Tenten let out a sigh as she continued to look at Kugi.

"What all do you know about your Byakugan?" she asked Kugi gently.

"It's the biggest reason why the clan is so strict," Kugi replied to his teacher. "The Byakugan is a very special Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuga Clan. Every member of the clan can awaken it at a young age, but it takes a lot of strength and training to master it. It takes even more training to incorporate it into the other Kekkei Genkai of the clan, like the Eight Trigrams. It's very powerful and very useful to shinobi. That's all I really know about it."

Tenten nodded before she spoke again. "You're right," Tenten began. "And with this powerful jutsu comes many people who want to take it and use it as their own for one reason or another. While there is no way to replicate the DNA of the Byakugan, Byakugan eyes can be removed from the user's socket and put into someone else's. That person would have full control of the Byakugan. If that power got in the hands of someone bent on destruction, it would result in many, many casualties. The last Great Ninja War was so difficult because the Otsutsukis' used the Byakugan. It was one against thousands, but they still overpowered us by a lot."

Tenten paused her speaking and looked at her students. The Last Great Ninja was tough on everyone, but Tenten could never imagine what it was like for the children of the village. Two of her three genin lost a parent in the war, so what could that mean for the rest of the children in the village? Half of them must be without a parent, if not both. Tenten could see the sadness in her students' faces as they remembered the toll the war took on them. Nevertheless, her students still listened intently to what Tenten was saying.

"The Hyuga Clan is split into two different sections. The Main Family, those in the direct line of the Hyuga heir, and the Branch Family, which is everyone else in the clan. All children of the current clan leader are a part of the Main Family until the new leader is determined by the council. To give you an example, Kugi's great-grandfather was once the leader of the clan and he had two sons, twins Hiashi and Hizashi."

This caught Jin's attention. He looked over to Kugi and spoke.

"Your grandfather Hiashi has a twin brother? That's pretty cool. I'm sure they switched places with each other a lot for fun."

Kugi gave Jin a frustrated look.

"Yes, they did switch places a lot," Kugi replied angrily. "Right up until my grandfather was killed while pretending to be his brother."

Jin gave Kugi a confused look. "Hiashi is dead? Is who we think is Hiashi, not the real Hiashi?"

"Hiashi isn't really my grandfather," Kugi replied, rolling his eyes.

Mie raised her hand gently. "Now I'm confused, Sensei."

Tenten held up her hand signaling for her students to get quiet so she could continue her explanation.

"Hiashi had two children, daughters Hinata and Hanabi. Hizashi had one child, Neji, Kugi's father."

Mie and Jin looked at Kugi in confusion, but Tenten kept talking before they could ask any more questions.

"Because Hiashi and Hizashi were twins they had a bond that was stronger than that of brothers. Such so that Hizashi did, in fact, give his life while pretending to be his brother and taking a punishment meant for Hiashi. Hizashi volunteered to do such because of his close bond with his brother. In turn, Neji called Hinata and Hanabi sisters while Kugi calls them his aunts and Hiashi his grandfather."

Mie nodded, understanding the situation. "So Hiashi is Kugi's great-uncle and Hinata and Hanabi are his second cousins, once removed, but they are much closer to him than that so he calls them differently for simplicity's sake."

"Exactly," Tenten said with a smile.

Jin scratched his head, still confused. "I still don't get it."

"That's fine. All you need to know is that the Hyuga Family is all related," Tenten said to Jin. Jin nodded in response and gave Tenten his attention once again.

"Despite Hiashi and Hizashi's close bond, because Hiashi was born first he became the sole Hyuga heir once his father stepped down," Tenten continued. "That meant that Hizashi was annexed to the Branch Family when Hiashi took over as the clan leader. The reason these sections exist in the clan is so those in the Branch Family can protect the Main Family and the Byakugan. The Branch Family does this with the use of the curse mark. It's designed to essentially shut off the Byakugan once a user of it dies. That way it cannot be taken and used by someone when a Hyuga dies. Once the youngest heir of the Hyuga Clan reaches the age of three and awakens their Byakugan every member of the branch family that doesn't have a curse mark will get one."

