Secret Weapon

Wind Release: Vacuum Blade.

A B-Rank Wind Release ninjutsu, its effect is to infuse Wind Release Chakra into a kunai, forming a sharp blade.

Its defining traits are extremely low consumption, very few ninja who master it, and an exceedingly high learning difficulty.

Although ninjutsu is not strictly tied to rank and consumption—it depends more on how much chakra the user pours into the technique—

under equal chakra investment, higher-rank techniques, due to their complexity, naturally consume more chakra than lower-rank ones.

But there are exceptions.

Wind Release: Vacuum Blade is that kind of technique. Though ranked B, its classification stems more from its learning difficulty. In terms of consumption alone, it is lower than most C-rank techniques—

this is determined by the technique's form of expression.

This technique combines the shape transformation of Wind Release with a strong adhesion effect on ninja tools.

The so-called strong adhesion effect is similar to the state when Sarutobi Asuma later explains Wind Release to Naruto, throwing a Chakra Blade infused with Wind Release Chakra to pierce through a tree. Normally, achieving that effect requires a profound level of training in Wind Release's nature transformation, and the tool must be made of special Chakra Metal.

This is why the technique, though unflashy and not overwhelmingly powerful, is still ranked B.

But for Hyuga Yu, who has extremely little chakra, this is the most suitable ninjutsu for him.

The three pillars of the Hyuga Clan—

the Byakugan, Gentle Fist, and Eight Trigrams Palms—

share a common principle. They rely on the Byakugan's ability to see meridians and chakra flow, releasing chakra continuously or in bursts from acupoints to form a unique Nintaijutsu exclusive to the Hyuga Clan: the irreplicable Gentle Fist Style.

The prerequisite for this is that Hyuga Clan members possess slightly more chakra than the average ninja. (Example: adult Kakashi has Stamina 6, Neji has Stamina 7.)

However, for Hyuga Yu, merely maintaining the Byakugan's activation in battle is already a considerable drain. The remaining chakra cannot be allocated to the continuous Gentle Fist and Eight Trigrams Palms, which require large amounts of chakra.

In last year's Chunin Exam, he was forced to abort mid-use of Gentle Fist Style: Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms, leading to a crushing defeat.

Still, the thirteen years of study he buried himself in were not wasted.

Hyuga Yu had long planned his own growth path.

His scarce chakra dictated that he could only follow a short, sharp ninja route—his battles often ended in an instant or within an extremely brief period.

So, he shifted his focus to taijutsu, ninja tools, and Medical Ninjutsu, combining them with the Byakugan to build his own combat system.

Now, the final piece missing to complete this system

is precisely this Wind Release ninjutsu: Vacuum Blade!

Hyuga Yu had not originally intended to acquire this technique in this way. He planned to deepen his training in Wind Release's nature and shape transformations, then create a self-made C-rank technique with a weaker effect—

after all, the cost of obtaining it was somewhat... heavy.

But plans could not keep up with change.

Things had come to this. To protect his fiancée, Hyuga Natsu, and to face the battlefield ahead, Hyuga Yu had no choice but to take this step early.

Yes, Wind Release is a rare affinity among ninja.

And within that extremely rare group, as far as Hyuga Yu knows, the only person in all of Konoha who masters Wind Release: Vacuum Blade

is one man—

Shimura Danzō.

#

After a moment of thought, sorting out the general outline, Hyuga Yu, having posted his mission at the Hokage Building, walked out, oriented himself, and then ran without pause toward the Konoha Training Ground.

If Konoha is laid out like a fan, the Konoha Training Ground lies in the fifth ring of this massive semicircle, near the wall and forest surrounding the village.

The accompanying Ninja Tool Shop, Blacksmith Shop, and Hardware and Sundries Market are all located in this area.

It would take some time for the intelligence on this S-Rank Mission he posted to ferment and reach the hands of various factions.

(PS: It is not truly S-Rank; normally it would be listed as A-Rank, but due to the special circumstances of this period, it is being upgraded to S for various reasons.)

Taking advantage of this time, Hyuga Yu arrived at this area to pick up a "secret weapon" he had been preparing for a long time.

At this moment, the streets outside the Konoha Training Ground were quite lively, filled with ninja buying tools and repairing equipment.

Hyuga Yu pushed through the crowd, lifted the curtain, and walked into a large ninja tool shop.

The Artisan Servant inside, tasked with running errands and greeting customers, perked up upon spotting Hyuga Yu's Byakugan and eagerly approached.

"Welcome! Customer, what can I help you with?"

Hyuga Yu glanced at him, noting the sky-high ponytail and round glasses—a new face he hadn't seen before—and said, "I'm here to pick up a custom-made ninja tool."

The young attendant quickly scurried to the counter, flipping through scrolls recording custom ninja tools. After several scrolls without finding the surname "Hyuga," he looked up apologetically, his face reddening as he asked:

"Customer, when did you place your order?"

"Not that one."

Hyuga Yu shook his head, pointing to a scroll pressed at the very bottom of the counter.

"Look for one from eight years ago—a ninja student named Hyuga Yu ordered a custom tool from this shop."

"Eight years ago?" The attendant froze at the words.

Eight years ago, he hadn't even been born yet, and the Hyuga youth before him would have only been six or seven years old, right?

What kind of ninja tool required a full eight years to forge?

And a tool made for a six- or seven-year-old eight years ago—how effective could it still be now?

"Please wait a moment!" Realizing this was a big deal, the attendant dared not slack off and hurriedly began searching.

Just then, a gruff voice rang out from the back of the Blacksmith Shop.

"Saltpeter—"

"What are you dawdling for? Where's the ore I told you to grab?!"

"Yes, sir!" The attendant called Saltpeter looked up immediately.

"Sulfur-sensei, I'm coming!"

"Too slow! Too slow! And have you not eaten? Put more spirit into it! How can a voice that weak forge a powerful ninja tool?!"

The voice boomed as a balding old man with black hair poked his head out from behind the curtain of the inner room.

Spotting Hyuga Yu standing in the shop, Sulfur blinked, feeling like he'd seen the youth somewhere before, though the image didn't quite match up.

"Hey, this young man looks really familiar..."

Hyuga Yu smiled slightly at the sight of him and offered a greeting.

"Master Sulfur, it's been a long time."

Sulfur.

This man was Konoha's foremost ninja tool smith. Eight years ago, Hyuga Yu had spent one hundred thousand ryo to commission a unique weapon from him.

"Oh ho, I remember now—you're that Hyuga kid. I watched your match at last year's Chunin Exam. Your ninja tool techniques were impressive... but what a shame..."

Sulfur finally recognized Hyuga Yu, a look of realization dawning. Then, as if remembering something, he quickly shut his mouth, wearing an embarrassed expression.

"Sorry."

"It's fine."

Hyuga Yu shook his head dismissively. He had only awakened his Byakugan the year before last, and his mastery of Medical Ninjutsu and Gentle Fist point-striking was still at a beginner level.

Chunin weren't exactly cabbages. Making it to the Final Match under those circumstances had already been a stroke of dumb luck.

But now, things were different.

With that thought, Hyuga Yu looked straight at Sulfur and asked directly:

"Master Sulfur, how is that custom tool I ordered coming along?"

Sulfur looked at the youth before him, immediately recalling the "special ninja tool" commissioned eight years ago. His spirits lifted, and he smiled proudly.

"That tool is already finished!"

"It was still undergoing its final process last year, so I couldn't put it to use—sorry about that!"

With that, he beckoned Hyuga Yu to follow him to the back courtyard.

"Come with me. It won't disappoint you!"