Masagaki Mori was an ordinary person. He wasn't a genius nor did he have a prestigious job; he worked in an office all day. His only source of joy was coming home to watch Naruto for what felt like the hundredth time. Today was no different. After finishing the first episode, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and died shortly thereafter.
To his surprise, this was not the end for him. When he awoke, he found himself in a completely different world—one he was all too familiar with. He didn't come to this realization on his own; he had been granted a system designed to give him an advantage in this new world. This magical system served as a convenient tool for quick power-ups and plot progression.
He was now in the world of Naruto. The system informed him of his current situation: he had been born around the same time as Naruto and was in the same class as him. At the age of 12, he was preparing for the upcoming academy graduation exam. Unfortunately, he was born into the Hyuga clan's branch family. While being a Hyuga offered certain advantages, belonging to the branch family felt like a form of slavery. To add to his misfortunes, he was an orphan; his parents had died during the attack of the Nine-Tails. He had been raised by other members of the branch family throughout his childhood.
Masagaki, now known as Masagaki Hyuga, glanced at his forehead in the nearby mirror he had found in his small room. His fears were confirmed: there it was, the "Caged Bird" curse mark—a distinctive feature of all branch family members. This mark would bind him for life to the main family of the Hyuga clan, reducing him to the status of a servant.
He fell back onto his bed, uncertainty washing over him. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his new life or how to navigate it. Although he had imagined similar scenarios before, things felt different now. He was now part of the Hyuga branch family, and that made everything more complicated. Members of the branch families were subjected to heavy surveillance and had limited freedom in how they could conduct themselves or act.
Masagaki decided to explore the system he had been granted and the features it offered. A blue interface, visible only to him, appeared in front of his face.
[ Welcome, Host. We have detected your desire to learn about the system and its capabilities. ]
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[ This system revolves around the art of weaponry, commonly known as "Bukijutsu" in this world. You will gain access to various weapons, weapon styles, and techniques as the main storyline of Naruto progresses. Additionally, the system offers optional quests for you to complete, which yield various rewards, such as increased chakra capacity, special weapons, and specific techniques, including Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Fūinjutsu. ]
"Wait, why would I be granted other techniques besides 'Bukijutsu?' Masagaki thought. The system then provided an instant response.
[Because no matter how skilled the host becomes in 'Bukijutsu,' you will still need other forms of combat support, especially against stronger opponents with significant resistance to 'Bukijutsu.']
The system prompt continued to explain its features.
[While the host may gain increased chakra reserves and faster chakra regeneration, other physical attributes will not change through the system. There will be skills and techniques available that can help improve or train these attributes, but the system will not automatically enhance the host's speed, strength, endurance, etc. You will need to train and develop these areas primarily on your own.]
[Certain techniques can only be obtained through quests or by meeting specific requirements, but the majority of items can be purchased from the system shop using points.]
"Wait, how do I gain points?"
[There are various ways to earn points, but the most notable methods include killing enemies, completing quests, building relationships with key characters—whether good or bad—and training to improve your skills.]
"Can I see the shop then?"
The system interface changed to display a shop menu filled with all capital letters. Discounts appeared everywhere, but once you clicked on them, the discounts would suddenly expire. Items that were discounted had excessively high original prices.
[Due to the current storyline being set in "Episode 1" and the host's present power level, certain items will remain restricted until specific conditions are met.]
Masagaki browsed the shop for a short while, but found very little available, as most items were still restricted.
"10X Kunai for 20 points..."
"10X Explosive Tags for 40 points..."
"A book about the basics of swordsmanship for 100 points..."
"10X Shuriken for 10 points..."
There wasn't anything exceptional; it was all basic weapons and ninja tools. To be honest, Masagaki didn't expect anything great since it was only the beginning of the series. If what the system said was true, he would have plenty of time to acquire better weapons as the story progressed. He didn't think too much about it, especially since he didn't have a single point to his name.
"System, you mentioned that the graduation exams are almost here. When exactly are they?"
