5 Millions Ryo

Konoha Village

An explosive piece of news spread like wildfire, spreading throughout the entire village at astonishing speed.

"Let me tell you a secret, Kakashi Hatake, the White Fang's son, got beaten up by someone!"

"What? The legendary prodigy Kakashi, getting beaten up? Is that even possible?"

"It's true, many people saw it, Kakashi even cried at the end!"

...

"Hey! Have you heard? Kakashi got beaten up and cried!"

"Seriously?!"

"Let me tell you a secret, Kakashi got beaten up and was lying on the ground, begging Satoru not to hit him!"

"Huh? So he didn't even fight back, just lay down and cried, begging Satoru not to hit him?"

The next day, just as Satoru was stepping outside, he heard a cacophony of rumors filling the streets, and his face immediately turned green.

"How did the rumors twist like this?"

What do you mean I beat Kakashi until he cried? He was the one who cried, what's it got to do with me? And kneeling and begging for mercy, rolling on the ground... what on earth is all this?

The key issue was that most of the rumor spreaders were members of the Hyuga clan.

Walking through the streets of the clan's territory, he saw many clan members gathered in groups, excitedly discussing things like "the first genius of the new generation," "making Kakashi cry," and "even Uchiha had to submit."

Satoru kept his head down, sneaking around carefully, afraid of drawing attention to himself. But just as he thought he had managed to avoid being noticed, he suddenly heard laughter behind him.

"Look, it's that genius who made Kakashi cry."

In an instant, all eyes were on him.

"No, it's not me!"

Satoru's face turned dark, and he immediately quickened his pace, leaving behind a crowd of confused clan members.

...

Inside the clan's main hall, the noise from the outside was in stark contrast to the silence within. The atmosphere was unusually tense, and many of the clan elders had grim expressions.

Hyuga Mizuki's gaze swept over the elders' faces, and he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

The Hyuga clan's longevity and status within the shinobi world were built on rules and traditions. And now, a clan member had repeatedly broken those traditions.

Satoru, the first person in Hyuga history to bear both Byakugan and another kekkei genkai, seemed to have never been one to conform.

"Hmph! Have these branch families forgotten our traditions?"

One of the clan elders had an angry, grim expression, slapping the table in frustration.

From yesterday until now, he had seen many branch family members gathered together, ignoring proper etiquette, excitedly discussing things in loud voices, and he had even seen this happening outside the clan's premises.

"The honor of our clan has been tarnished by these branch families."

Another clan elder shook his head in disappointment.

Beside Mizuki, Hyuga Hiashi, sighed inwardly. He knew that the branch families had been suppressed for far too long. After Satoru's resounding victory over Kakashi, that suppression had turned into excitement and fervor.

However, unlike the Uchiha, the Hyuga had strict rules that had to be adhered to.

"All right."

Mizuki sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

Although the incident was caused by Satoru, it would be unfair to punish him solely for that. After all, he had defeated Kakashi, which had helped to uphold the clan's honor.

But ignoring the situation entirely might lead to further chaos among the branch families.

Moreover, Hokage's stance towards Satoru was quite intriguing, and Mizuki couldn't help but consider the potential implications. With all these factors in mind, he found it difficult to make a clear decision.

At that moment, Hiashi, suddenly spoke up, "Clan Head, let me handle this matter."

"Oh? What do you have in mind?"

Mizuki's interest was piqued. Hyuga Hiashi was almost certainly his chosen successor, and he had excelled in various aspects compared to his less capable brother.

Hiashi smiled, "This situation is quite complex. Since Satoru is neither deserving of a reward nor a punishment, let's give him another layer of identity."

He went on to explain his thoughts in detail.

Mizuki's eyes gradually lit up.

"Very well, then I leave it to you!"

...

Having just slipped back from the street, Satoru's heart was still pounding. Almost the entire way, he had overheard discussions about himself.

The key issue was that these discussions were far from accurate.

Even some of the older women in the clan had taken an interest in him, attempting to introduce their granddaughters to him. This had frightened Satoru so much that he had dashed away, still covered in cold sweat.

"It's too terrifying. Maybe I shouldn't leave the house for the next few days."

Satoru patted his chest, still shaken.

Just as he was planning to rest, he heard a knock on the door from outside.

Satoru immediately became alert, tiptoeing to the door and cautiously peering through the gap in the door frame.

"Password!"

Password???

The person outside was taken aback. Why did visiting him require a password? What password?

Just then, the door opened, and Satoru let out a sigh of relief.

The visitor was familiar with Satoru. The most famous pair of brothers in the clan looked almost identical, with only a slight difference in clothing. One of them always wore a forehead protector.

"Lord Hizashi, why are you here?"

Satoru observed his surroundings cautiously, making sure no other Hyuga members were following.

"Satoru, can we talk inside?"

...

On the wooden table, two cups of tea were placed, emitting faint steam. Judging from the quality of the tea leaves, they were not of the highest grade.

"Lord Hizashi, I don't usually drink tea, so I can only offer you this lower-grade one."

[TL Note : It may be confusing, but yes, the one who suggested a solution to the patriarch (Mizuki) was Hiashi, and the one who visited Satoru was Hizashi, it's not a mistake]

"It's all right." Hizashi smiled, picked up a cup, and took a sip.

Partaking in the tea was a customary gesture in Hyuga culture when offered by someone else.

After the pleasantries, Hizashi looked at Satoru, his face showing a mixture of emotions.

"I had suspected you would be a variable in the clan, but I didn't expect that you would grow into this kind of variable so quickly."

A genius surpassing Kakashi, the first of the new generation, just thinking about these titles inwardly filled Hizashi with a burning passion.

Without a doubt, Satoru was the most exceptional genius the Hyuga clan had seen in its entire history.

"I believe that a genius like you wouldn't be content with being restrained."

Hizashi's gaze was complex as he looked at Satoru.

Satoru remained silent. The implications of that statement were too significant. If the main branch were to hear it, trouble would surely follow.

Seeing Satoru's lack of response, Hizashi sighed and took out a scroll from his pocket, placing it on the table.

"What's this?"

"Open it and find out."

Satoru unrolled the scroll, infused a bit of chakra into it, and his expression immediately turned astonished.

The contents stored in the scroll were invaluable, a treasure trove of sorts. One corner contained a substantial amount of money. Satoru estimated it to be at least five million Ryo.