After resting in his room for who knew how long, Hyuga Matsuba finally felt the energy in his body slowly recovering. Most of his strength had already returned; now he only had to wait for his mental energy to gradually rise.
The sun had reached the center of the sky. It was already noon. After eating his fill, Hyuga Matsuba returned to his Training Ground to begin training.
"Now that I've refined plenty of Chakra, it's about time I activated this Tenseigan, isn't it?"
This back mountain was rarely visited, and almost no one came here, so he did not have to worry about the Tenseigan's secret being exposed.
That did not mean nobody could see him, though. Sarutobi Hiruzen, who possessed the Telescope Technique, could see things from hundreds of miles away. But he certainly would not be so idle, especially when there was nothing here worth watching.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Hyuga Matsuba shouted, wanting to test the effects of gravity first. Sure enough, the instant his words fell, something flew into his hand. When he opened his palm, it turned out to be nothing more than a tiny broken stone.
He had expected some powerful effect, but all it did was pull over a lousy little rock. Hyuga Matsuba hurriedly tossed it aside. The scene could not have been more embarrassing.
Hyuga Matsuba silently sensed the changes in his Chakra and discovered that he had used less than a tenth of it. The consumption did not seem high, so there was no need to worry.
But no matter what, Banshō Ten'in was a top-tier technique. Yet when he used it, all he did was catch a little stone. That was practically unheard of.
To be honest, there was nothing particularly special about the technique. It was merely one manifestation of the Tenseigan's control abilities.
"Looks like, at my current level, I still can't use the Tenseigan properly. I can't unleash any major moves at all!"
Even if he poured all his Chakra into this technique, it might not have much power. It would be more worthwhile to use lower-level Ninjutsu instead.
Hyuga Matsuba began calculating inwardly. The Chakra he had just spent was practically negligible, so he might as well use what remained on the Great Fireball Technique. He could probably try it another three or four times.
He acted as soon as he decided. Hyuga Matsuba got to his feet and began the technique. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The moment the hand signs and command were completed, a massive fireball shot out and smashed toward a tree.
This was no ordinary tree. Its trunk was extremely thick, yet the fireball snapped the huge tree in half in an instant. It was completely beyond Hyuga Matsuba's expectations.
Though this was only his first time using this Ninjutsu, and it could not compare to many others in various ways, it was still the closest Hyuga Matsuba had come to Ninjutsu in his three years in the Naruto World.
Sure enough, seeing was believing. Only after witnessing it with his own eyes could he understand just how powerful this Ninjutsu truly was.
Having understood the Great Fireball Technique's power, Hyuga Matsuba did not intend to waste any more Chakra. Instead, he continued practicing shape transformation and nature transformation.
Shape transformation was still child's play for Hyuga Matsuba. With the help of the Rasengan, he quickly mastered the technique.
Nature transformation sounded profound and mysterious, but in truth, it was simply adding an elemental attribute to Chakra. The Great Fireball Technique Hyuga Matsuba had used earlier worked on the same principle.
Changing one attribute was easy, but combining two nature transformations was no simple matter. That was the method for creating a Bloodline Limit, and there were only a handful of people in the entire ninja world who could reach such a realm.
With his innate advantages, Hyuga Matsuba's comprehension of nature transformation could be considered beyond ordinary. After all, he had received quite a boost right from the start.
Next came Chakra control. This was not something that could be mastered through words alone; it required repeated, high-intensity practice. Tree Climbing and Water Walking were perfect examples.
The back mountain offered excellent conditions. Tree Climbing and Water Walking were simple enough here, with dense woods all around and a stream nearby.
It was worth mentioning that the Hyuga Clan had originally risen through Pressure Point Strikes, so Hyuga Matsuba also possessed a certain talent for precision.
Tree Climbing was child's play for Hyuga Matsuba. After several failures at Water Walking, he also achieved considerable results. He could now stand steadily on the water's surface without fear, even if strong winds came.
Chakra control was merely the foundation. With a solid foundation laid, all that remained was training to improve his physical fitness.
Although the Sage Body had given Hyuga Matsuba considerable help, Chakra extraction still needed to proceed step by step. He could not be greedy. Extracting a moderate amount each day was enough, since his current stamina was still quite limited.
The Six Powers he had received earlier also contained methods for improving physical fitness. Following those methods would surely yield results, and Hyuga Matsuba began pouring sweat into his Training Ground on the back mountain.
