Konoha Village.
Hyuga Clan Compound.
Chirping sparrows fluttered down from the sky. Perhaps tired, they were looking for a tree to rest on.
A jade-white hand suddenly reached out and grabbed one of them, clutching it tightly in the palm.
"Hyuga Arin, from today onward, you are the personal death guard of the clan heir, Hyuga Hiashi."
An elder with a square-shaped face spoke in a deep voice to the distracted Hyuga Arin.
This man was Hyuga Dema, an elder of the Hyuga clan.
Meanwhile, Hyuga Arin's eyes wandered. Dressed in the robes of the Hyuga clan, he leaned against the doorway, sitting there without even turning his head to look at him.
Hyuga Dema.
That name once made Hyuga Arin seriously suspect that this guy might also be a transmigrator.
And really, his own name shouldn't even be Hyuga Arin. He should've been called I'm Hyuga Arin. It was just that he'd spent money on a gacha and happened to pull the Byakugan.
And they straight-up changed his name because of it.
Wasn't that a bit much?
"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Hyuga Dema roared, his voice thunderous enough to shake the ears.
"I hear you, I hear you." Hyuga Arin dug a finger into his ear and replied perfunctorily. To show that he wasn't completely brushing him off, he still walked inside and sat down across from Hyuga Dema.
Hyuga Dema's face darkened as he spoke heavily, "Remember this well. You are from the branch family. Being chosen as the young master's death guard is an honor. If you don't perform well and are punished—"
"The Caged Bird Seal, right?" Hyuga Arin interrupted him, lifting the forehead protector on his head to reveal the green mark beneath.
A cursed seal that allowed the main family to control the life and death of the branch family. It could destroy the eyes and brain to prevent the Byakugan from being stolen.
And now it also served to prevent the branch family from tearing the main family apart limb by limb.
The corners of Hyuga Arin's mouth curled upward, revealing a row of chilling white teeth.
"If you've got the guts, why don't you just have them kill me outright?"
He was a player—did he really look like someone who could be scared by this bunch?
What a joke.
Seeing Hyuga Arin's unrestrained attitude, Hyuga Dema felt a headache coming on.
This kid really was outstanding at the Ninja Academy, but he wasn't a genius by any stretch. And on top of that, he had this lawless personality.
So how did he end up being chosen as Hyuga Hiashi's death guard?
"I can tolerate you here," Hyuga Dema said, his gaze deep, "but don't talk back in front of the young master. He—"
He didn't finish the sentence, but the threat was obvious enough.
Hyuga Arin didn't care in the slightest. The Caged Bird Seal might restrain others, but it didn't necessarily restrain him.
Seeing his attitude, Hyuga Dema didn't feel like saying anything more.
Once he tasted enough pain, he'd behave.
The clan head probably intended to use Hyuga Arin as a whetstone for Hyuga Hiashi anyway.
"Report to Training Ground No. 2 at seven tomorrow morning," Hyuga Dema said, leaving that behind before hurriedly walking out.
Hyuga Arin curled his lips.
The Hyuga clan was divided into the main family and the branch family. The main family developed the clan, while the branch family swore to protect the main family with their lives.
And in this generation, the main family had only one heir.
He'd wanted to stay as far away from the main family as possible, but unfortunately, he was too outstanding and ended up being targeted anyway.
"I wonder if killing Hyuga Hiashi would drop a Byakugan."
Hyuga Arin thought maliciously.
At the same time, his fingers gently tightened. When he opened his hand, the dead sparrow fell to the ground.
A notification flashed before his eyes.
[Gained EXP: 1]
There was also a glowing orb in his palm. With a light squeeze, the orb vanished, and a sparrow feather appeared in his hand.
[Obtained: Sparrow Feather]
Completely useless. He casually tossed it onto the ground.
"What a pity there's no quest system," Hyuga Arin muttered. "Otherwise, this death guard mission should pay pretty well."
With a thought, a game interface appeared before his eyes.
[Name: I'm Hyuga Arin]
[Class: None]
[Level: Lv.XX (160/2000)]
[Chakra: 99/120]
[Skills: Gentle Fist (Lv3), Clone Technique (Lv2), Substitution Technique (Lv5), Transformation Technique (Lv2), Eight Trigrams Air Palm (Lv3), Byakugan (Lv3)]
[EXP Pool: 311]
[Equipment Slots: None]
[Inventory: Kunai (10), Explosive Tags (10), Shuriken (99), Steel Wire (10)…]
Hyuga Arin was a player.
Back in his original world, fully immersive virtual reality gaming had just been developed, and he'd immediately bought a rig.
There was only one game available on it: an online game called Anime Grand Brawl.
Each server was built based on the background of a different anime world.
Players could use abilities from other worlds while playing within a specific anime setting.
He'd originally entered the game full of excitement—then, somehow, he transmigrated.
After all, becoming a newborn baby, with no other players around, and NPCs that were supposed to be "rigid" according to online claims instead being frighteningly lifelike—
All of it proved one thing: he'd really crossed over.
After twelve years of exploration, he'd more or less figured out the game interface.
There was no quest module—only a system where killing enemies caused items to drop.
Of course, killing wasn't strictly required. The condition was whether the opponent still had combat capability.
After twelve years of "dominating" kindergarten and ruling over the Ninja Academy, he'd finally reached his current level.
If it weren't for the fact that the Ninja Academy no longer gave EXP, he wouldn't even have wanted to graduate.
Beating the same target repeatedly caused the EXP gained to be halved each time, until it eventually dropped to a mere sliver.
However, defeating opponents only gave EXP—it didn't drop items.
Only killing them caused loot to drop. This was a conclusion he'd reached after fighting wild beasts in the forests around Konoha.
"Finally, I can leave the village to take missions," Hyuga Arin said. "Though being a death guard is a bit troublesome—I need to get rid of that status as soon as possible."
"And also…"
Hyuga Arin tapped his forehead.
The Caged Bird Seal.
"This thing depends on changing classes."
Did they really think this thing could trap him for an entire lifetime?
…
The next day.
Training Ground No. 2.
A blonde woman wearing a green flak jacket sat lazily atop a wooden post, her expression clearly impatient.
Hyuga Hiashi entered the training ground and respectfully said, "Jonin Tsunade."
Behind him, his younger brother Hyuga Hizashi followed, also bowing slightly. "Jonin Tsunade."
Konoha's princess, Tsunade.
This time, she was the instructor assigned to their newly formed mission squad—a result of an exchange of interests between Hyuga Hiashi's father and the Hokage.
With Tsunade as the team's jonin, his safety was guaranteed.
The Hyuga clan's main family treasure couldn't afford to suffer even the slightest harm.
Tsunade asked impatiently, "Where's the last one?"
She really didn't want to do this kind of babysitting job.
"Are you calling for me?"
A figure suddenly dropped upside-down from a nearby tree branch.
Hyuga Arin hung there by his legs, looking at the newly formed team.
"You're Hyuga Arin?" Tsunade frowned as she looked at him.
This brat didn't give off the slightest feeling of a Hyuga clan member.
Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi both frowned in displeasure.
Hyuga Arin acted as if he didn't notice. He loosened his grip on the branch, let himself fall, flipped in midair, and landed lightly on the ground.
Turning his head, he bared his teeth at Hyuga Hiashi in a wide grin.
"The new member of your squad—Hyuga Arin."
A bone-chilling killing intent washed over Hyuga Hiashi and Hyuga Hizashi, making their bodies stiffen for a brief moment.
But they quickly returned to normal.
"Hey, brat," Tsunade walked up to Hyuga Arin and said in a low voice, "don't show killing intent toward your teammates."