with excitement. Orochimaru had truly lived up to expectations—he had actually given him a Sealing Jutsu.
Although it was only a low-level D-rank Sealing Jutsu, Riku's experience point panel gave him confidence that he could surpass its limits.
After being recorded by his panel, Riku also gained a general understanding of the Seal Meridian Finger. Its function was simple but practical: it could seal an enemy's meridians, effectively blocking the flow of Chakra.
This made it a very useful Sealing Jutsu, perfectly in line with Orochimaru's style.
Even though this Jutsu hadn't appeared in the anime, Riku didn't find it strange. After all, the legacy of the Uzumaki Clan had long been inherited by Konoha. How could the village have studied only the few Sealing Jutsu featured in the anime over so many years?
There were powerful techniques like the Four Symbols Seal, Reverse Four Symbols Seal, Five Elements Seal, and Eight Trigrams Seal. While these looked impressive, Riku knew that cultivating them would take an extraordinary amount of time. Then, he'd have to spend free experience points just to break their limits—a costly endeavor.
Looking at the experience point balance on his panel, Riku realized that the D-rank Seal Meridian Finger was perfectly suitable.
The lower the rank, the simpler the limit break, and the more times he could push beyond the Jutsu's boundaries. Each time he advanced, he could also choose the direction of growth. This flexibility made a low-rank Sealing Jutsu far more advantageous for Riku.
With hope ignited, Riku immediately immersed himself in cultivating this Sealing Jutsu.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, someone began paying attention to Riku—Hyuga Sōtai's grandfather, Hinata Katyu.
As one of the Main Family Elders, Hinata Katyu's authority in the Hyuga Clan ranked just below that of Hyuga Hiashi, the patriarch. Apart from Hiashi, he and the other elders were essentially the clan's decision-makers.
The reason Hinata Katyu took interest in Riku was, naturally, his interactions with Hyuga Sōtai.
Hinata Katyu, his white hair and wrinkled face marking his age, sat meticulously upright. In front of him knelt a Special Jonin of the Hyuga Clan—a Ninja guard assigned to secretly protect Hyuga Sōtai, who was also a Branch Family Member.
This guard had just reported the confrontation between Hyuga Hoshimi and Hyuga Sōtai. He emphasized that Riku had already begun refining Chakra.
Holding the intelligence scroll on Hyuga Hoshimi, Hinata Katyu revealed a meaningful smile.
"An interesting little fellow. At such a young age, he can refine Chakra without a teacher's guidance?"
"It seems this Branch Family Member possesses a notable level of Ninja talent."
However, the elder's expression darkened as he recalled Riku's parents, once labeled "rebellious individuals."
After a moment's contemplation, Hinata Katyu made a decision.
"Let this boy become Sōtai's attendant. After all, he is my grandson. It's important to cultivate sharp blades to cut through thorns for him."
An attendant, as the term implied, was a retainer serving a noble, someone who would fight under the lord's command throughout their life.
Hinata Katyu rationalized his decision further: this act would demonstrate the main family's generosity and earn admiration from the Branch Family Members. By his calculation, it was a wise choice.
He immediately sent someone to convey this order to Riku.
It was not a request. It was an order. Riku, upon hearing this news, was stunned—he could not understand how events had reached this point.
The Branch Family Member delivering the order, however, was full of envy. Being an attendant to a Main Family Member meant receiving far superior training compared to other Branch Family Members—a clear promotion in status.
In the future, other Branch Family Members would need to respectfully bow to Riku, simply due to his association with Sōtai. If Riku's talent proved exceptional, he could even rise to become a true pillar of the Hyuga Clan, serving the patriarch or other elders directly.
How could someone who had labored for over a decade yet remained unnoticed not feel jealousy?
But envy was pointless. As a fellow clan member, the man could not oppose Riku. In fact, he would be obliged to flatter Riku in the future, since a Main Family attendant was treated as half a Main Family Member—far above ordinary Branch Family Members.
If Riku knew what this man was thinking, he would certainly have asked: "Shall we switch places?"
After all, Riku had little interest in such an opportunity. Become an attendant? It seemed more like a scheme to train him to risk his life for someone else from a young age.
Yet there was at least one piece of slightly better news: the person he would serve was that foolish child, Yuto.
After one encounter with Yuto, Riku was fairly confident in handling him—but he would need to hide his strength carefully. After all, Yuto, and even others, would likely view Riku as a weak, slightly talented, but otherwise insignificant Ninja.
Sighing, Riku resigned himself to the situation. "Since it's come to this, I'll treat it as practice for my acting skills," he thought.
Reluctantly accepting the order, he once again felt the constraining weight of being a Branch Family Member. From birth to death, they were tightly controlled by Main Family Members.
Thinking this, Riku clenched his small fists, and Chakra surged through his body involuntarily. His Byakugan activated unconsciously.
"Power! I need more power! Power in Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Sealing Jutsu!"
"An attendant, huh? I'll do it well. Perhaps this is also an opportunity—an opportunity to access greater power. As a prominent family with a thousand-year legacy, the Hyuga Clan must have a solid foundation."
"With this new identity, perhaps I can grow stronger even faster!"
Riku tried to comfort himself, and powerful motivation once again burst forth from his young body.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru continued his analysis of the Byakugan Kekkei Genkai, using Riku's blood as experimental material.
As the experiments progressed, Orochimaru discovered that Riku's bloodline was richer and purer than the Hyuga bloodlines he had encountered before. Naturally, the inherent power within the bloodline was stronger, deeply piquing Orochimaru's curiosity for further study.