At such a young age, there were truly very few people who trained as hard as he did. Most others were busy eating, drinking, playing, and enjoying life.
But then again, wasn't all this effort now meant to let him live more comfortably in the future? No matter how bitter or exhausting it was, it would be worth it.
He should not think that the system giving him so much at birth was enough. Heaven did not favor Hyuga Matsuba alone. Compared with Uzumaki Naruto and Second Pillar, this much was nothing at all.
Thinking of the ending of Naruto, the two of them had already become practically invincible by the age of seventeen. Now that was what it meant to have cheats!
Hyuga Matsuba felt that even if the system raised him like its own son, he might not reach their level by seventeen. Still, becoming a powerhouse and claiming a share of this ninja world was not impossible.
Then again, perhaps their systems were better than his. At the very least, they would not need three whole years just to repair themselves. Thinking of that, Hyuga Matsuba truly felt like crying without tears.
"What kind of goddamn system is this? I want a real dad to raise me too!" Hyuga Matsuba sighed emotionally.
After a brief rest, Hyuga Matsuba resumed training. But his age and current level were there for all to see. No matter how hard he worked, his physical fitness could not improve overnight.
Time flew by, and before he knew it, a year had quietly slipped away.
Hyuga Matsuba did not train today. He planned to reward himself properly, so he came to Konoha's busiest street to find something delicious.
He had a reason to reward himself. After a year of training, his strength had finally improved dramatically, reaching the level of a Jonin. His Chakra reserves had become unimaginable, though his physique and Chakra purity remained at the level of a Chunin. Still, achieving this much at such an age was certainly worth celebrating.
Hyuga Matsuba had been training single-mindedly, but he still did not fully understand the ninja world's standards for ranking strength. Was it based on the purity of one's Chakra?
If that was really how it was measured, then Hyuga Matsuba could be considered a Chunin now.
He had become a Chunin at only four years old. Kakashi had already been six when he reached that level. Thinking about it, Hyuga Matsuba could not have been happier. But in other respects, he was absolutely no match for Kakashi. The two could not be compared at all.
As a Chunin, Hyuga Matsuba was full of youthful vigor. His physique was not bad, and his stamina and other abilities surpassed ordinary people. A Hyuga Matsuba like this could already fight a Jonin head-on.
The Tenseigan's control abilities, which had been unfamiliar to him a year ago, now came as easily as moving his fingers. Not only that, he had also mastered skills such as controlling puppets and seeing other people's memories. Manipulating attraction and repulsion was child's play to Hyuga Matsuba now.
Although he had not yet found a suitable opportunity, if he faced a Jonin enemy, Hyuga Matsuba could defeat them easily.
It was also worth mentioning the Glint-Glint Fruit he had consumed earlier. Hyuga Matsuba had now mastered basic partial elementalization and could even use lasers. Though their effects were not yet obvious, they would surely become powerful with time.
As an instantaneous, high-intensity attack with obvious results, a laser might strike even an expert if it caught them off guard.
As Hyuga Matsuba reviewed his progress while searching the street for a target, he suddenly spotted three familiar people.
"Why do they look so familiar? They seem like the Legendary Sannin when they were young. Why is Tsunade so small? She'll be known as the Milk Cow Chariot in the future, but it looks like she's nothing special. Just a pretty face," Hyuga Matsuba muttered disdainfully.
"Hey, what are you staring at? Have you never seen a person before?" Though Tsunade was still young and small, she was already an Elite Jonin. When she noticed someone whispering about her, she became furious.
Hyuga Matsuba had been thinking about the Milk Cow Chariot, so he had kept staring at Tsunade's chest. Such a prolonged gaze naturally caught Tsunade's attention. When she turned around and saw that he was just a snot-nosed little brat, she spared him a punch.
"When did I?" Hyuga Matsuba shot her a disdainful glance, not wanting to bother with her.
"Idiot, this kid is mocking you for having a flat chest. Can't you even see that?" Jiraiya added fuel to the fire from the side, completely unafraid of making things worse.
A deafening boom rang out.
The ground suddenly shook as though an earthquake had struck, splitting into countless chunks of every size. Seeing that things had gone wrong, the surrounding people immediately fled. Jiraiya had not expected to cause such a disaster and stood there blankly, unsure what to say.
Even Orochimaru, who had been watching silently from the side, had not expected such a scene. Cold sweat poured down his forehead.
"Say that again, you bastard?" Tsunade's fury erupted as she glared straight at Jiraiya.
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