Stand Name: "Kaguya-hime" (Princess Kaguya)
Stand Ability: Tides of the Moon — Absorbs the power of the moon for its own use.
Stand Stats: * Destructive Power: E
Speed: E
Range: E
Persistence: E
Precision: D
Development Potential: ?
The moment Yuki's hand touched the figure, this string of information flashed into his mind.
A... A Stand?! In an instant, he took a deep breath, his entire body trembling involuntarily.
A "Stand" is a powerful manifestation generated by the body's life energy. Because this image always appears beside the human body, it is given the name "Stand"—a concept originating from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.
Simply put, a Stand can be understood as the concrete embodiment of an individual's "life energy." Thus, the appearance and abilities of a Stand are ever-changing, almost always possessing intricate connections to the user's personality and characteristics.
The method to summon a Stand is also simple: essentially, one just needs to call its name. Yuki's earlier mention of "Otsutsuki Kaguya" had clearly triggered the condition... even if he was technically off by a word or two.
Yuki was well-versed in Stand lore, but he never expected to possess such an ability in this world—a world where Stands shouldn't exist!
And... of all the luck, my Stand is actually this? A shrunken version of the final boss?
Having figured out the origin of this child-version of Kaguya, Yuki wiped the cold sweat from his brow and carefully observed the Stand named "Kaguya-hime."
From appearance alone, "Kaguya-hime" was a complete miniature of Otsutsuki Kaguya. While her body was small, she retained all her unique characteristics, making her instantly recognizable.
This Stand doesn't seem to be the sentient type... is it a purely controlled-type Stand?
After a careful inspection, Yuki grew bold enough to pat her on the head. Aside from her white eyes glancing at him with curiosity, the tiny, cute figure made no other move.
Most Stands act only upon their user's commands, functioning like tools; only a rare few possess wisdom and self-awareness. It was clear that the current "Kaguya-hime" was not one of them.
Phew. Realizing this, Yuki actually felt relieved.
Even if it was his own Stand, "Kaguya-hime" looked like the final boss, and the pressure she exerted was no joke. Finding out she wouldn't act on her own made things much more refreshing.
After all, if this little "Moon Rabbit" started saying things like "Look at them, humans are like trash" or "Why should a piece of garbage with a power level of five give me orders?" Yuki wasn't confident he could establish a healthy master-servant dynamic.
Technically, a Stand is the manifestation of the user's life energy. But mine looks like Otsutsuki Kaguya... I guess descendants really are descendants; the blood of an alien truly runs in my marrow.
"While having a Stand is great, its abilities and stats are a bit..."
Having sorted out what "Kaguya-hime" was, Yuki shifted his focus to her stats. After all, this was the partner he'd be fighting alongside from now on.
Stand parameters are evaluated using six categories: Destructive Power, Speed, Range, Persistence, Precision, and Development Potential. They are generally ranked from A (Excellent) to E (Terrible).
Destructive Power: Measures the Stand's strength and offensive capabilities.
Speed: Measures the Stand's agility and reaction time.
Range: Measures the distance the Stand can move away from the user or its attack range.
Persistence: Measures how long the Stand can maintain its ability or manifest.
Precision: Measures the Stand's ability to perform delicate movements.
Development Potential: Measures how much the Stand's abilities can continue to grow. Usually, newly awakened Stands have a high rating here.
Yuki's Stand, "Kaguya-hime," had the following stats: Destructive Power: E, Speed: E, Range: E, Persistence: E, Precision: D, Development Potential: ?.
In other words, most of this Stand's stats were incredibly weak. They didn't even reach a "C" (Average) level. It was pitifully weak.
The only consolation for Yuki was the big "?" in the Development Potential column. This meant "Kaguya-hime" had massive room for growth.
Of course, a Stand's strength isn't always tied to its raw stats—special abilities are the true game-changers. However, "Kaguya-hime's" special ability, "Tides of the Moon," didn't seem particularly impressive either.
"Absorbing the power of the moon... how should I put it? This ability is a bit subtle."
After thinking for a while, Yuki couldn't judge how useful "Tides of the Moon" would be because the description was too vague.
It said it absorbed the moon's power, but what counted as absorbing? What would "Kaguya-hime" become after absorbing it? Without testing it, everything remained an unknown.
I'll experiment with it tonight after I get out, Yuki decided.
As he continued testing the Stand, the three hours flew by. The hall door was finally opened from the outside.
"Did you gain any insights from the ancestor's statue?" his "cheap dad," Hiashi, asked casually as he led Yuki back toward the heart of the Hyuga estate.
In the distance, a banquet hall had been prepared to celebrate the heir's completion of the ritual. By tradition, both the Head and Branch houses could enjoy themselves on this night. For the Hyuga, it was a very special day.
"No... Father, did you gain anything back then?" Yuki replied, turning the question back. After all, there was literally just a statue in there; he didn't see what the big deal was.
"Hmph. Of course... I gained nothing. I knelt for three hours for nothing."
After a second's pause, Hiashi spoke expressionlessly, though a rare flicker of emotion touched his voice.
As expected, this ritual is just a prank. Dad, you're such a stickler for the rules; you probably suffered through those three hours of kneeling quite badly...
The two looked at each other. Yuki turned his head to suppress a giggle, and even the usually stern Hiashi showed a faint trace of a smile. In that moment, they truly felt like a father and son.
Then, the Hyuga clan's revelry began.
In the vast hall, rows of food and drink were laid out. On this night, high-ranking members and servants, Head and Branch houses alike, could drink and talk together. It was extremely lively. Almost everyone drank heavily—Yuki, of course, stuck to fruit juice.
The party lasted until late at night. By the time Yuki was finally released, he was exhausted. Accompanied by a maid, he climbed into his warm futon.
"By the way, has anything major happened recently?"
He had intended to test "Kaguya-hime" tonight, but because he was so tired, he wasn't in a rush. However, he still wanted to gather some intelligence before sleeping.
"Major events? Oh right, the envoys from the Hidden Cloud Village arrived today. They're discussing a ceasefire agreement with the village."
"Hidden Cloud? Ceasefire agreement?"
Upon hearing those words, Yuki's brow furrowed.
The arrival of the Cloud delegation wasn't a world-shaking event in the grand scheme of history, but it involved a specific incident tied to the Hyuga clan: the "Kidnapping of the Eldest Daughter."
The Cloud ninja used the peace treaty as a front to steal the Byakugan. They kidnapped the eldest daughter of the Hyuga, the culprit was killed by Hiashi, and eventually, Neji's father, Hizashi, went to his death to appease them...
Wait? Speaking of this incident... is there something about it that concerns me?
Suddenly, Yuki rubbed his head. He realized that he had now replaced Hinata as the eldest child and heir of the Hyuga. If nothing changed, the real Hinata would be born in two years, taking Hanabi's place.
In other words... there was no "Eldest Daughter" in the Hyuga clan right now. There was only an Eldest Son. And that was him!