Mediocrity, Difference, and the Opportunity to Awaken the Eyes

"Awakening?"

Hyuga Hinata didn't pick up her chopsticks, instead asking her question. This was the third time she'd heard the word from Uchiha Jie's mouth.

"I've awakened?" she murmured, her voice full of doubt.

If she had truly awakened her eyes at this age, how could she be in her current state? She would certainly be able to defeat Ino and Sakura in class, even surpass Sasuke Uchiha. At home, she wouldn't lose to Hanabi anymore.

If she had awakened her eyes, how could her father be so disappointed in her? He should be proud of her, just like Sasuke's father.

"Look at my eyes."

Uchiha Jie pointed to his own eyes. His black pupils turned scarlet after his chakra circulated, and three small tomoe began to spin slowly. When the chakra receded, the tomoe disappeared, and even the red returned to its original appearance.

"Members of the Uchiha Clan can only possess the red Sharingan and begin their slow evolution from one tomoe after awakening their eyes. But as far as I know, the Hyuga Clan is different."

Uchiha Jie said this while pulling out a small mirror. In the mirror, Hinata puffed out her cheeks, laboriously swallowing the food in her mouth, and picked up a nearby tissue to wipe the crumbs from the corner of her mouth.

She blinked, and the reflection in the mirror blinked too. Her eyes were pure white, like milk, like the bright moon.

All members of the Hyuga Clan were born different from others, born with white eyes. Because of this, she had been shunned by her peers since childhood. The extent of their disdain was second only to Naruto, who had grown a beard.

Her father had told her that she needed to undergo extensive and arduous training before she could awaken her eyes, without exception for any member of the clan. She naturally trained day and night under her father's supervision, exceptionally diligently.

Yet, this diligence had not brought even the slightest sign of awakening. Her pair of Byakugan seemed like mere decorations.

Uchiha Jie held a cup of clear tea, taking sips from time to time, and said with a smile:

"Hyuga Hiashi must have told you that the process of awakening the Byakugan is very difficult, requiring continuous training and perseverance for a long time before awakening."

"That's how he awakened his eyes, how his father, his brothers, and ordinary Hyuga clan members awakened theirs. But you are different, your name is Hyuga Hinata."

Hinata's eyes widened in confusion. "Me, I'm different?" she replied softly.

Since childhood, the most common words used to describe Hinata were ordinary and mediocre. There were even more malicious words that came from outside the Hyuga Clan. The person she was most often compared to was her cousin, Hyuga Neji.

In every aspect, she couldn't compare to him. From Gentle Fist to ninja knowledge, even family etiquette, her cousin was impeccable.

Although Brother Neji was a bit older than her, it was natural for him to be more capable.

But before that, she had accidentally lost to Hanabi. Her younger sister was a genius, and the age gap between them was much larger than the gap between her and Brother Neji.

Even though Sister Yue had taught her a few tricks, allowing her to defeat Hinata by surprise, a loss was a loss. She still remembered her father's conflicted expression, a mixture of surprise and disappointment.

And the way he looked at her afterwards... she could never forget it.

Someone like her, even if she was truly different, was worse and more pathetic than other clan members, requiring more time and more training just to barely awaken her eyes.

Perhaps she might not be able to awaken her eyes at all.

"Haha, your eyes are so pure, so bright."

Uchiha Jie put down his bowl, the tomoe in his Sharingan spinning continuously as he gazed at Hinata's Byakugan.

He smiled and said:

"The Byakugan of other Hyuga clan members are like the moon. You should know that although they are white, they are not flawless, because the moon has craters and basins."

"That's Byakugan with impurities."

"But your Byakugan is different. It's perfectly round and flawless, like the moon in its initial state, so white it's almost greenish, almost bluish."

"And it just lacks an opportunity, a catalyst, to become even brighter."

"A catalyst?" Hinata murmured.

"Yes, a catalyst." Uchiha Jie said with a wry smile, explaining, "For the Sharingan, it's usually a strong emotional stimulus. You wouldn't want to know what happened when I awakened mine."

"Of course, you might be able to awaken yours now without truly experiencing anything." He continued, "But this requires us to try together."

Uchiha Jie stood up and walked to the kitchen sink to wash his teacup. Then, he looked at Hinata, who was still struggling with the food on the table, and instructed:

"After breakfast, it's your individual training time. After lunch, we'll officially begin our attempt."

For the entire morning, Hinata would still practice her Gentle Fist, and Uchiha Jie would also need to prepare for his Ninjutsu.

This was a Ninjutsu he had just created, and he hadn't even used it once. Because it wasn't a harmful Ninjutsu, it required thorough preparation beforehand.

"Oh, right, remember to wash the dishes after eating." Uchiha Jie said before returning to his room.

Miss Hinata would naturally wash the dishes. She even tidied up all the leftover food she had eaten from the table, categorizing what was kitchen waste to be bagged and thrown away, and what could be put in the refrigerator for later.

She wiped the dining table with a cloth and neatly arranged the teaware, tablecloth, and chopsticks that Uchiha Jie had used.

Although she didn't have this experience at home, with maids taking care of everything, she had at least seen how it was done.

The training content after breakfast was very simple: sitting cross-legged and refining chakra.

Although it was the most basic content, it was also the most important. While the capacity of one's chakra was an innate attribute with limited effectiveness in later training, sometimes the outcome of an entire battle depended on this very amount of chakra.

Furthermore, according to her father, the training for refining chakra was an indispensable part of awakening the Byakugan.

Hyuga Hinata was still skeptical about the so-called catalyst. Regarding the Byakugan and the Hyuga Clan, who could know more than her father?

Until lunchtime, Uchiha Jie did not reappear, and there was no sound from his room. Hyuga Hinata's stomach began to ache from hunger before she cautiously knocked on his door.

"Ah! It's lunchtime?" Uchiha Jie came out of his room and looked at his watch, only then realizing that it was already past noon.