Konoha Year 29

A year had passed since Hyuga Soji visited the Clan Head's residence.

Over the past year, Soji had spent nearly all his time training. Whether it was developing his Byakugan or practicing the Gentle Fist, he had made tremendous progress.

The Byakugan's viewing range had increased from one kilometer when he first awakened it to nearly two kilometers now. He could also use the Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms proficiently, and he was even capable of performing the Thirty-Two Palms. However, its effectiveness was about the same as the Sixteen Palms he had used a year ago. It would still take time before he fully mastered it.

During this time, Hyuga Kumokawa had also taught his grandson everything he knew.

This included the Three Body Technique required to graduate from the Ninja Academy: the Transformation Jutsu, Clone Technique, and Substitution Technique.

Hyuga Soji had mastered all of them. He had even studied other techniques such as the Escape Technique and Invisibility Technique, as well as the use of ninja tools like shuriken and kunai.

It could be said that although Soji had yet to enter the Ninja Academy, he already met its graduation standards.

As for friends, Soji had made very few. There were only the two brothers, Hyuga Hiashi and Hizashi Hyuga. He could not be bothered to befriend other Main House members his age. They were nothing more than spoiled rich kids flaunting their Main House status.

Ever since their meeting a year ago, whenever Soji made progress in his training, he would drag one of the brothers along for a spar.

After Soji repeatedly promised not to use any underhanded tricks, the two brothers gradually stopped resisting training matches with him.

At first, they merely compared their Gentle Fist techniques. Later, after Soji had also mastered the Three Body Technique, their matches became true battles between ninja.

Although Soji always lost, the pressure he placed on Hiashi and Hizashi grew greater and greater. After their last match, Hiashi had stated clearly that he had used his full strength.

The reason Soji had become so well-behaved was all thanks to Hyuga Kumokawa. Only after forcibly correcting Soji's fighting methods and demanding that he stop using them against companions in the village did Kumokawa finally let him off.

Another matter was that Hyuga Kumokawa had also taught Soji the incantation for controlling the Branch House—that is, activating the Caged Bird Seal.

However, before teaching it to Soji, Hyuga Kumokawa had solemnly warned him that unless there were special circumstances, he was never to use that incantation!

Naturally, Soji obediently agreed. Besides, he had never intended to use the incantation to control or punish Branch House members. When Hyuga Kumokawa taught him the incantation, Soji had even shown undisguised disgust.

With war approaching, Soji also did not dare wander around the village outside the clan grounds, much less venture beyond the village.

At this point in time, spies from every village were active everywhere. If he were carelessly abducted, he would not even have a place to cry about it.

Even Ninja Academy students now had to be picked up and dropped off by their parents, lest enemy village spies find an opening to exploit.

Over the past year, a large number of clan ninja had already headed for the borders of the Land of Fire to guard against attacks from other ninja villages.

The smaller nations were not much of a concern. They did not have the nerve to provoke Konoha. But the other four great ninja villages, on equal footing with Konoha, were another matter.

The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure in the Land of Earth, the Third Raikage of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, and the Third Mizukage of Kirigakure in the Land of Water all coveted the fertile lands at the heart of the continent, ready to swarm in and tear off a piece of the Land of Fire at any moment.

Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!

On a night in March of Konoha Year 29, a full moon hung high in the sky, its light spilling over the courtyard of Hyuga Soji's home.

Under the moonlight, an old man and a young boy were sparring. As their figures darted about, the ringing clang of kunai and shuriken colliding periodically echoed through the air, each clash accompanied by a burst of sparks.

"That's enough. We'll stop here for today."

When the moon reached the middle of the sky, the old man's voice stopped the boy just as he was about to press forward again.

"Ah, Grandpa, you're such a cheat. My final Gentle Fist strike was clearly about to land, but you suddenly called a stop. Hmph."

The old man and the boy were Hyuga Soji and Hyuga Kumokawa.

"You brat, look at the time. Have you forgotten that tomorrow is your first day at the academy?"

Hyuga Kumokawa was truly helpless in the face of his grandson's obsessive dedication to training. Every time they trained, if Kumokawa did not call a halt, the brat would keep going without end. He really was overflowing with energy.

But an old man like him could not endure such intense training day and night. The brat had no consideration for his elder at all.

"Good thing I can occasionally kick this brat over to spar with the two young masters from the Clan Head's family. Otherwise, these old bones of mine really won't hold up," Hyuga Kumokawa muttered quietly.

"Grandpa, what are you muttering about?"

"Ah, nothing. Say, Soji, have you really thought it through? Have you decided to enter the Ninja Academy?" After silently cursing the brat's sharp ears, Hyuga Kumokawa immediately changed the subject.

"Yes, Grandpa. I've already decided. At the Ninja Academy, I can not only learn theoretical knowledge, but also meet more people and fight more ninja. Those are things I can't learn within the clan. I believe studying at the Ninja Academy will improve my strength even more."

Hyuga Soji answered with exceptional seriousness.

Actually, given the status of the Hyuga Main Family in Konoha, descendants of the Main House did not need to attend the Ninja Academy for further study. They did not even need to train as genin.

Main House descendants could receive their education at home, then directly take the Chunin Exams. For the Main House, the Chunin Exams were merely a formality; most would be waved through without issue.