[In three days.]
"What?! I don't even know how to control Chakra! How am I supposed to learn everything I need to pass in just three days?!"
Would the host like to receive the previous body's memories? This might help you understand the skills needed for the upcoming graduation exam.
**Warning! This will be extremely painful, and the host might faint upon seeing your current attributes and pain tolerance.**
**Yes/No**
Masagaki had no choice in the matter. While he had watched Naruto religiously, manually doing these things was a completely different story. He was just an ordinary office worker, without the slightest idea of how to properly throw a shuriken or control his chakra.
*He clicked the "Yes" option.*
In a matter of seconds, a flood of memories surged into his brain. The pain was unbearable as he fell off his bed, gasping for air. Ideas, lessons from the academy, and other information inundated his mind. The agony was too much for him to endure at his current strength, and he blacked out on the floor, one arm resting against his bed.
He awoke in a daze as the memories became much clearer. He needed a moment to fully process everything. Even though he had blacked out for hours, a significant amount of pain lingered in his head. Gaining access to twelve years' worth of memories was far from a pleasant experience.
Suddenly, the system interface appeared in front of him again.
[Congratulations, Host, for comprehending most of the memories and for not going insane.]
[New Skills Obtained: Byakugan (Unpure), Gentle Fist: Tenketsu Needle, Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, Body Replacement Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu*]
Masagaki noticed a * icon flashing in green. When he clicked on it, the interface expanded significantly.
[Byakugan (Unpure): The Byakugan is present from birth. When activated, the pupils become more distinct, and increased blood flow to the eyes causes the veins near the temples to bulge. The Byakugan offers a 360º field of vision around the user, but due to the curse mark "Caged Bird" placed on the host, this is limited to a near-360º field of vision with a small blind spot around the first thoracic vertebra. The Byakugan's vision can penetrate almost any object, allowing users to see through walls, peer underground, or even examine the contents of a person's body. Your current range is thirty meters.]
(Sidenote: I specified thirty meters because this is part one, and Neji was mentioned to have a range of only fifty meters. I aimed to present this character as more of a background figure with a talent slightly lower than Neji's. The abilities and details will improve as the story develops since this is only Chapter 1.)
**[Gentle Fist: Tenketsu Needle]**: By targeting a single chakra point, you deliver a two-fingered strike to the opponent. This technique aims to block the chakra being used and halt its flow. Its effectiveness is greatly reduced when used outside of this context.
**[Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms]**: This technique is part of the "Gentle Fist" fighting style. It is designed to close off the flow of chakra through thirty-two chakra points in an opponent's chakra pathway system. Similar to the previous technique, its effectiveness significantly decreases if not used specifically on the chakra pathway system.
**[Body Replacement Jutsu (Substitution)]**: Just before you are about to be struck by an attack, you can replace yourself with an item of similar mass.
*Note: This technique cannot be executed if the opponent's speed exceeds your comprehension. You must also have an item of similar mass available for the substitution; you cannot conjure a log out of thin air like in the original series.*
**Clone Jutsu:** This jutsu allows you to create one or more copies of yourself.
*Note:* This technique creates one or more afterimages that have no physical capabilities.
**Transformation Jutsu:** This jutsu allows you to take on the appearance of whatever you choose.
Masagaki wasn't surprised by his lack of abilities and jutsu. After going through the memories he received, he realized he didn't have much talent and was often overshadowed by Neji. He also adopted the Hyuga approach of focusing primarily on his Byakugan and the Gentle Fist fighting style. Unfortunately, he didn't possess many Gentle Fist techniques, as most were reserved for the main family, and he wasn't as talented as Neji, who had learned "Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven" merely by observation.
With only three days left before the exams, Masagaki was determined to put all his effort into learning these new abilities and improving his skills as much as possible. He headed to the public training grounds since the Hyuga's private training areas were reserved for main family members only.
- I had to edit this chapter as I realized I gave him the shadow clone jutsu and not the regular Clone jutsu. -