The Beginning of Flying Thunder God, Sensing Secret Technique!

For ninja seeking to improve their strength, so-called gradual progress was actually the slowest possible method.

For the vast majority of ninja, learning a single new jutsu could often bring a qualitative leap in their strength.

Shinichi Hyuga was the best example of this. In taijutsu alone, Shinichi Hyuga simply could not defeat Keisuke Hyuga in his prime. Whether it was stamina, strength, or speed, Shinichi Hyuga currently had no way of comparing to him.

But through the Multiple Shadow Clone, many of Shinichi Hyuga's weaknesses could be made up for by this jutsu. Combined with Shinichi's own terrifying reserves of Chakra, it gave his strength a qualitative leap. Even a battle-hardened Hyuga Branch Family member like Keisuke Hyuga was no longer Shinichi's match.

Now that Shinichi had personally experienced the power of Forbidden Jutsu, he could finally understand how Obito Uchiha, still only in his teens, had managed to inflict such enormous damage upon Konoha.

The Multiple Shadow Clone Technique could improve someone so greatly, let alone Kamui, the jutsu possessed by the Mangekyō Sharingan.

That jutsu had allowed a dead last like Obito to leap into a super powerhouse capable of going toe-to-toe with a Kage-level expert like the Fourth Hokage. Although he had been struck by Minato's Rasengan during their direct confrontation, the victor of the entire Nine-Tails attack on Konoha had been Obito Uchiha.

"Forbidden Jutsu has improved my strength far beyond my expectations."

"At this rate, even though I'm still so young, if I can master enough sufficiently powerful jutsu, I'll still have the power to change the course of a battle in the future."

"Flying Thunder God..."

"I have to master it before Teacher Kushina gives birth!"

The bright moon hung high in the sky, its cold light passing through the window and into Shinichi Hyuga's room. Shinichi, lying on the tatami, had yet to fall asleep. Instead, before bed, he organized the information he currently had and analyzed what he needed to do in the future.

A quiet environment was conducive to thinking. Thinking before sleep had already become a habit for Shinichi.

Shinichi had already mastered most of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist Secret Technique within just a few years. What remained was repeated practice, turning combat into his body's instinct, then tempering his physique and increasing his body's "base stats."

But that was painstaking work and could not be rushed. No matter what, the young Shinichi could not achieve rapid success in that regard.

If he wanted to improve his strength further, he either had to cultivate powerful Secret Techniques or develop more powerful jutsu.

The latter required time and a certain foundation in ninjutsu. For the current Shinichi, it was still too early.

What he could do was learn some powerful jutsu suited to his use.

But for Shinichi, who came from the Hyuga Clan, ordinary jutsu would not bring any significant improvement.

His Chakra natures were lightning and fire. Lightning Release jutsu were powerful, but they also consumed a great deal of Chakra. Fire Release jutsu had wide coverage and middling to low lethality. Of course, in the world of the Hokage, Fire Release's greatest trait was "mercy," since it was the "Release That Does Not Kill."

For Shinichi, learning ordinary Fire Release or ordinary Lightning Release would bring almost no benefit.

At this stage, Flying Thunder God was the jutsu that would help Shinichi the most.

With that goal established, Shinichi now had a clear direction for his efforts.

The next day, after a morning of grueling training and a brief rest, Shinichi dragged his exhausted body to Minato Namikaze's home under the escort of guards.

On the first day of coming to learn ninjutsu, the Hyuga Clan naturally could not show up empty-handed. Although this matter had merely been a verbal agreement between Shinichi and Kushina, the Hyuga Clan regarded taking a master as a serious matter.

Even if Kushina and Shinichi's relationship was nothing more than that of teacher and student.

As the clan leader and head of the family, Hyuga Hiashi had received an invitation from his distant relatives in the Bamboo Cutter Clan and was preparing to leave the village to visit them. The one who brought Shinichi to Minato's Family was his mother, Hyuga Hanako.

When Kushina inside the house heard the knocking and opened the door, she found Hyuga Clan Members carrying all kinds of gifts.

"Hello, Teacher Kushina."

Hyuga Hanako wore a simple kimono and held Shinichi Hyuga's hand in one of hers. Seeing Kushina at the door, she gave a gentle, slight bow and greeted her.

Kushina looked at Keisuke and the others behind Shinichi, all carrying large and small packages, and scratched her head in surprise, at a loss for what to do.

She had never encountered a scene like this in her life.

"Lady Hanako, Shinichi, and everyone from the Hyuga Clan, this is..."

"Ah! Come in first!"

After a brief daze, Kushina hurriedly invited everyone inside.

"Excuse us," Hyuga Hanako murmured politely, then cast a look toward the people behind her.

They understood her meaning. After bringing the gifts inside one after another, they consciously withdrew back outside.

Shinichi and Hanako, meanwhile, entered the house with Kushina and sat down on the sofa at her invitation.

There were quite a few kinds of gifts from the Hyuga Clan. Besides several Sealing Jutsu Scrolls from the Hyuga Clan's collection, there were common Ninja Tools, brushes, ink, some blank Scrolls, as well as dried meat, rice, and flour.

Though they were called gifts, some of those things were items Shinichi would use in his future training.

They could also be considered a small part of Shinichi's tuition.

"You came all this way and even brought gifts..."

"This..."

Though she was the Hokage's wife, Kushina had truly never received gifts over the years. With Minato absent now as well, she did not know how to handle it.

"These are a token of tuition."

"They are not anything valuable. Please do not find them lacking."

"Shinichi will be learning ninjutsu from you in the future. This child... he can be quite troublesome."

"I hope you'll put in the effort with him in the future, Kushina."

Hanako's tone was gentle, but her words carried a force that could not be refused. As the Clan Leader's Wife of the Hyuga Clan, the soft-spoken Hanako possessed a strength that made her difficult to resist.

"This..."

Kushina looked at Hanako's gentle smile, then at Shinichi's calm expression. She let out a soft sigh and reluctantly accepted.

"Lady Hanako, don't worry. Shinichi is a genius. No matter what, I'll teach him well."

"Actually, it would have been the same whether you brought gifts or not. Minato and I will both take this seriously."

Hearing Kushina's promise, Hanako smiled and bowed again. She had no intention of staying long, and after some simple pleasantries, she rose to say goodbye.

Before leaving, she also introduced Mio Hyuga to Kushina and explained her status as an attendant.

Only after receiving Kushina's permission did she leave Mio Hyuga in the house.

When Kushina was about to begin that day's lesson, Mio looked around the house and noticed several unwashed bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen sink. Ignoring Kushina's attempts to stop her, she began washing them herself, every bit the image of a maid.

"Shinichi... the people in your family are really..."

After dealing with the Hyuga Clan again, Kushina felt that they possessed some indescribable quality.

Polite? That did not seem sufficient to describe them.

To Kushina, the Hyuga Clan Members were somewhat too proper, so much so that they even made her feel a little pressure.

"Teacher Kushina, you'll get used to it."

"What are we learning first today?"

Shinichi could understand why Kushina felt that way. Born into a prestigious family, Shinichi Hyuga also bore great pressure and burdens. That sense of constraint was difficult for outsiders to understand.

"Oh, we'll start with Sensing Jutsu."

"For now, I've divided learning Flying Thunder God into three stages. Sensing is the first stage."

"Use your own Chakra to imprint a Space Mark; sense the mark's location; then perform a Space Jump."

"What you need to do first is learn a Sensing Secret Technique and improve your ability to sense Chakra."

"This kind of Sensing Jutsu differs considerably from your Byakugan. Don't underestimate Sensing Jutsu just because you have the Byakugan."

"Study it properly."