What He Gained

Hizashi glanced at his waist. The bell was clearly still hanging there. He seemed to realize something, then took it in his hand. In an instant, he noticed something was wrong.

"Could it be—?!" Hizashi hadn't finished speaking.

"Poof!" The bell vanished in a puff of smoke, turning into Shiyu.

Kurenai and Hatake's eyes filled with disbelief.

"Mr. Hyuga, before I used the Great Fireball Technique, my Shadow Clone touched the bell at your waist. You remember that, right?" Shiyu called from a distance.

"I remember," Hizashi Hyuga replied.

"That's right. At that moment, you used Gentle Fist twice to knock away one of my Shadow Clones. When the other one was hit, a cloud of smoke suddenly rose from it, too."

Shiyu went on to explain, "When one Shadow Clone disappeared and the other turned into smoke, the chakra points and pathways throughout your body vanished. You became certain that the Shadow Clone had been hit by Gentle Fist and destroyed. Then you immediately focused all your attention on my Great Fireball Technique."

"Are you saying the first Shadow Clone I hit disappeared, while the second never disappeared at all? It used the Transformation Technique to turn into a bell?" Hizashi was stunned. He never would have imagined that this freshly graduated trainee Genin from the Ninja Academy could come up with such a meticulous plan in such a short time.

But the "Shiyu" speaking at that moment shook his head. "Sorry, sensei. I'm actually the Shadow Clone." With a pop, he vanished.

The Shiyu who had turned into the bell was the real Shiyu.

Kurenai and Nao stared at Shiyu in shock. That whole series of moves had completely overturned their understanding of what was possible.

"Using the smoke from a Shadow Clone, exploiting my confidence in the Byakugan and my own abilities, and exercising such precise control over his techniques..." Hizashi Hyuga didn't know what to say.

"This kid is no ordinary genius." Only now did Hizashi understand why the Third Hokage had specifically asked him to look after "Team Seven."

"Take it." Shiyu casually tossed the bell he'd taken to the somewhat dazed Hatake Nao.

"Hm? What do you mean?" Hatake Nao asked, confused, and started to toss the bell back.

"Wait. There are only two bells: one for Kurenai and one for you. If you don't help and acknowledge each other as a team, then you aren't a team at all." Shiyu didn't care about the title of Genin.

What mattered was having the strength. Who cared about a title?

"Shiyu!" Hatake Nao felt ashamed, guilty, and frustrated. He'd been so focused on defeating Hizashi that he hadn't considered anything else. The bell in his hand was still warm, and he didn't know what to do.

"Shiyu!" Hinata Kurenai seemed moved. She had always kept an eye on him, and never expected him to change so much.

Then, almost simultaneously, the two of them tossed their bells toward Shiyu.

Hizashi Hyuga reacted swiftly, catching one bell in each hand and taking them back.

Then he looked at the three of them and spoke with less sternness and more warmth.

"Congratulations! Your whole team passed the test!"

"Your performance really left me speechless! Not just because of your strength, but most importantly because of your open hearts!" Hizashi Hyuga patted each of them on the head at just the right moment. "You did it! From today on, you're officially members of Team Seven!"

"Haha!" The three exchanged glances. They'd fought side by side and gotten to know one another better, and they'd also come to respect Hizashi.

Their bonds had formed just like that.

Shiyu let out a sigh of relief. The battle had gone mostly as planned, and the biggest surprise had been Hizashi Hyuga's Rotation. When he used it, Shiyu had nearly thrown up. Even though his body had transformed into a bell, he could still feel it.

After that battle, a ninja squad of three Genin and one Jonin had officially formed. Their team leader was naturally Konoha Jonin Hizashi Hyuga.

The three of them had gotten to know one another fairly well.

Shiyu returned home, naturally bursting with excitement. It wasn't for any other reason: today's gains could only be described as incredible.

There was only one reason: Shiyu had copied his teacher's techniques!

"Gentle Fist, the taijutsu style hailed as Konoha's strongest! A fist style that can directly attack the chakra pathway system! It makes up for the weakness in my close-range taijutsu! And unless a Hyuga Clan member examines me closely, no one will be able to tell I'm using Gentle Fist!"

"Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm! It sends a high-density chakra shockwave through the air to attack distant targets! It instantly makes up for the shortcomings of my mid- to long-range taijutsu!"

"Eight Trigrams Palms: Revolving Heaven! A secret technique passed down orally within the Hyuga Clan. Most members of the clan aren't even qualified to learn it. It's said to repel all physical attacks, making it the ultimate defense!"

"This technique seems to rely mainly on releasing chakra from the chakra points. Put simply, the more chakra you have, the farther and longer you can make it reach! And just like that, I copied it!!?"

"Only someone with both the Three Tomoe Sharingan and the Byakugan could pull that off! This is awesome! I couldn't copy Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, but there'll always be another chance, right?" With no one else home, Shiyu launched into frenzied practice.

With his Three Tomoe Sharingan, this had undoubtedly been a lucky day for Shiyu. Not only had he become a Genin, he'd also learned a series of secret techniques from the Hyuga Clan.

Ordinary people had no chance of learning the Hyuga Clan's taijutsu. Without the Byakugan, they could hardly bring out its power.

But through Shiyu's White Rinnegan, he could see the chakra pathways and chakra points clearly, allowing him to bring out the essence of Gentle Fist to the fullest.

Shiyu practiced nonstop until late. Just as he was about to lie down to sleep, he suddenly grew alert. He activated his White Rinnegan and saw three people sneaking toward his house.

Shiyu saw all three of them clearly.

"Aren't all three of them members of the Uchiha Clan? Why are they coming to my house this late? They look murderous. Could they be planning to kill me?" Shiyu guessed. Then he immediately used Shadow Clone Jutsu, creating three Shadow Clones while disguising his real body.

"Better safe than sorry." Shiyu quietly hid himself.

"Shh! He must be in here!" A familiar figure appeared.

"Uchiha Wei!" Shiyu glared coldly at the person before him, narrowed his eyes, and clenched his fists.