Graduation and Class Assignment

Time passed swiftly.

Before they knew it, it was Konoha Year 33.

Hyuga Clan Compound.

Hyuga Ao found Hyuga Hayato:

"Clan Head, I want to graduate early."

Hyuga Hayato slowly sipped his tea, showing no surprise:

"Oh, why?"

Hyuga Ao walked into the courtyard and began to slowly practice the Gentle Fist.

Her punches weren't particularly fast, nor were her strikes especially forceful.

But the Chakra shifts within each punch and kick were exquisitely subtle, concealing lethal intent. Hyuga Hayato had been about to refill his tea, but gradually became mesmerized, not even noticing when the tea overflowed.

Only when he felt the spilled liquid soak his clothes did he snap back to reality, but he didn't mind. He laughed heartily:

"Good. There's no one left in the Hyuga to teach you in the Gentle Fist. I agree. Do you need anything else?"

"War is about to begin. I want my ninja team to join the battlefield alongside Nawaki's batch."

"Oh?" Hyuga Hayato looked thoughtful, but still asked nothing, replying, "Alright."

Hyuga Ao had enjoyed the treatment of a Main Family direct descendant for two and a half years.

In those two years, thanks to Marrow Cleansing, organ tempering, Medicinal Baths, and daily Medicinal Diets, Hyuga Ao had shot up in height to 1.5 meters, while Kushina and Minato were only around 1.3 to 1.4 meters, making them call her a monster.

Now Hyuga Ao was telling Namikaze Minato about her early graduation:

"In short, that's how it is, Minato. I want you to graduate with me too. I can use Main Family connections to get us in the same team."

Namikaze Minato hesitated: "What about Kushina?"

Hyuga Ao pointed at her own eyes:

"In the Byakugan's sight, many things have no secrets. So, Hyuga members sometimes need to play dumb, pretend not to know, but they actually do."

She looked directly into Namikaze Minato's eyes and confessed:

"Minato, I'm telling you this to let you know that knowing about Kushina's situation now won't do you any good, and might even threaten your safety. Promise me, don't actively investigate until you have the strength, okay?"

Namikaze Minato gritted his teeth. He had a feeling this might be something similar to the Caged Bird, which made his heart sink. How much darkness was hidden beneath Konoha's bright surface?

"Alright, I promise you."

Having settled Namikaze Minato, Hyuga Ao was now considering another teammate.

But the timing was too awkward. Everyone Hyuga Ao knew was from her generation; those older were either bound teams like the Ino-Shika-Cho, or from ninja clans like Mikoto or the Hyuga brothers.

None of them could team up with her. In the end, she could only pick a suitable tool-type girl of the right age from the Branch Family.

"Team Five, follow me."

"Team Eight, follow me."

Hyuga Ao sat in the classroom, waiting for their instructor to arrive.

She closed her eyes, but not to rest.

She was constructing the Shikotsumyaku bone membrane inside her body.

After over two years of effort, Hyuga Ao had finally awakened the Shikotsumyaku granted by her transmigration enhancement.

The origin of the Shikotsumyaku was highly questionable, and Hyuga Ao also had concerns about its blood disease. So, until she understood what that disease really entailed, she wouldn't actively use the Shikotsumyaku unless it was a life-or-death situation.

But even if not used for offense, the Shikotsumyaku was still a very useful bloodline.

Beneath her skin membrane, Hyuga Ao constructed another layer of bone membrane. Since she wasn't the type to fight head-on like Kimimaro, her direction for the bone membrane was toughness and density, allowing it to maximize damage resistance without hindering body flexibility.

Then, around her vital organs, she built a layer of cartilage armor, just in case.

But these were secondary. Usually, when judging if someone is suited for martial arts, we look at their bones—that's where the term "remarkable bone structure" comes from.

Now, with the Shikotsumyaku, Hyuga Ao could actively strengthen her bones, which indirectly boosted her physical strength.

She was only very young, but her physical condition surpassed that of an average adult, heading toward the inhuman. One could only say this was the Natural Body.

