Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, it was already Year 33 of Konoha.
Hyuga Clan Compound.
Hyuga Ao found Hyuga Hayato.
"Clan Head, I want to graduate early."
Hyuga Hayato slowly took a sip of tea, not surprised in the least.
"Oh? Why?"
Hyuga Ao walked into the courtyard and slowly began practicing Gentle Fist.
Hyuga Ao's punches were not especially fast, nor did they carry much visible force.
But the chakra changes within every punch and kick were exquisite, concealing deadly intent. Hyuga Hayato had been pouring more tea, but he gradually became absorbed in the display, failing to notice that the tea had overflowed.
Only when he felt the spilled tea soaking his clothes did he suddenly snap back to reality. He did not care, however, and laughed heartily.
"Good! In Gentle Fist, there is no one left in the Hyuga who can teach you anything. I agree. Is there anything else you need?"
"The war is about to begin. I hope my ninja squad can join the battlefield alongside Nawaki's group."
"Oh?" Hyuga Hayato seemed thoughtful, but he did not ask anything further. He simply replied, "Good."
Hyuga Ao had enjoyed the treatment afforded to a direct heir of the Main Family for two and a half years.
Over those two years, thanks to Marrow Cleansing, Medicinal Baths, and daily Medicinal Diets, Hyuga Ao had shot up to a height of one and a half meters. Kushina and Minato, meanwhile, were only around 1.3 and 1.4 meters tall, respectively, and kept calling her a monster.
At that moment, Hyuga Ao was telling Namikaze Minato that she intended to graduate early.
"So, that's the situation, Minato. I hope you'll graduate with me. I can use the Main Family's connections to arrange for us to be assigned to the same team."
Namikaze Minato hesitated. "What about Kushina?"
Hyuga Ao pointed at her own eyes.
"In the eyes of the Byakugan, many things hold no secrets. That's why Hyuga sometimes need to pretend to be foolish and act as though they know nothing. In reality, they know everything."
Hyuga Ao looked directly into Namikaze Minato's eyes and spoke frankly.
"Minato, I'm telling you this because knowing about Kushina's matter now won't do you any good. It may even threaten your safety. Promise me that before you have the strength, you won't actively investigate it, all right?"
Namikaze Minato gritted his teeth. He had a feeling this might be something similar to the Caged Bird, and his heart sank. Beneath Konoha's bright facade, just how much darkness was hidden?
"All right. I promise."
After settling things with Namikaze Minato, Hyuga Ao began considering another teammate.
But the timing was terribly awkward. Everyone Hyuga Ao knew was from her own generation. Going up a generation, they were either already bound together, like Ino-Shika-Cho, or members of ninja clans, like Mikoto and the Hyuga brothers.
None of them could possibly team up with her. In the end, she had no choice but to find an appropriately aged tool—another girl—from the Branch Family.
"Team Five, follow me."
"Team Eight, follow me."
Hyuga Ao sat in the classroom, waiting for their instructor to arrive.
Hyuga Ao closed her eyes, but she was not resting.
She was constructing the bone membrane of Shikotsumyaku inside her body.
After more than two years of effort, Hyuga Ao had finally awakened the Shikotsumyaku granted by her transmigration enhancement.
The origins of Shikotsumyaku were highly questionable, and Hyuga Ao was also concerned about the Kekkei Genkai Disease associated with it. Thus, until she understood exactly what the disease was, she would not use Shikotsumyaku unless she was facing a life-or-death situation.
Even without using it offensively, however, Shikotsumyaku was still an extremely useful bloodline.
Beneath her skin, Hyuga Ao constructed another layer—a bone membrane. Since her fighting style was not like Kimimaro's hard-hitting approach, Hyuga Ao focused on flexibility and density when constructing the membrane, allowing it to withstand damage to the greatest possible extent without affecting her body's agility.
She then constructed a layer of flexible bone armor before and behind each of her vital organs, just in case.
But those were secondary. Normally, when judging whether someone was suited to martial arts, people looked at their bones. That was where the saying about extraordinary bone structure came from.
Now that Hyuga Ao possessed Shikotsumyaku, she could strengthen her bones at will, indirectly improving her physical strength as well.
Hyuga Ao was merely very young, yet her physical abilities already surpassed those of ordinary adults. She was advancing toward the inhuman. One could only say that this was the Natural Body.
