The next day, the head of the Hyuga Clan announced a decision that sent the entire clan into an uproar.
“At the proposal of Young Clan Head Tenriki Hyuga, and after discussion and approval by the Clan Head and First Elder, the following clan rule will take effect immediately:
“Any branch-family member who makes a major contribution to the clan, or whose strength reaches jonin level and passes the clan’s assessment, may apply to have the Caged Bird Seal removed.”
The moment the announcement spread, cheers erupted throughout the Hyuga compound.
Clan members rushed from house to house sharing the news.
Some laughed.
Others cried openly.
“Young Clan Head Tenriki is incredible!”
“Long live the Young Clan Head!”
“Long live the Clan Head!”
For the branch family, the change was unprecedented.
The training grounds became more crowded almost overnight.
Hyuga of every age threw themselves into training, many with the same dream—to someday reach jonin level, pass the clan’s evaluation, and finally earn their freedom from the Caged Bird Seal.
Watching the packed training grounds, Hiashi couldn’t help but sigh.
“My son really did think further ahead than I did. We had control before, yes… but the branch family had no hope. Everything was stagnant.”
Hizashi stood beside him, his expression complicated.
His own Caged Bird Seal had been removed the previous night.
For the first time in years, he was truly free.
Tenriki stood a short distance away, watching several small children shout enthusiastically as they practiced their stances.
They were clumsy.
They were noisy.
And, admittedly, rather adorable.
He was in an excellent mood.
Still, the recent crisis had forced him to confront an uncomfortable truth.
He wasn’t strong enough.
He needed greater strength if he wanted to protect the Hyuga.
He needed greater strength if he wanted to stand against pressure from the Hokage or Kumogakure without fear.
And if he wanted to move freely through the shinobi world without anyone daring to threaten him— then he needed overwhelming strength.
In this world, strength was the foundation of everything.
Tenriki silently raised the standard he demanded from himself.
He had to become stronger.
Much stronger.
One year later.
Konoha Year 53.
The shinobi world remained relatively peaceful, with no major incidents breaking out.
Jiraiya, living up to his reputation as the shameless pervert among the Legendary Sannin, continued traveling from place to place while conducting his highly questionable “research” on women.
Tsunade, seeing that Konoha was no longer in immediate danger, resumed wandering as well, trying in her own way to escape the wounds she still carried.
On March 27 of that year, after ten months of pregnancy, Nami Hyuga gave birth to another daughter.
Her name was—
Hanabi Hyuga.
Tenriki now had another adorable little sister.
By then, however, he had spent the entire year buried in training and research.
Using the incomplete Cloud Secret Technique, several techniques from the Scroll of Seals, and the Hyuga Clan’s own collection of texts, Tenriki conducted experiment after experiment.
After countless failures, he finally succeeded in developing a new style of nin-taijutsu.
The first technique was:
Nin-Taijutsu: Air Shield.
By releasing chakra from any chosen part of his body, Tenriki could condense it in the air directly in front of himself, forming a defensive chakra barrier. Read the latest chapters at novelping(.)com.
Defensive Rating: 9 stars.
Even when Neji used twice the chakra he normally put into his Gentle Fist, he still couldn’t break through it.
The second technique was:
Nin-Taijutsu: Star Breaker.
A massive burst of chakra erupted instantaneously from the hand and blasted forward in a single direction.
Attack Type: Directional.
Property: Ranged impact.
Offensive Rating: 9 stars.
Its destructive force was enough to break through a defensive ninjutsu reinforced with twice the normal chakra.
And the third technique—
Nin-Taijutsu: Body Activation.
By explosively releasing chakra throughout the body, the user could temporarily enhance speed, physical strength, durability, power, and defense.
Depending on the situation, the technique could increase various physical attributes by roughly one to two times their normal level.
Practicality Rating: 9 stars.
Together, the three techniques covered defense, offense, and physical enhancement.
Simple.
Practical.
Comprehensive.
For an ordinary shinobi, however, learning them would be almost impossible.
