Hyūga Miwa's shifting expression didn't escape Yuuto's notice. With his Byakugan-enhanced eyesight—even undeveloped—it was practically impossible to miss.
Besides, he came from an era of information overload. Everything was online, from DIY plumbing to analyzing microexpressions. So he instantly understood what was going on:
The doting mother meets the independent son.
Beneath it all? A cultural clash.
In the ninja world, especially in Konoha, once a woman got married, she was expected to give up work and devote herself entirely to raising a family. Since Yuuto's father was rarely home on missions, Miwa had poured all of her attention into her only son.
So the moment Yuuto showed signs of self-reliance, she felt like her purpose was slipping away.
Honestly? She just needed a job.
"Wow… I don't remember being this insightful before. My brain's definitely working better in this life." Yuuto mused. "If I had this level of mental clarity in my last life, I'd have crushed the college entrance exams and gotten into Tokyo U or Tōdai. I was the protagonist of a high-achiever academic light novel all along!"
It made sense, really. Both Neji and Hinata had shown signs of brilliance.
Neji was the top of his class, a tactical genius who reverse-engineered the Gentle Fist techniques on his own. And Hinata, despite being soft-spoken, was one of the few among the Konoha 12—besides Sakura—who solved all nine over-the-top written questions during the Chūnin Exams.
Clearly, the Hyūga bloodline came with serious perks.
Enhanced vision? Check.Physical prowess? Check.High intelligence? Absolutely.
Bloodline? More like Godline.
And yet… despite all that… they were never the main characters. In war after war, they were always the support class.
Why?
Yuuto had a feeling he knew.
He spent all of breakfast unraveling the answer:
The Caged Bird system.
It didn't just suppress the Branch House physically—it crushed their ambition.
No matter how talented, how dedicated, or how accomplished a Branch member was, one command from the Main House could kill them instantly.
And that suppression went beyond the battlefield. Even if someone in the Branch House was a genius in medicine, or science, or business—it didn't matter. Their inventions and contributions? Not theirs to claim.
All it took was some entitled brat from the Main House to say:
"Grandpa, I want that!"
And poof—gone.
How could anyone grow under such a system? Where's the motivation to strive, to create, to innovate?
Why fight when hard work doesn't change your fate?
No wonder the Branch House members just… lay down and gave up.
The Main House had a tiny bloodline pool, with one heir per generation. Statistically, 99% of the clan's geniuses should come from the Branch House.
But if those geniuses decided to "lie flat" (as modern slang put it), the whole clan stagnated.
That's why, while others had evolved from Rasengan to Six Paths Ultra Rasengan Deluxe Edition, the Hyūga were still stuck using the same Revolving Heaven and Eight Trigrams their great-great-great-grandfather had made up during the Warring States era.
And of course, you couldn't criticize the system directly. After all, the Caged Bird Seal did technically protect the clan's Byakugan.
Right?
Just look at the Uchiha. Too powerful, too independent—they got nerfed into oblivion.
So maybe the Main House was right? Maybe the Caged Bird system was necessary?
Hell no.
Even if the Caged Bird had merits, the real issue was this:
Why didn't the Main House get branded too?
If it's really about "protection," shouldn't they apply it equally?
But no—they gave the seal to the Branch, and left themselves untouched.
That's not discipline. That's hypocrisy. That's control masquerading as tradition.
They turned a protection seal into a slave mark.
Yuuto snorted.
"Fine. Then I'll lie down too."
At least for now.
Until he found a way to remove the Caged Bird Seal, he would play it safe. Not just to avoid the Main House's suspicion—but to steer clear of shady figures like Danzō.
This was Konoha, after all. Sticking your head out only made you a target.
And besides, he was probably worked to death in his last life. No way he was repeating that mistake.
Wait, hold up.
Danzō… is he active yet?
Yuuto mentally reviewed the village layout he'd seen on the way in. Yup—the Third Hokage's face was already on the Hokage Rock.
Whew. That meant the old warmonger was still lurking in the shadows—but officially, Hiruzen Sarutobi was Hokage.
The "Scapegoat Shadow" was in office.
"Today's your first day at the Academy," Miwa said gently as she packed his bento. "Be sure to get along with your classmates."
Yuuto nodded, watching the little bento box in her hands.
…Wasn't that going to be cold by lunchtime?
Eating cold rice and veggies every day? That couldn't be good for your stomach.
He zoned out again.
He remembered seeing a video once—something about Japan's stomach illness rate being 80%, one of the highest in the world. Maybe their diet habits were part of the reason?
Opening a hot lunch spot near the Academy? That might actually be a solid business idea.
He bit into the tempura. Basically just deep-fried egg and flour, kind of like a Japanese donut. Sometimes it had shrimp or meat inside… but Miwa's version only had carrot bits.
"…Are we poor?"
Yuuto rifled through this body's memories. Meals rarely included meat. Clothes weren't bought new either—his current training uniform was a hand-me-down from the neighbors.
Wearing old clothes was fine—frugal, even.
But if a kid never ate meat, that wasn't frugality. That was poverty.
His father, Hyūga Enkei, was a chūnin.
That meant he could take on D, C, and B-rank missions.
D-Rank missions paid up to 10,000 ryō, with a 5,000 ryō cut.
C-Rank missions went up to 50,000 ryō, netting 25,000.
B-Rank missions? Max 150,000 ryō, with a possible 75,000 payout.
Assuming a best-case scenario:
One D-Rank mission per day = 5,000/day → 150,000/month
One C-Rank per week = 25,000/week → 100,000/month
One B-Rank per week = 75,000/week → 300,000/month
Total? 550,000 ryō.
At Ichiraku's prices—60 ryō per bowl of ramen (~12 RMB)—that came out to:
1 RMB ≈ 5 ryō
So 550,000 ryō ≈ 110,000 RMB ≈ $15,000 USD/month
That's a high-income household.
But that was theoretical.
In reality, B-Rank missions took time. Like that C-Rank "Land of Waves" mission—it took weeks.
B-Rank missions often meant half a month away for 100,000 ryō. Maybe two per month, split between teammates.
That left Enkei with roughly 100,000 ryō/month, or 20,000 RMB (~$3,000 USD).
Still good money.
So why were they broke?
"Don't tell me… the Branch House has to pay tribute to the Main House?"
Yuuto wasn't sure. He was just a kid—no one told him anything. And Kishimoto never drew this stuff.
But seriously—Main House members didn't take missions. Where did their money come from?
Probably from Branch members' 'contributions'.
What was the split? 50-50? 60-40? 70-30?
Surely not 80-20…
Hinata never looked rich. She always seemed like she hadn't eaten enough. But the Hyūga clan as a whole? Extremely frugal. Hiashi was probably hoarding money like a miser.
"Too bad I got isekai'd a little too early… Hinata isn't even born yet."
Right now, Hiashi and Hizashi were just young men. Still single.
Wait… what was that sound I heard when I first woke up?
Yuuto set down his chopsticks.
Suddenly, a crisp notification rang in his ears:
[Ding! You've completed an eating activity. Eating EXP +1, Universal EXP +1. Current Level: LV1 (1/100)]
His eyes lit up.
"A system?!"