Ninja Academy

"Now that the Uchiha Clan is here too, I hope you'll give it everything you've got. Don't bring shame on the Hyuga Clan."

On the way to Konoha Ninja Academy, Hyuga Hiashi gave Fuyuki and Hinata a very pointed reminder.

What he really meant was: Fuyuki, beat that smug Uchiha brat senseless. Don't hold back. Better yet, finish a lap ahead of him and rub the Uchiha name into the dirt until it was raw!

Of course, since they were out on the street, Hiashi had phrased it rather more tactfully.

Uchiha Itachi had stolen the spotlight for the past few years, and the Hyuga family hadn't had anyone his age to compete with. There hadn't been much they could do about it. But now Uchiha Fugaku's younger son was starting school at the same time as Hiashi's twins. If they didn't beat Uchiha Sasuke senseless, Hiashi would never hear the end of it. Uchiha Itachi this, Uchiha Itachi that—he was sick of hearing the name!

"Oh."

This time, Fuyuki didn't make fun of Hiashi for being petty. He just gave a perfunctory reply to show he'd heard.

He had been born into the Hyuga family in this life, and they had raised him. Of course he had to consider the family's interests.

It was just a matter of saving face, wasn't it? He'd get that face back for them. As long as Hiashi stopped looking like he was at a funeral.

If he'd had a little more time and strength, Fuyuki would have liked to reclaim the Byakugan in the Land of Water, too.

"All right, Father," Hinata said softly.

"Good. Go on in!"

After seeing the twins off to the Ninja Academy, Hyuga Hiashi's brows lifted involuntarily. He'd spotted the Uchiha Clan's leader, Uchiha Fugaku, and a little Bean Sprout. He told the twins to go into the academy and run wild, then turned back with a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth and forced out an ugly smile.

"Well, well, Clan Leader Uchiha Fugaku. Long time no see!"

He would have loved to stab the other man on the spot, but village rules meant he couldn't stab Uchiha Fugaku.

"Well, well, Clan Leader Hyuga Hiashi. Long time no see!" Uchiha Fugaku also forced out a smile.

The Hyuga and Uchiha clans both belonged to Konoha and both possessed bloodline limits based on their eyes. The villagers were always comparing their strengths in every area. Both were ancient clans with histories stretching back hundreds or even thousands of years, and they cared deeply about their honor!

There was no shortage of rivalry, open or otherwise. Uchiha Itachi had stolen the spotlight for the past few years, dominating the entire Ninja Academy. It had left Hyuga Hiashi furious. The Uchiha thought they were so great!

Now that the two clan leaders had run into each other, they couldn't start a fight in front of everyone, but trading a few barbed remarks was practically a given.

"Everyone who's registered, follow me. I'll take you to the school field for the entrance exam."

A weak-looking Chunin put on an imposing air and issued a stern order to the children, though his palms were sweating!

He held a registration sheet, and the names on it made his head ache. Two members of the Hyuga Main Family, a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, an Uchiha, plus Ino-Shika-Cho, the insect-controlling clan, and the Ninja Dog clan. Every famous bloodline and secret technique clan in Konoha was here!

This was half of Konoha's power!

He couldn't help feeling sorry for the class teacher. Bloodline and secret technique users from these clans were all troublemakers!

"The first entrance exam is a four-hundred-meter obstacle course!"

The administrative Chunin led them onto the field. "You only need to finish the course within five minutes to enroll in the Ninja Academy as usual. If you still have the energy, you can take the one-hundred-meter obstacle course. Anyone who passes will be admitted to the Elite Class without any conditions."

The academy field had been specially decorated to celebrate the new students' arrival. A muddy bog, a spiked wall, and a deep pit were the least of it. The more mischievous teachers had set up plenty of interesting traps, such as a puddle that was actually glue.

"Groups of twenty. Step forward when I call your name!"

