Time flew. A whole year had passed.
His classmate, Itachi Uchiha, had already graduated early and left the academy.
Now in his second year at school, Hiroki Hyuga sadly realized his own mediocre talent. His academic performance remained consistently slightly above average within his class.
Practically the biggest embarrassment among all reincarnators!
He once asked Kaguya whether she could teach him something powerful, only to be mercilessly mocked: "Trying to rush things as usual? At your current level, what exactly do you think you can learn?"
With no choice, he could only work hard with whatever techniques he could currently practice.
The Three Transformation Techniques [shinshin jutsu – the trio of transformation skills: substitution, illusion, and clone], kunai throwing, chakra control, pressure point striking, Gentle Fist training, physical conditioning, Eight Trigrams Palm techniques... you name it.
That night, after finishing all his training and taking a shower, Hiroki had just lain down on his bed when suddenly he felt as if his soul had left his body, floating weightlessly in the air.
Looking down, he could clearly see his body lying on the bed.
When he shifted his gaze, he found himself in the familiar Kaguya Palace.
This palace was a manifestation of Kaguya's Spiritual World.
Staring wide-eyed at the cold and imposing Kaguya standing before him, Hiroki thought to himself,
"Gods above, she actually yanked me straight out of my body!"
"Do not waste time anymore. Do not waste your talent for no good reason."
Hiroki immediately perked up—could this be the moment? Was she finally planning to teach him something?
Sure, Kaguya was a total slouch in battle according to the story, but with her experience alone, she should be more than capable of guiding him.
"What do you mean?" he cautiously asked.
"Haven't you ever tried invading another person's spiritual world?"
"...I've thought about it, but never attempted it. I worried I might get trapped or even devoured."
After thinking back on that night with the Nine-Tails, he understood his ability allowed him to bypass distance and space, entering someone else's body at will and infiltrating their consciousness—in other words, their spiritual world.
While it sounded impressive, it came with many dangers.
After all, entering another's domain—if they were also trained in spiritual arts—he'd easily become a sitting duck.
Kaguya offered a faint, subtle smile. "No need to worry. Once you enter someone else's spiritual world, I can follow the trail there too—and take over that person's body."
"Remember, choose young women who are attractive and have decent cultivation power."
Hiroki's expression turned awkward. He asked, "Those people, no matter how remarkable, wouldn't catch your eye anyway—what exactly are you planning?"
If some guy went around targeting women like that, people would totally start questioning his motives.
Though Kaguya herself was female, such instructions still seemed strange.
Who knows what intentions she harbored regarding those individuals?
If he weren't afraid she'd fly into a rage, he'd definitely ask whether she was intending to build a harem for herself.
"Don't harbor disrespectful thoughts, nor presume to understand my motives. I have my own plans," Kaguya said coolly, as if seeing right through his mind. She gave him a sidelong glance.
"Kaguya, wouldn't wiping my consciousness away and taking over my body count as escaping the seal too?"
Hiroki Hyuga voiced a question that had long puzzled him.
Kaguya let out a soft chuckle, laced with mockery. "You humans always have such ridiculous delusions—turning common things into treasures and thinking everyone's out to steal them."
"Do you really think I want your body? To take over your identity? To live in hiding? To cultivate slowly and leisurely?"
"Your body is too weak, completely useless. That's why I told you to choose someone else."
"And who exactly gave you permission to call me by name so casually?"
What she truly desired was to reunite the Ten-Tails, revive the God Tree, and return to the world in her ultimate form.
She had already waited nearly a thousand years—she didn't mind waiting a few more.
The current Hiroki Hyuga was merely a distant descendant, many generations removed, whose diluted lineage could still help her understand the outside world and ease the loneliness of being sealed away.
"Fine then, I'll give it a try."
Hiroki completely ignored her last sentence and replied with a slight headache.
A beautiful and strong young woman—someone like that was almost impossible to find anywhere.
After all, this was a world constantly ravaged by war, where population growth remained low. Once reaching marriageable age, both men and women were arranged into marriages.
Female ninja were no different. Once they reached adulthood, most would settle down to raise families and leave behind their shinobi lives.
As a result, strong female ninja were extremely rare.
"We're doing it now," Kaguya declared, before once again expelling Hiroki from her Spiritual World.
Hiroki: "..."
Women are so unpredictable! You can't just act on every whim that crosses your mind!
"Are you ready yet?"
Half an hour later, Kaguya's voice echoed inside his head, sounding like a tutoring teacher reminding students to submit homework.
Hiroki sat on the bed, completely at a loss for words.
It was easy for her to say. For him, this was an enormous challenge.
"I can't do it."
"What did you say?"
"I need information about that person—their name, appearance. At the very least, I must know what they look like to successfully infiltrate their consciousness."
"Oh? Are you implying you already knew what I looked like before?"
"I've always been curious about who the most beautiful woman in the world might be, imagining how amazing it would be to meet her. Never did I expect I'd actually stand before you. What incredible luck! Hahaha..." His mouth ran faster than his brain, forcing Hiroki into a panicked explanation.
"Hmph!" Kaguya suddenly let out an inexplicable cold snort.
"In any case, target intelligence is necessary."
"Intelligence, huh? Then let's go get some right now."
Immediately afterward, Hiroki's body moved against his will.
Kaguya had seized control of his body, leaving him helpless as the scenery around him rapidly changed. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't overpower Kaguya's will.
"Aaaah, stop it! Don't do this! Let me go!"
"Be quiet!" Kaguya scolded.
Hiroki: "..." Goddamn it, this feels awful!
"So… where exactly are we headed?"
"The leader of this village—the Hokage. He should have the most knowledge. We're going straight to where the Hokage resides."
"Don't be so reckless—it's dangerous. The Third Hokage's a sly old fox. We don't stand a chance against him with our smarts..."
"..."
"Kaguya, I've got an idea. What about Koharu Utatane? She's one of the village elders with real authority. I remember what she looks like. If you're not too bothered, you could temporarily take over her body."
"Shut up!"
...
The Hokage building was right in front of them.
A purple figure flashed past.
A girl wearing a mask and long purple hair appeared, blocking Hiroki Hyuga's path.
"Halt! No entry without permission."
"Sis, pulling a late shift like this must suck!" Hiroki Hyuga forced out a laugh, hoping to use his youthful appearance to slip through. At the same time, he mentally called out to Kaguya.
What should I do next? I heard you in my head earlier—why aren't you answering now?
Behind the mask, Yugao Uzuki's face remained expressionless.
She had zero patience for brats flirting with her like that.
"This isn't a place for games. Leave immediately!"
As she spoke, Yugao locked eyes with Hiroki's pure white gaze.
Those lifeless eyes, showing no trace of emotion—neither joy nor sorrow—seemed to hold a strange allure, drawing her in helplessly.
Yugao fell into a daze.
Click...
It wasn't until a pair of hands pulled her mask off that the cold night air rushed against her bare face, jolting her back to reality.
"You just… huh?"
"Onee-san, you're really beautiful." Hiroki handed her back the mask before sprinting off.
Leaving only Yugao standing there, stunned.
What just happened to me? Could it have been genjutsu? He's just a kid—he shouldn't even know something like that.
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