Hiruzen Sarutobi's Excitement

He hasn't learned the Eight Trigrams Palms, and he even admitted defeat against Kakashi's challenge.

A kid like that, and you call him a genius?

"He hasn't learned the Eight Trigrams Palms, but after I acknowledged him, I tried teaching him genjutsu. To my surprise, his talent in genjutsu is exceptional. He can learn C-rank and D-rank genjutsu after just a few attempts. B-rank genjutsu he can't cast yet due to insufficient chakra, but I believe once he's older, B-rank and even A-rank genjutsu won't be a problem!" Yūhi Shinku said.

He still downplayed Hyuga Ningyuan's talent, not saying he learned it on the first try, but that it took a few attempts to succeed.

That's still incredibly gifted—just look at how Yūhi Kurenai can't learn it no matter what!

In short, I don't know if he's a genius at the Eight Trigrams Palms, but in genjutsu, he's definitely one!

"Is that so!" Hiruzen Sarutobi was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected a child from the Hyuga Clan to have this kind of talent.

Is it an isolated case? Or do all Hyuga Clan members have a knack for genjutsu?

If it's the former, that's fine—Konoha just has one more genius. But if it's the latter...

The Uchiha Clan alone is already a headache. If the Hyuga Clan also becomes adept at genjutsu...

"Yes!" Yūhi Shinku nodded. "He has the potential to inherit my entire genjutsu repertoire. With his intelligence, he might even surpass me in the future and become an elite jonin in genjutsu!"

"Hmm." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. If Hyuga Ningyuan really had the talent Yūhi Shinku described, then that was entirely possible!

And the Hyuga Clan didn't have the weakness of genjutsu users being helpless when closed in on—they were equally skilled in taijutsu!

With genjutsu at range and Gentle Fist up close, this Hyuga Ningyuan might grow into an elite jonin with no weaknesses and formidable strength!

"So you're here to recommend your fine future son-in-law to me?" Hiruzen Sarutobi said. "I can open up some of the village's genjutsu to him. As for a teacher, you can take him under your wing for now—after all, besides you, the only other genjutsu experts in the village are the Uchiha!"

He couldn't exactly have the Uchiha Clan teach him, and he's a Hyuga to boot.

The Yūhi Clan were staunch supporters of the Sarutobi Clan. Since he rarely came asking for favors, Hiruzen had to show his appreciation.

"That's not it!" Yūhi Shinku said. "It's like this: Hyuga Ningyuan wants to learn Medical Ninjutsu, so I'm asking for your support—could you arrange for him to study at Konoha Hospital?"

"With his genjutsu talent, why does he suddenly want to learn Medical Ninjutsu?" Hiruzen Sarutobi was baffled.

Was this kid's mind a bit too scattered?

"It must be because of Nogiko." Yūhi Shinku's face broke into an uncontrollable smile as he mentioned this. "Ningyuan came to my house twice, saw Nogiko's condition, and got the idea to study medicine."

"Well, what a good kid!" Hiruzen Sarutobi instinctively sensed something off—maybe Hyuga Ningyuan was being deliberate.

But then he thought again: Hyuga Ningyuan was only five years old. How could he have such complicated motives?

"Still, Medical Ninjutsu isn't easy to learn!" Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

Never mind whether the kid was acting on a whim or a fleeting passion.

The scope of Medical Ninjutsu was enormous—massive amounts of human anatomy and Herbal Medicine Studies knowledge that even he found daunting!

And there was a crucial point: Yūhi Shinku came from a small clan and didn't know the secrets of chakra, but Hiruzen Sarutobi did.

Techniques like the Mystical Palm Technique relied on Yang Release, while genjutsu relied on Yin Release.

A normal person was either strong in Yang Release or Yin Release. If someone had balanced Yin-Yang chakra, they weren't good at both—they were mediocre at both.

Since Hyuga Ningyuan excelled at genjutsu, that meant his Yin Release chakra was prominent, so his Yang Release chakra likely wasn't. In other words, he probably couldn't learn Medical Ninjutsu.