Hyuga Ao had also discovered another ingenious use for Shikotsumyaku: it could rapidly repair skin and muscle, compensating for the damage caused when bones emerged from and retracted into the body.
Hyuga Ao had truly become jade bones beneath icy skin, in every sense of the phrase.
"Team Nine, follow me."
The person who entered through the door wore a Konoha Jonin vest and had a wild mane of white hair like a lion's. He was none other than the Heroic Jiraiya!
Hyuga Ao's Team Nine followed behind Jiraiya. Looking at his back, then at Namikaze Minato, she felt that the world was truly marvelous. Somehow, the two of them had still ended up crossing paths.
Perhaps this was what they called bonds.
Jiraiya led them to a secluded Training Ground and said, "Everyone, introduce yourselves."
The corner of Hyuga Ao's mouth lifted, as though she had thought of something amusing.
"Hey, hey, shouldn't the teacher go first for introductions? We need to know what we're supposed to say."
"Ah, is that so? All right, then I'll start." Jiraiya smiled and rubbed his head.
"My name is Jiraiya. I'm a Jonin, and I enjoy observing beautiful things." After saying this, Jiraiya chuckled twice.
"As for what I dislike..." Jiraiya scratched his chin and put on an expression of unbearable recollection. "Eating insects."
"I'm skilled in ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Summoning Jutsu. My dream is to fulfill the prophecy. That's about it. I'm done. Who's next?"
Namikaze Minato and Hyuga Ying, who had come from the Branch Family, both looked toward Hyuga Ao.
"My name is Hyuga Ao. I'm a Genin. I like enjoying time alone, I dislike living against my will, and my dream is to become stronger. That's all."
Hyuga Ao then looked toward Hyuga Ying, who had just helped Minato gang up on her. Hyuga Ying gave a playful smile and said:
"My name is Hyuga Ying. There's nothing I particularly like, and there's nothing I particularly dislike. My dream is to become someone like Ao-sama, who earns the respect of others through her own abilities."
Hyuga Ao froze. Several thoughts flashed through her mind, but she immediately lowered her eyes and turned to look at Namikaze Minato.
"My name is Namikaze Minato. I like someone..." Namikaze Minato blushed and skipped over the subject before continuing.
"There's no particular food I dislike. My dream is..." Namikaze Minato's expression turned solemn. Like someone making an oath, he declared, "To become Hokage!"
Jiraiya was slightly surprised. He had not expected his first team to be so interesting.
Of the three, Hyuga Ao was clearly the leader.
The other girl from the Hyuga followed Hyuga Ao because of their positions within the clan, while the boy followed her because of their long-standing friendship.
Jiraiya could tell that Hyuga Ao was the strongest of the three. He had also heard that she was a clan member whom the Hyuga were especially focused on cultivating. It was obvious, however, that she had not been sincere during her introduction, as though she were taking Hyuga Ying into consideration.
She was also carrying something heavy in her heart, which weighed on her mood. As a result, she acted as though she were pursuing amusements known only to herself, trying to cheer herself up.
Hyuga Ying clearly admired Hyuga Ao, but she was merely an ordinary Hyuga with nothing particularly special about her.
As for Namikaze Minato, the tone and expression he had used when speaking of his dream had greatly impressed Jiraiya.
Thus, of the three, Jiraiya had the best impression of Namikaze Minato and found him the most pleasing to the eye. His impressions of Hyuga Ao and Hyuga Ying were average, but since both were girls, he would still show them some extra consideration.
Still, how the three little ones truly performed would have to wait for tomorrow's exercise.
After finishing his thoughts, Jiraiya put on a serious expression. "All right, I understand your situations. Listen carefully. Gather here at nine tomorrow morning for a survival exercise. Remember, anyone who performs poorly will be sent back to the Ninja Academy."
With that, Jiraiya used Body Flicker and left.
"Byakugan, activate!"
Hyuga Ao activated her Byakugan and swept her gaze around, confirming that Jiraiya had truly left and was not hiding nearby to spy on them.
She then said, "Ying, Minato, come closer. Tomorrow's exercise will definitely be the three of us fighting Instructor Jiraiya. Tomorrow, the three of us will do this and that, then this and that, blah blah blah."
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