Konoha,
A quiet morning.
At the far end of a narrow street, inside a modest counseling clinic, a middle-aged mother looked at her once-withdrawn son, her face full of gratitude.
"Doctor, I really don't know how to thank you. My child… he's finally smiling again."
Hyuga Kei sat calmly in his chair, a gentle smile curving his lips.
"This is what I should do. Just remember to spend more time with him. A child grows best with the company of family."
After exchanging a few kind words, he waved goodbye to the mother and child. As the door closed, his smile slowly faded into quiet composure.
He had seen too many cases like this, parents too busy with work, leaving their children alone at home, shaping loneliness into their only companion.
Psychological wounds, unlike physical ones, couldn't be healed with medicine. They required words, conversation, understanding, and guidance, to reach the heart buried beneath.
To Hyuga Kei, this had been a simple case, barely worth mentioning.
Yet, for all his skill in healing others, he could no longer heal himself.
He didn't know why fate had chosen to toy with him. In his previous life, he was a university professor and a practicing psychologist. One day, while volunteering at an orphanage, his vision suddenly went black, and when he woke up, he was no longer in his world, but in the dangerous world of Naruto, reborn as a branch member of the Hyuga clan.
If that had been all, he might've accepted it. But fate had one more cruel joke to play.
When he awoke, he was blind. His Byakugan, the pride of his clan, was gone.
For a Hyuga, that was nothing short of tragedy.
Yet even as heaven closed a door, it opened a window. Kei had gained something,
a System, known as [Psychological Diagnosis].
By treating patients, he could gain rewards based on how deeply his therapy affected or disturbed their psyche.
After some experimentation, he realized most rewards came from the patients themselves.
For instance, when he counseled a ninja skilled in Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu, he would often gain that person's insight into the technique, allowing him to master it instantly or refine it further.
So, he returned to his old profession. Using the inheritance his parents left him, he opened a small mental health clinic in the village.
Thanks to his expertise, he quickly built a reputation within just a month.
Outside, the rain intensified, tapping like restless fingers on the roof. Kei figured no one else would come today. He reached for his metal cane, ready to close up shop.
But just then, footsteps. Soft, deliberate, approaching through the rain.
Though blind, Kei's other senses had grown sharper. He could perceive shapes and presence through subtle cues, forming a detailed image of the world in his mind.
Such cold chakra… an Uchiha, perhaps?
Mapping the visitor's presence, Kei suppressed his curiosity and sat back down.
A chair creaked opposite him, the guest had taken a seat. Kei spoke first.
"Hyuga Kei. Just call me Doctor. Now then, what brings you here today?"
As he spoke, Kei reached into his pocket for a notebook. He couldn't read it anymore, but the act itself was an old habit, one he refused to break.
"Uchiha Shisui. I'd like to ask you something."
"Uchiha…" Kei muttered as he scribbled the name, but his pen froze midstroke. His expression shifted.
"…Shunshin no Shisui?"
"Yes. Unless someone else has stolen the title," Shisui replied dryly.
Kei's brow furrowed. The smile vanished from his face.
"Are you here for treatment? If not, then please leave."
This time, Shisui blinked in surprise. He studied the young doctor before him, someone his own age, and asked, "Is this how you normally speak to your patients?"
"So you do think you're sick?" Kei countered calmly.
Shisui couldn't help but chuckle. Interesting. This Hyuga was unlike anyone he'd met.
Kei, however, only felt his luck plummeting. Of all people, it had to be him!
If memory served, Uchiha Itachi was eleven this year, meaning Shisui's death wasn't far off. Getting involved with him now was the last thing Kei wanted.
And if Danzo was watching Shisui from the shadows, as he surely was, then Kei would be risking far too much.
So he deliberately kept his tone cold, hoping Shisui would take the hint and leave.
But Shisui didn't. Instead, he asked, "You seem… unwelcoming. Why?"
Kei exhaled softly. This guy was persistent. Since he wouldn't leave, there was no point hiding anymore. Kei set his pen down and said, "Fine then. Tell me, Shisui the Teleporter, what's troubling you?"
"Not everyone who walks through your door needs to be a patient, do they?" Shisui replied evenly.
"This clinic exists for psychological counseling, not casual conversation. If you're not here for that, don't waste my time, or yours."
Kei thought his tone was dismissive enough, but Shisui refused to back down.
"I only came here seeking perspective… but now, I do have a question."
Before Kei could stop him, Shisui asked,
"If the village and the clan were to come into conflict, what should one do?"
Kei sighed inwardly. Troublesome…
He didn't need to think long to grasp the meaning behind the question.
It was about the tension between the Uchiha and the village.
Years had passed since the Nine-Tails incident. The village looked peaceful on the surface, but the divide between the Uchiha and everyone else had only grown deeper.
Perhaps someone was fueling it behind the scenes, or perhaps it was inevitable.
Most villagers believed the Uchiha were behind the Nine-Tails' attack, and the Uchiha Police Force's heavy-handed methods didn't help their image.
The result was deep-seated resentment on both sides, a rift that could no longer be bridged.
Kei wanted nothing to do with it. He was just a psychologist, not some messiah.
But walking away meant giving up an opportunity, and according to his system, disturbing a patient's heart could yield rewards too.
He didn't need to heal Shisui. He just needed to shake him.
Through his enhanced senses, Kei felt the young man's inner turmoil. Beneath that calm façade lay confusion, worry, fear.
He understood now how to deal with him.
To Shisui, the blind Hyuga before him suddenly seemed to change.
Though his eyes were clouded and dull, when they turned toward him, he felt as if he'd been laid bare, his soul stripped naked, examined and dissected.
Before he could react, Kei's calm voice broke the silence.
"I know you're searching for an answer. I'll give you mine. But once you hear it, don't come back."
"Oh? And what is it?" Shisui asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Destruction," Kei said flatly. "What you hope for is just a dream, one that can never come true. Your choice will not stop what's coming."
Shisui's expression darkened, storm clouds gathering in his eyes. Kei tilted his head slightly.
"That's my answer. Satisfied?"
Thunder roared outside, the rain turning wild and furious.
As silence fell between them, a faint mechanical voice echoed in Kei's mind, one only he could hear.
[Session complete. The patient's heart has been deeply disturbed. Emotional fluctuation: Exceptional.]
[Reward obtained: Phantom Body Flicker Technique]
[Note: Shisui's signature ninjutsu. Creates multiple illusory clones within a defined area. The user may freely switch between them, blending reality and illusion.]
The rain drummed harder on the roof.
Kei leaned back slightly, expression completely unreadable.
"It seemed the clinic would stay open a little longer."
<150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter>