The Future Is Long

Fast, but clearly not as precise as Itachi. This guy's not cut out for ranged combat.

Even though it was just a sparring match like teaching a child, Uchiha Shisui, fresh off the battlefield, instinctively went all out.

Wait.

Explosive Tag!?

At the end of one kunai, he spotted a sheet of paper etched with complex patterns. His movement to dodge halted—no other reason, Itachi hadn't gone far yet!

This guy!

As the three tomoe in Uchiha Shisui's eyes flickered, the kunai's flight speed visibly slowed.

No! It's fake!

Just as he used his superhuman reflexes to read the writing on the kunai, Yuzuru Hyuga, closely trailing behind it, seized the chance to close in.

"Nice tactic!" Realizing it was a psychological ploy to limit his Body Flicker Technique with the Explosive Tag, Uchiha Shisui felt only admiration and delight.

What a sharp little kid!

But, not enough.

Shisui pulled out a kunai, not even bothering to draw the katana on his back, and tossed it casually. The moment it struck the first incoming kunai, it ricocheted bizarrely.

After knocking down three kunai, it even flew straight at the charging Yuzuru Hyuga.

Yuzuru didn't dodge. Just as the blade nearly pierced his Byakugan, smoke burst.

Lacking a close-range approach, Yuzuru Hyuga's biggest weakness was his inability to close distance—but one technique could help him with short-range movement: the maxed-out Substitution Technique.

Fast Substitution!?

Before Shisui could marvel, Yuzuru Hyuga planted a foot inside his guard.

Eight Trigrams Palm?

No, he just used the Byakugan to read my chakra's movement direction, predicted my path, and blocked with his foot.

"Hah!"

With a low shout, Yuzuru Hyuga's fists turned into streaks of light.

"Impressive power!" Shisui's praise made Itachi, watching from the side, take a deep breath.

But more important than jealousy was observation!

Itachi Uchiha had never watched Yuzuru Hyuga fight so closely.

Shisui dodged and weaved, effortlessly parrying Yuzuru's attacks with his palms: "But that alone won't break my defense, you know."

His three tomoe spun slowly, making Yuzuru's offense look clear and monotonous.

Little did he know, Yuzuru was constantly evaluating his own combat power, already pondering his next 'evolution' direction.

Shisui used Body Flicker to dodge a sneaky kunai Yuzuru threw out of nowhere.

Lacks mobility.

Shisui easily sidestepped a heavy punch.

Lacks more threatening attack options; the not-yet-maxed Gentle Fist is truly garbage—or maybe even maxed, it wouldn't be much better.

Shisui's Sharingan spun faster.

Lacks illusion resistance.

Yuzuru Hyuga staggered, dropping to one knee.

"Alright, match over."

[Battle ended. Gained free experience: 271]

Four or five times more than beating up Itachi!

After the brief dizziness faded, Yuzuru Hyuga was silent for a moment. Shisui wondered if he'd broken the kid's spirit.

Then Yuzuru looked up, smiling warmly: "Amazing!"

"Ah, it's not that amazing." Shisui actually felt embarrassed by the praise.

No help for it—Yuzuru's expression looked too genuine. Being stared at like that by a kid made him feel oddly awkward.

"Shisui, can you teach me the Body Flicker Technique?"

"It's just a D-rank technique. Shouldn't be a problem to teach you."

"And how to break illusions? I just got knocked out by a hallucination in an instant. Illusions are terrifying."

"Mm, let's start with the basics of illusion release. Too bad the Hyuga clan never seems to like learning ninjutsu."

"I do."

"Huh?"

"Can you teach me Fire Release, Water Release, Wind Release, anything?"

"Isn't that... a bit too much? Can you learn it all?"

"Just teach me, Shisui-bro. I'll figure out the method."

"Then let's start with the Body Flicker Technique. Want to give it a try?"

"Sure! I'm counting on you, Shisui-bro!"

Itachi Uchiha and Izumi, who had somehow walked up beside him, exchanged bewildered glances.

Have you two forgotten there are other people here?

Not that—

"I want to learn too!" Izumi cut in, crowding right over.

Itachi fidgeted and hesitated for a while, until Shisui came over and ruffled his hair. "You join in too. It's about time you learned something new."

"Mm!"

Under the guidance of Shisui—who was only eight years old himself—the three children began their respective training.

Night fell. The Hyuga Residence.

Yuzuru Hyuga lay face-down on his bed, humming a little tune while his mother applied ointment to his back.

The system text floating before his eyes lifted his spirits immensely.

[Body Flicker Technique (D): Level 1 (20/200)]

[Leaf Style Taijutsu: Shadow Dance (C): Level 1 (17/400)]

[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique (C): Level 1 (27/400)]

[Illusion Technique: Binding Stakes (D): Level 1 (12/200)]

[Illusion Technique: Release (D): Level 1 (34/200)]

[Kunai Throwing Technique (E): Level 2 (139/200)]

In just a single afternoon of training, Yuzuru Hyuga had managed to squeeze a full five ninjutsu out of Shisui Uchiha. The Kunai Throwing Technique was actually something Yuzuru had already practiced in basics, but he'd never learned a proper throwing skill before. Now that he'd gotten started, it had already reached Level 2.