The techniques required chakra to be expelled through chakra points across different parts of the body with extraordinary precision.
That requirement alone eliminated nearly everyone outside the Hyuga Clan.
Or so Tenriki initially thought.
He first tried teaching the techniques to Hinata.
She couldn’t learn them.
Then he tried Neji, who was already considered a genius.
Neji failed as well.
Finally, even Hiashi attempted to learn them.
Still no success.
After examining the problem, Tenriki came to a conclusion.
The techniques were only possible for him because the Limit Break System had assisted him in crossing directly from the Novice stage into Proficient mastery.
Without that breakthrough, even understanding the theory wasn’t enough to reproduce what he had done.
Unfortunately, the techniques had another serious flaw.
Their current power wasn’t especially overwhelming, yet their chakra consumption was enormous.
Tenriki simply couldn’t sustain them for long.
And once again, everything came back to the same problem.
Chakra reserves.
There was no shortcut to suddenly gaining enormous amounts of chakra.
Tenriki wasn’t Naruto Uzumaki.
He didn’t have the Nine-Tails sitting inside him like a ridiculous chakra battery.
So he turned to another method.
From the Scroll of Seals, Tenriki had learned the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu.
If one Tenriki could cultivate chakra…
then several Tenrikis could train at the same time.
It wasn’t a perfect solution.
But it was better than doing nothing.
In September of the same year, Neji Hyuga officially enrolled in Konoha’s Ninja Academy and began receiving formal shinobi education.
Unfortunately, Neji discovered almost immediately that the academy bored him senseless.
Every day after returning to the compound, he complained to Tenriki.
“The things they teach are too easy. There’s nothing interesting about it.” This chapter is updated first at g.com.
Tenriki merely smiled.
“You’ll meet people there who’ll stay with you for the rest of your life.”
Neji blinked.
He obviously had no idea what Tenriki meant.
But Tenriki did.
Tenten.
The endlessly passionate Rock Lee.
And, eventually, their future teacher—
Might Guy.
Those people would become some of the most important bonds in Neji’s life.
Neji scratched his head, confused, then continued attending the academy as usual.
Whenever classes became unbearably dull, he simply challenged students from the higher grades to relieve his boredom.
Naturally, that didn’t remain unnoticed for long.
Neji quickly established himself as one of the Ninja Academy’s most famous prodigies.
Students talked about him.
Teachers watched him closely.
Even the Third Hokage eventually heard his name.
Perhaps some things really were destined to happen.
Before long, Neji became friends with both Tenten and Rock Lee.
From time to time, he even brought them back to the Hyuga compound for meals.
That was how Tenriki finally met the two of them in person.
Tenten wore her hair in two distinctive buns and already had a sweet, lively appearance that made her easy to like.
Tenriki couldn’t help looking between her and Neji.
In his previous life, the two had certainly been a popular pairing among Naruto fans.
Then there was Rock Lee.
At this age, Lee hadn’t yet been completely infected by Might Guy’s endless speeches about youth and burning passion.
For now, he was simply a hardworking, somewhat shy child.
After Neji defeated another group of older academy students one day, Tenten watched him finish the fight with clean, precise movements.
Her eyes practically sparkled.
“Neji, you’re amazing! You’re really a genius!”
Neji didn’t look particularly pleased.
Instead, he answered with complete seriousness.
“I’m still far behind the Young Clan Head. I need to work much harder.”
Lee tilted his head.
“Your Young Clan Head is really that strong? I met him last time, but he seemed pretty normal.”
Neji looked at him as though he’d said something ridiculous.
“The Young Clan Head is extremely strong. He just doesn’t show it very often.”
He thought for a moment.
“Even if there were ten of me, I don’t think we’d beat him.”
“What?!”
Tenten and Lee stared at him in shock.
Both of them immediately remembered the last time they had seen the Hyuga Clan’s Young Clan Head.
Cool.
Handsome.
Dressed like he had money to burn.
He certainly made an impression.
But strong?
They really hadn’t noticed that at all…