However, chunin promoted this way were far weaker than those who trained at the academy and rose through mission experience, much less ninja who advanced to chunin through war.

"Since you've made up your mind, then go. The name of the Hyuga Main Family's new-generation genius has already spread. Don't disgrace the clan at the academy."

Hyuga Kumokawa supported the decision, but he still wanted to ask Soji's personal opinion. One path was broad and sunny, while the other was a narrow bridge. Both could lead to the destination, but the journey was always different. He feared Soji might suddenly regret it, which was why he asked.

"Grandpa, you've got some nerve saying that. You actually joined forces with the Clan Head to sell me out. I'm furious."

At the mention of his title as a genius, Soji looked thoroughly depressed.

He truly had not wanted to become famous so early. Being famous meant more people would watch him, and a genius who died young was nothing.

Originally, Soji had planned to quietly build up his strength before emerging one day as invincible beneath the heavens. Now that plan had completely gone down the drain. If he could simply grow up safely, that would already count as success!

Soji had only learned of this half a month after returning from the Clan Head's residence, when he went out again.

He had merely wanted to relax his exhausted body and mind and familiarize himself with the clan's layout. Yet the moment he stepped outside, other clansmen began pointing at him and whispering.

Whenever two or three people gathered together, he could even see them looking at him while murmuring among themselves.

At the time, Soji had been puzzled. He thought there might be dirt on him, so he carefully examined himself from head to toe, but found nothing unusual.

Then, a Main House member one or two years older than Soji suddenly jumped out and challenged him.

Soji had not intended to accept such a baffling challenge. He was still wondering what had happened, but that little brat immediately moved to attack him. Soji did not indulge him and directly beat him into a pig-headed mess.

They were both members of the Main House. Neither was nobler than the other. Who was afraid of whom?

Among peers with no great age gap, if neither side fought viciously, then getting beaten up was simply your own fault!

It only meant you lacked ability. If you wanted to regain your dignity, you had to do it yourself.

Then, when Soji threatened to beat him up again, the boy finally revealed why he had come to challenge Soji.

Only then did Soji learn that ever since his match with Hizashi a year ago, when the Clan Head discovered that he had awakened the Byakugan and already learned the Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams Sixteen Palms, the title of the Hyuga Main Family's new-generation genius had spread throughout the clan.

The younger members of the other Main House branches all wanted to defeat him and claim the title of genius for themselves.

Soji had been completely stunned when he heard this. He had never expected something so absurd, much less that he would know nothing about it.

He immediately returned home and asked Hyuga Kumokawa what was going on.

Soji clearly remembered his grandfather's expression and words at the time.

"Soji, the Clan Head did this for your own good. Think about it. The title of genius brings not only honor, but also pressure. Only by bearing that pressure can you walk farther in the future. Besides, the Clan Head said that if you accept and defend the title of genius, you may draw upon the clan's resources whenever you wish!"

Well then. The moment he heard those words from his grandfather, Soji was certain that the Clan Head was not the only person who had sold him out. His own grandfather had definitely helped come up with the scheme.

There was nothing he could do. It had already happened, and even if Soji wanted to refuse, he had no chance. If he openly rejected it now, he would not only be slapping his own face; the Clan Head and his grandfather would also suffer embarrassment.

From then on, whenever Soji went out, he would occasionally receive challenges from other children in the clan. Some were from the Main House and some from the Branch House. As long as they were no more than three years older or younger than him, Soji would not refuse.

As for why Branch House children also dared challenge Soji, he guessed that the Clan Head had given some sort of instruction to the Branch House representatives.

Still, Soji truly lived up to his title as the Hyuga Main Family's new-generation genius. Among those who met the challenge requirements, he had not suffered a single defeat in the past year.

The reason he had never beaten the brothers Hiashi and Hizashi was twofold.

First, the two of them were among the few ninja in the Hyuga Clan who could also be considered geniuses, even if their talent was not as exaggerated as Soji's.

Second, neither of them fell within the three-year age range above or below Soji.

Over the past year, everyone in the Hyuga Clan—from the Main House Clan Head and elders to the Branch House members—had acknowledged Soji's title as a genius.

After all, many people had witnessed the overwhelming gap between Soji and his challengers during those street-side duels.

Soji had also used his title as a genius to have his grandfather apply to the clan for many resources.

These resources included medicinal supplements, ninja tools, and some ninjutsu preserved by the clan. There were even secret records unknown to ordinary people.

Originally, only those who had made certain contributions to the clan could obtain such resources. Yet Soji could receive the clan's cultivation merely because of the title of genius. It could also be called the clan's investment in him.

Thinking back on everything that had happened over the past year, Soji still found it unbelievable. Somehow, he had ended up carrying the clan's reputation on his shoulders, and he was only six years old.

After grandfather and grandson finished another day of training, Soji raised his head to look at the moon, which was round as a disk every day of every season in the ninja world. He could not help sighing at how different it was from the Earth of his previous life.

The ninja world's moon had none of the waxing and waning phases of legend. Soji knew that it was actually a Six Paths-level Planetary Devastation, containing the sealed progenitor of Chakra—Kaguya Otsutsuki.

There's no point thinking about Kaguya Otsutsuki now. I should prepare for the Ninja Academy tomorrow.

Shaking his head, Soji gave the moon one last deep look before turning and heading into his room to sleep. After all, school would begin tomorrow...