Still, since he was a supporter, Hiruzen couldn't be too blunt.

"How about this: have him come to my place tomorrow. I'll have Biwako take him to Konoha Hospital for a try."

If he could learn it, great—the Second Shinobi World War had shown Konoha the importance of Medical Ninja, and they were now actively training more.

If he couldn't, then it was just his lack of talent!

"Thank you for your support, Lord Hokage!" Yūhi Shinku quickly bowed in gratitude.

"Not at all. I'm delighted that a child wants to learn Medical Ninjutsu. It's not you who should thank me—I should thank you!" With the matter settled, the rest was just small talk to build rapport.

It wasn't until half an hour later that Yūhi Shinku left the Hokage's Office.

Watching Yūhi Shinku's retreating figure, Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe.

As Hokage, he couldn't help but consider the political implications in everything he did.

Hyuga Ningyuan had become Yūhi Shinku's son-in-law, and Yūhi Shinku was a staunch supporter of the Sarutobi Clan. That meant Hyuga Ningyuan was now one of his own.

What did that mean?

It meant he had opened a crack in the unshakeable Hyuga Clan!

Even if Hyuga Ningyuan was a Branch Family member whose life and death were controlled by the Main Family, it was still useful.

For instance, as a spy, quietly reporting on the Hyuga Clan's movements.

But that was only if Hyuga Ningyuan had the aptitude for Medical Ninjutsu. Without it, Hiruzen wouldn't know how to win him over.

Also...

Thinking of something, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately stood up. After forming a hand seal, a crack appeared in the wall beside his desk.

There was actually a door here!

Behind it was a spacious room filled with bookshelves, which held scrolls of all sizes and thicknesses. Each scroll bore labels like "Hyuga," "Nara," "Akimichi," and so on.

This was where all of Konoha's clan secret techniques, ninjutsu, and Kekkei Genkai were stored!

However, these were not collected by Hiruzen Sarutobi, but rather gathered by Senju Tobirama from the various clans back in the day, for the purpose of drawing on collective wisdom to research various Forbidden Jutsu.

Ignoring the ninjutsu of other clans, Hiruzen Sarutobi went straight to the scrolls of the Hyuga Clan, opening them one by one to study.

Senju Tobirama had researched the Uchiha, even specifically studying the principle behind the Uchiha Clan's eye-opening, so naturally he hadn't overlooked the other clans.

Though not as in-depth as with the Uchiha Clan.

"The Hyuga Clan's Chakra is highly active and strongly disruptive, making it impossible for them to learn genjutsu?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi could understand this statement—it meant that genjutsu Chakra needed to invade someone's brain to affect the five senses, requiring stealth in the process.

But the Hyuga Clan's Chakra was too active; if it invaded someone's brain, not only would it fail to be stealthy, but its high lethality would directly kill them.

Thus, Hyuga Clan ninja couldn't learn genjutsu.

Hiruzen Sarutobi breathed a sigh of relief, but with this statement, a new doubt arose.

"If that's the case, what about Hyuga Ningyuan? Could it be—"

Had the Hyuga Clan's bloodline weakened in Hyuga Ningyuan, causing his Chakra activity to greatly diminish?

But Hyuga Mie and Hyuga Yuuki were both from the Hyuga Clan, weren't they?

Logically, Hyuga Ningyuan's bloodline should be very pure.

However, bloodlines could have such cases—sometimes an atavistic bloodline produced a genius, so a declining bloodline producing a mediocrity wasn't impossible either!

With this thought, Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes lit up.

Since his Chakra activity was weak, it meant Hyuga Ningyuan couldn't use the Void Palm, and his efficiency in learning the Eight Trigrams Palms would be lower than that of the Hyuga Clan.

Such a Hyuga was destined to be looked down upon by the clan, even ostracized.

If he himself guided things a little, wouldn't Hyuga Ningyuan possibly lean toward him?