Kugi pondered for a moment processing what Tenten said before he spoke to her.

"That doesn't seem so bad. It makes sense to me why the clan would do that. Why would they even wait for the heir to turn three? It would be safer to do it once a Hyuga is born. I wish I had it after having experienced our mission."

Tenten winced at what Kugi said. "I wish the curse mark was as simple as that."

Kugi looked at Tenten with a look of confusion. Tenten gave Kugi a look of sorrow in response.

"The curse mark also acts as a shock collar of sorts so the Main Family can control the Branch family."

Both Kugi and Jin's eyes went wide while Mie let out a gasp.

"What do you mean?" Kugi asked Tenten.

"Main Family members can trigger the curse mark so that the wearer of the mark will feel immense pain," Tenten explained. "The pain is so intense that you can die from it."

Tenten looked at her students. They were all quiet and had frightened looks on their faces. Kugi swallowed a lump he had forming in his throat before he spoke to Tenten again.

"I guess it's good that Hanabi doesn't have any kids. No Hyuga heir is turning three anytime soon."

Tenten slowly shook her head. "There actually is an heir who just recently turned three."

Kugi took a moment to ponder who Tenten was talking about. His eye slowly went wide and realization.

"Himawari. She just recently awoke her Byakugan. Since Hanabi doesn't have any kids, the next in line to lead the Hyuga Clan goes to Hinata's kids."

Tenten was unable to make eye contact with Kugi, but she still nodded her head. "That's correct."

Kugi stayed quiet for a long time. The expression on his face remained blank for most of his thoughts until it slowly morphed into a face of rage.

"Why am I just finding out about this now, and from my sensei, no less. What was the Council planning? Were they going to brand me in my sleep one night and not tell me a word of it? Is that what happened to my father?!"

"No," Tenten said in a panicked tone, trying her best to calm Kugi down. "Your father was only four when he got the curse mark. He was too young to really remember the process."

Jin and Mie both gasped while Kugi's face got red with anger.

"He was only four?!" Kugi shouted. "I know the council was a bunch of old coots, but this is asinine. There's no way the Hokage would allow this."

"The Hokage's hands are tied on this," Tenten said sympathetically. "He has to follow the wishes of the Hyuga family. I know we currently live in a time of relative peace, which I'm grateful for, but we need to be prepared for enemies as best as we can. There have already been countless threats on the Byakugan. A man from the Mist has the Byakugan in one eye from stealing it. We can't let that happen again. The curse mark is an unfortunate necessity."

"I'm tired of this," Kugi shouted, standing up from his place. "I'm tired of the selfish clan and I'm tired of you for supporting their destructive, conservative ways."

Once Kugi finished yelling at Tenten, he stomped off to the door of Shikamaru's house. He threw the door open and rushed out, not looking back once at his teammates. Tenten quickly got up and scrambled to catch up with him.

"Kugi, wait!" Tenten shouted before a hand on her shoulder held her back. She turned around to see Shikamaru right behind her.

"Let him go," Shikamaru said softly.

"I can't let him go," Tenten replied frantically. "There's still so much I need to explain to him. Not to mention that the Salt Village is after him. I need to protect him."

"He's had enough for one day," Shikamaru said. "I'll go talk to the gatekeeper and make sure he doesn't leave the village. He'll be fine. There are so many people all over this village that will protect him other than yourself."

Tenten took a breath and tried to steady her pulse. After she calmed down a bit, she turned to look at Jin and Mie.

"Can you guys stay with him?" she asked her students.

"Of course," Mie said while Jin simply gave Tenten a nod. They followed Kugi's previous path and exited Shikamaru's house. Once all her students were gone, Tenten looked at Shikamaru.

"Sorry for all the ruckuses. It's been a rough couple of days for us."

Shikamaru chuckled. "That was nothing compared to the racket my wife makes on a regular basis."

"What was that?"

Tenten and Shikamaru quickly turned to see Temari standing at the doorway of her house, her face red with anger.

