Uchiha Shōkan

Kageka Maple had been able to awaken Shadow Release naturally because of Yuzuru. Last night, he had separated a small portion of Youying's origin power residing within his body and bestowed it upon her...

Therefore, the moment Kageka Maple awakened Shadow Release, Yuzuru, who shared the same origin, immediately sensed it. He was pleased by it as well, which was why he had smiled in front of Akeshi...

Hokage's Office.

Three document folders sat on Hiruzen Sarutobi's desk. The names Hyuga Yuzuru, Uchiha Akihime, and Kageka Maple were written on them, each bearing a "Sealed" stamp.

"Place special seals on the files of all three. Anyone who wishes to view them must seek my approval!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke to the Anbu standing before his desk.

"Yes, Lord Hokage!"

The Anbu picked up the three folders from the desk and left the Hokage's Office.

"Konohagakure's new saplings are even more vigorous than I imagined..."

A smile appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face. Ever since he had inherited the position of Hokage from his teacher Tobirama, he had devoted himself to the village and exhausted his heart's blood, hoping to restore it to the glory of the First Hokage's era. But the era of the "God of Shinobi" had become the past, and it simply could not be replicated!

Fortunately, geniuses of Konohagakure's new generation kept appearing one after another. First there had been Yuzuru of the Hyuga Clan and Akeshi of the Uchiha Clan, and now there was Kageka Maple, who had awakened Shadow Release...

Naturally, the Ninja Academy had more geniuses than just the three of them. The younger generations of ninja clans large and small, such as the Nara, Yamanaka Clan, Akimichi Clan, Aburame, and Inuzuka, also had children worth looking forward to.

This was why Konohagakure had always remained strong. As long as these "saplings" of Konohagakure grew smoothly, even without the "God of Shinobi," it would remain the leading village among the Five Great Shinobi Villages!

Where the leaves of Konohagakure danced, fire would live on forever...

After school, the Ninja Academy students returned home one by one, including Kageka Maple, who had fainted in Ootani Yuuto's office.

Kageka Maple lay alone on a bed two meters wide and three meters long. Gentle moonlight squeezed in through the open window, then settled upon her like fledglings returning to their nest.

Her face bathed in that gentle moonlight, and she seemed able to feel its cool touch upon her skin, like soaking in a flowing mountain stream during the blazing summer...

"Is this the power Lord Yuzuru bestowed upon me?"

A pitch-black shadow appeared at Kageka Maple's will, slowly gathering beside the bed into a humanoid shape. Its face was hollow and featureless, yet Kageka Maple knew that she was watching her.

"From today onward, I will teach you how to use this power..."

Suddenly, the "shadow person" conveyed that meaning to Kageka Maple. The latter was not surprised in the least, as though she had long been prepared for this.

"Yes, Lady Youying..."

Kageka Maple sat up from the bed and gave the "shadow person" a sweet smile. Her adorable little canine teeth and charming dimples were revealed beneath the gentle, cool moonlight...

Evening.

Uchiha Clan compound, training grounds.

A small figure was frantically venting her fury through taijutsu, leaving severe damage across the wooden training dummy before her...

"Akeshi, it's time to rest!"

At the edge of the training grounds, an elderly man dressed in Uchiha attire spoke.

"Grandpa, I can still keep going!"

As Akeshi spoke, she continued striking the wooden dummy before her with fierce taijutsu, as though she were not attacking a dummy at all, but that detestable Hyuga, Yuzuru!

"Sometimes, proper relaxation can help you train faster. Your body has not fully developed yet. Pushing yourself to the limit is not good."

The old man lectured her in the tone of someone with experience, finally making Akeshi stop. She then obediently walked to his side.

"Have some water."

Seeing Akeshi approach, the old man skillfully handed her a bottle of water.

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Akeshi revealed an obedient, adorable smile. Only before the old man would she show this true side of herself, without needing to uphold Uchiha pride beneath the eyes of others...

"I heard there's a boy from the Hyuga Clan named Yuzuru in your class. Can you tell me about him?"

The old man asked gently.

"Grandpa, why are you asking about him? That old-fashioned guy makes my teeth itch with anger whenever I think of him!"

Akeshi spoke angrily. The moment Yuzuru's appearance surfaced in her mind, her mood immediately turned irritated.

"I heard he is known as the 'strongest Hyuga genius.' I wonder, compared to my granddaughter, who is stronger and who is weaker..."

The old man spoke curiously, apparently completely unaware of Akeshi's battle with Yuzuru the previous night.

"I..."

Akeshi immediately began stammering. Faced with the question from the person closest to her, she did not want to disappoint her grandfather—especially since he was an "old-era remnant" who constantly spoke of Uchiha pride...

Uchiha Shōkan was her grandfather's name. He was an old man from the end of the Warring States Era who had personally witnessed the founding of Konohagakure. He held immense resentment toward the Senju Clan and believed that the Uchiha Clan should have had a place in the position of Hokage!

Since Uchiha Shōkan did not even think highly of the Senju Clan, he naturally thought even less of the Hyuga Clan. If Akeshi told her grandfather about how Yuzuru had utterly crushed her...

"That Hyuga boy seems to have awakened an evolved form of the Byakugan. It seems to be called the 'Tenseigan,' and its Dōjutsu Power is far above the tomoe Sharingan of our Uchiha Clan..."

Uchiha Shōkan rubbed Akeshi's head. His scarlet eyes gleamed in the dim surroundings, and a playful smile appeared on his wrinkled face, as though he were very interested in the Tenseigan within Yuzuru's eye sockets.

"Tenseigan?"

Akeshi tilted her head, full of confusion. She knew nothing about the Tenseigan, and she had never noticed anything different between Yuzuru's eyes and those of the other Hyuga Clan members. Weren't they all Byakugan?

"Yes. Just as our Sharingan can gradually evolve from one tomoe to Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Hyuga Yuzuru possesses an evolved Byakugan. Those eyes should be the most precious treasure of the Hyuga Clan..."

Uchiha Shōkan patiently explained to Akeshi, helping her understand why Hyuga Yuzuru was called the "strongest Hyuga genius." It was all because of those Tenseigan, so different from the Byakugan.

"Then doesn't that mean his Dōjutsu Power can now compare to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan? Or is it even stronger?"

Akeshi suddenly understood, her face filled with anger and unwillingness.

"No wonder I was never his match. So that's why!"

Akeshi naturally believed every word her grandfather said.

The number of tomoe in a Sharingan represented the gap in Dōjutsu Power and indirectly marked the division in strength. Normally, Uchiha Clan members with Three-Tomoe Sharingan possessed Jonin-level strength. Yet Uchiha Shōkan said that Yuzuru's Tenseigan had Dōjutsu Power far beyond the Uchiha Clan's tomoe Sharingan. Did that mean Yuzuru already possessed Jonin-level strength? And even if he was not a Jonin, he would at least have Chunin-level strength...