Moreover, Hyuga Ao had discovered a wonderful use for the Shikotsumyaku: it could rapidly repair skin and muscle to compensate for damage caused by bones emerging or retracting.

Hyuga Ao truly had ice-like skin and jade-like bones now, in every sense of the word.

"Team Nine, follow me."

The person who pushed open the door wore a Konoha Jonin vest and had a lion-like mane of white hair—it was the legendary Jiraiya!

Hyuga Ao's Team Nine followed behind Jiraiya. She looked at his back, then glanced at Namikaze Minato, finding it strange how fate had brought them together.

Maybe this was what they called bonds.

Jiraiya led them to a remote Training Ground and said to them, "Everyone, introduce yourselves."

Hyuga Ao's lips curled into a smirk, as if she'd thought of something amusing.

"Hey hey, shouldn't the teacher go first for introductions? We need to know what to say."

"Ah, right, okay, I'll start then." Jiraiya laughed and rubbed his head.

"My name is Jiraiya, a Jonin. My hobby is observing beautiful things." With that, Jiraiya chuckled twice.

"As for what I dislike," Jiraiya scratched his chin, putting on a look of unbearable memories, "eating bugs."

"My specialties are ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Summoning Jutsu. My dream is to fulfill a prophecy. That's about it. Done. Who's first?"

Namikaze Minato and Hyuga Hotaru, who had come from the branch family, both looked at Hyuga Ao.

"My name is Hyuga Ao, a Genin. I like time spent alone, I hate living without control, and my dream is to become stronger. Done."

Then Hyuga Ao turned her gaze to Hyuga Hotaru, who had just teamed up with Minato to mess with her. Hyuga Hotaru gave a playful smile and said:

"My name is Hyuga Hotaru. I don't particularly like anything, and I don't particularly hate anything. My dream is to become someone like Lady Ao, who earns others' respect through her own strength."

Hyuga Ao paused, a thought flashing through her mind, but she lowered her eyes and turned to look at Namikaze Minato.

"My name is Namikaze Minato. I like someone—" Namikaze Minato blushed a little, skipping over that topic, then continued: "I don't particularly hate any food. My dream is—" Namikaze Minato's expression turned serious, as if taking an oath: "To become Hokage!"

Jiraiya was slightly surprised. He hadn't expected to get such an interesting team on his first time leading one.

Among the three, Hyuga Ao was clearly the leader.

One of the other Hyuga girls followed Hyuga Ao due to her clan status, while the boy followed her out of long-standing friendship.

Hyuga Ao was clearly the strongest of the three, and he'd heard she was a key trainee of the Hyuga clan. But it was obvious her earlier introduction was insincere, as if she was holding back because of Hyuga Hotaru.

Plus, she had something weighing on her mind, making her feel heavy, so her behavior seemed like she was chasing some private amusement to cheer herself up.

Hyuga Hotaru seemed to admire Hyuga Ao a lot, but she was just a standard Hyuga, nothing special.

As for Namikaze Minato, the tone and expression he used when talking about his dream really impressed Jiraiya.

So among the three, Jiraiya had the best impression and natural affinity for Namikaze Minato. His impressions of Hyuga Ao and Hyuga Hotaru were average, but since they were both girls, they'd get some extra consideration.

Still, he'd see how the three little ones really were during tomorrow's exercise.

Jiraiya finished his thoughts, then said seriously: "Alright, I've got a handle on your situations. Listen up, tomorrow at nine, assemble here for a survival exercise. Remember, anyone who performs poorly will be sent back to the Ninja Academy."

With that, Jiraiya used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.

"Byakugan, activate!"

Hyuga Ao activated her Byakugan and swept the area, confirming that Jiraiya had really left and wasn't hiding to spy on them.

Then she said: "Hotaru, Minato, come closer. Tomorrow's content is definitely the three of us fighting Jiraiya-sensei. Tomorrow, we'll do this, this, that, and that, blah blah blah."