The Choice to Become Stronger

Training is a very tedious thing, a matter of painstaking effort. Not everyone is like Uchiha Itachi or Hatake Kakashi, who could graduate from the Ninja Academy at a young age and possess Jonin-level strength within a few years.

Moreover, even among her peers, Hyuga Hinata's strength was not top-tier. She couldn't defeat Sasuke Uchiha, nor did she have any particular advantage against other young ninjas from ninja clans.

During spars in the Ninja Academy, few people used their full power, and the teachers wouldn't pay too much attention to the training of clan ninjas. Besides, she mostly sparred with other female ninjas, so the situation wasn't too dire.

Initially, Uchiha Jie planned to teach Hinata casually and be done with it, allowing her to have a happy childhood before the judgment of Tsuki on the Hyuga clan arrived.

But now that the situation had changed slightly, and she had taken him as her master and wanted to change what happened to the Hyuga clan, he naturally had to teach her some real skills.

As for whether Hinata might eventually stand against Tsuki, Uchiha Jie wasn't optimistic. If such a thing happened, he would then find a way to save Hinata's life.

"You are still very young, and the amount of chakra you can refine is limited. Even if you eat a large amount of food every day, you won't be able to quickly catch up to those who are naturally gifted with immense chakra reserves."

"Activating the Byakugan also consumes a lot of chakra. Moreover, your Byakugan is purer than average, so it naturally consumes even more chakra."

Uchiha Jie and Hyuga Hinata sat opposite each other. Hinata sat cross-legged, refining chakra, while he held a glass, continuously stirring the pale red liquid inside.

"But of course, we have ways to solve this problem. It depends on which path you want to take."

Hyuga Hinata's eyes widened. She knew what chakra reserves meant. This wasn't something that could be gained through later training; increasing it was almost impossible.

If there were a way, any ninja would flock to it, yet here she was, having choices presented by her master.

"Hey, what's with that expression? I said there are choices, so of course there are choices!" Uchiha Jie tapped the small tea table and grinned.

"Of course, none of these choices are easy to achieve. I will have to put in a lot of effort, and you will have to do even more."

"The first method is very simple, just like your classmate Naruto Uzumaki. Capture a Tailed Beast and seal it inside you. With the Tailed Beast continuously supplying you with chakra, you can naturally solve this problem with ease."

This first method startled Hinata. She knew what Tailed Beasts were: ferocious and dangerous. As the ultimate weapons of each village, they played crucial, even decisive roles on the battlefield.

But...

"Naruto-kun?" she asked softly, "He has a Tailed Beast sealed inside him?"

"That's right," Uchiha Jie nodded and replied with a smile.

"He is the son of the Fourth Hokage. The Fourth Hokage's wife was a Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. On the day the Fourth Hokage sacrificed himself for Konoha, he sealed the rampaging Nine-Tails into his child's body."

"Naruto-kun is the child of the Fourth Hokage?" Hinata's eyes widened. "But he..."

"He doesn't seem like a hero's child at all, does he?" Uchiha Jie interjected with a smile.

"Sometimes I truly wonder what the Third Hokage was thinking, allowing the child of Namikaze Minato to end up in such a state. I wonder if Namikaze Minato would be heartbroken if he were alive."

"Never mind Naruto Uzumaki, that's not our focus right now," Uchiha Jie waved his hand. "As everyone knows, the Tailed Beasts are controlled by the Great Ninja Villages, but there is one village that cannot control its Tailed Beast."

"Coincidentally, that village is our next travel destination. If we are very lucky, we might be able to get our hands on a Tailed Beast. That would naturally be the best outcome."

"Don't look at me like that. Guys like Uchiha Itachi or the Third Hokage, I can't handle them. But dealing with a Tailed Beast is something I can do, after all, my surname is Uchiha."

Hinata still looked unconvinced. Uchiha Jie stopped talking and moved on to other methods.

"Another method is to learn Sage Mode and comprehend Natural Energy."

"This is a different kind of energy from chakra," he explained.

"But Natural Energy can be absorbed into the body and converted into Sage Chakra, which is much more powerful than the ordinary chakra we refine. Everyone knows that the First Hokage was skilled in Wood Release, but few know that he was also an expert in Sage Mode."

"However, this technique is difficult to master, and I don't know it either. If you want to learn it, we would need to find a writer who travels around the vast ninja world. Unfortunately, this writer is a Konoha ninja, so he definitely won't teach you."

"The third method is that you are no longer a member of the Hyuga clan," Uchiha Jie said with a smile.

"Change your surname to Uchiha, and I'll give you my Sharingan. You'll instantly transform into a Gundam, able to punch the Third Hokage and step on Hyuga Hiashi. However, after the fight, you'll probably be bleeding profusely and lose your life."

"Of course, I'm preparing to use the fourth method for you now."

Uchiha Jie finally finished stirring the liquid in the glass and placed it in front of Hinata.

It was a peculiar liquid with a few fine bubbles, a magical pink color, and smelled like strawberries.

"This isn't strawberry juice," Uchiha Jie told her the truth as Hinata took a small sip. "This is my blood, mixed with a few other medicines. Drink up, it's very nourishing."

Although he had been bleeding heavily recently, with his originally meager life force almost depleted, he still squeezed out a bit to give to Hinata. After all, what they were about to do was fraught with danger at every moment.

He needed Hinata to become stronger as quickly as possible, at least to be able to maintain the activation of her Byakugan, so as to avoid some unnecessary trouble and have a comfortable journey.

Hinata felt a warm current flow from her mouth all the way to her stomach, and then spread from her stomach to all parts of her body. However, these spreading warm currents eventually converged towards her eyes, making them feel hot.

As for her master's mention of increasing her chakra, she didn't feel any obvious effect. Perhaps she would have to drink a cup every day, and it would only show results over time.