Training Plan

Closing the book, Neji began planning for the future. His body was still small, so chakra extraction needed to be controlled. After all, extracting too much physical energy would affect his development. Physical training could not be too intense either; his bones probably had not fully hardened yet. If he accidentally overtrained and warped his bones, the losses would outweigh the gains.

But he could not simply do nothing. After all, the saying "Don't lose at the starting line" had deeply taken root in people's hearts in his previous life. From his father's notes and a large number of introductory books, he summarized two methods that could accelerate cultivation.

The first was eating energy-rich food. As long as the energy replenished exceeded the energy consumed, it would not affect his growth. The Akimichi Clan did especially well in this regard. Not only could they prepare energy-rich meals, but they could also use secret techniques to speed up digestion and store excess energy in fat, then extract it from the fat when necessary. The downside was that storing too much energy would turn one into a fatty!

The second was soaking in medicinal baths prepared from specific prescriptions. The stimulation from the medicine could accelerate bodily growth, replenish the materials necessary for that growth, and heal hidden injuries caused by training. The Nara Clan were the professionals in this field.

Medicinal baths were relatively simple. As long as he had money, he might not necessarily be able to buy the prescription, but hiring the Nara Clan to prepare medicinal baths for him would not be a problem. After all, that was their line of business.

Having the Akimichi Clan prepare high-energy food for him would not be difficult, but obtaining their secret technique for rapidly and efficiently digesting food and storing energy would be extremely hard. He could only put that matter aside for now and work on it slowly in the future.

After sorting out his thoughts, Neji saw that it was still early. He burned a stick of incense before his father's memorial tablet, then headed first to a Nara Clan medicinal herb shop.

After about twenty minutes, he arrived at the herb shop. The Nara Clan pharmacy was of moderate size, and its selection of herbs was quite complete. The attendant did not neglect Neji just because he was a child. After all, the Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was highly distinctive and easy to recognize. Once Neji explained his purpose, the attendant led him to a small reception room, where an elderly gentleman was seated.

Neji spoke first. "Hello, sir. My name is Hyuga Neji. I hope your pharmacy can prepare some medicinal herbs that can promote physical development and speed up chakra cultivation."

The old man looked up with a smile. "So it's Neji. Please, have a seat. I am Nara Rikuo. My condolences regarding your father. There is no problem with the herbs. I will have them prepared today, and you can come collect them tomorrow. Put the herbs into a bath barrel, keep the water temperature under control, and soak once every two days for one hour each time. It can accelerate bodily growth and promote chakra cultivation to a certain extent. Although the effects are average, the medicine is mild and harmless to physical development. However, it is not cheap. Each batch costs two thousand ryo."

Neji thought it over. Two thousand ryo per batch meant spending more than three hundred thousand ryo a year. Over ten years, it would come to more than three million ryo, nearly a third of all his funds. But then he thought, Wasn't money meant to be spent? Building a solid foundation was more important than anything else. So he stopped hesitating. After paying part of the deposit and bidding Nara Rikuo farewell, he headed to his next destination: a restaurant opened by the Akimichi Clan.

The Akimichi Clan had opened quite a few restaurants in Konoha. Neji chose a larger one. Since it was close to mealtime, the restaurant was crowded, and the aroma of all kinds of dishes washed over him. Neji silently thought that the Akimichi Clan truly had unique expertise when it came to studying food.

After finding the shop manager, he explained his purpose as well. He hoped the restaurant could prepare energy-rich, nutritionally balanced meals for him. The other party had no reason to refuse and even offered delivery service, saving him the time of coming over to eat. The price was not cheap either: four meals a day cost twelve hundred ryo per day. It was cheaper than the medicinal herbs, but meals had to be eaten every day, while medicinal baths were only taken once every two days. After paying the deposit, Neji returned home.

Starting the next day, Neji began three forms of training in his backyard: taijutsu practice, chakra extraction, and Byakugan use.

Time flew by, and two months passed in the blink of an eye. With the aid of specially prepared food and medicinal baths, the two personalities, Neji and Neji, completely fused. He also gained perfect control over his body, no longer suffering from the initial sluggishness. The chakra within him had increased somewhat, barely enough to use one Clone Technique. His taijutsu had improved as well, but his greatest progress was in using the Byakugan.

The Hyuga Clan had a high rate of awakening the Byakugan, with roughly eighty to ninety percent of its members able to awaken it. This differed from the equally prominent Uchiha Clan, whose Sharingan awakening rate was less than thirty percent. Although the Byakugan's awakening rate was very high, learning to use and develop it well was difficult.

The Byakugan's main functions were as follows:

First, telescopic vision. Ordinary people could at most clearly read text ten or so meters away, but a Hyuga Clan Jonin could clearly read text from a kilometer away, more than a hundred times farther than an ordinary person.

Second, microscopic vision. Ordinary people found it difficult to see relatively tiny objects clearly, but some powerful Byakugan could even see microscopic objects.

Third, x-ray vision. Ordinary people could not see objects behind obstructions, but the Byakugan could see through obstructions and clearly observe what lay behind them.

Fourth, chakra observation. The Byakugan could specifically observe chakra within the body, examining its intensity and flow.

Fifth, 360-degree vision. Ordinary people could only see what lay within their line of sight, but the Byakugan could see in every direction—front, back, left, right, above, and below—truly achieving omnidirectional vision with no blind angles. It felt like having a god's-eye view.

The Byakugan was a pair of support eyes. It possessed no offensive power, at least not before evolving into the Tenseigan. Yet its value, especially its research value, was exceptionally high. Sadly, because of clan rules, few members of the Hyuga Clan pursued research.