The weak-looking administrative Chunin began calling names. Fuyuki was the first to step onto the course. He sighed inwardly. "Two months ago, I was chatting and laughing with an S-rank missing-nin. Now I'm playing house with a bunch of brats and wasting my whole day."

As he grumbled, Fuyuki formed hand seals and called out, "Water Release: Water Wave Riding Technique!"

This Water Release technique had no offensive power, but it let the user move freely across the surface of water. The Second Hokage and the female dragon character from the movie had both used it. It wasn't an especially advanced Water Release Ninjutsu.

He'd even used a technique for the family's honor. If he still lost after that, Fuyuki could only drag the other guy into the woods or a basement and beat him up.

A puddle of water appeared beneath Fuyuki's feet, as if supporting him. Though he stepped on it, it didn't spread.

At the administrative Chunin's signal, the water beneath Fuyuki's feet immediately surged into motion.

Fuyuki moved like he was wearing roller skates, alternating between his left and right feet as he shot forward like an arrow. He slid straight over the muddy bog without slowing down. Even when he reached a high wall that required a rope to climb, he didn't pause. He gathered chakra beneath his feet, leaped and flipped over the wall, landed, and kept speeding along on the water.

The children who had started at the same time stared in confusion, unable to understand what had just happened.

When Fuyuki completed the lap, he reached over and pressed the stopwatch for the stunned administrative Chunin. "What was my time?"

"Nineteen—no, exactly eighteen seconds!" The Chunin stared at Fuyuki in disbelief.

"Oh." Fuyuki nodded. He'd broken Uchiha Itachi's show-off record by more than thirty seconds. His dear old father ought to be pretty happy. "How do I take the Elite Class exam? Does it start now? Don't waste time. Hurry up."

"Not until everyone in this group finishes the exam. Then we can start the Elite Class test. You might have to wait a bit," the Chunin said, shaking his head.

Fuyuki nodded and looked across the field. Hinata was now running in second place.

The Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist Technique required excellent chakra control. Fuyuki and Hinata had started learning the basics of chakra training, like tree climbing and Water Walking, when they were four. So it made sense that Hinata was much faster than the other children her age.

If Hinata lost to someone her own age, Hyuga Hiashi would probably hammer her head clean off!

Hinata reached the finish line in second place, not even out of breath. She looked at the Chunin and asked, "Sensei, what was my time?"

With a speed demon like Fuyuki ahead of her, Hinata's time of forty-three seconds was nothing special. The Chunin replied without expression, "Forty-three point six seconds."

"Thank you, Sensei," Hinata said politely.

After waiting a while, Fuyuki saw that the others in his group were still dawdling around the course. Losing patience, he took Hinata's hand and led her over to the flower bed. While Hinata stared at him in bewilderment, he said solemnly, "This is my big sister, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan. If you have a problem with her, you have a problem with me, your big brother. I don't care what your reasons are—"

"Anyway, if you disrespect her, don't go home after school. We'll meet in the Ninja Academy woods!"

???

Hinata stared in shock, covering her mouth, then frantically waved her hands to say no, that wasn't it, and not to look at her!

Once she recovered from her shock, Hinata immediately reached out to cover Fuyuki's mouth, trying to stop him from making a scene in front of everyone.

The administrative Chunin was dumbfounded. Good grief, had the Hyuga Clan married into the Uchiha Clan?

Why was this Hyuga so arrogant? He was exactly like those haughty Uchiha!

The nearly hundred children present were shocked, then immediately angered by Fuyuki's arrogance. They started shouting furiously!

Did Fuyuki care what a bunch of brats thought?

He used his Byakugan to lock onto the loudmouths, planning to drag them all out and beat them up after the exam!

Today, he was going to make sure everyone knew: whoever dared bully Hinata would have Fuyuki bullying their whole family!

That would save him the trouble of searching for them one by one. In the past, he'd scoured every street and alley, digging to the ends of the earth for anyone who'd called Hinata a Byakugan monster.