Shisui hadn't wanted Yuzuru to bite off more than he could chew, but Yuzuru's smile and attitude were deceptively disarming. Using the excuse of "I'll just listen first, and if I can't learn it, I'll decisively give up and focus on one thing," he'd even managed to wheedle techniques like the Great Fireball out of him.

Originally, Shisui had planned to teach him at most one taijutsu move besides the Body Flicker Technique.

The Uchiha Clan really was full of good people!

"What on earth did you train in to get yourself covered in injuries like this, child?"

"The self-cultivation of an actor."

"Huh?"

"I hit the jackpot today."

"Oh?"

"Anyway, today was a really good day."

"Honestly, why do you always pick up that bad habit from your father of not explaining things clearly?"

His mother scolded him playfully, patting his back. The pale skin, covered in bruises, was now smeared red with medicinal oil.

Yuzuru just grinned, didn't even flinch, and slowly pulled on a white robe-like outer garment.

"Mom, I'm hungry."

"I know! It's your favorite steak today."

"Thanks!"

"Keep an eye on your little brother. If he starts crying, remember to call Riko—she's on duty today. Don't count on your father; he'll just rock the cradle."

Yuzuru watched his mother leave to prepare dinner, then glanced at his father, who sat off to the side with a sour expression, staring at nothing in particular. He gave him a gentle smile. "I trained with Shisui-bro today."

Hizashi Hyuga took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"As expected of a genius from the Uchiha Clan—he knows so many ninjutsu and taijutsu. Not like the Branch House teachers, who just repeat the same things: either we're too young, or the Branch House can't learn it."

Hizashi closed his eyes and composed himself. Calm down. Calm down.

"Ah, what a shame. As a Branch House member, I can't get too close to them. Otherwise, I'd drop by the Uchiha place for dinner tonight and probably pick up a few more ninjutsu."

"If you know you can't get too close, why are you training with him?!" Hizashi couldn't hold back anymore.

Yuzuru hummed Jay Chou's "Sea of Flowers," stretched a few times, and flopped lazily onto the bed, looking like he might melt into it.

"Who says no one's teaching me?" Yuzuru hugged his mother's pillow and lounged face-down.

"Hmph." Hizashi lifted his chin, practically needing an arrow pointing at his own head.

"I wonder who in the Hyuga Clan can teach me to get stronger. If Shisui's busy, who should I ask next time? Maybe I'll just beg Hiuga-sama for some ninjutsu scrolls. Even if he's stingy, he should be able to spare a few B-rank techniques, right?" Yuzuru squinted.

"Hmph!" Hizashi raised his teacup and took a slow sip, ignoring him entirely. Do whatever you want.

"Perfect timing—let Hiuga-sama see for himself how similar the Rotation I taught myself is to the Main House's Rotation."

"Pfft!"

He didn't even care that tea had sprayed all over the table.

Hizashi Hyuga stared at Yuzuru Hyuga as if he were a monster. "You said you taught yourself what?"

Yuzuru Hyuga strolled slowly to the door, stepped into his wooden clogs, hopped off the wooden veranda, and set foot in the courtyard.

The next moment, a blue, flickering light flashed, and a massive spiral ring appeared and vanished in an instant.

"You! Don't let anyone see that. Get inside!"

"I already showed it to Shisui-senpai several times today. Even he said the Rotation I mastered on my own is perfect, almost no different from the Main House's!"

"You let an Uchiha know?"

"Yeah. If I didn't, how could I let everyone in the Branch House know that I've mastered Rotation?"

Father and son stared at each other, falling into silence.

Hizashi Hyuga stood inside the house, bathed in bright lamplight.

Yuzuru Hyuga stood in the courtyard, sparse light flickering across his face, now bright, now dim.

"First thing tomorrow morning, come with me to see Hiashi-sama." Hizashi Hyuga's face darkened as he slowly turned around.

"Yes, Father! By the way, could you ask Hiashi-sama to demonstrate the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms? I think, if I watch it a few more times..." Yuzuru Hyuga grinned as he stepped back onto the veranda.

But then he sensed something was wrong.

Hizashi Hyuga spun around abruptly, grabbed Yuzuru by the clothes with one hand, and pinned him over his knee. "You little brat, have I never hit you before, that you've forgotten who your father is!?"

Yuzuru Hyuga's heart jolted at first, then, lying across his knee, he smiled. "Huh?"

"Try hitting me, then?"

"You dare—"

Hizashi Hyuga raised his hand high, but then sensed something off. He looked up and saw his wife standing there with a grim, hostile expression, holding a serving tray, her eyes fixed straight on him. Without a doubt, the words "try hitting him" had come from his wife's mouth.

Hizashi Hyuga lowered his hand onto Yuzuru's backside and patted it lightly. "Hmph!"

Yuzuru Hyuga saw his mother roll a beautiful white eye—for the Hyuga Clan, the gesture wasn't very obvious, but she had indeed done it.

"Time to eat!"

"Gah gah gah!" That was Neji, lying in his cradle, pointing at his biological father and letting out sharp, squeaky laughs.

Hizashi Hyuga's face shifted through several expressions before he finally let out a cold smile.

There's always tomorrow.

P.S.: Did I just hear the sound of someone bookmarking and dropping a recommendation vote? Was that you, Yanzu? Or Yu Yan?