"What a drag."

XXX

"Kugi, wait up."

Kugi ignored Mie's calls and continued to walk on the same path he was on. Jin and Mie were jogging, trying to catch up with Kugi. When they noticed that he was not responding to their calls, they jogged even quicker so they could walk next to him.

"Kugi, where are you going?" Mie asked once she was next to him.

"I'm going to break into the hospital records."

Mie stopped and tried to give Kugi a disapproving look, but she was unsuccessful as Kugi continued to walk his path, away from Mie's gaze.

"What is his problem?" Jin asked Mie before they jogged to catch up with Kugi again.

"What do you mean you're going to break into the hospital records?" Mie questioned Kugi.

"I'm going to find out who my mother is."

Mie gave Kugi a sympathetic look as she replied. "I can't imagine what you're going through, but don't you think you're being a little rash?"

Kugi abruptly stopped in his place, and he turned to look at Mie sternly.

"I am tired of the Hyuga Clan lying to me, keeping secrets from me, and telling me how to live my life. I'm done biting my tongue and pretending to be a good little Hyuga boy. I'm taking matters into my own hands, and you can't stop me."

Mie and Kugi stared at each other moments before Mie let out a sigh.

"Fine, but we're coming with you."

"No, Mie-" Kugi began before Mie cut him off.

"There's no way you're going to get any information on your own. You need someone with you who can break the seals on medical scrolls and someone to be a lookout."

Kugi pondered for a moment and then gave his teammates a small smile. "Okay, let's get going."

XXX

"Thank you all for coming so quickly. I chose you three specifically for a mission. It is A-Rank and could potentially rise to S Rank. There is a dangerous threat to the village and our people, and I need you three to take care of it."

Lee, Kiba, and Shino stood in the Hokage's office as Naruto gave them their mission details.

"The leader of the Salt Village has attempted to steal documents from the village and captured Kugi Hyuga and the rest of Tenten's genin team. They are trying to build some sort of biological weapon involving the Byakugan. I need you three to put an end to this weapon, using no lethal force unless absolutely necessary. Any questions?"

"All due respect, Sir," Shino said softly. "But why is Tenten not on this team? We three are familiar with the Byakugan as we each had a teammate who used it, but Tenten fits that category as well."

"For sure, Naruto," Kiba added. "She did so much training with Neji and they worked together more than Shino and I ever did with Hinata."

"Tenten cannot go on this mission. I'm not allowed to discuss why, but that's a direct order from me and other higher-ups in the village," Naruto told his comrades.

"But, Sir," Lee began to argue.

"I'm not discussing it any longer," Naruto snapped at Lee. "If you three no longer have any questions regarding the mission, you are free to go."

Kiba, Shino, and Lee each gave each other perplexed looks before they turned and exited Naruto's office. Once the door was shut, Kiba look over to his other teammates.

"You guys agree that it's complete bull that Tenten isn't going on this mission, right?" he said with an irritated look on his face.

Shino nodded at Kiba as Lee spoke his agreement. "Tenten is more qualified than any of us. Neji shared secrets of the Byakugan with her back when they were genin. Of everyone in the village, she is the one that knows the most about the Byakugan while not being a Hyuga herself."

Shino nodded once more. "If people who wield the Byakugan are targeted, I understand why Naruto wouldn't send a Byakugan user like Hinata or Hanabi, but why not Tenten?"

"And who are these higher-ups not allowing Tenten to go?" Lee questioned. "Naruto is the Hokage, the leader of the village. I thought that he had the final say in all decisions."

The three men pondered for a moment. Kiba chuckled softly, breaking the silence. Lee and Shino looked up at him and waited for him to voice his thoughts.

"Well," Kiba began. "If we're all in agreement then, we need to make a quick stop to kidnap Tenten and bring her along with us before we leave."

Lee and Shino thought over Kiba's words. Though it was a risky move to disobey the Hokage, they both knew that it was the best option if they were to have a successful mission.

Lee and Shino both looked up at Kiba in confirmation.

"Right!"