Actually, I'm a Genius!

The Naval Academy was built against the mountains and facing the sea, sprawling across a vast area.

A quiet grove of trees, a sunset-lit beach, and towering mountain peaks that pierced the clouds.

Every corner bore the sweat of the trainees.

Except for one person!

Morito didn't take part in the Training Camp's drills, and the instructors turned a blind eye to this hopeless slacker.

After all, this was the final year—if he failed the exams, he'd be kicked out.

By the sea, waves crashed against the rocks.

The air was thick with the salty scent of the ocean.

Standing alone on the beach, Morito rested one hand on his abdomen. He had already refined Chakra at the age of five.

Back then, he hadn't met Garp yet.

But now he was fifteen, and his Chakra was still just the meager amount he refined each day.

Other people's old masters or whatever would show up in three years.

You've been sucking it dry for three years, then another three, then another three.

And forcing two rounds every single day!

Ten years, big bro!

Even a pig would've been dragged out for slaughter by now!

"No, I can't keep going like this. This is the pirate world, and the most chaotic era since the Rocks Pirates disbanded!"

"If I stay this weak, I probably won't even survive until the main plot starts!"

Morito frowned, a rare seriousness crossing his face.

It wasn't that he didn't work hard, nor was he truly a hopeless slacker.

He didn't skip the Training Camp's physical drills to be special—it was because every day at noon, the Chakra in his body would automatically gather into his eyes.

With his Chakra suddenly gone, he'd fall into a period of unconsciousness.

Morito didn't want anyone to discover this secret, so he completed his morning training alone.

Even if someone found him passed out, they'd just think he was "slacking off and sleeping."

Besides, he wasn't like Kai or Rock Lee, sticking purely to physical combat. Aside from physical training, he had other cultivation courses to finish.

Morito looked down at his blurry reflection in the water. His pure white pupils were indeed Byakugan.

But they seemed a bit different from the Byakugan he remembered.

Whose Byakugan needed ten years of Chakra nurturing?

"Sucking twice a day for ten years, and still no change. I'm not voluntarily feeding it Chakra anymore."

In the past, Morito always thought, Let it suck—once it's full, it'll open its eyes.

Now he realized he'd been too naive.

Only the old ox gets drained; the field never wears out.

Some things can never be satisfied!

With his current combat power, who knew if he'd survive the next ten years?

He had to think for himself.

With that thought, Morito sat cross-legged and began refining Chakra. Today, he decided to store the Chakra he refined.

Chakra was an energy perfectly fused from physical energy and mental energy in a one-to-one ratio.

It was the "mana bar" for releasing skills and the "stamina" for physical movement.

Every day at noon, his Chakra reset to zero.

How the hell was he supposed to play like this?

Refining Chakra was tedious, but the boy sitting cross-legged on the beach wore a calm expression, showing no impatience.

The sea breeze brushed gently against him, and Morito's Chakra slowly increased.

His base Chakra reserve was so small that even a little refinement made the increase noticeable.

As time passed, Morito's Chakra accumulated to a certain amount.

But noon was drawing closer.

Suddenly, an intense pulling force surged from his eyes. Morito clearly felt his Chakra being dragged by an invisible power.

"Here it comes!"

Morito's face darkened. Isn't this too much? I'm not giving it, and it's still forcing a drain?

Did something go wrong with the system settings?

You're a Byakugan, not a juice squeezer!

Morito silently cursed, deciding not to let it suck. He fought to control the Chakra gathering in his abdomen, holding his breath and refusing to give in.

Yet, a faint pure-colored glow flickered in his pupils.

Like a bottomless white vortex.

An even more terrifying, more powerful, more domineering suction surged forth. The Chakra inside him poured out wildly, drained clean in an instant.

His body's self-defense kicked in, and Morito's eyes rolled back as he collapsed unconscious on the sand.

"You win!"

In the blurry moment before his mind went dark, Morito spat out a furious, helpless curse.

This time seemed slightly different from usual—the layer of deathly gray in his pupils faded and vanished.

Only a pair of pure white, jade-like Byakugan remained.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

About ten minutes later, a faint sound of footsteps arose on the beach. Gion walked over slowly, her long legs striding forward.

After they parted ways at the plaza, Gion had returned to the Elite Class first.

After all, the Elite Class's lessons were personally overseen by Zephyr.

She had been worried the whole time. She thought Morito was too impulsive, that he shouldn't have so rashly agreed to the duel with Onigumo.

She decided to persuade Morito to give up on this duel.

It was now the midday break. Gion checked a few places where Morito often hung out.

Soon, she spotted Morito "slacking off and sleeping" on the beach.

Gion's eyes darkened. She glared at the snoring Morito with a look of frustration—did this guy even take what just happened seriously?

"Looks like I've been taking too good care of you."

Because of Garp and Tsuru, Gion had known Morito since her time in the Training Camp. She had always looked after him like a younger brother, never allowing anyone to bully him.

Even after leaving the Training Camp, she still kept an eye on its training.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have shown up so quickly today.

Stopping Onigumo wasn't a coincidence.

But now, Gion felt that coddling Morito too much was a mistake. It would only harm him.

"There's no such thing as a peaceful life in this world—someone's just carrying the weight for you."

"From now on, you have to learn to grow up on your own."

Suppressing the worry deep in her heart, Gion didn't wake Morito. Instead, she quietly turned and left.

Only a trail of footprints remained on the beach.

The Marines faced ruthless, vicious pirates. Without enough strength, the only outcome would be a heroic death and a commemorative banner.

Rather than attend Morito's funeral, it would be better to let him drop out and never become a Marine in the first place.

Letting Morito suffer a bit at Onigumo's hands might even be a good thing.

The sea breeze howled mournfully, and the waves crashed with a roar.

Not much time passed—about the length of a nap.

On the same beach, Morito, lying in the sand, opened his eyes. It was the same as usual, yet slightly different.

The sunlight was a bit blinding.

Morito raised a hand to shield his eyes, his gaze peering through the gaps between his fingers.

It took him a while to adjust.

"This is..."

Morito sat up. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, yet his field of vision took in everything around him.

The beach, the sea.

The memories before his collapse flooded into his mind, and Morito jolted awake.

His vision zoomed out, then zoomed in.

Two hundred meters out on the sea, several fish swam by, stirring up white foam—clear and visible, as if right in front of him.

His field of view expanded, then contracted.

Even without turning his head, he could see behind him. A crab was quietly scuttling past the rocks not far away.

"The Byakugan awakened?!"

After repeated attempts, Morito stared blankly ahead, barely daring to believe it.

The truth told him it was all real.

Ten years of nurturing hadn't been wasted. His Byakugan had awakened—and it was unique. Without bulging veins at the corners of his eyes, he could expand his field of vision!

Compared to ordinary Byakugan, it was far more covert.