“Did you hear? Lord Mito tore into the Hyuga Clan during the meeting. Apparently, they’ve been manipulating public opinion to pressure Lord Hokage…”
“I heard all those rumors attacking the Hokage lately were spread by the Hyuga themselves. They’re trying to force their way into the Hokage’s seat…”
“The Hokage’s seat? Hah! The Hyuga really are dreaming. As if they could ever get their hands on it.”
“Lord Third’s reputation is far beyond anything Hiashi Hyuga could challenge. His war record speaks for itself, and he has Lady Tsunade and Lord Jiraiya behind him. What were the Hyuga thinking?”
“I almost believed those damn rumors a few days ago. I even cursed Lord Third because of them. I was wrong. I should apologize to him…”
That day, a wave of hostility toward the Hyuga Clan began spreading through Konoha.
Some people cursed them openly.
Others mocked them.
A few went even further, deliberately provoking members of the clan whenever they saw them.
Before long, any Hyuga who stepped outside the compound found themselves facing disgusted looks from every direction.
At the Hyuga compound’s training ground, Tenriki sat cross-legged atop a large boulder.
“The Hyuga really do have strange chakra…”
There were seven recognized forms of chakra nature transformation: Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Yin, and Yang.
Water and Wind could combine to form Ice Release.
Water and Earth could produce Wood Release.
The original series had never focused much on the Hyuga Clan’s elemental affinities, which had led many people to assume that Hyuga chakra simply didn’t possess elemental natures.
But Tenriki knew better.
In his previous life, he had read Naruto guidebooks containing chakra-nature information for several members of the clan.
Hinata possessed Fire and Lightning Release affinities.
Neji possessed Water, Fire, and Earth.
At the moment, Tenriki held a sheet of chakra paper between his fingers.
He had never bothered testing himself before.
Since Hinata was his twin sister and her affinities were Fire and Lightning, he had simply assumed his would be the same.
It was only while studying the incomplete Cloud secret technique that he suddenly realized something rather embarrassing.
He had never actually checked.
“Let’s see what I have. It should probably be the same as Hinata…”
Tenriki sent chakra into the paper.
The reaction came immediately.
One section ignited.
Another split apart.
A third wrinkled.
Another became damp.
And the final portion crumbled into dust.
Tenriki stared.
All five.
Fire.
Wind.
Water.
Earth.
Lightning.
He actually possessed all five basic chakra natures.
“What?”
His brows drew together.
“Hinata and I are twins. She only has Fire and Lightning, so why do I have all five?”
The surprise lasted only a moment before another thought surfaced.
“The Otsutsuki… Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju…”
All of them had possessed an extraordinary range of chakra natures.
Tenriki rubbed his chin.
Maybe.
There was just one problem.
The Hyuga Clan’s ninjutsu was terrible.
Not simply mediocre.
Terrible.
Tenriki could barely imagine Hiashi suddenly forming hand seals and shouting something like—
“Wind Release: Rasengan!”
“Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!”
“Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!”
“Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!”
The image alone felt wrong.
Hiashi was powerful enough to stand among Kage-level shinobi.
His chakra reserves obviously weren’t the issue.
Yet practically everything he used revolved around the Gentle Fist.
The same was true of the Hyuga Clan as a whole.
Based on what Tenriki understood from the clan’s records, Hyuga chakra possessed unusual characteristics that made large-scale ninjutsu difficult to use effectively.
As a result, the clan had developed a different path.
Byakugan.
Chakra control.
Taijutsu.
Ninjutsu principles.
Those elements had eventually been fused into the Gentle Fist system.
Tenriki suspected that this limitation was somehow connected to the Byakugan itself.
He rubbed his temples.
“What a headache.”
If he had reincarnated into the Uchiha Clan, things would have been much simpler.
Build chakra reserves.
Awaken the Sharingan.
Then stack powerful genjutsu, taijutsu, and ninjutsu on top of it.
Easy.
Tenriki sighed.
“The red-eye clan really does get all the convenient toys.”
He glanced at his own pale eyes.
“Meanwhile, I joined the cataract clan.”
Still…
The Byakugan bloodline was hardly weak.
Far from it.
By the later stages of the Naruto world, Kaguya Otsutsuki had demonstrated techniques such as Rabbit Hair Needle and Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack—abilities that represented terrifying extremes of combining physical combat and chakra.
And that wasn’t even mentioning the ultimate evolution connected to the Byakugan bloodline.
The Tenseigan.
Just thinking about the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion made Tenriki’s eyes light up.
A technique capable of slicing through the Moon itself.
How could he not want that?
As for Toneri losing to Naruto…
Tenriki dismissed the thought immediately.
Comparing anyone fairly against Naruto was pointless.
That guy practically specialized in getting beaten half to death before suddenly unlocking exactly what he needed to win.
He was a walking cheat code.
Tenriki exhaled slowly and reorganized his thoughts.
“Then that settles it.”
Chakra reserves.
The fusion of taijutsu and ninjutsu.
Evolution of the Byakugan.
And swordsmanship.
Having finally put his future training direction into some kind of order, Tenriki felt considerably more clear-headed.
Then he heard hurried footsteps.
Hinata came running toward him, cheeks puffed out in anger.
“Brother!”
She grabbed his sleeve with both hands and shook it.
“People outside are saying bad things about us!”
Tenriki looked down at her.
“What kind of things?”
“They said the Hyuga Clan is plotting against Lord Hokage. They said we framed him and that everyone in the Hyuga Clan is bad…”
Her voice grew quieter as she spoke.
Her eyes were already red.
Tears threatened to spill over.
Until recently, the other children had been perfectly friendly with her.
Now, almost overnight, they seemed like completely different people.
Some had even insulted her.
Tenriki’s expression remained calm.
Something colder stirred underneath.
“They’re talking nonsense. Don’t pay attention to them.”
“But…”
Hinata’s lower lip trembled.
Seeing her on the verge of tears immediately killed what remained of Tenriki’s good mood.
They made my sister cry?
Fine.
He would remember that.
Sooner or later, he would find an opportunity to settle accounts with them one by one.
For now, though, getting Hinata’s mind off it mattered more.
He patted her head.
“Be good and stay inside the compound for a while.”
Hinata sniffed.
Tenriki smiled.
“Why don’t you go catch the kittens? If you manage to catch one, I’ll take you shopping afterward.”
Hinata blinked.
“Shopping?”
Her eyes immediately lit up.
She loved going into the village with her brother.
Unfortunately, Tenriki spent most of his time training, which meant he rarely had time to accompany her.
She had always been disappointed about that.
Now, the promise of an outing erased the gloomy expression from her face almost instantly.
“Okay!”
Hinata turned and ran away, practically bouncing with every step as she went to hunt for the kittens.
Tenriki watched her disappear.
The smile slowly faded from his face.
His eyes turned cold.
The Third moves quickly.
Far more quickly than he had expected.